Monthly Archives: October 2019

new old things

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It started with a vintage sampler in a crumbling frame at an estate sale of what I felt was a very sad house.

The sampler was pretty but the lady who had stitched it had not framed it right. It was also stained under the frame. I started by removing the frame. Underneath, the masking tape to keep the fringes from unraveling while stitching had never been removed. When I removed it, the sampler was sticky.

So I soaked the sampler in Restoration fabric restorer for 24 hours. It came completely clean and the sticky residue was gone!

I blocked and air dried and then ironed the sampler and gave it a bit of starch. I did not iron directly on the embroidered sampler, I put a clean towel on top of the sampler and ironed it that way.

Then I measured out an ultrasuede remnant I had and pinned out my sampler on it’s reverse. I stitched it by hand on three sides and stuffed it with a bag of poly-fil stuffing, and stitched the top closed.

I ordered some fringe trim, but the first batch wasn’t right so that will get used on another project. I have another kind of trim on the way, a close out remnant which hopefully be perfect.

This was an experiment for me because years ago I made a pillow from an embroidered sampler I had stitched and really liked it so I wanted to try it again with a vintage sampler that was lovely but I did not want to reframe it.

Now mind you, I would never do this with an antique sampler, but a found vintage sampler is a different story.

This is not a pillow that suits everyone’s taste but it’s an adaptive reuse of a vintage item that would save someone’s handiwork from ending up in the trash somewhere.

It’s really easy to put a vintage sampler pillow together because the hard part, the embroidering, has already been done for you.

I will also tell you I do love crewel and regular embroidery. I have made a few pillows in my day.

In the photo below, the top left was stitched by me when I was either 10 or 11. To the right is a pillow where I drew the design and embroidered it. The lower right is a pillow I stitched with colors I preferred versus what the old crewel kit came with. That pillow actually has an identical reverse because I found two of the same crewel embroidery kits one time at a church rummage sale and I decided to put them together.

Rainy day stitching is fun and I am glad I had time for my pillow this afternoon. Being creative is like gardening- it’s good for you! Next I will tackle a couple of vintage quilts I am restoring.

Thanks for stopping by.

dear philadelphia err filthadelphia

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Dear Philadelphia,

Appalachia or Albania or Calcutta ? Can’t decide what the look is you are going for this fall.

I have never seen the streets look so bad or full of hazards. You can be on foot or in a vehicle, it doesn’t matter.

And the city is dirty. Filthy dirty. So it doesn’t matter if you are building shiny new buildings, everywhere you look is a hot mess. Oh sure there are trash cans… but the ones I passed yesterday were full and garbage spewing over. Then there is whatever is on the ground.

And your homeless population seems to have increased. Increased enough that they are blocking the streets begging. Even a homeless man on 16th Street lying down completely on the sidewalk reading a book with people stepping over him.

I am a native Philadelphian and yesterday we had family and friends in from out of town and it was embarrassing.

The buck stops at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall on this one. Hey Jim Kenney are you blind to all of this? Do you think you could stop running for re-election long enough to take a good look at what everyone sees and experiences? It’s a little hard to experience the best Philadelphia has to offer when all she seems to offer is filth, fractured roads and sidewalks, and people in dire need of help.

pixies and elves

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Collecting Christmas….yes I know…not even Halloween but I love Christmas.

The green leaf dish was purchased at the Glenmoore Deli this summer when Smithfield Barn did a pop-up. But the pixies or elves? I hunted them down recently.

Aren’t they cute???

I already have a bunch of green ones and I have some white ones but I didn’t have any red. And I love these elves they’re only a few inches big if that and some I also have are only a couple inches big.

I stuff them into little hiding places in bookshelves, peeking out from behind lamps, scattered on tables and so on.

All of the ones I have are from the 1950s and 1960s and I just love them. You have to hunt for them though because they can be really expensive and they’re not worth over paying for in my humble opinion so I look until I find reasonably priced ones. I hadn’t found any for a couple of years until this year.

These came from sellers on Etsy. VintageCurlyGirl and StarrRoadRetro.

Collecting Christmas is fun and I love vintage decorations!

modern love

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Image result for modern love

I don’t talk about what I watch on TV much on this blog.  I like a wide range of things including what the streaming services put out. But yesterday I watched Modern Love from Amazon Prime and well…awesome, amazing, beautiful.

The genesis of Modern Love on Amazon Prime are the marvelous Modern Love columns in the New York Times.  They are among my favorite things to read.  Amazing essays. (Here is a LINK to an anthology the New York Times put out to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the column in the Times and the release of Modern Love on Amazon Prime Video.)

 

I sat and binge watched every single episode last night.  I even cried during parts of them.  This series is THAT good.

Watch it.  It’s a beautiful series.

The fact that it is a beautiful and thoughtful series based on something I have loved reading for years, makes me completely unable to understand why Shirley Li of The Atlantic is such a sour grapes bitch about the series in her article from yesterday.

The essays come to life in Modern Love are actually about real people.  People Magazine wrote about this on October 22nd.

The thing about love is that it is never perfect and always idealized, often unrealistically so.

From a female perspective, when we are little girls and even teenagers we have completely unrealistic expectations about what love actually is.  We have no clue and fall in and out of love with great regularity as we grow up. (Often in defiance of what our mothers want us to do or be.)

You learn about love as you grow up and experience it, and continue to learn about love and it’s many forms and twists and turns throughout your entire life.

Love is is exhilarating, exhausting, and even terrifying. Love is beautiful and sustaining and true and can be all-consuming.

To have love in your life is a blessing. Love takes many forms. Love is friendship and love is also romantic and love is the enveloping warmness and all consuming love and protectiveness you feel for a child. Or the unconditional love of your favorite pet.

Love is also a process.  Sometimes it’s more simplistic, other times complicated.  I think it depends on your age and stage of life and maturity as much as anything else.

I hope you give this series a chance and watch it and appreciate it for what it is on your own.  I found it lovely.

What is Modern Love?

By Daniel Jones New York Times

For 15 years, Modern Love has brought personal essays about love, loss and redemption to readers of The New York Times. Four years ago, it became a podcast. And now the column has inspired an eight-episode series on Amazon Prime Video.

#defendwhatyoulove

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Photo courtesy of West Whiteland Residents for Public Safety

Today more friends, acquaintances, and residents will be lending their voices and speaking truth to power over the scourge known as pipelines.

You see, this is day two of public hearings in West Chester that the PUC (Public Utility Commission) is holding on Mariner East. The pipelines are ruining where we call home and putting us ALL at risk.  Corporate greed putting lives at risk. We don’t benefit as residents.  We only assume risk and for what? So they can rape the land and ship dangerous things below our feet to places like Scotland that can blow us all to kingdom come, destroy our property values, pollute our drinking water wells and more?

Enough.  Enough. Enough. It’s well past time to get them out of our communities.

The Philadelphia Inquirer had the best headline in years late yesterday when they went to press with:

Shut down Mariner East before it kills us, pipeline foes implore Pennsylvania agency

by Andrew Maykuth Philadelphia Inquirer Updated: October 23, 2019- 5:43 PM

The contentious Sunoco Mariner East project once again occupied center stage in a courtroom Wednesday as 10 residents and a homeowners association from the Philadelphia suburbs implored a state agency to halt the cross-state pipeline.

….“It’s not that we’re against the pipeline, it’s that we’re for basic things that are threatened by this project, the first of which is obviously the safety of our communities,” said Eric Friedman, the head of the Andover Homeowners Association in Thornbury Township, Delaware County. He said all of the residents in the 39-home subdivision live in a potential “fatality zone” if the pipeline fails.

The Andover Homeowners Association is among several complainants whose cases are before Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes. The PUC judge in November declined a request by a group of residents known as the “Safety Seven” to grant an emergency injunction blocking construction of the project and consolidated five cases into one.

So to my Mama Bears and anti-pipeline warriors in West Chester today? Defend What You Love. Defend What We Love.

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, crowd, tree, shoes and outdoor

Photo courtesy of Just The Facts Please

Several Chester, Delaware county residents urge PUC judge to shut down Mariner East pipelines, citing fears of leak or explosion

  • Jon Hurdle State Imapct

Seven residents of Chester and Delaware counties took their long-running fight against the Mariner East pipelines to a West Chester court on Wednesday, saying the Public Utility Commission should shut down the lines on the grounds that they are a danger to public safety.

They are urging a PUC administrative law judge to halt the operation and remaining construction of Sunoco’s still-unfinished pipeline project, on the grounds that any leak or explosion of natural gas liquids from the pipelines in densely populated suburbs like the two counties could result in mass casualties.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a court order that would require Sunoco to clarify its instructions on how residents should protect themselves in the event of a pipeline accident….Lawyers for Sunoco repeatedly accused Eric Friedman, a witness for the plaintiffs, of offering expert evidence that he was not qualified to give, but Barnes overruled several of their objections.

Under questioning from the plaintiffs’ attorney, Michael Bomstein, Friedman said a consultant’s projection on the impact of an explosion of NGLs showed that there would be fatalities within a radius of 800 feet…..Dr. Emilie Lonardi, superintendent of the 13,000-student Downingtown School District, told the court that five of her schools are between 300 and 1,425 feet of the pipeline route, and that despite many attempts to get detailed evacuation information from Sunoco, she remains worried about whether her students would be safe in a pipeline emergency.

She said she’s unable to assure parents at one elementary school that their children are safe.

“The hard thing for me is that I cannot look them in the eye and say yes,” she said.

The plaintiffs — Meghan Flynn and Rosemary Fuller of Middletown Township; Michael Walsh of Thornbury Township; Nancy Harkins of Westtown Township; McMullen; Caroline Hughes of East Goshen Township; and Melissa Haines of Aston Township — are pressing a case that has resulted in 11 months of legal filings and more than three years of public meetings, protests and court battles that have also involved the Department of Environmental Protection, local officials, the federal pipeline regulator PHMSA, state lawmakers, school districts, townships, and several environmental nonprofits…..Sunoco admitted in February 2019 that it made mistakes during construction

 Read both of these articles. In their entirety.  And to my friends in West Chester? Prayers up. #PipelinesOverPeople

Today Thursday  is the second day of the hearing   at High St and Market St at the historic West Chester courthouse. I have no courtroom information. The hearing should just be getting underway now.

20180613 Rally for Community Safety

Photo found on Internet. Possible source is Sierra Club

ex-supervisors in west vincent be like….seeing dead people

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When there is an election coming in West Vincent you can always rest assured that the same old political bullsheit will surface. Oh yes, bad words…please alert the potty mouth police. (Yes, sarcasm, we are talking about West Vincent, after all.)

Take the letter above. Written by Vomitorious Ralph err…that suave Country Squire former Lower Merion Township resident and political operative , former West Vincent Supervisor…David Brown.

Hence, elections in West Vincent are like seeing dead people…err former politicians desperately seeking relevance.

(Yessss people…..Buckle up West Vincent between now and Election Day it will be CRAY CRAY…..)

Time to resurrect Chickenman archives?

The largest irony about reading this letter? Wondering if it’s autobiographical to the author’s cronies and their days gone by?

I mean come on now really Mr. Brown? My goodness. If you were Pinocchio 🤥 would you be able to hold your head up now?

You can always count on West Vincent to be super nasty at election time. I have experienced it personally and have saved the screen shots to prove it. Cyber bullying, cyber harassing, the dickitude factor runs high.

I fully expect they will attack me again because oh my gosh my golly I don’t like the crap that spews out of West Vincent every single election season.

If you want the tea and scones administration to return, by all means be of the sheeple and for the sheeple and vote sheeple. Sara Shirk is your gal.

But if you want a nice man who is thoughtful and caring and honest, then vote for George Dulchinos.

Otherwise it’s the Handmaids Tale….

collecting christmas

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Everyone who knows me knows how much I love Christmas! Today I went to an estate sale in the rain and found these two lovely little Christmas books in a pile of other things.

These are sweet little books that will sit on a table at Christmas with other Christmas books. They aren’t super valuable, they’re just a nice little addition to my Christmas books.

In 66 days it will be Christmas 🎄

Ho Ho Ho and thanks for stopping by.

respect for old glory?

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I remember when I was young flags would not be flown in inclement weather like today in the rain.

Flags would be lowered at dusk and they would be flown again at dawn.

I get that most flags today are made of nylon or weatherproof material, but what I don’t get is Old Glory respected the same?

This photo represents but one flag I saw today when my husband and I were driving around. I saw lots of flags flying in the rain. And I think even if flags are made of more all weather material these days the respect for the flag should still mean something.

I guess it’s just one of those things I’ve noticed where it used to be once in a while in bad weather you would still see a flag flying. Today if it’s bad weather? They’re all still flying for the most part.

I guess I simply feel that our flag is a symbol of our country and what it means to be American. The flag is a symbol worth respecting and revering, so I guess I’m asking if people are going to fly the flag can’t you bring it in when you know it’s going to rain? Can’t you bring it in at dusk?

I presume that like many other things in this world, flag etiquette has changed. I think that’s kind of sad.

Stay safe and dry today.

why we change banks, or reaffirming why finally leaving pnc was the right move.

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pizap

In 2015 I wrote  two posts about PNC Bank.  I also wrote about them in 2012 and 2013.

Human nature dictates we are creatures of habit and it took until this year to actually divorce and leave them.  Yes, I stayed in an abusive banking relationship for far too long.

I had been a customer for close to 30 years, if not more than 30.  I knew how their website worked, I knew my account numbers, and for years I even knew my tellers and branch managers.

Then I moved.  New branches and new tellers and unpleasant experiences like trying to open a business checking account at a purported “full service branch” only to be told I had to come back another day because they weren’t really full service even if ON THE WALL it said “full service”.

Then there were other things like spite finance charges after I closed and paid off a credit card.

Soon it became if I used a teller I would get charged so just use the machines they said.  Well, sometimes you just need to go to a branch and interact with someone face to face.  I came out of banking and finance, and there is absolutely NO substitution for face to face customer service. Unless you bank at PNC of course.

When you need help in person at PNC they always try to UPSELL you to products you don’t need or want.  Every time I went into a branch physically the past few years it was the hard sell for something. Every time. And when you tell them NO I don’t want any additional services it is like they are robots reading from a script, because they just launch into the upsell spiel anyway.

Then there were the nickel and diming fees that always felt like a moving target.  It’s like you are punished for being a small customer not represented in the top 2% in this country.

Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back was this summer when I had to go into a branch in Exton because their ATM machine was half broken and it would not let you make an ATM machine deposit.

So I went inside the branch and the bobblehead playing teller proceeded to quiz me (loudly) on why I hadn’t moved everything into my married name from my maiden name.  In front of other customers who were then staring at this entire exchange. How about because it is none of your f-ing business, lady? It was like a public shaming for still using my maiden name on things.

That was it.  I took my banking elsewhere.  When I opened and seeded my new accounts at another bank, I began the process of winding down my PNC accounts.

I had an excruciating call with a customer service representative on the phone during this closing process. She wanted to know exactly WHY I was closing my accounts so I told her except it should be “We are sorry to lose you as a customer and I am happy to assist you.”

During this conversation I asked questions like could I get copies of all of my 2019 statements year to date mailed or e-mailed to me since I am paperless as well as physical statements mailed to me at year end for tax purposes. I was told TWO separate things. I was told I could just log into my old closed accounts and download statements.  I was also told alternately that all I had to do was call customer service.

This afternoon I had time and I wanted to reconcile my closed accounts and make sure I did not miss anything.  So I went to retrieve my statements.  Only because I closed my accounts, in spite of what I was told by PNC customer service representatives I can’t actually access my records. So I called PNC customer service this afternoon.

Another stellar experience.  A real service turd.  Customer Service Turd said because my account was closed I could not access my statements online.  So I asked if they could please MAIL or e-mail me statements, including year end statements. The answer was….NO.

If I want anything, I have to go into a branch.

I don’t want to go into a branch.  I have proven my identity and all I am asking for are statements mailed to the address of record they have on file for me.

NO says the Customer Service Turd again.

I mean WTF? I am debating taking this to the Pennsylvania State Banking Commission. These accounts have been closed about 30 days. Not 30 months. Not 30 years.

Of course calling corporate PNC is nigh on impossible.

Here are the contacts I found:

Michelle Neidhardt
Customer Experience Director/EVP
300 Fifth Ave. the Tower at PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2401
412-762-0454
Michelle.neidhardt@pnc.com

Karen L. Larrimer
Executive Vice President, Head of Retail Banking & Chief Customer Officer
300 Fifth Ave. the Tower at PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2401
karen.larrimer@pnc.com

Chief Executive
William S. Demchak
CEO
300 Fifth Ave. the Tower at PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2401
william.s.demchak@pnc.com

PNC Media Relations
(412) 762-4550
media.relations@pnc.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS- 412-768-4143

PNC Executive Office Phone Numbers:

877-762-5555; 412-803-1294

1377035_541697082573166_1631774160_nI will send the PNC executives this post.  I want my statements and I should NOT have to practically give blood to get them. But this is a good reminder as to why I left PNC.   Except really, I have to wonder does old fashioned customer service and old school neighborhood banking exist any longer or are we all lost to giant conglomerates, offshore call centers and unless we are worth millions to banks we are worthless?

Things to ponder Corporate America and dear readers, things to ponder.

My final word is my new bank doesn’t know me from Adam’s House Cat but whether online, in person, or on the phone they treat me with professionalism and respect.  Thank you Citizen’s Bank. It makes a difference.