Chair Repair

A few years ago I found these two country French style chairs in a local shop.

They sit at a small table in my kitchen and have been used hardily.

This is where most meals are eaten and where

 morning coffee & papers are consumed.

I sit here to knit, work crossword puzzles and read.

Sadly, one is ready to retire.

But I love the chairs and am not ready to replace them.

I have re caned chairs in the past and felt sure I could repair the chair.

However, after inspecting the chair

I discovered the bottom, decorative piece of wood is attached

directly over the holes for caning.

Impossible to re cane!!!

I took the chair to my Dad,

who, by the way, can fix anything.

I thought perhaps he could take the chair apart,

I could re cane the seat,

he could reassemble it.

No.  He was having none of it.

Next I took it to a local furniture repairman.

No.  He was having none of it either.

Time for me to get creative...

...or make a last ditch effort to save my chair.

First I cut away the old cane.

Underneath the cane was some twine...

...which was also removed.

Next, painting the edge with the drilled holes.

I wanted to camouflage my next step as much as possible.

Other than the paint, these were the other two items purchased for my repairs.

My plan was to create a basket weave seat with

black webbing.

Because of the holes drilled for the previous caning

I had only a small lip on which to tack the webbing.

Not a totally elegant repair to my chair,

but at least I'll still get a bit more use from it.

I've added some cushions to the chair bottoms,

to hide the repair.

Of course, the new cushions necessitated a new tablecloth,

which I'll tell you about at another time.

This week I'm sharing with

Wow Us Wednesdays  at Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Buddha in the Attic

BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC by Julie Otsuka

is not a novel in the traditional sense.

It is written in such an elegant, sparse style of prose,

this book almost seems like poetry.

The story begins with a group of young Japanese women

traveling from their homeland to San Francisco,

nearly a hundred years ago to marry, sight unseen,

Japanese men waiting for them.

There is no "main character" here,

but rather a chorus of narrators who share

their "lists of experiences" from their arrival,

meetings and marriages,

jobs, ranging from farm laborers, to business owners,

births and raising of children,

to assimilation into American life,

usually as outsiders.

Their experiences continue to the beginning of the

second World War and

the passing of anti-Japanese laws,

concluding with their forced removal to 

internment camps. 

With broad stokes, and very little detail,

Otsuka totally conveys their heartbreaking stories.

View from my Window

Even in the rain, it's lovely!

Don't forget MAD MEN

returns tonight!!!

I just read a review in this morning's paper

of the opening episode and it got raves!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

"These intense peanut butter cookies are the best we've ever had."

That's pretty high praise, particularly considering the source.

It's what GOURMET MAGAZINE, (sadly now defunct)

said when they published this recipe in 1999.

The interesting thing about these cookies is that they contain no flour

and have only four ingredients! 

Could it get any simplier?

1 c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

1 c. sugar

1 large egg

1 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking sheets.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together peanut butter

and sugar until well combined.

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg and beat it into

the peanut butter mixture with the baking soda

until well combined.

Roll level teaspoons of dough into balls and arrange about

one inch apart on baking sheets. 

With tines of a fork flatten balls to about

1 1/2 inches in diameter,

making a crosshatch pattern.

(Note--I skipped this step for the cookies pictured

and just dropped teaspoons of dough on the

cookie sheet and flattened with a fork.

I've done it both ways and rolling the dough into balls first

makes a prettier cookie.)

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven

until puffed and pale golden, about 10 minutes.

Cool cookies on baking sheets 2 minutes

and transfer with metal spatula to racks

to cool completely.

Cookies may be kept in an airtight container

at room temperature 5 days.

(GOURMET said this recipe makes about 70 cookies,

but I've never gotten more than 40.)

This week I'm sharing at

What's Cookin' in the Cottage Kitchen at Etsy Cottage Style

Tasty Tuesdays at 33 Shades of Green

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee

I've just added a brand new colorway to my FUSION Yarns,

inspired by and named, "Blue Ridge Mountains".

It's colors range from deep forest greens,

to cobalt blue with touches of khaki and gold.

As with all my Fusion Yarn, there's also a

bit of eyelash for more texture and

metallic gold for a little glitz.

It knits up beautifully and I've just finished, and listed

a new scarf...

...and hat.

Unsure of what you could do with FUSION?

With every purchase of a skein,

I'll also send you a free pattern of my

Slouchy Hat, like the one you see above.

It looks as though we're going to have a gorgeous weekend

here in East Tennessee.

Hope yours is nice as well.

Don't forget the time change on Sunday morning.

Happy Birthday, Darling Girl!

Can it be?

Is it your birthday?

Again...already???

I remember as though it were yesterday...

Your Dad and I received the call from the adoption agency.

After five long years of waiting for you,

 finally, you were waiting for us.

I cannot describe the total giddiness that call caused.

We had been watching our progress on the "list" and

fully expected one more year of waiting.

Then, out of the blue (heaven???) there you were!

And now, after what seems a long/fast road,

you're all grown up.

Your imagination was always obvious.

Your smile could always melt my heart.

Your talent was/is abundant.

Humor me and let me share one of my favorite pictures of you!

(By the way, I couldn't find a picture of you at the piano.

Remember the year you took violin, flute AND piano lessons,

...every week?

I love holiday time with you!

And vacation times!

Oh, the places we've been!

But most of all,

I love you!

Happiest of days, darling Kate.

You are the sunshine of my life.

Three Glorious Days in the Mountains!

I've just retuned from my knitting group's annual retreat.

We spent the past three nights at the same "cabin" we had last year

in the mountains of Tennessee.



Step inside and I'll give you a glimpse of how we spent our time.

Of course, knitting (and weaving) weren't our only occupations.

We enjoyed the view,

as well as some glorious spring weather.

Our retreat was filled with inspiration.

We all ate too much, talked too much,

(DOWNTON ABBEY was thoroughly discussed,

as well as re watched).

Once again, the retreat can be declared a total success

and I for one, am looking forward to next year!