Leaves on this Family Tree

Withering Away

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Baby O'Donnell

Waiting on "The Derby" to start. No, I do not have a mint julep and no need for hat . . my hair is wet form my shower.

Sure wish they would demand that the people who sing the national Anthem just sing it . . no individuality . . just plain old sing the song. I know each and every singer thinks their rendition sounds good, but they make me cringe. Shoot . . . they aren't the star of the event, they are just "part of the warm u ceremony."

Don't think I have made a post for a while . . I honestly can't remember. Seems like I have been busy crocheting but all I have to show for it are butterflies.

Our neighbors, from across the street, and their 2 year  old came over to visit this morning while the husband was planting geraniums in the "grave yard." It was fun . . . we wave at each other all winter and then in the spring we all come out of our "cocoons" and actually see each other.

From my place in the living room, I can see when Momma and Little Man go anywhere. Some people might think that is being nosey. Well, I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone watched out for each other. As a matter of fact, the last "parent" from the neighborhood died this past winter. That's sad . . .no longer will I hear the words, "Hi, neighbor" the way the adults always shouted it to each other from their back doors or open summer windows.

As the title of Hillery Clinton's book read, "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child."  We had a neighborhood that raised the children. Besides being at Fonda Jo's playing, my next favorite places were sitting with Mary Packard on her porch swing or, if she wasn't there, I would go next door to her house and sit with Mrs. Larrison on her porch swing. I just loved swinging with these women . . . that is one thing I missed in the neighborhoods I have lived in . . . older neighbors for the young ones to hang out with. I was pretty lucky, normally I had Grandma on the porch swinging with me.

In one neighborhood, I had a great front porch and swing. Joey, a little girl who lived three houses to the east, would come down and swing by the hour with me. Her mama always told me to ship her home, but I enjoyed it. She reminded me of me when I was little.

Now, to the title of the post . . . Baby O'Donnell.

When the neighbors went back home, this morning, I decided I better get their baby mobile finished while I was thinking about it. Well, the husband had other ideas . . "Plant the porch pots, Paula!"  LOLOL

So, I spent an hour or so planting . . . I sure don't whip along fast at anything anymore . . . then watered everything in.

This afternoon was spent putting the mobile together and hanging the butterflies. Well, truth be told, I had all of the butterflies  attached, one on either end of fishing line, and by the time I got outside the lies were all intertwined and I messed with trying to untangle them. Ended up taking the butterflies off and tying them with the line . . . worked great.

Here is the final result . . . well, I need 8mmore butterflies, but you get my drift.

This time I used a straw wreath. I left the wrapping on it so it wouldn't make a mess / shed straw on the baby. It was so much easier than the wire wreath . . . no messing with wires to tie on the garland . . just floral pins.

Can't wait to give it to them. But, they are in the middle of a MAJOR remodel, combining their living room, dining room and a small bedroom into one large room. Then, they will repaint then
they will repaint the nursery and move Little Man into the bigger room. When he gets moved, I'll take the mobile over for them to hang.

The pattern can  be found here.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, I LOVE the hanging plant with butterflies Paula! Beautiful, and such a sweet gesture! God bless you; your neighbor-friends will LOVE it too, I'm sure! Honestly, I think it's so very sad how un-neighborly people are becoming. I remember neighborhood parties and cookouts, and now they hardly look at eachother anymore.. WHY?! It's a shame, I think. How hard is it to smile, wave, say "Good Morning!", or "Hi, how are ya?!"... Oh well, I did catch the Kentucky Derby last night, and while I didn't necessarily have one horse picked out to win myself, I thought it was a VERY EXCITING two minutes!! LOVED seeing I'll Have Another catch up and win the way he did! Love his name too. I'll always have another cookie too, if there's more on the plate! They definitely call to me! (0; Hope you're enjoying your weekend! ~tina

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  2. Oh so darling!!!!! Seriously, that is so cute.

    I grew up on a farm and so it was about a mile walk to a neighbor's and, unfortunately, none of them had little girls even close to my age. We did have an elderly couple that lived through the field from us and we called them Grandma and Grandpa Unsworth. They weren't really our grandparents but they treated us like we were their grandkids. They always had cookies ready for us and we loved them. Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold, aren't they?

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