Harry Truman's advice to parents

From At Knits End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Harry Truman said, "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

"I have three daughters," he said, "and they all knit. The youngest knits with persistence; the middle one with a passion; and my eldest, now a teenager, wouldn't be caught dead with the needles in her hands. At first I thought it was because knitting wasn't 'hip enough' for her; then I thought she was worried about what her friends would think. Finally, I realized that she doesn't knit . . . because I do.

"I will remember that kids need to rebel to establish their own personalities, and that her rejection of knitting is nothing perosnal. I will also try not to rub it in she takes it back up in her twenties."

And that's my contribution to humor for today. Enjoy!

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

At Knit's End

Long ago I taught myself to knit a baby blanket for my first child.  I finished it when I brought the second daughter home from the hospital.  It was a  soft green and a little misshapen, but I finished it.  My knitting was tight.  Corrie's was fluffy as marshmallows.  She was an accomplished pianist.  Nimble fingers make a difference.  I have not knit since.  I did crochet a drawer full of hot pads.

At a book sale, I came across At Knit's End MEDITATIONS for WOMEN who KNIT TOO MUCH by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  It's just right for a quick read and laugh.  I love her sense of humor.
Checkout her website: www.yarnharlot.com

 Each page starts with a quote.

p.82
I have long been of the opinion that if work 
were such a splendid thing the rich would have
kept more of it for themselves.
                 Bruce Grocott

p.234
Opinion is that exercise of the human
will which helps us to make a decision
without information.
                  John Erskine

p.318
Mi taku oyasin. (We are related.)
                   Lakota Saying

I'm of the opinion that if post-menopausal women were the soldiers, there would be no more war.  They'd be too busy sharing knitting techniques and recipes.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Fresh Fish and a Tea Cozy

I love hot Earl Grey with fresh homemade Irish soda bread Southwestern style. Walnuts and japlaenos added. The recipe is from "Jump Up and Kiss Me" spicy Vegetarian Cooking by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. From her I learned to add cayenne and cinnamon to my chocolate Texas sheetcake.

Hand washing my tea cozy I remembered a faraway friend. My pale blue and white striped cozy was handmade for my navy teapot with a hole for the handle and one for the spout. A white and a pale blue puff ball are attached to the top. Crocheted or knitted? I can't tell. I started knitting a blanket before Krysia was born and finished it three years later when I brought Corrie home from the hospital. I knit too tight. Corrie's nimble piano fingers make her knitting look like marshamllows, gorgeous.

While in London I purused Harrod's, if we haven't got it, you probably don't need it department store. Yes, they have a dress code. A shopper in torn geans and flip flops might be turned away, even though Harrod's might sell the items at the store. People dress up to shop.

I had worked my way through the thousand thread count bed linens to the foods. At the seafood department I was stunned to see a fresh fish display of arranged rows of hand-sized fish in a sunburst pattern on an upright 5'x5' panel with cold water tumbling over all. Overhead lights made tiny rainbows. Admirers of all ages paused, nodded to each other and shook their heads in amazement. The display is changed weekly.

The best part of travel is meeting people. Mae was from Dublin, Ireland, the place of brightly painted doors. She had come to London to shop. We metat the fish display. A world traveler, she had been to the States four times, to the European continent eleven, Russia four, Australia six, to five African nations, and two South American countries to name a few. Her favorite place? Home. We exchanged addresses.

Months later a package arrived from Ireland. Mae made and sent a tea cozy. Every time I use it, I think of her. Here's to you Mae, my far away yet close in heart friend. May we meet again, on this side or the next.

2009 Red Convertible Travel Series