Dawn Brocco's Life & Design Blog

Hi Anne etal,
I knew I didn't have sea biscuit spelled right! And I tried twice. I used to be an excellent speller. What happened?

Oh, yeah. Chemo happened. And menopause happened.

There goes the brain. flitting away on butterfly wings, bit by bit!

Yes, I'm afraid we humans don't learn unless we go through those fires. I've been through a few, and gained that self-knowledge, which I am grateful for, despite the pain of it all. But, I too, would have preferred not to have gone through it.

I am comfortably ensconced within myself and wouldn't want to be anyone else, as we should ALL feel about ourselves (though I wouldn't object to having a more bodacious body, so I could be chased around the house more!)

I think the closest I can hope for is a beautiful head of hair. This new hair is SO soft and SO wavy. Can't wait for it to grow more, then find a beautiful strawberry blonde shade and make it mine! In the meantime, it's getting babied with organic pure olive oil soap.

I have this tendency to not be the gentlest with things like dishes and glassware. I also tend to close cupboards and doors with a bit more oomph than hubby prefers!

I insist that these things should be sturdy enough to withstand a little oomph. Of course, these days, many things are NOT made well enough for oomph.

Like Corelle.

Durable, "Virtually Unbreakable", says Target's listing of a Corelle set of dishes. Ha!

The key word is "virtually". I've broken plenty. We have 2 plates left out of a set. Bowls long gone. Cups long gone. Just 2 plates left.

I have a part set of red and white Homer Laughlin dishes and bowls, bought at a yard sale when we first moved here - now all chipped, some cracked.

We learned long ago that we can't just buy any pretty set of glasses, either. I have some, but I save them for company. That's the only way they'll last.

Arcoroc, or other tempered glass glassware, is all that should cross our threshold and enter our cupboards.

So, when the other day I went and chipped one of the last 2 Arcoroc tumblers, I went Googling for new glassware.

And discovered Picardie! In a nice, iced tea size - 12.75 ozs.

I should have bought them at Worldmarket when I first saw them there, as they are now OOS. But I also found them at Design Within Reach. The original version, from 1936, not the new style version, which doesn't have the same nice design balance as the vintage ones.

But, we'll see how long they last around me!

PS
If they ever get to me. They were *supposed to be* in stock, but, apparently aren't, so I cancelled the order, as if I want to wait on stock, I'll order them from Worldmarket, where they're cheaper!

I've begun the next Fana design, and remembered to use the Denise ndl set that was kindly sent to me by the daughter of the owner. If you recall, I tried their size 7's on the blue and white Fana, but as the size 7 tips were close to the cord thickness, I had a difficult time getting the millspun wool sts to move along the cord.

But as this Fana is in Peace Fleece, I'm using size 8's. Well, actually, a size 8 tip on the right-hand side and a size 5 tip on the left-hand side of the cord.

This seems to be working much better than the size 7, and my fingertips don't feel poked to death. And, of course the plastic is warmer in my hands, which, with the Reynaud's still going strong, is a very good thing - I hear Martha Stewart's voice as I write that!

One of these days, I want to try a variety of their ndl tips with a wider variety of yarns, both wool and non wool and write a proper review. I'll get to it. Maybe as I try and knit up some caps and mittens for the kids in an orphanage in Romania. Densie has 2nds, too - $10 off their regular sets.

I almost had it. A picture of the tiniest frog/toad we've ever seen. Sitting on the railing on our back porch, last night. Went to get the camera and poof. Off he/she went, probably into the nearby jasmine bush.

It was as small as these. But much paler in color, like that whitish frog I posted about here.

This must be the Year of The Frog!

As long as it doesn't include frog-ging. We knitters aren't fond of frog-ging!

Labels: Denise ndls, Fana, frogs, Picardie