Tuesday's hookin' ~ finally!

~ ~ ~ WELCOME FRIENDS ~ ~ ~

Thank you so much for dropping by. I hope you are experiencing some fall-like weather in your little corner of the world! Here on Ohio's north coast is it quite chilly ~ mid 40's. I am still waiting for some gorgeous fall colors and for our Indian summer to arrive. They are predicting warmer temperatures next week and I do hope the weather guesser is correct. It seems we went from summer to late fall. I do love the fall, but not what comes after it!

Tuesday was the monthly get-together at the Metro Parks. Luckily I was able to take an extra hour at lunchtime and get in a little hooking time. I have a few rugs to post, and to those whose names I forgot, I do apologize and next time will try to do better! Several ladies were just beginning a new rug and asked that I not take a picture until they had more done.

I think this is Sylvia's runner. She always chooses such amazing colors. Mitsuko had finished this cockscomb and just needs to complete the binding. She plans to hang it on the wall. Karin's penny rug totally done ;-) Carol's antique adaptation was phenomenal. My picture does not do it justice :( She is an amazing color planner and the colors chosen for this rug were so old looking. An Edyth O'Neill design. Another great rug that my photo does not do justice to. This rug is being hooked in a #6. Her colors are gorgeous! Andrea is also hooking her rug in a #6. I think her sheep are needle felted. Check out her blog at http://www.brightonwoolworks.blogspot.com/.(Almost) last but not least is this sweet little mat. I am so sorry I don't remember her name ( I am TERRIBLE with names), but she said she hooked once as a teenager and nothing since. She is doing a great job! I had to show you the close up of Carol's sunflower. The center of the sunflower is done using a technique called seeding. What a great look it has! The second row of yellow is done using a technique called beading. She is using two different colored strips of wool at the same time, pulling one loop in yellow and the next in brown. (Am I making sense?) Beautiful! I hope everyone is having a fun, productive weekend. I got sidetracked while trying to complete this post, and we are now at 49 degrees with sun. Almost feels like a heat wave...lol!

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Marv update & a new rug book ~

I spoke with Marv's forever Mom this evening and she said Marv is doing great and adjusting just fine. She said I was more than welcome to share this picture. That is Alicia on the right holding Marv. On the left is Tori, part of her extended family. The fawn pug is Alicia's first pug P-Lo. Isn't that just the cutest name? Alicia says she keeps reassuring Marv that he has been displaced for the last time and will be with her forever. I am so happy for Marv ;-)

I just got this book in the mail today and haven't had the time this evening to go through it, but I did flip through it quickly. It is loaded with pictures for inspiration. (FYI - I got it for a great price on Amazon.)
A big thank you for stopping by and I hope you come again soon!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Good bye Marv, hello Eema

Marv went to his forever home this weekend. He's now living in Cincinnati and I do hope he's livin' the good life! He deserves it. His life was disrupted four times in as many months. I know some will say that he's just a dog, but a dog will offer unconditional love. He and I got off to a somewhat rocky start, but as I learned about Marv, we got to be pretty good buddies, though I never did appreciate when he growled at me! I was hoping to post a picture of his forever Mom, but was unable to connect with her to get her permission.
To be honest, I was looking forward to being pug-less for a while. Little did I know that I would be coming home with another foster. This is Eema, the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew word for mom. This little beauty is a 7 year old puppy mill girl. Thankfully, her puppy mill days are over and she will never again have puppies. She had been fostered in Columbus for a few weeks, but the foster home had a couple of boys who were behaving badly and the foster mom was worried that little Eema would end up in the middle of a fight. She is a well behaved pug starved for affection. We need to work on potty issues, but hey, after living in a crate for your entire life, I can understand why she has issues. She has been spayed and is up to date on all her shots. The poor thing even had to have seven teeth pulled, but she has no problem eating! Now we just need someone to fall in love with her and help her along ;-)

PLEASE!!! If you are thinking about getting a dog or a cat, please, please, please consider a rescue animal. There are so many animals looking for their forever home. If you chose to buy, please find a reputable breeder and don't buy from a pet store. Because of pet stores, puppy mills abound.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Hooking at the library ~

~ ~ ~ WELCOME ~ ~ ~

Last evening was the hooking get together at the library. It was a small but very talented group that met. Last month we were unable to meet due to a scheduling conflict so it was great to see everyone.

Candy's rug is coming along nicely. She is hooking this delightful rug in a #4 cut and says that her next project will be in a wider cut!

The colors in Heidi's rug are very vibrant.

Polly is nearly finished with her rug. This is being hooked for her daughter and I'm sure she will LOVE it.

Both Karin and Lisa are hooking penny rugs. Karin's, on the left, is a commissioned piece. Lisa's piece is for her dining room table. I'm not sure of the dimensions, but it is going to be loooong. I told her it would look great on my table with my new old sled sitting on it during the holidays. I'd better not hold my breath...lol!

Here is a pillow that Karin hooked. It is beautifully sewn together and filled with scraps of wool and has such a great feel to it. The colors are so old looking, especially the robin's egg blue Santas. I did not capture the true color, darn it.

Here's another small hooked mat by Karin that she will be listing on eBay tonight or tomorrow. Once again my colors are not quite right. The colors are much more primitive/old looking in person. Her seller id is primitivespirits and she lists the most incredible pieces. If you are not familiar with her work, please check her out.

An apology is in order. Sylvia hooked during the day, so she brought the most amazing afghan that she is knitting to work on. It is beautiful and I failed to take a picture. So sorry, Sylvia :(

On a sad note, I got a phone call from my dearest friend Mary. We met in 1972 in Spain. I was an undergrad student and she was a graduate student. We have remained the best of friends all these years. Her husband was killed in an accident this evening. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

A VERY SAD DAY ~

I'm not sure where or how to begin this post. There was a death of sorts today in Lorain, Ohio. Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovenian Roman Catholic Church celebrated its last mass today. The parish had its start back in 1905 and the current church was built in 1952. In its 104 years there were only 11 pastors, and since 1934, only three. Father Krajnik , the current pastor, has served for 34 years. Last week he celebrated his 87th birthday.

I guess I need to give a little background on our city. We are known as the international city because of our diverse ethnic background. In the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s, people flocked to Lorain to work in the steel mill. Many people from eastern Europe, including Slovenians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Croatians, the Polish and others settled here by the thousands, each group eventually starting their own church.

Recently the Cleveland Catholic Diocese has begun closing and consolidating these churches. Yes, some of these churches were small, with dwindling membership, but they were still viable parishes. Even parishes with hundreds of members have closed or are closing. Did the Diocese really need to hire police to be at the church today? There was one officer standing outside and I was told 2 plain clothes officers were inside. Was that necessary? What did they think these loyal parishioners would do?

Now I must admit, I was not a member of St. Cyril’s and as my 89 year old mother would tell you, I am a lousy Catholic, but there is a great sadness in my heart today. I cannot even begin to imagine what longtime church members are feeling. My heart aches for them. Within days, everything will be stripped from the church, including the stained glass windows.

Did you even know there was a St. Cyril and a St. Methodius? They were 9th century brothers and great missionaries, known as the Apostles of the Slavs.

I have many pictures to share. I hope you will enjoy them.

Parishioners from other closed churches offering their support. Thank you!

The front of the church. Sorry I forgot to walk across the street to get a better picture. The stained glass window is in the choir loft.

Is it still called a cornerstone when it's not in the corner?

The altar. Note the eastern European influence.

The largest and most detailed stained glass window in the church is in the choir loft and depicts Ss. Cyril and Methodius.

There are six stained glass windows in the nave of the church which portray our religious mysteries. Here is a detail of one of the windows.

The lower portion of each window depicts readings from the Old Testament.

Statues in the church.

I always joked that midnight mass was held at 9pm on Christmas eve. I was especially fond of the manger.

A young lady dressed in typical Slovenian attire.

Father Krajnik, pastor for 34 years.

This is Uncle Ray, the uncle of my dear significant other. I always joke that he's the world's oldest altar boy at age 82.

My mom leaving the church for the last time.

These old books were in the choir loft and we were allowed to take them. The one on the left is from Holy Week and was printed in 1913. The song book "Cantate" was published in 1920.

In the old church hall, people gathered one last time after mass for coffee and donuts. I was so happy we were allowed to take dishes for remembrance.

To all those who have made it to the end, THANK YOU!

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Frittering the day away ~

Today was one of those rare days when I have done nothing productive, as in physically accomplishing anything, but it has been a good day. I will just have to hustle tomorrow to get some things done before the work week starts once again.

I started the day by sleeping in. Oh, that felt good. Then it was the typical personal morning routine, feeding and walking Loocie and Marvin, and then off to an outdoor fall antique/craft show. It was the 40th year for the show held in Birmingham, Ohio, and from what a dealer/acquaintance told me, the largest to date with 178 vendors. The weather was chilly, overcast and threatening rain. Thankfully the rain held off and even the threat of a storm did not deter people. Several of the vendors that I knew said even though the crowd was heavy, sales were not too good.

My big purchase of the day was this sled. I think I will be using it on the dining room table during the holidays. I don't know from when it dates, but I know it has "age". Does anyone have a clue to its age? My guess would be early 1900's.

This is my bargain of the day. I have a large number of cookie cutters ~ somewhere in the attic ~ but I could not resist this one for $1.00.
I bought some gourds and mini pumpkins. I was really bummed because I bought 3 gourds that were long and thin like a banana and would have looked really cool once dried, and somehow I lost them. I'm thinking on the way to the car I must have dropped the bag. Darn :(
The gourds and pumpkins are in this carrier with the most wonderful patina and a heart cut-out that I purchased in eastern Pennsylvania about 25 years ago. The ghost and pumpkin is an import that I purchased at the craft store today. They also had some big ones that I loved, but I didn't have fifty or a hundred dollars to spare on a Halloween decoration...teehee.

A close-up of the heart.

Here's Loocie (fawn), my "personal pug" and Marvin (black), my foster. This is the first time I have seen them lay together and luckily the camera was handy. (Don't you just love my green floor??? There is hardwood underneath several layers of linoleum that one day I will expose.)

After coming home from the show, my grandson Jake came over and we had some quality time. I planned on having him home by 6 so I could get something done, but by the time we played pirate, policeman (he loves to handcuff me!), played with his Geo-Trax train, visited great-grandma, and ate, it was 8 by the time I got home. (If you need a gift for a young boy, Geo-Trax is THE BEST ~ this has been a favorite of his for 2+ years. You can buy it on sale and have a coupon from Kohl's and it is very reasonably priced.)

Have you ever wondered what people put on dried gourds to give it that very mellow, opaque type color? I thought maybe it was shoe polish, but what gives it that really great color is leather dye from Tandy. Now I'm not sure where to purchase it, but I'm sure it can be found online if I ever have the inclination to finish off all the dried gourds that I have.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Musings of a junkie ~

Welcome everyone. Thank you for dropping by. I hope all is well in your little corner of the world!

Fall has arrived in northern Ohio. The last few days haven't been too pleasant. High winds and rain (though we did need the rain) and very cool temperatures. We have gotten down in the low 40's a couple of nights. BBBRRRRR!!!! I've resisted turning the furnace on so far this fall. It seems as if I'm giving up on warm temps when I do...LOL! I must confess, though, I do have a small electric heater next to me and at night I can crank up the electric blanket. This morning I was lucky because just when it was time to get out of bed, I was having a hot flash so the house didn't feel chilly at all!

Okay. I must confess. I'm a magazine junkie ;-) I get way too many and have a hard time keeping up. These three help feed my need to create. I don't know that I've every used one of the patterns from any of these, but I do enjoy browsing through them.

I've been subscribing to Better Homes and Gardens for many, many years and it is one of my favorites. I hadn't gotten Woman's Day or Family Circle for years, but I got a subscription offer I couldn't refuse.
Just recently I let my subscription to LHJ lapse, but it was substituted for one of the magazines that is no longer being published.

My DSO passes along This Old House to me. All the others are ones I subscribe to.

I think I've been getting Country Living since 1984. I don't think it's nearly as good as it used to be, but hey, it's tradition to browse through it every month.

I do miss Country Home. I was sorry when it ceased production. Same goes for Cottage Living.

I do hope all of you have a fun-filled weekend finding time to do what is important to you.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren