Happenstance

Yesterday was a wasted day. My sister and I opened a box containing all the materials needed for making two potato baskets. We had the instructions for making said basket having made some years ago. However, the hoops I ordered for these for today were 20 inch ovals and not 10 inch rounds which the directions were written for. But in my usual fashion, I thought we could still make them so after a day of weaving and taking out weaving and trying to change the formula for cutting ribs we simple said "it ain't gonna work" and dropped it all. She had wanted to make them so much and that is why I had ordered the materials in the first place.

After sleeping on it last night, I remembered I had one egg basket which I had started years ago and for some reason had abandoned it along with all of the materials for finishing it. So, I thought she might want to finish it. But our day got side tracked with us trying to find some Stuart Nye jewelry online. I simply could not get the site to accept the information we had to put in. Another road block in our search for something she wanted. She was not feeling well, so I thought I would just finish this other basket for her and mail it to her when she got back home in Ohio.

I had to give it a test run so I soaked the part of the basket I would be working on, the part called the "ear", in some warm water and also the weavers I would be using. At first it was a bit tight, but I kept at it and used a small screw driver in place of an awl used it to make it extra tight as I went along. Pretty soon I had gone down six rows of weaving and it was looking pretty good. I switched to the other side and did six rows and then I knew it was a keeper ! I may not finish it before she leaves but it has really sparked an interest I have always had in baskets and I find myself thinking about what I might make next.

In the afternoon, my sister wanted to look at some old family pictures so we went up
onto the balcony room and I found a large cloth tote filled with old pictures. We had a great time looking at old family photos. I reached for one zip lock bag to see what was in it and I was so surprised to find a lot of letters written to me by my husband way back in 1948 before we were married. I did not even know that I had those letters. It was the summer before we went back to school in Richmond,Ky. We both had one quarter to finish to graduate. I read a few of them and not wanting to keep my sister from viewing the other pictures I put them away and I will return to them at my leisure.

When I get up each day it is like a whole new adventure for me. I never know where it will lead me.When I greeted this day I certainly did not know it would take me into the past, for an unfinished basket or for some long lost letters.