Hubby and I will be heading down to my folks in Dartmouth, MA for the holiday. Traditionally we eat at 11 am and by 12 pm, the dishes are cleaned and put away. (No joke!) This year my step-dad is working so we’ll eat at 4:30 pm and have the dishes cleaned and put away by 5:30 pm. Gotta LOVE family!!!

It seems this blog is turning into a crochet blog. Sorry about that! It’s just what’s been occupying my time but I have to show off my latest project: a baby blanket with an applique designed and stitched by moi. (Thank you very much!!!) Oh, BTW, I’m pregnant, that’s why I made this. Yup, due at the end of December.

This is a "Pound of Love" project from Lion Brand Yarn.

Brown and red felt attached with "fern" stitches and a sloppy "lazy daisy stitch."

This is the last of my older crochet books.(Until I find more.) Mom gave me this one. Go Mom!

American Thread Co., circa 1965. This is so Dick Van Dyke.

Inside page:

"Dad, how long do I have to wear this?" "Humor your mother, son."

Growing up in Dartmouth, MA meant growing up in Bristol County, 691 square miles of Boston and Providence suburban communities. Counties don’t really mean much to the average Massachusetts citizen like it does down south where counties run the police department. Bristol County encompasses two of the larger cities in the state, Fall River, known for Lizzie Borden and Battleship Cove, and New Bedford, famous for Moby Dick and gang rapes.

My County

I suppose I’m being too harsh on the Whaling City. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard NB politicians and business leaders say that NB is on the verge of revitalization and it NEVER happens. There is a crime problem in the city that doesn’t seem to get any better. On the street where I lived for two years (just one short block from the juvenile court near the downtown) a body was found one winter morning. A junkie overdosed and wandered into a neighbor’s lawn. The house next door was a drug house. I’ll give the junkies credit, they kept a low profile to avoid trouble from the neighbors (pity about the overdose, though.) It was disturbing to watch young boys bicycle up to the door, disappear for a few minutes inside, and then pedal away to deliver their illegal wares. The landlord lived in South Dartmouth, so he didn’t care what happened as long as he got the rent.

I write all this because of something Howie Carr wrote about Bristol County:

Now [Governor] Deval bids to expand the Cash for Clunkers program to include bust-out law schools in Bristol County. Now, Bristol County is a very nice place – if it had palm trees it could be a Third World country.

When it comes to economic development and crime, I couldn’t agree more.

O.K., so it’s not a crochet book. It’s all knitting but I couldn’t pass up. I don’t know how to knit but flipping through these pages makes me want to try.

Emile Bernat & Sons Co., 1958

Inside Pages:

"I just LOVE Fabian!"

Someday we'll be portrayed on "Mad Men."

Fraulein Maria

 I had to put my darling girl to sleep. Maria was a sweet 14 year old cat who suffered during the last few months. I know it was the humane thing to do but it doesn’t make it hurt less.

The Spool Cotton Company, 1944

An inside page:

Love the matching apron and tea cozy.

It’s quite riveting…someone has put together a 3-D video of Flight 1549 from takeoff to landing in the Hudson River. It includes radio communications between the captain and LaGuardia plus the transcript of words spoken between the flight staff.

H/T: Wired.com