Monday, May 7, 2018

...harrowing times...and a little bit of silly


Meet "Agnes"...my birthday present this year. She is circa 1840 and has the loveliest expression...not quite a smile...more a look of serenity.


I had her hanging for several weeks as purchased..she came unframed. I finally decided she deserved a little gold surrounding her pretty face. Even though it is not a period frame, I think it was needed to do her justice. She is in fine shape for all her hundred and seventy some years...very little damage. I adore her cameo and lace! 

Welcome to the House of Mugwump, dear Agnes!

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We've had a crazy ride here the last few weeks. We lost all power for a good while when our towering pine tree gobbled up our lines. All of our power lines, etc. are underground. This is the second time this has happened in the last few years so a major job is on the books to replace our old wiring. Not looking forward to no power while they tear up the yard. 

We also had a flood. I was making hotel reservations on the phone. The bathtub was left filling...someone went back to their room and got distracted...it wasn't pretty. Wood floors in adjacent bedroom and closet were involved. Just one of those days when husband arrives home to find melting down wife on her hands and knees ,using every towel in the house to wipe up water, with the contents of the closet in a pile in the bedroom, and a very remorseful child looking for a place to hide. We all survived.

I was waiting for the pestilence. Didn't take them long. Annie was hit with a wicked bug that lasted more than a week shortly after the flood. 

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Did a little stitching on "Sparrow". I had a big scare when my extremely sharp embroidery scissors somehow sliced into the linen. I don't even know how it happened, but I watched in horror as the slit grew. I remembered Marly (Samplers & Santas) had addressed a similar situation on her blog. I went to work trying to minimize the damage...pulled thread from outer edge and began to weave the threads together to close the gap. It worked. I have a not so attractive glob of thread on the linen, but when all is finished I think it will fade into the background. In all honesty, I had a wave of sheer panic when all this was going on. I considered just tossing the whole thing! Those old teacher instincts kicked in...keep calm and fix it. And that's what the old teacher did. 

Thanks, Marly, for always sharing your tips and knowledge with us out here in blogland.

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My husband's legal assistant is having surgery soon. Annie found these cuddly owls at Target so we bought one for her to send to Miss S and she kept one for herself. They text back and forth...Fudge  (Annie's owl) and  Boots (Miss S's owl) to keep spirits up. Little things give Annie such pleasure. She loves sending Miss S encouraging thoughts and lots of love...and reports about what Fudge is up to. Just a simple thing to make smiles all around.

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Yesterday, we attended a special presentation at the St. Petersburg Holocaust Museum. It included a traveling display of many of the artifacts that were pertinent to the tracking down of Adolf Eichmann and his eventual trial. The museum actually has a rail car, from Poland, that was used to transport Jews to the death camps. The displays are incredibly heart wrenching. Annie snoozed in her buggy as we entered the part of the tour that was the most difficult. How lucky she is to not know of the horrendous acts of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. 

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So...that's what is going on at our house. Fighting power, floods and pestilence...pulling a needle when I can...having fun being silly with Annie. Fixing things that I can fix. And being grateful that  all these trivial inconveniences are nothing but that...inconvenient. Hope you are all well. 


Annie and I have all sorts of things going on here in preparation for the coming summer. We'll be back soon to share. In the meantime...

Enjoy the day,
Robyn


17 comments:

  1. I adore Agnes looks like she has a secret. so sorry for all of your troubles it is always hard when they come one after another. Spring has finally found us here in NH so we are busy getting the flower beds uncovered.
    Looking forward to seeing what you and Annie have in store.
    Cathy

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    1. I'll bet that spring in New Hampshire is lovely!
      Robyn

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  2. Every time the Holocaust is mentioned I get very close to tossing my cookies. I just can't fathom what those children and families went through, and how the monsters could inflict it. Very hard to control my emotions.

    Sorry for the mishaps and house problems, they must have been more of a belch than a hiccup!

    Lovely lovely treasure of a gift and you chose the right frame. Excellent condition for a woman of her age!

    I'm glad the weaving trick worked for you, I've used it many a time.

    Tell Annie I am happy to hear she is over her illness and that Fudge is doing well too.

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    1. I share your feelings about the Holocaust. It's hard to believe that people can do such things to other people...children especially. It was a wild week of home ownership! So happy I remembered your instructions and was able to put them to use.
      Robyn

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  3. Love your sparrow stitchery. So glad you were able to fix things. I once was working on a piece, when I spilled Italian dressing all over it. I was eating my lunch at the time. It was not pretty...ended up tossing it away. Hope the flood, illness and other troubles are over for good now. Love your birthday present. If Agnes could only talk.... Janice

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    1. Holy cow...Italian dressing! Yikes! I usually am so careful...I even wash my hands before stitching. I have no idea how it happened but I'm using scissors that are a little less sharp!
      Robyn

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  4. Agnes is a wonderful addition to your family. I recently had my share of weather related devastation.

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  5. So glad you were able to save Sparrow. That has been my biggest fear to date, now that I am on the last pages. Thanks for the tip. Oh, goodness, you have been through a bunch. I wondered where you had been. I hope you have a delightful summer, and welcome home to Agnes.She looks very happy to have a home and a nice frame.

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  6. Agnes looks good hanging there. Glad you were able to fix Sparrow. Sometimes those little mishaps are what makes the item endearing, better than being all perfect, in my opinion anyway! I'm with Annie, those owls are cute!

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  7. What a fantastic birthday present, Robyn. Happy BirthdayšŸŽ. You certainly have had some character building moments lately, I’m hoping those are over for a while. The top of HEIOTS is so pretty and such an encouragement. The section you’re working on is what I have left before me. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Judy

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  8. Your life has been anything but dull!
    I adore Agnes. What a perfect birthday present.
    I enlarged His Eye and could not find your repair. Thankfully you were able to save it.
    The joys of home ownership. Sometimes condo living sounds appealing to me and then I realize I would not be happy without my yard. Glad you survived the power issue and flood, but I can understand your dread of having your yard dug up.
    Thankfully Annie is feeling better.
    Looking forward to reading of your summer adventures.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  9. Oh, and I just cannot fathom how anyone can be so cruel. People must remember the Holocaust so that history does not repeat itself.

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  10. WOW...it does come in batches... All quiet on the Wisconsin front. Busy filling orders, getting the cabin ready, taking care of dogs, and running seedlings in and out to avoid hail storms. Life is good. Love Agnes.

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  11. Sorry you've been dealing with so much recently. Things do seem to come all at once, don't they? I hope the power wire issue is resolved very quickly so you aren't without power for too long. Hang in there! Happy Mother's Day!

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  12. Agnes is beautiful ... especially for her age. What a lovely birthday gift. Hopeful that your trials and tribulations are in the past for a long time to come. Poor Annie, how well do I know that to comfort these special angels is not always an easy task. I have had to reiterate, "Trust in Jesus" on more than one occasion, eventuating in peace and calm. Thankful all is now in order with warm hugs to you and Annie,
    As always Peace for all, Barb and Sandy

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  13. While we were going through a devastating flood of our own you also had a flood. So many thing happening to you and your family. I hope that you get nothing but good things happening to you from now on.

    I'm so glad you could repair the linen for Your eyes on the sparrow.

    I can't understand why some people still deny that the Holocaust ever happened. How ca people be so very evil and cruel, I'll never understand.

    I'm glad Annie is feeling better. She is such a sweet heart to think of her friends like that.

    Hugs, Julia

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  14. Hi Robyn,
    Oh My, but you surely had so many trials happening at once!!! So very sorry for all the stress that you went through and am hoping that you are doing really well now and life is GOOD!!! I am so happy you could fix your stitched piece and many of us have been there with something that seems impossible to repair!! I'm sure Marly was happy to hear she could help you!! Love those sweet owls and do hope the surgery was a success and the owl was indeed a comfort!! Your new "Agnes" is so beautiful and has the sweetest expression! Looks so lovely in that place of honor!!!
    I have been absent from blog land and am trying to play "catch up" with everyone!! We sure do get busy, don't we??
    Hope you and your dear family are doing well and enjoying the week!!
    Heart Hugs to you~
    Julie

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