1980's Crochet Afghans

I promised you more vintage afghans and like it or not, more vintage afghans is what you get for Vintage Thingies Thursday this week! A promise is a promise even in the blogosphere. And Rosie keeps her promises.....well, most of them....oops!

You'll also want to visit Vintage Thingies Thursday at the host-site Colorado Lady. She keeps her promise to deliver very vintage thingies every Thursday. She has risked her life to keep vintage thingie fans fascinated with her phenomenal finds. Fantastic!

I truly have no thought as to why I am typing in tongue twisters. Terribly troublesome to type like this though.

Behold the giant black, grey and white granny square. Granny squares must be practiced. What better way to practice than to keep going and going and going until the granny square is large enough to cover a king size bed. Good gosh what was I thinking in 1981? Oddly enough, large geometric prints are now in vogue. What can I say, I was ahead of my time.....or just WEIRD!

Here is a Chevron (Zig-Zag) Afghan Pattern my mother made for me many years ago. She kept perfect count because her edges are even. Carter has claimed this one for his college apartment.

Okay you may need to squint or wear some shades to view this baby and ironically it is not a baby afghan. This is a basic Shell Pattern Afghan also made by my mother in the 1980's for my.....ummmm....eccentric taste. Yes, I picked the colors and the pattern. I see this in my future beach shack to cozy up with on cool evenings. Picture it in context. Don't judge me.

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

1980's Crochet Afghan

Happy VTT Day! I've missed posting for a couple of weeks and am glad to be among my VTT buddies once again. I can't wait to view all your beautiful vintage things later this evening. Whether you are an oldie or newbie to VTT, be sure to visit Colorado Lady. She will set you on the path to Vintage Thingies Thursday. Thank you Suzanne for your gracious hospitality. (BTW, I received my first Family Circle magazine. Thanks again.)

Also, I received some pictures from Ruby at Neither Brilliant Nor Beautiful But A Real Gem of her boys wearing the Faux Pearl necklace she won from my last giveaway. You'll definitely want to take a peek at this. Too funny!

In 1980, I was fifteen years old and a junior in Mrs. Casto's home economics class. I loved Mrs. Casto! She taught me lots of things, but especially how to crochet. A basic granny square is always a good pattern for beginners and so I ran with the design long enough to create this lovely afghan. I arranged the design on graph paper and set to work. One-hundred and twenty granny squares later, I crocheted them together and added the border. I've kept it in storage for the past 29 years and recently pulled it out to use over my living room sofa. I look at it now and can not believe I was only 15 years old when I made this. Carter and Isaac have already argued over who gets it in the end. Little do they know, I have another one tucked away. I'll show it to you next week along with two others that my mother made for me.

Crocheted folkart pieces are becoming more rare as the younger generation tends not make throws. If you have one of these beauties, hang on to it.

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

An Abnormal Thing Happened While I Was At The Greenhouse

A few weeks ago I took my mother to the local greenhouse to purchase some annuals for Mother's Day. It is the gift I always give to her. It is something she likes and can enjoy all summer. I also set all the flowers out for her. I spend the day at this task enjoying my Mother and Mother Nature. It makes for a lovely day. On this particular trip to the greenhouse, we ran into a friend who we had not seen in quite sometime. She asked me how my children were doing and wanted to know if Carter had graduated yet.

"Last year," I said.

"From where did he graduate, I don't remember?" she asked.

"CV Christian School", I replied.

"Are you still homeschooling your youngest?"

"Isaac. Yes, we just finished our fourth year of homeschooling. We love it. It allows us freedom to pursue more specific interest in certain subjects." I said intelligently.

"Really? How do your boys deal with normal people?" she asked sincerely.

I should say at this point, I was standing with my mouth agape, completely speechless. I glanced at my Mother to see if she had heard this question. As usual, she was not listening. I work in a library and get asked lots of questions. Sometimes people will say, "I know this is a stupid question but...." My response is "there are no stupid questions." Well, I have encountered one now!

How do my boys deal with "normal" people? First of all, show me a "normal" person. It was clearly not her and God knows I am not normal!

I really wanted to respond with something like this....

"Well the doctor's say there is not much chance they will ever fit in with normal people. Their reading, spelling, math and socialization genes were damaged at birth. As a parent, I can only do so much to help them become normal and medically speaking most research money goes to Cancer and Aids. The government does not seem to spend a lot of money in the "Normal" department. I understand that it is a little scary at first to talk to them since they use large words in correct context, shake your hand, look you in the eye and say excuse me, please and thank you; but after you are around them for a while, these defects become less intimidating. I am sorry that you are not able to see their underwear hanging out of their jeans and that you can see their eyes because their hair does not hang in their face like a sheep dog. I know it is disconcerting for the "normals" but please try and look passed their "abnormalities" and love them anyway. The world really needs more love and acceptance for these poor children."

But, being the "abnormal" person I am, I smiled and said, "they do fine with "normal" people. No problems in that department."

I really had to bite my tongue. I was furious and growled for three days.

Anyway, I bought some normal red geraniums and hung them on my front porch. I do not have a green thumb. As a matter of fact, my family laughs when I buy hanging baskets or flowers of any sort. They feel sorry for the poor plants knowing that have officially arrived at "plant hell" where they die a horrible thirst seeking death in the flaming heat of summer.

They usually end up not being watered because of this....

The day I hang flowers the birds get excited! Finally the woman has given us a place to nest! A pair of red house finch immediately set to work and who am I to mess with nature's perfection. I allow them build.

And then this happens! You can't pour water on this! What kind of a monster does the world think I am?

This is partially how I teach science to my abnormal children. Yes, I realize it is not the standard curriculum mandated by the State, but some days it is the best we can do.

Please excuse me now, I have an abnormal child who is cleaning and vacuuming his room. I need to keep an eye on him. He might practice his guitar for an hour without being told.

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

Guest Blog Book Review - Do Hard Things

I realize it has been nearly three weeks since I have posted, but since Memorial Day weekend, I've been busy, busy, busy. I have not forgotten you and I have some funny things to share regarding my last give away (Ruby, I got the pictures), and general life topics (I've been told my children are abnormal) happening around me. Please hang with me and I promise to be back on some type of schedule next week.

Sometimes a book comes across my path that impacts me in a huge way. The book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris is one. Because I feel so strongly regarding the topic this books covers and because I did not think I could do it justice, I invited a friend to guest blog for me. Actually, we have a common interest in this particular book and he wrote a post on his blog regarding it. I begged him to please allow me to use his post and give him all the credit. He graciously said yes. I've copied and pasted it, but you will also want to visit his blog at: http://tonyctoday.blogspot.com/

Monday, June 8, 2009
The world might make it after all...

From time to time, I do a little teenager bashing on here. Much of it can be easily justified by something stup...excuse me...ridiculous my own teenager has said or done (I can no longer use the stupid word by decree of Mrs. Tony C). Having a teenage girl coupled with an approaching terrible two's toddler gives me greater understanding of the plight of Job. As a matter of fact, there are days I'd rather sit around and scrape scabs to open wounds than listen to one more lame excuse trying to justify the funky smell emitting from a certain person's room or the lack of appropriate attire that coincides with current weather patterns. UGGGHHHH!But that's not my direction today...as a matter of fact, I'm going a completely different way...hopefully for good.

While on vacation last week, I managed to get in some long overdue casual reading. Oh, I read a lot daily, but keeping up with the world today requires reading or watching or listening to a plethora of daily scoop....so casual/leisure reading often takes a back seat...or would toilet seat be more accurate. I digress...One of the books I was determined to work through was Do Hard Things by Alex and Brent Harris. I had heard and read good reviews about the book and the premise that teenagers are tired of the low expectation placed on them as a group from society. Interesting....but I needed more information. Wow! Starting with the Forward by none other than Chuck Norris, this book grabbed and convicted me. The book is not complex, yet it challenges the core belief in most adults today that teenagers are a lazy bunch looking for the path of least resistance in life. You find yourself quickly on the battlefields of WW II where the fate of the world often was in the hands of 17 or 18 years old on both sides of the fight. There are examples from Biblical times up to present day of teenagers making major impact in the world. Also, Do Hard Things is a book on faith. The authors proudly testify about the impact Christ has made in their own lives. The book won't keep your teenagers out of trouble. Instead, it challenges both them and you to put God at the center and strive to achieve your fullest potential by...well...doing hard things.

I've got to admit, the book has had a profound impact on the way I view and deal with my own teenager. Even though I hold her to high expectations (or so I thought), I still place limits on her ability to make a major impact for God and for herself in the world....and it's not just her. Working with youth at church can often be frustrating and painful, but now I see that I create a lot of the negative feelings I have because my own actions and words project low expectations from the get-go. Read this book. If you have children, work with youth or if you've ever been a teenager...read this book! I'm very glad it was suggested to me (thanks Rosie), and I did. Be warned that your toes might get stepped on like mine did...but in the end...it's well worth the self-reflection and renewed faith that everything will be okay when the kids of today get their chance to run things. We should expect that from them.