In Memoriam

How grateful I am for the many thousands of men who have fought for centuries to keep our nation free! Memorial Day is so easy to gloss over. It's a day off, the start of summer, a day to barbeque with friends or family. It's so easy to forget. There are always pictures of Arlington cemetary that are sent in countless e-mail forwards at this time of year. But as I scrolled down one forward, something caught my eye -- a name. The name of one of America's heroes, etched into the simple white headstone that marks his grave. Those neat rows of white stone seem impersonal somehow. But each one has a name, each one stands for a man who served his country -- often giving his life in battle so that we might be free to barbeque to our hearts' content.

I am reminded of my own family members who served this country, such as my mother's father. He served as a postmaster during WWII, entering Europe by way of Africa. The post office set up their headquarters in Salzburg, in the very house where Mozart was born.

My grandfather died when I was only eight, and I never heard him talk about the war. But we have a picture of him in his Army gear, with his jaunty cap and boyish grin. And we have some of the few snapshots he took in Europe -- including a tragic glimpse from the concentration camp that his unit entered after the Germans had fled. I can't imagine what it must have been like to see that kind of desolation first-hand.

To me, my Grandfather was loving and extremely tolerant. Now I wish I could go back and thank him for his service, and ask him about the war. I would ask him how it was growing up in during the Great Depression, about the things he saw and the people he knew.




My other hero? My dad! I love listening to his stories about serving as a chaplain on a battleship during the First Persian Gulf War. He's one of the only people I know who managed to be in the Army (reserve), the Marines, and the Navy! I appreciate his service to our country and to the men and women who fight for it -- and I also admire his commitment to principle and his refusal to play the politics of the Chaplain Corp, even when it cost him his career.



There are so many people to be grateful to. But none of their efforts, however valiant, would have given us the freedom we have today without God's blessing. I pray this Memorial Day that as we remember our nation's fallen heroes, we will also remember the God who gave us the ultimate freedom -- freedom from the power of death.

Introducing...

I'm sure all seamstresses would agree that sewing can be a very time-consuming occupation. With this in mind, I decided that it was high time that I found an assistant who would help me take on the work load.

Thus, it is my very great pleasure to introduce Yvonne!

Here she is modeling a new summer apron for the shop.



Ever since her arrival yesterday, we've been getting along splendidly (despite a little "figure envy" on my part -- oh, to have such a waist! *wink*). And since I wanted new pictures of most of the aprons in my shop, she underwent a grueling modeling shoot without a single complaint. Such dedication!

It's not often that you get to pick your assistant's name -- in this case I chose my mother's middle name (we are still convinced that my grandmother must have read a French novel around the time of her birth), which is appropriate since Yvonne is a French dress form!

I debated over purchasing an adjustable dress form, but eventually decided that the cost was too high, and that a French dress form would be better for Etsy. Plus, our measurements are similar enough that she'll still be quite useful for my personal sewing -- and I can always make a custom form cover for myself if needed.

There's a new reversible summer apron in the shop, as well -- also modeled by the indefatigable Yvonne!



So here's a hearty welcome to Yvonne! And here's hoping that I don't experience heart failure every time I walk into the room and mistake her for an intruder...

More (Natural) Hospitality

We're falling more and more in love with this house every day. As the pictures go up and the vertical blinds come down, it's beginning to feel like home. And the more we see of the neighbors, the better!

This visitor wishes to retain her privacy, and while she agreed to a picture, she prefers to go under the pseudonym of "Jane Doe."



Pablo was the one who spotted her in our back yard, just beyond the creek. The resulting conversation went something like this:

Pablo: Deer!

Me: Yes, do you need something?

Pablo: No, DEER! Grab your camera!


The "picture through the sliding glass door" is always our first attempt, just in case our wildlife decides to run off when we venture outside. But we managed to get down a little closer. She eventually noticed us, and I love how even when she looked away, her ears were swiveled back to listen to us:



Fortunately we only have neighbors on one side (the other side is an empty lot that came with the house); I'm sure they must have thought we'd gone beserk!

After Jane ran off, we went down to the creek -- only to find that Peter was also visiting.



Eventually he had no other option than to hop down the stream, getting his poor little cottontail wet in the process. If you've never seen a rabbit trying to hop down a stream, you should!

I'm sure deer and rabbits in the back yard are common occurrences for many Americans, but they're novelties for us! The area we live in has a stretch of wooded highway that is teeming with deer around twilight, and I've been hoping very hard that we'd have some in our woods, too. We're already figuring out ways (namely, a salt lick or some feed corn) to lure shy little Jane back to our home. I have a feeling that all we need to do is start our garden to see more of her than we anticipated...

Domestic Pursuits

Our wee home is taking shape, little by little -- one by one the empty boxes are banished to the garage, and the atmosphere begins to grow more cozy.



And oddly enough, it looks as the random curtains that I've rescued from yard sales and thrift stores over the years (if the tag says "Waverly," you can be almost certain it's coming home with me!) will come in handy; and not only that, but they'll fit our windows exactly, and will blend in with our current decor. Little providences.



But I digress. Actually, I'm cheating a bit in this post, because the sewing project below was completed last fall! But since I haven't yet had time for sewing (though my machine, I am happy to say, is up and ready for use), I thought I'd finally get around to sharing it. Not that I ever procrastinate...



Our little red sofa desperately needed some accent pillows. Red isn't exactly a mild color, and a whole bank of it can be rather overwhelming. Accent pillows are a dime a dozen, of course, and I probably could have found something to suit in a store. But the temptation to indulge in some home decorating sewing was too much to resist. So I trotted off to JoAnn's, where I eventually found perfect (and more importantly, inexpensive!) coordinating fabrics. Two tassels, two zippers, and a few yards of cording later, I had all I needed -- the red suede piping fabric was already in my stash.



Of course, everything went together beautifully, without the least difficulty -- and certainly without any mistakes! *coughs* Well, there were one or two mishaps...



I actually wasn't going to include zippers at all, but when I contemplated "washability" (and the prospect of slipstitching the back of the pillow closed with piping involved), I quickly decided that zippers were a necessity! Even though I'd already cut out my back pieces, I had just enough fabric left to make the necessary adjustments.

And the taffeta -- well, that was supposed to extend to the corners of the pillow. I just didn't account quite enough for the effect that gathering it into the tassel loop would create. Fortunately, by turning under the ends an extra few inches, the problem was solved.



So there, in far too much detail, is an account of our throw pillows (AKA, more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-a-single-pair-of-pillows). And that, you will be happy to hear, is

THE END

*wink*

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

We had an unexpected (but quite welcome) dinner guest last evening.



Apparently we have our very own little Eastern Cottontail!



Normally we do not entertain our guests on the back lawn, but this little fellow seemed quite content there -- until we ventured too close, which resulted in this:



After our guest disappeared (rather suddenly, I thought), we couldn't resist exploring our little domain in the early twilight.






We have several damselflies down by the creek. I love it when they let their wings open -- the contrast of the black wings and teal bodies is so gorgeous!



I resisted my Photoshopping urges in this post, so all of these are SOOC (or, "Straight Out of Camera"). Quite honestly I thought it was too dark outside to get anything but a blurry mess, but my Canon was feeling benevolent.



Speaking of my Canon, I have finally christened it "Howie" -- which I got from "Howitzer". After all, it is a Canon!

I still have to get around to showing pictures of the actual house -- but perhaps that will wait until we are more settled in! *wink* Every time I walk into the front bedroom (AKA the Book Repository), it begins to dawn on me that our combined collections are probably pushing the 1,000 book mark, and right now we only have one bookshelf. Eep! Here's hoping that Craigslist coughs something up in the bookcase department very soon...



I hope you're all having a very blessed Thursday!

An Issue of Drainage

Well, we're safely moved in to our new home! As I look out the window I can see green -- lots and lots of green! -- and our little creek bubbling away at the bottom of the hill.



Of course, we're not completely settled yet. But we're getting there, one box at a time. How did we end up with so much "stuff," anyway? We've been busy fending off wasps, spiders, and bugs of various sorts (all of this "nature" comes with a price), but I think we're winning the battle. I think.

But none of that has anything to do with the title of this post, which is really meant to document our first real "homeowner" situation occurring yesterday at approximately 11:39 a.m.: The dreaded clogged kitchen drain. The "why are both sides of my sink spitting up disgusting remembrances of last week's lettuce?" type of clog. After optimistically running the disposal for a few minutes (the only result of which being even more gunk!), I left the sink alone until Pablo came home.

I informed him of the morning's events, and we both peered under the sink skeptically. We tried plunging the sink several times, hoping that it might force the clogged debris through the pipes. To no avail.

My brilliant husband determined that since there was an odor coming from the sink, the clog had to be before the curvy P-trap. With a bucket to catch any spills, he unscrewed the P-trap. And it was then that we discovered why the plunging didn't work -- no amount of plunging can force a table knife through a u-shaped P-trap! Various discoveries have left us to wonder about the previous homeowners, but this discovery left us with a better picture of their mental sanity (or lack thereof!). After the removal of the knife and a few more plunges, we once more have a clean, odorless drain.

What I'm still wondering? How they got that table knife down the drain in the first place...