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Sunday, May 27, 2007
Women's Artifacts

A friend of mine gave me a bag of yarn and needles that had been her grandmother's. She isn't a knitter and didn't feel right that her grandmother's needles sit idle. What type of knitter would I be if I refused beautiful needles and vintage mohair. I believe refusing mohair is just cause for getting my knitting licence revoked.
In the bottom of the bag, I discovered a dilemma. A few years before she passed away, my friend's grandmother began to lose her sight. When her sight began to degrade, she was forced to give up knitting. In the bottom of the bag, still on the needles is the last piece she was working on.
I felt like an archaeologist finding a Pharaoh's tomb. I was holding in my hands something created by a woman I admire. Now I'm in a quandary. I don't know if I should unravel it and use the yarn (it is a beautiful orange/brown mohair) or bind it off and preserve it for my friend.
When I had Women's History classes in college we often discussed how so much of the items created by women were either used up or discarded at inconsequential. Granted, most women's artifacts were of the practical nature, but think of how much more we would know about women in history if their work was preserved.
My desire of preserve this piece of knitting is partly because it shows another side of a woman I admire. A. was a business women who created a small empire that is now being run by her granddaughter.

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posted by Angel at 5/27/2007 11:52:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Strawberries Cream & Mint

Sounds more like an elegant desert than a pair of earrings. This is a simple little pair that I've made. I think they turned out beautifully. I love the soft, summery colors that look great on just about anyone. I wish I had had more of the square beads, they would have made an awesome necklace or bracelet. I'll have to keep my eye out for more. I have them for sale at the Central Market stand and I hope to get them posted online within the week.

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posted by Angel at 5/20/2007 05:38:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments
Monday, May 14, 2007
You can call him Al...
I had the best Mother's Day. I started my day with cards and gifts in bed (after having the chance to sleep in). Hubby made me French Toast and coffee for breakfast. Then we went to the Alpaca show at the Expo Center. I spent several hours petting and ohhing over these little guys. I found out that they only make a humming moan (it's really cute), they are curious but shy, and they would rather have their necks rubbed than their heads petted. They are so soft. Princess had a quicky lesson on using a drop spindle and I was mesmerized by a spinning wheel. I really did want to bring one home with me, but I didn't have enough money with me. They are expensive animals. I did get a skein of hand dyed sock yarn as a gift (it's wool and nylon and a lovely purple/cream/pink combo of colors) After the alpaca, we went to Wonderful Garden for chinese food and then I played around with jewelry making. For dinner I made Orange beef (hubby was going to make it, but worked called and he had to telecommute). I had a wonderful Mother's Day.

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posted by Angel at 5/14/2007 09:49:00 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day

 
posted by Angel at 5/13/2007 01:31:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Monday, May 07, 2007
Home County Tourist
We played tourist in our home county yesterday. Princess has a project for school where she has to visit a list of parks and lakes in the county and get her picture taken at each place he visits. The weather was great, we had nothing we had to do, and everyone was feeling well (except for the itching of my poison ivy), so we went out and played tourists. Our first stop was William H. Kain Park and Lake Redman. It's a beautiful lake that has fishing, boating, picnic areas, and also provides the county with water. Many years ago, my husband almost proposed to me while we were boating on the lake. He decided that maybe he should propose on dry ground just in case (see, he's a wise man, that's one of the reasons I love him). Princess and I gave a willow tree a nice hug before we left.
This is Princess on the boat docks at William H. Kain Park. You can rent boats and take them out on the lake. I think Princess was looking for Reddie, the monster of Lake Redman or she could be searching for mermaids. Princess really loves water and the whole time her daddy was worried that she'd fall in.
Meet Bob! Bob is a snake that lives at Richard Nixon Park. Bob lives in a big aquarium and is used for educational purposes. We have a deal: we can be friends as long as he stays on his side of the glass and I stay on mine. I'm terrified of snakes but every time I go down to Nixon Park, I make a point of sitting on the floor in front of the snake case. I'm working on getting over my fear. Bob posed nice for me when I told him he was going to be on my blog. He also agrees with me that itching is no fun (it looks like he's getting ready to shed his skin in a few weeks.)
It was such fun spending the day surrounded by the beauty of nature. It was kind of like a belated May Day for us. I really want to get out more often this summer and spend more time exploring nature. We always come back from our days out feeling tired, but at the same time we always come home feeling happy.

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posted by Angel at 5/07/2007 06:24:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments
A Word of Warning
If you live anywhere in North America, learn to recognize this plant. Yes, it's pretty, but under that beauty lies an evil like nothing else. This cute little plant is poison ivy! 85% of humans have an allergic reaction to it. And it is everywhere. Why am I doing a public service announcement? Because I had a run in with this little plant last weekend in my own yard. I was so proud of myself, I cleared a bunch of overgrowth so some lilies could bloom free this year, no poison ivy in sight. And the next day, this rash showed up and for the past week I have itched like I was crawling with bugs. My husband went and looked at the patch I was weeding and there are all these little tiny poison ivy plants. I'll spare you from seing pictures of my legs, it ain't a pretty sight. I found this homeopathic stuff that works great with me for keeping it under control, but when it's time for a new dose I start to itch so bad I want to crawl out of my skin. I have also found that when I itch real bad, if I rub the area with hand sanitizer it seems to deaden the itch. My husband and my landlady are planning on taking care of the poison ivy for me since I break out just looking at it.

 
posted by Angel at 5/07/2007 12:35:00 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments
Thursday, May 03, 2007
La Vie au Chocolat est tres bonne.
Chocolates I made in class. Yummy!

The other night I had a fun work experience. I had the opportunity to assist with an Adult education class. Through the local Adult Education Extension, the store that I work at held a class of Basic Chocolate Candy Making. The goal of the class was to introduce people to the different types of chocolate and then how to make candies from them. The class learned how to make truffle filling from scratch, mold chocolates, make non-pareils, make clusters, and make dipped chocolates. My role of the evening was to help people if they needed help. It was fun. I for one just like playing with the chocolate and dipping pretzels in the vats. I came home with a box of chocolates that I made and I smelled like a candy bar. I know, I suffer so much for my job, but someone has to do it.

At market today I realized that I will never work in a chocolate shop in Paris. One of the local high schools had their French class there for a field trip. The students were only allowed to speak French. Let's just say, it's be quite a few years since I had French in school. I managed to muddle through. The hardest thing was remembering my numbers. Oh well, c'est la vie.

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posted by Angel at 5/03/2007 06:31:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 2 comments
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Friday Night Ghost Tour


On Friday night, some friends and I went on a ghost tour. Bube's Brewery in Mt. Joy, PA is considered haunted and they offer ghost tours. It is a cool building with a long history. I had a lot of fun on the tour. I took a lot of pics but I didn't get anything too spectacular. The pic on the left is one of the best I got. It was taken on the second floor in what is now a banquet room (it was originally the family quarters.) I photographed a few balls of light which might be orbs or they might be dust. I did feel a few cold spots while on the tour and I had my hair pulled lightly once. I do believe there is something beyond this realm.

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posted by Angel at 5/01/2007 12:07:00 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 1 comments