out of the bag

I hope you've had a good weekend. I had thought I'd be back sooner, but my family had other cozy plans for me. So here I finally am with my last installment from India. Click here, for other posts on my mother and sister's recent journey. Writing this reminded me of the travel game: I put in my grandmother's trunk...!

Let 's start with the kitchen and utility items that they brought back. I have to say that nothing could have prepared me for my sister pulling out this:


It's a traditional wood cook stove. They're used everywhere and my sister, a tremendous cook and occasional caterer, managed to squeeze one into her suitcase! She also brought out a large pot that rests on top... I was so shocked to see the huge iron cookware emerging that I neglected to get a picture. I did get a shot of this little chapati pan.

My sister lives in Hawaii, where she now cooks outside with her stove regularly. She brought back a different chapati pan for me and here it sits with little Chai cups. Chai is served several times a day in India, and they missed their daily dose. Luckily they brought back the recipe and spices and whipped it up morning, noon, and night while we were all together.


Seeing galvanized buckets pop out of the next bag didn't have the same element of surprise following the stove. As a bucket lover, I really appreciated the beautiful shape of this container (they actually brought back two!).

I get my love for clothespins and clips from my mother, who brought back this assortment:And now on to the wild and wonderful:



and lastly:


A giant ball of rope made of rags. These are used to stretch across bed frames. My mother thought they were the most beautiful objects ever! Interestingly enough, she was "inspiration shopping" at Anthropologie a couple of day ago. You know, peeking at their ceaselessly ingenious displays. Low and behold, they were using these very ropes, unwound and unbound, as a divider between checkout lines! Well, we all know she has an eye for the fabulous and unique! I hope you've enjoyed this bit of armchair travel as much as I did.

********************

In other news: Craft Hope for Haiti had a tremendously successful weekend! As of Sunday night, they've sold over 300 items and raised more than $7000 for Doctors Without Borders. What an amazingly powerful force the crafting community is.