Nani slippers

These are Nani slippers - my Italian grandmother used to make these for everyone in the family - they're crocheted using Red Heart yarn. Everyone had them and treasured them. Nani has been gone for around 15 years now so Nani slippers have all worn out but my cousin Jim found these in his mother's things and he passed them on to me last Christmas.........no, they haven't been worn yet, haven't been able to as they're probably the last Nani slippers in existence but I will this winter. Nani lived next door to me growing up and took care of me while my folks worked - she taught me how to crochet, embroider, sew, cook, bake, make sausage, pasta and probably everything else I know how to do these days with the exception of weaving, spinning and knitting.

We spent the past 5 days on the coast escaping the heat and doing a little work in the kitchen at the beach cottage.....well, actually Sam did a little a lot of work in the kitchen. Friday was spent getting the old dishwasher and stove out - what a production since they weren't installed/wired/plumbed correctly. I was so happy to get rid of them - the dishwasher sounded like a jet engine, the sound couldn't be escaped anywhere in the house or even out in the yard - this new one is so quiet we can sit in the living room (8 ft away) and hear the tv without even turning the sound up. And that old Jenn-air downdraft range couldn't be de-scummed even with sandblasting. Love this new simple smooth top range.....installing this was a challenge too because of previous wiring issues. There's still lots of work to do in the kitchen - I have to paint all the cabinets but that has to wait until we figure out countertop color - yesterday I found that to be overwhelming after bringing home samples. New flooring will eventually come but that will be last.

And this is the crowning glory of the kitchen right now. I saw sliding spice racks online and decided it was the perfect use for this skinny cabinet only most of them were too tall including the drawer space above or way too expensive as in close to $200 just for the sliding device and shelves. So, Sam bought the drawer slides and made this for me..........all for around $15.  I love it. I showed him the other skinny cabinet and a big deep cabinet on the dining room side of this peninsula so he can make sliding drawers for those too.