I'm in heaven

I got a lovely thing in the mail yesterday.

I know you all remember Angela's Traveling Book Adventure, a generous book sharing done by Fox. You sign up for the book, and get a month with it, then send it on to the next person on the list. I'm on the list, but it not my turn yet. Martha Ess has her own version of this book sharing, known as Mary's Traveling Book. And oh, what a treasure it is. This month is my turn with this book.

OMG OMG OMG. I'm so happy. I have the other 3 Mary Konior tatting books, but not this one. Tatting in Lace. It's like gold in my hands. For those non-tatters, Mary Konior was a gifted, prolific, and very creative tatter.

Mary seems to have had a wry wit too - in this book, she quotes Ben Johnson when he says. "Next to mere idleness I think knotting [tatting] is to be reckoning in the scale of insignificance; though I once attempted to learn knotting. Dempster's sister attempted to teach me it, but I made no progress." To which Mary remarks dryly, "Presumably he couldn't manage 'the Transfer'" (what we refer to as 'the flip'). Heh.

I was also interested to see that she teaches tatting in the same way I do - by teaching a chain first, using two colors of thread. I teach by taking 2 colors of largish thread (size 10 or bigger), knotting the ends together, and starting on chains. That way it is very easy to see 'the flip'.

I have to say, the book is in utterly pristine condition. This is the hardest to find and most expensive of Mary's books. Martha, you are very trusting and O so generous. Thank you! It will be hard to pass along....

In other news, I've been very busy this week with Curly. Though he's doing so much better, he's having to answer for some very bad deeds that he was arrested for a year ago. He's got a worthless court appointed attorney who won't communicate with him, and is not even looking at the charges properly. Ugh. Curly has a court date this Wednesday, and I'm getting another attorney to represent him for this one occasion only. I hope we can get things settled at that point.

But it's spring here! We've had warm days and lots of blossoms. There are banks of Bradford pears blooming everywhere.

Like in my neighborhood. Several of my neighbors have lost Bradford pears in the past year, due to the trees splitting. I like to see these trees, but I won't have one in my yard.

I do love forsythia. Growing up, we had a hedge of it. It's so cheerful.

I don't know what this shrub is, but it's pretty. It's nice with the yellow-tipped hedge behind it.

These pretty flowers are in front of an assisted living home near my home.

And lastly, for those who need a Vader fix...

He has a new bed in front of the fireplace. And he likes it.