A Nous Les Petites Suitcases

Slightly larger than the one I took to Ireland, but I'm packing for eighteen days instead of ten. 

English As She Is Spoke

The Scholar, by John Henry Dolph

What would we do without the OED?

But The Snakes Get All The Press

Amazing the things I learn on social media - yesterday was also the Feast of St Gertrude (patron saint of cats).

Grrrsday

Vintage Holidays - St Patrick's Day

image from the Graphics Fairy.

Caturday!

Read also:  The Cat Man of Aleppo.

There's Stupid, And There's Weapons-Grade Stupid

Mayor resigns after calling elderly black people "antique farm equipment."

Quote Of The Day

LL Bean knit pants, purchased for the cruise. Not shown: two new sweaters, new bathrobe, new chambray shirt, new leggings.  I decided not to buy any new shoes.

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes ~ Henry David Thoreau

Grrrsday

And in other news, Little Man discovered his bark - big and ferocious - last night when an intruder came up the back steps.

The intruder was me coming home from obedience class with Batdog, but hey...it counts.

Aunt Martha's Workbasket, October 1937

Lots of crochet projects; a man's tie, woman's ascot, and potholders in the shape of a turnip and carrot.  The cover outfit is knitted, and there's a pretty but tricky-looking quilt pattern on p4 called Springtime Blossoms that looks like a variation of the classic Dogwood pattern.  The pdf is available as a free download at the Antique Pattern Library site.

As a side note, I should apologize for the sporadic postings of the past few weeks but as Paris gets closer, it's just going to get worse. 

To recap - Youngest Sister and I are taking a river cruise from Paris to Normandy and back to Paris, where we will be joined by Oldest Sister and Oldest Sister's Oldest Daughter* and Youngest Sister's Oldest Friend.  After four days whooping it up in the City of Lights, YSOF is returning to her home in London, YS, OS, OSOD and I will be heading for Haguenau for a week and then back to Paris where YS and I will fly home and OS and OSOD will travel on to Brussels. 

There's a good chance that we have driven our poor travel agent to drink.   

(*technically, she's Oldest Sister's Only Daughter, but...details).

Oscar Wilde Was Wrong

Vintage seed packages from Dover

It is a seed catalog order, rather than marriage, that is the triumph of hope over experience.

Caturday!

Thirty Days and a Wake-Up

Quote Of The Day

She had known, really, that somewhere there had to be such a house.  A house that smelled of vanilla and cinnamon and fresh-baked bread.  A house with embroidered cushions tied to each carved pine chair and a canary as yellow as butter that sang and sang and sang.  She had known too that such a house would have a cat with whiskers like cello strings which jumped on to your knee the moment you sat down... ~ Eva Ibbotson

Tatting - A Booklet from Cartier-Bresson

Second edition but no year given, at least that I can find - I'll take a shot that it's no later than the 20's.  

66 pages (in French), available as a free download from the Antique Pattern Library.

Vintage Holidays - Presidents' Day

Copyright-free image from Dover.

Caturday!

On Our County EMA's FB Page This Morning

O tempora! Part II

You really start feeling old when the sergeant issuing you your retiree ID card looks about sixteen. 

Grrrsday