Happy Birthday, Nancy Drew!

My understanding is that today is Nancy Drew's 84th Birthday. She has been a friend of mine for quite a few years.  Nancy, Bess, George, kindly Hannah Gruen and Carson Drew all kept me and countless other young ladies company with wonderful mysteries that always ended well. Nancy and her entourage were the creation of Edward Stratemeyer--he had previously established the Hardy Boys mystery series. Given their success, he pursued a similar series for girls. Stratemeyer employed a series of "ghost writers" to develop the stories.  The first of these to write under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene was Mildred Wirt. 

 Within the original series, Nancy's look has changed quite a bit. I am no expert on Nancy, but I read that in 1959, the stories underwent revisions to make Nancy a little more modern. She became a bit more feminine and a little less assertive, but by no means did she change into a helpless wallflower. Another key feature of the revisions was the removal of "racial stereotypes." A few years ago, the original Nancy Drew stories were released, and they did seem a bit awkward to this reader. I grew up with the Nancy you see on the covers above.

Sweet Thoughts

Our daughter has displayed remarkable self-discipline in losing a few pounds to fit into her Spring Formal dress. She was and is absolutely lovely. (I will post some pictures ASAP)  Now, she is enjoying indulging in some sweet treats she has passed up the last few weeks. She has especially missed the sweet tea we have at supper every night. I will have a big glass for her at the table tonight.

Here is the Answer to Laundry Fatigue

Hmm . . . Classic television comes through for me once again.  As many of you know, laundry never gets caught up!  If we wash everything we own, before it is all put away, another 15  new loads are ready for the washer!  If I could put hubby, pets and children in the Lost In Space freezing tubes, I could get caught up once and for all. When the last pair of socks is matched and put in the drawer, then I could defrost the family.  I bet June Robinson figured this one out, too. 

Here We GO!

At last, I have all the Lion's Brand Heartland colors. Each color commemorates a National Park. I have been gathering these colors for some time. Every time I thought I had them all, I would discover there was still a missing member of the color family. This collection includes some new colors. Virginia is starting the foundation row for me--we are doubling the pattern length as it is written in the Vanna White pattern book. It should be wide and long enough to make a nice coverlet for DS 1's bed. His birthday is in later May, but I don't think I will get it done--maybe for Christmas.

Floss Storage

Years ago, I used this little bag system to keep the floss organized. I went back to it for this project, and I can tell a difference already. This provides an easy way of keeping your stray strands. I like the little floss holder boxes, too, but they are sometimes difficult to keep in order. How do you organize your crafting materials?

WIP

I am not moving very fast, but I am moving along steadily.  The colors are just wonderful, and I are easy for me to work with. 

He is Not There!