The Granny Diaries

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

First, the sunshine!  Spring sprang around here and has headed straight into summer.  It makes challenging shadows on photographs, but makes me very happy.  The dogs, however, miss the gazebo and are struggling to find scraps of shade.  They are still doing the spring shed and are downward dogging in the heat.  We had frost on the windshield on Monday and are tempted to turn on the A/C on Friday.  Ahhh, Cincinnati!

I am loving this new purse pattern I am developing.  I'm a bit addicted to quilting the fabric before turning the cloth into handbags.  This clutch/wristlet bag will be called Carrie for my sister.  I hope she loves it as much as I do.  All the above bags have homes:  pink for Emily and Sali J. and brown and aqua for me.  I have a lot of little quilts for lots of new bags.

I have some great book finds!  For years I have looked for Elsie Dinsmore books.  My grandmother gave me a first edition of "Elsie Dinsmore" when I was a child.  I fell in love with this lovely misunderstood little girl who just wanted her father to love her.  Last month I found two newer 1930's editions of other books in the Elsie saga.  I found them on Etsy, of course, from Peanut and Tommy, Too.

I found several Trixie Belden books in the binding that I remember from my childhood at local antique stores.  While not technically antique, finding these favorite stories there makes me feel old.  Really old.

Did I mention I feel old?

"Freestyle Handmade Bags and Skirts" was a happy find at our local independent bookseller. The finished products in the photo are less polished than I prefer, but the book is chock-full of  great ideas. The embellishments on the messenger bag are genius.  I'm going through my vintage notions and findings for a special project.

The Cincinnati Chapter of The Modern Quilt Guild has the first meeting this weekend.  I'm looking forward to meeting the women who have created the gorgeous quilts on the website.  They are meeting at Stitches, a fabric store in Glendale that I have never heard of before.  New fabric finds and new friends, what could be better?

Actually, I do know what's better.  It's reconnecting with old friends!  I had a long call with my college roommate and opened a letter announcing impending grandparent status from the mother of one of Andrew's oldest friends.  They moved to the Piedmont area to be near their son and his wife and the new baby is a great bonus.  My roommate checked out my Etsy site and was my first customer.  I can't think of a better home for my bag and I love the idea of being back in touch with her.  A definite favorite thing!

 

My sister, Kathleen, is coming to visit next week and I can't wait for here to get here.  I have been cleaning all week and tonight we are picking up the new bed for the guest room.  I would like to think she is coming to see me but I know that she is really coming to eat Graeter' s ice cream and Skyline Chili three ways.  And of course the real reason for the visit is ...

...to hang out with the girls. 

We All Scream for Ice Cream

I told you about our family obsession with cake.  Now I confess that we have a relationship with ice cream that extends beyond obsession. 

We are addicted.

Sign us up for "Intervention" on A&E. 

I have an ice cream jones. 

This monkey is deliciously melting all down my back.

However, it cannot be just any ice cream. 

Look at that picture above and check out that chocolate chip.  Looks big, doesn't it?

It isn't.

That's just a fair to middlin' sized chip for the best ice cream in the whole world.

In southwest Ohio, there is a war that has raged for more than a century.  Which is better?  Aglamesis Brothers or Graeter's.

Graeter's wins.  Period.  Hands down.  Spoons at the ready.  Even says "irresistible" on the container.

Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite.  The little girls and my sister are pretty crazy about it, too.

My husband and Sarah Jessica Parker prefer Black Raspberry Chip.

It's that good...SJP actually mentioned it in a magazine interview.

This Christmas my husband won our annual "Best Gift Giving of the Year" award.

He bought everyone a little red neoprene pint holder because you don't eat Graeter's ice cream by the dish, you eat it by the pint.

The one above is for you, Kathleen.  It was the last one in the city and the big guy actually went to three different stores to find it for you. 

Graeter's says that they seriously underestimated the demand for this handy little item.  Haven't they noticed how chilly one's fingers become when cradling a container of this lusciouness?

Anyway, there are no more available right now.  I decided to fill the void and add a bit of style to my favorite form of overindulgence.

It is my civic duty.

So I made up a pattern for Pint Cozies.  As you can see, I tried them out.  They work great and look even better. 

I'm making a big batch of these and they are going to show up in my Etsy shop this week.

And because I am an equal opportunity ice cream enabler,they also work with Aglamesis pints.

And if you are unlucky enough to live outside the Graeter's zone they can even be used with Hagen Daz and Ben n' Jerry's.

Home Alone

I was left to my own devices for a few days and I took full advantage of the opportunity.  I haven't been empty nesting long enough that I don't wallow in the joy of alone time.  I honestly do not understand how anyone can be bored.

My mission...to create something wonderful from all this lusciousness.  I have found the best outlet for zippers and I can have as many as I want for 25 cents each.  I spent time at the second hand book store and lugged home several website design books and an incredible Kaffe Fassett book.  His photographs are like poetry for your eyes.   I know, I know, it sounds soooo trite, but pick up a copy of Passionate Patchwork, have a glass of wine, and let the colors pour over you.  Trite or not, it is a treat for the spirit.

I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to collect some awesome sample books just as the designer was about to load them into the dumpster.  I cut them up and will add those zippers to make some gift card pouches.  I hear the bells on Santa's sleigh already!

Then there is this yummy pile of yarny goodness that is the booty from a Ravelry "So You Think You Can Dance"swap.  I had Jeannine and I have loved finding sweet woolen treats on my doorstep each day.  So what will I knit first...too much yarn, not enough time...

BTW, there is another season of SYTYCD already on air.  I used to wait with great anticipation until the new season began each summer.  In fact, it did not feel like summer until I heard Mary Murphy screaming like a train whistle on the Hot Tamale Express.  I loved knowing that each summer I could expect to see remarkable dancers on my very own television.  I am so disappointed that the producers in Nigel land have chosen to suck the specialness out of one of my favorite shows. 

Project Runway is my other favorite show and you know what those producers did. 

'Nuff said.

Old Age Alert

Do you remember when The Wizard of OZ used to be broadcast once a year on network television?  We waited all year for the flying monkeys to terrorize us as they carried Dorothy and Toto off to the Wicked Witch's lair.  (OL E O.  OL E O.)  If you were lucky enough to have a "colored tv" you could invite your friends and family over to watch the screen change from black and white to technicolor as Dorothy stepped out into Munchkinland. (We represent the Lollipop Kids...)  Now, our family did not get a color set until 1968, so we would beg for an invitation to the neighbors' house for that magic moment. 

By the time my children were old enough to enjoy the terror and the wonder of the color change, everyone had color tv.  In fact, you could BUY a tape of the Wizard of Oz and children everywhere could watch the movie - and fast forward through the scary part - anytime they wanted.  Sucks the romance right out of Oz, and SYTYCD, if you ask me. 

Which you didn't.