The Cranky Crow: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I needed some wool for finishing up a little punch needle keep I did, so this morning I ran down the lane for a quick visit with my good friend, Cathy, from Red Barn Rugs (sorry - no blog, no website....Shame on you Cathy!)

I had every intention of finishing up the keep to show you and to post a photo of the progress (read, lack thereof) on my Welcome Cats rug (yes, Lauren and Kimberly, it IS on the frame and a few worms have been pulled), but the finish didn't happen, and the battery camera batteries died (aw shucks) - so that will need to wait for another day. But thought I'd share some of what Cathy's been working on these days (and trust me - it's a lot better than what I have to show you anyway):

"Clara"

(Love the little rolled curls of wool for her fleece!)

Cathy taught a "master's class" this past week. (No I did not go....are you KIDDING me??!!!) This is Cathy's progress on "The Gleaners":

Based on this original:

Wow. Just wow I say.....

So much talent...and none of it mine. Sigh.

Some of you have inquired about Little Crow and I thank you so much for your concern. The (second) surgery, which was two weeks ago tomorrow, went smoothly - it was less invasive than the first, and this time the nerve block worked. Yea! Unfortunately, it was not successful either. We were left with a follow-up appointment in two weeks and a "I'll-consult-with-my-colleagues-but-really-don't know-what-to-tell-you" prognosis. After the second surgery, the surgeon had said that if this didn't work, the only option left would be removing the knee cap, and he wouldn't recommend that. Uh, duh.

Well, gotta scoot. I have tests to grade, papers to read, and a final exam to tweak. (Yeah, you all get to tweak your decor, and I'm tweaking business law exams. Daddy always said "life isn't fair...")

The snow has begun in earnest here now. They are saying we're in for 8-12". The only good thing is that that is less than the 9-15" they were predicting yesterday. Shirlee - is your Kentucky homestead still up for swap?

Friday, February 24, 2012

I've Been Called A Lot Of Things Before.....

.....but I'm not sure I remember the last time I was called "versatile."

That is, until I was honored by having bestowed on me the ubiquitous "Versatile Blogger Award!"

The concept of the award is that the party of the first part, i.e., the "awardee" (that would be me), needs to share 7 random facts about themselves that others are not likely to know, and then nominate 10 other bloggers to receive the award. I was honored by both sweet Steph from Front Porch Primitives and dear Kim from The Barn Hollow. I am truly humbled and thank you both for your graciousness. Does that mean that I'm twice as versatile as the average crow??? I don't think so....I think it just means I am slow in posting this. And does that mean I will share 14, rather than 7, random facts about me??? Nah.....I'm feeling generous today and will spare you all the agony.... ;o)

Anywho....on to the facts.....

1. I used to rosemal - a lot. (Rosemaling is a form of decorative Norwegian painting - and, no, I am NOT Norwegian):

Did that hurt your eyes my prim friends??? Sorry - I won't do it again. And I really mean that....I WON'T do it again, EVER.

2. I was "detained" (ok, arrested) in France for entering the country illegally.

(Yes, that is a photo of me....Told you you wouldn't see them often, but not to worry, it's an old photo and I don't look like that anymore.) ;o)

The rest of the story: A friend of mine and I were trying to catch a connecting train in France, and the train we were coming in on from Spain had been delayed. Concerned that we would miss our connection, the kind train steward showed us how (and where) to jump off the train and get to the French connection (gee....sounds like a movie....) Needless to say, we didn't get our little passports properly stamped, leading to the "detainment." All I can say is thank the good Lord for the American Embassy. :o)

3. I am a melanoma survivor.

4. In my early days, I was known as the child who had perfected projectile vomiting into an art form. No photos for this one. (You're welcome.)

5. The only reason I went to law school was because my husband-to-be made me cranky. You see, we had only known each other for a few months and he wanted to get married. I didn't. He wanted to know why. I told him I had "things to do." When he asked "like what?", I told him "I don't know, maybe go to law school." He laughed and said "only smart people can go to law school." I enrolled that fall.

(He has since changed his saying to "you don't have to be smart to be a lawyer....")

I wouldn't recommend this as a method of choosing your life career.

6. I own a genuine, authentic, viewing coffin from the 1800's:

7. As a child, I was terrified of whip-poor-wills. One always seemed to perch in the huge oak outside the room where I slept, so I actually wore a wool cap with ear flaps to bed even on the hottest of summer nights in that stuffy upstairs little room with no air circulation (because, of course, the only window was shut tightly.....)

You have to admit....they're kind of freaky looking! I'm still not crazy about them, but I no longer sleep with a wool cap on in the summer.

*************

There you have it. As for the 10 I am to pass this award on to.....I just can't.....It is too difficult to pick and choose among so many wonderful bloggers out there, so I will leave it at this:

If you have not already received this award, and don't mind "sharing" a little more about you, please consider yourself personally awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by The Cranky Crow.....After all, if you're here and reading this, you've more than demonstrated some amazing versatility.

Thank you, Kim and Steph, again, for thinking of me and honoring me.

Happy Friday!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Simply Shoes....

She who dies with the most shoes wins....

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My French Love

Bonjour mes Primmies!

I have a confession to make....

I have a not-so-secret love....

....Of all things French....

I love French food, the French language, French farmhouses and French farmhouse style....old French books, French patisserie (a food group in and of itself), French linens, French wine, French textiles, French enamelware....(French fries, not so much....)

In many respects, it's in my blood. See, my mother (yep, the same one with the witch blood running through her veins) has French blood in her too. Her father's ancestors originated in Niort, France. In the late 1700's/early 1800's, several brothers immigrated to Chateauguay (Quebec), Canada. They (or some of them) emigrated from there to the Land of Nod. (Notice how smoothly I worked in that grammar lesson regarding the difference between "emigrate" and "immigrate"??? It was more fun than trying to figure out why ANYONE would want to relocate to Nod....)

But I digress....back to my love of things French....

I do, I do, I do (not to be confused with "adieu") LOVE things French - so you can only imagine how tickled I was to have won these wonderful vintage French medals from Bliss Farm Antiques: