I know I just arrived here, but so many people have complained that they can't post a comment without registering with Vox. So, now you'll find me at www.meezermeowmy.wordpress.com.
Bye!
The remembrance continues...
Mother was a "city girl", living in the county seat of Burlington, Iowa, a Mississippi River town. I don't know the population back then, but as of 2000 the population was 26,000. The town 5 miles from Dad's farm had a population of 1,464 at the same census. That's a big difference!
The Great Depression didn't "sneak up" on them in 1929. At least, Great Grandfather Zart, her father's father, was very aware of the impending monetary crisis. He spread his money out among 3 banks (remember, there was no FDIC to guarantee your deposit - that came after, as a result of the crash). Mom also said he bought up a lot of coffee (think commodity) and stocked his basement as a hedge. All the preparations were for naught: all 3 banks failed. However, they did have coffee to drink for the duration!
The Zart homes were not lost, but lifestyles changed. Grandmother (I called her Mom Addah) took a job as a grocery clerk. Mother tagged along, and told a story of getting in trouble by fooling around with a mop and pail someone had left mid-mopping. Mother spilled it, and Mom Addah slipped in it, breaking her collarbone.
I grew up in the 1950's child of these parents who gave us all they could, but never made a financial decision without looking back over their shoulder at the depression. I was well fitted to "make do" as my DH went through graduate school. The hardest part for me was to actually spend any money without guilt, once he was out of school and a success. Every news story today brings all the cautions of the past back. As Bette Davis said in All About Eve, "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
Well, yes, we all appreciate our stash. But have you considered how much your stash has appreciated, since you purchased all that yummy yarn? It's been a pretty good investment hedge; many of us have done better than the current stock market. At least, in these hard times, we can knit without guilt if the yarn can come out of our own storage.
My parents were molded by the Great Depression. Dad was 18 when the stock market crashed, and Mom was 8.
So many things changed. Dad's family lost two farms to save the third. There has not been a mortgage on that third farm to date! My Dad was a high school track and football star, and was recruited by colleges as far away from his S.E. Iowa home as Notre Dame. However, he chose Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, IA because it meant he could get home on occasion and bring back to college canning and produce from the farm. He told the story of one of his roommates who came from "back East", and couldn't go home during the year. He earned his college money by raking leaves, or shoveling snow, or mowing yards for the widows in town, depending on the season. Somehow it always slipped out that he was at Wesleyan studying for the ministry. Thus he was able to provide cookies, pies, cakes, and jams for the apartment!
Mom was a "city girl". Her story of the Depression tomorrow.
Last time I wrote about the happy ending with the OnLine yarn and the mother of the bride who needed to knit just one more pedicure sock. I happily sent my yarn remnant off to Texas, and thought that was the end of the story. Low and behold (who says that anymore?!) Saturday's post brought a package from Texas, with two skeins of Schoeller and Stahl Limbo yarn. It's oh-so-soft and woolly. Now, I'd not knit in DK weight before, mainly because my feet are wide. I've always thought I needed all the ease I could get, and knit only with fingering weight. But this yarn called to me,
and after all, it was a gift. So I did the knitterly thing and scanned all the projects on Ravelry first, just to reassure myself that a pair of socks could be knit from two skeins of this yarn...then I cast on.
I must tell you that this is the plushest, most comforting wool I've worn. And yes, the sock does fit nicely in my Birkenstocks. This will certainly be a fall/winter pair of socks for Louisiana, and I can hardly wait to wear them. Many thanks to Robin S, aka mother of the bride, for the yarn. It wasn't expected, but it certainly is appreciated.
I have another pair of socks done, which I will post in the next two-week period of Summer of Socks. The pattern is called Brigit (unfortunately, the link for the pattern no longer works, so I can't send you there.) They
with Shibuiknits in Jonquil from the Loopy Ewe (www.loopyewe.com), on #1 circulars. I believe these are the most complicated socks I have ever knit, and I am exceedingly proud of them.
But wait! (as the infomercials say). This morning I opened my email to find that I had won the blogversary contest at http://mvwindwalker.blogspot.com/
Happy dance following my finished object dance! I just love anticipating packages in the mail! Pictures will follow upon arrival.
Casper, waiting for his attention on my sewing table. He would like you to notice how handsome he looks beside the lace curtain.
The Caribbean Sea is the color of a fine London Blue Topaz. Our last cruise stopped in Jamaica, where we bought such a topaz. I might have said to myself "you exaggerate the sea's brilliance", had I not stood on deck at Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and looked down at my necklace and the sea.
We sat facing our windows which were about the size of an airliner's window. It didn't take much dive time for each person to have their nose pressed up against the window, in the classic "candy store" pose. My fishy favorites were schools of 1" long, electric blue fish. Our guide said that if you caught one of these fish and cut it open, even its bones and teeth would be that blue.
The coral was beautiful, and I came away from the dive grateful that the authorities insist the cruise ships anchor out away from the reef. It is well worth the preservation efforts!
And the fish in my picture? He's from the dive gift shop in Georgetown, and is a featherweight. I suspect he's carved from balsa wood.
There is one more twist to the story. I had just finished posting about my sock on Ravelry, and had the yarn label on my computer desk. The Sockknitter's list digest arrived, with an SOS for On Line sock yarn, (oh, I just knit with On Line) color Holiday (check), dye lot 23279 (oh my!). The knitter needed to knit one more pedicure sock for her daughter's bridesmaids. My first thought was "what a shame, I just knit up that yarn". Then I remembered I had a pretty good remainder, and got out my digital scale: 27 grams. Emails were exchanged, and the yarn is on its way to Texas. Don't you just love happy endings?
Here is Casper the Paw, with his favorite cabinet to open. If there is only one cabinet found standing open, this will be it. Inside are boxes of cereal and the ice tea maker, none of which particularly interest him...it's just a handy cabinet to open.
When we are gone for the day, Mr. le Paw shows his displeasure by opening cabinets. The more unhappy he is, the more doors we find standing open. Twice this has been disastrous. Once we arrived home to a very pungent smell, and Balsamic Vinegar drained across the tile floor grout. Casper had opened a cabinet door and pulled out the vinegar bottle, which shattered on the tile. What a mess!
The second fiasco was easier to clean up, but more heartbreaking. This time le Paw had been into the upper cabinets. He selected a crystal wine goblet for himself, and pulled it out, where it shattered on the granite counter top. 'Twas a wedding shower gift from my parents. We put an end to that: baby locks!
Still, a bored Meezer is a force to be reckoned with. Now he's branched out into opening drawers. I recently caught Casper opening a drawer in my studio, allowing Torie to get the micro duster out for herself. Sheesh - teamwork!
Oh, alright. This is Casper, the third meezer in the "Texas Pride", DH's cat. He is a Flame Point, although perhaps hard to see that aspect in this photo. Flame Points have an orange tinge where meezers are darker, and are white elsewhere. As you can see in my icon, he has beautiful ice-blue eyes. Casper fancies himself to be a paperweight, and extends that duty to sitting on all knitwear that is being blocked or photographed.
As you might expect, Casper is from Texas Siamese
Rescue. We actually went over to Denton, Texas expecting to bring home a Tonkinese male to complete our family. However, he had health issues, and the search was on for the right cat. I felt like one of the Prince's servants, carrying a glass slipper on a pillow from house to house, looking for the perfect fit.
DH and I entered one room where he was immediately greeted by a Russian Blue cat. This was good - I'm the "cat person", and if a cat really likes DH, all the better. Not good...the Russian hated me...he was a man's cat, only. Le sigh. The search continued.
GrandMeowmy (the director of Texas Siamese Rescue) has the patience of a saint. I believe we made the acquaintance of all the cats there. She knew who had to be an "only cat", who was dominant, passive, shy, aggressive. When a cat tried, but didn't work for us, she told it "You did a good job, you showed really well, this just isn't your family." That breaks my heart even today!
GrandMeowmy pulled Casper out from his hiding place under a chair that was draped with a towel. Casper (the friendly ghost) specialized in being there without being seen. He was an agreeable fellow, equally accepting of both DH and me. GrandMeowmy explained that flame points were created by crossing Siamese with Red Tabby, who are known for their marvelous disposition. Most flame points are males. "He's the real thing" she said. All this time Casper was being held by DH, and getting comfy there. It was felt that he would get along with Torie, our "warrior princess" and The Lady Minky. The glass slipper fit: we had found our boy cat.
Casper received less than a royal welcome in Louisiana. After an isolation period behind closed door (with much muttering on both sides) the door was casually left open. Torie spend the next two weeks spitting and hissing at Casper. Casper would look at her over his shoulder, "You have a problem?" and walk on. Over time they have developed roles, territories, and household duties. Torie is in charge, and still bullies Casper a bit, but they seem to enjoy chasing each other.
The ghostly aspect of Casper seems to be a real talent. If you look beyond Casper in the picture you can see we have hardwood floors, white woodwork, and golden beige walls...Casper colors. He can disappear anywhere in this house. We know he is chuckling at us in plain sight, yet we search and search for him.
Tomorrow: "Casper the paw"
As anticipated, I finished my first pair on the road to Slidell, LA last night. Here they are:
That's my basic sock, knit from Steinbach Wolle Aktiv Effekt. It's 75% wool/25% polyamid, 420 m/100 g, knit on my usual #1 circulars.
I've begun Wendy's Summer Sock with the aqua stripe yarn. Boy, she wasn't exaggerating: a size down will be plenty big.
GrandMeowmy calls it "universal kitty nap time", that time of day when all kitties compulsively zonk out. Here are Minky and Tori\e preempting my glider and footstool. Notice the abandoned cat furniture, despite its choice position in the morning sun.
Summer of socks proceeds nicely. I could finish my first pair this evening as we travel to Slidell for an Eastern Star meeting. Pictures will follow!
Minky is well known for being a lap cat, a knitting supervisor, and a grand dame. She has a tendency to wave her extended right paw at things she wants, and pronounce the "imperial we".
Now that you have been properly introduced to the ladies, I should tell you about their vocabularies. Siamese are very talkative cats, and Torie, especially, has always called me "An-wah". It seems to be as close as she can come to "Nana", the name my grandchildren call me.
Recently, Minky was being unceremoniously packaged in the cat carrier for the two-block ride to her V-E-T. She had a respiratory infection, and really needed to be treated, despite her protests to the contrary. When I continued to ignore her protests, Minky said "An-wah!" Whoa, you could have knocked me over with a meezer whippy-tail! She had learned Torie's name for me, and used it herself! That was as big an achievement as the gorilla who taught sign language to another gorilla!
Ambitious enough for you? Waiting is hard!
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Marilyn G said:
[this is good]Hiya, Barbara -- you won my contest! :-) I'll need your mailing address (email it to me privately at skipper... read more
on Memories of the Blue Deep -
Barbara-Kay said:
The good news is that he isn't destructive, he just "donates" white fur to everything! Glad you like the shawl. read more
on Tell them about me, Meowmy! -
sunflowerfairy said:
[this is good]Beautiful shawl. And cute kitty. You're much more patient- and animal friendly- than I am- I'd have a cow if... read more
on Tell them about me, Meowmy! -
Hei from Europe! What a beautiful cat you have!!!! Just lovely....and a nice blog with so pretty socks as well.... read more
on A weekend of knitterly surprises!