Six Jaynes and a Jill

Have you ever seen a goofier group? The Jayne Cobb hats were a real hit—probably the hit of the century. Firefighter son (top-second from left) asked for the same hat in black so he can wear it with his turnout gear. The others say they will wear theirs for paintballing and four-wheeling, except for Dad (bottom center) who walks the dog in his, and Brother John (bottom left) who shovels snow off the sidewalk in Chicago in his. Each hat was packaged with a card that bore the original quote from Wash in Firefly, “a man walks down the street in that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.” Trust me, this group is afraid of nothing!

The photo should be titled “A rose among the thorns.” The center beauty is DG#2 in her Peruvian Alpaca hat that will keep her ears warm in Ireland, where she went when she left us here in Fort Worth. Big change in weather for her.

On another subject, I met a woman in Hobby Lobby this morning. She watched as I picked up two crochet hooks that I will use to pull yarn through beads on the beaded mitts I am planning to knit. She asked if I crochet. I answered that I know how to crochet, but that I mostly knit. She showed me a beautiful crocheted scarf she was wearing and said that she has decided that she wants to “do that.” I commended her, saying she has chosen a relaxing and very rewarding art. She frowned and said, “Oh I’m not an artist. I just want to do something with my hands, and have it look like this scarf.” Okay, here I am again—the utilitarian art advocate. I assured her that producing a beautiful product using ones hands and any medium—oils, acrylic, paper, wool—is most definitely art! She frowned a little, but then said, “If that’s true then I want to be an artist. Would you help be gather the things I will need?” And I did. I left Hobby Lobby thinking about the fact that another artist has been added to our flock, another person who will enjoy the peace, tranquility, and accomplishment of crocheting and/or knitting. Though we are many, there simply are not enough of us!