Time traveler

Received my 19th century dress which is appropriate for the time of the Frances Land House.

Here's a close up of the print



A pretty blue flower with pale olive stems/leaves on a dark natural background. Cotton.

Here is a picture of the dress hanging on the closet door.



The front touches the top of my foot while the back of the dress goes into a small train. There are ties that will pull the gathers on the empire waist closed. I didn't do that before taking this picture.

There are problems though. I can get both of my arms through one sleeve. The edge of the neck sits on my shoulders which then makes the sleeves come way past my elbows. And lets not talk about how low and wide the front is.

At first I thought that my weird body shape had caused this. But no, the other Docent who ordered the same fabric dress was the same way. We have a feeling the seamstress used the wrong pattern for the top, (is that called the bodice?)

So, back they go to be fixed.

I will say that the cotton is very nice, the bodice lined and it's not as heavy as it looks.

But of course after what I'm wearing now (shift, pockets, petticoat, apron, vest, modesty scarf & mob cap one layer is going to feel light.

Harbinger Lavender Farm

ArtsyFish and I celebrate our birthdays a week apart. Our friend, Macadoodle, took us on a field trip to Harbinger Lavender Farm celebrate.


Harbinger Lavender Farm Gift Shop


The lavender was harvested in June, so we didn't get to cut our own.



Lavender drying in the barn



One of the lavender fields



Eucalyptis Tree


What I brought home.

I'm enjoying the Lavender/Goat milk soap. I plan to purchase a few bars at the Chesapeake Heritage Arts Festival in September.


One the way home, we stopped at The Weeping Radish. The BEST barbeque sandwhich I've ever eaten! And stops at 2 farmers markets for

Cherries, peaches, honey, cookies, cantelopes, and fudge!


It was a fantastic day spent with some great friends!

Fourh of July

Let's do some catching up....

ArtsyFish invited me to her neighborhood Fourth of July picnic. After taking this picture



The batteries on my camera died. But imagine a lovely lake right in the middle of a large neighborhood where people were swimming, boating and floating around. DJ was playing music and children and adults were encouraged to play tug of war, hula hoop, and other assorted games. Food was tasty: barbecue, hot dogs, burgers, and the assorted sides. And there was a nice breeze so flys and other buggy things were not hanging around.

The Fourth is also ArtsyFish's birthday, so we went back to her house and had birthday cupcakes and key lime ice cream.

Later, we went back down to the lakefront to watch the firewords. All around the lake neighbors were setting of some pretty good ones. And in the distance we could see the professional setting off the ones over Mt Trashmore.

It was a very nice day.

Why I like summer....

Sure I like summer because it's warm, flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and all the other stuff poets write about.

But for me summer begins when CBS begins to air "Big Brother". Eleven seasons watching the hampsters. I love it!

And this year I joined a Ravelry Big Brother 11 Group Pool. My player is Natalie. She's 24, Tae Kwon Do champion and plays poker. She sounds like she could be a contender.

So the idea behind the "pool" is each Ravelry Player is randomly assigned one of the 12 BB Houseguests. If the Houseguest you are assigned wins BB, then you win a knitterly type gift from each of the other Ravelry players. Rumer has it a 13th person will join the Houseguests at some point, if that Houseguest wins, then the 12 Ravelry names will be but in a hat and a winner drawn.

It's not to late to join. Group 5 sign ups are being accepted now!

I can't wait until tomorrow night! And no, I don't follow the feeds. I like to see the edited version.

And since we're talking about summer, these are from my friend Macadoodle's garden!



Some of her cucumbers are shaped like squash. Anyone know what causes this?

I'm a planner

Background: Coco and I communicate by email. This mornings discussion.

Wallis: I think I'll plan my funeral at Scope. Not as big as Staples Ctr, but large enough to hold my family and friends. And I should increase my life insurance so y'all can buy that $25,000 gold plated casket for me. And I'd like Paul McCartney to sing a tribute.

Coco: OMG – I busted out laughing! I needed that! If you go before me I’ll to a “Tap” number after Paul sings a few songs. Maybe “Putting on the Ritz”!! And I’ll carry a Coco Channel purse and wear my Jackie O sun glasses!

If you would like to participate let me know. I'll add you to the program.

Dryer Balls

I finally found the directions for the dryer balls. I hear they work really well.

July 4th

In most cities in the US, Independence Day, July 4th, is celebrated on July 4th with music and fireworks in the city park. Not so in the city where I live. I enjoyed music and fireworks last night, July 3rd. The City Park is about a mile from my home, so I hear the music and can see the fireworks that go above the trees. So today I might celebrate again in another city or two.

Now let me introduce you to another niece....Becky. A gardner, knitter, baker, cook, former school teacher, day care provider, sewer, wife, and a mother...where does she find the time. And if you want movie reviews, check out Becky's husband's blog.

To answer Katie's question about the Guiding Eyes dogs, the ones that are currently in this area for raising/training are Labs. I'm told occasionally a Golden is sent. And German Shepherds are rarely used any longer. The public see Shepherds as police or protection dogs and are afraid of them.

Puppies are named at birth and keep the name for life. And they are not neutered/spayed until they complete their training at the Center. This is so dogs with good temperment, etc. can be selected for broods or sires.

If the dog is not cut out for Guiding, another career may be in their future. A service dog for autistic, deaf or other needs, search & rescue, or bomb/drug finding. If they just are not able to make it, the original raiser is offered the chance to adopt. There is a dog in our group, she's 7 now, that would become so depressed when she couldn't complete a task that she was deemed not usable. She lives with her raiser now and comes out to classes to visit the puppies.

Here's a link to the May 09 graduates.

And please let me add, that I am not an expert about Guiding Eyes. I've asked lots of questions and read quite a bit. I'll share what I learn as I continue in this process.

A random picture because I haven't taken any in a while and what's a blog without pictures!


The Snow of Winter '09