Anybody remember ...

my ball of string?? I started saving the string off every bag of feed we opened starting back in 1989, well, it was probably 1990 before we actually got chickens, and the pretty black sheep Poppy brought home for me to love and care for...

The ball has grown so big I can hardly hold it, making the string hard to wrap.

My neighbor gave me a large mouth jar to keep it from rolling away. :)   "important stuff"...

I finally got around to making myself an apron. It's a cross-back and made from Holly Hobbie fabric...

and the back...

Since I've enjoyed wearing my long pantaloons lately, I figured a tee shirt, and apron would do the outfit up right. Believe it or not, these pantaloons I make with the wide legs and elastic waist are much cooler to wear than jeans in this extremely hot weather. 

and, if you're wondering where the Holly Hobbie fabric came from, well, Cousin Patty! She had yards and yards stored away. I was tickled to death to get it. I've made bags, ladies' aprons, and girl's aprons and now one for myself. Thank you, Patty.

and do you remember this...

The date on this pattern is 1973 and I found it in a thrift store a few years back. One of these days I might try and make the doll. My oldest daughter Lynn was 10 years old in 1973. Gosh! How time flies. Back then the little girls loved Holly Hobbie and now I love her. :)

Okay, more important stuff to show you...

Have you ever seen a prettier ear of corn!! (I'm kidding). This grew on a stalk of my beautiful Hickory Cane Corn! I'm just so tickled. And, it's just like Rose said...the shucks are so tightly wrapped at the top no bugs or worms can damage the corn. Hickory Cane Corn was grown for animal feed and for cornmeal, grits, etc. but can be roasted and eaten while tender and young. :)  Thank you, Rose.

I made a little video of my beautiful Hickory Cane Corn blowing in the breeze yesterday. I love the sounds too but didn't mean to go a little over one minute. If I sound proud, well, I've never been able to grow corn. Just think of all the decorating I can do with these stalks this fall!! :)

Well, once again I have talked your ears off and gone on and on about stuff. Thank you if you are still here.

This little green frog was about to move in with us, so we sat him in the birdbath just outside the front door...

Love, Henny   

"Even the best laid plans

of mice and men often go awry". :)

Yes, they do! My intentions were to post once a week.  Anyhow, busy this morning with my usual jobs, the words, "even the best laid plans", kept going through my mind. Where did this come from? So, I Googled it. Awww, the poem, "To a Mouse", by Robert Burns. I sat and read the poem. 

Oh my, now I could get into some mouse stories. I've done a couple posts way back about tiny mice and my struggle to save their tiny lives. 

image borrowed from the computer

 

Maybe later. :) Friends, I am not believing, (forgive me for bragging) how pretty the teeny tiny garden is. Thank you Rose for your suggesting the old timey corn...the corn stalks are tall, some already 10' and still growing...

It's so much fun to watch everything grow and thrive. Last year the bell peppers and eggplants and even the tomatoes were such a disappointment. This year everything is doing well, and the one squash plant...

Well, you can see Poppy's arm, how small it appears compared to the plant. So far, we've gathered 22 squashes, there are 5 more almost ready to pick, and still many tiny ones coming on...one squash plant!!

Back to the corn, we found a tiny ear of corn coming on. Hickory Cane Corn grows only 2 ears per stalk...

How cute! Pink tassels for hair and see the huge cornfield bean vines winding up the huge stalks...so exciting!

And look what I found in the shade beneath the corn, a kitty cat...

 The next prettiest thing growing in the garden is the one Cone Flower...

All these blooms are from one single plant. I've never had any luck growing Cone Flowers so next year I just may have a row of just flowers. Wouldn't that be fun, and pretty!

Speaking of fun, Shelby and I were vendors at the Bee Jubilee in Oxford last Saturday. Fun, but a very hot humid 95-degree day. I was too busy fanning myself to take pictures. :)  Thank goodness for the cooler full of crushed ice, drinks, and battery-operated fans. The day went well. lots of customers, lots of sells. 

I do have an apron picture to show you. I've decided this is my favorite of all apron patterns. It's a little harder to make but worth the work...

I love the heart shaped bib, skirt, and pocket, and here's a blue print...

and matching bonnets...

The chicken print sold fast, as usual. I came home ready to start sewing again. 

Oh my gosh, I have talked your ears off again. So I will end this bragging and showing off pictures, but can I show you one more?

Little Violet got a new pocketbook to carry her important stuff in...

One year old and putting a cell phone in her bag. :) 

Thank you for visiting. Hope I haven't driven you all away. 

Love, Henny