 | Thursday I had a lovely catch-up with an old friend, Esther Ernst-Pike. We met while I was in my twenties and for a period I worked a Sunday shift taking care of an elderly woman with Parkinsons who was in a wheelchair and needed assistance with personal care. Esther was a nurse and the job was a seven mornings a week position and spelling her allowed for a break, maybe have some fun Saturday nights and sleep in on Sunday. It was a good time for me. I loved taking care of Lucy. She was a lady from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes and both she and her husband were still deeply in love well into their 90’s. Their faces lit up when she emerged from the bedroom freshly quaffed and wearing her pearls. For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the look they shared as their eyes met. I had worked as a PCW at Harbour View Haven for a year so I was qualified to assist in bed baths and personal care and it was nice that I could do this for both Esther and Lucy. I always thought Esther was cool, she seemed to have a knack for things, a flair. A smart dresser, she liked antiques and had a pretty interesting apartment. She wasn’t rich by any |
means but had taste and with taste you don’t always need a lot of money to do it right.
Last week, we ran into one another in the grocery store and she was telling me that she purchased a partially finished rug at the Dawson Daisy in Bridgewater. The Daisy is a second hand outlet for low-cost clothing that has raised millions of dollars to fund local health-care services at the South Shore Regional Hospital. Raising over $200,000 a year is a result of a tremendous amount of volunteer effort. Each year the Daisy donates its profits to the auxiliary of the SSRH. The auxiliary in turn funds equipment and upgrades in the hospital as well as community health initiatives.
The outlet is run like a small department store. Each week store displays are changed so the shop always looks fresh and new. clothing items on display are specific to that season and each rack is separated according to gender and/or type. Those items are further divided into subsections such as sweaters, coats, pants and dresses. There are also handbag and shoe sections. And, although it is limited, there is a household section where you can find dishes and small kitchen appliances.
On one of Esther's many jaunts to the Daisy, she found a partially hooked pattern of a funky sheep. She said it was an oval design and that she paid $40.00 for it. I assumed it was Wooly Willy, an old time favourite from the beginning days of my business. She said she would pop into the shop someday soon to show me her purchase. So it was a delight to see her yesterday and catch up on news. Sure enough it was Willy, one of the first sheep patterns I ever designed and was originally hooked by Mary Doig.
The inside oval background was completed with only the border remaining. Esther doesn't hook and wondered if I finished projects for people, that maybe I was interested because it was my pattern. Unfortunately, I'm far too busy for that sort of thing although deep inside there was an urge to say yes so thank goodness I suppressed it! That paved road of good intentions always leads me to a bad place. As she rolled it up, she said she has a friend in Lunenburg that hooks and she would ask for her help. Then we started to gab.
I was very surprised to learn she is a cancer survivor. That was why she was at the Dawson Daisy. After many trips to the hospital she would check out the latest arrivals on the racks. She's always been a Frenchy's gal, finding some pretty fantastic apparel over the years.
Esther was lucky, they caught her cancer in stage one and she only had to undergo a lumpectomy with mild radiation treatments. She told me she never let it get her down and was optimistic through it all. Her doctor thought she was amazing. She'd come home from a radiation appointment and opt to go cross country skiing to breathe in the fresh air of winter instead of take to her bed to wallow. I always had her pegged as the happy go lucky sort, she was always smiling and is definitely lucky!
So thank-you Esther for bringing in the rug and providing this lovely little story. My curious nature wonders why it was never finished, how it found its way into the Daisy bins. More than likely the rug was a work in progress and the hooker probably passed away, their personal items boxed up and donated to the Daisy. If I was able to finish it, my thoughts would drift and make up scenarios about the person that started it. Maybe someone local will read this and recognize the handiwork. The mystery of this rug could be solved.
Last week, we ran into one another in the grocery store and she was telling me that she purchased a partially finished rug at the Dawson Daisy in Bridgewater. The Daisy is a second hand outlet for low-cost clothing that has raised millions of dollars to fund local health-care services at the South Shore Regional Hospital. Raising over $200,000 a year is a result of a tremendous amount of volunteer effort. Each year the Daisy donates its profits to the auxiliary of the SSRH. The auxiliary in turn funds equipment and upgrades in the hospital as well as community health initiatives.
The outlet is run like a small department store. Each week store displays are changed so the shop always looks fresh and new. clothing items on display are specific to that season and each rack is separated according to gender and/or type. Those items are further divided into subsections such as sweaters, coats, pants and dresses. There are also handbag and shoe sections. And, although it is limited, there is a household section where you can find dishes and small kitchen appliances.
On one of Esther's many jaunts to the Daisy, she found a partially hooked pattern of a funky sheep. She said it was an oval design and that she paid $40.00 for it. I assumed it was Wooly Willy, an old time favourite from the beginning days of my business. She said she would pop into the shop someday soon to show me her purchase. So it was a delight to see her yesterday and catch up on news. Sure enough it was Willy, one of the first sheep patterns I ever designed and was originally hooked by Mary Doig.
The inside oval background was completed with only the border remaining. Esther doesn't hook and wondered if I finished projects for people, that maybe I was interested because it was my pattern. Unfortunately, I'm far too busy for that sort of thing although deep inside there was an urge to say yes so thank goodness I suppressed it! That paved road of good intentions always leads me to a bad place. As she rolled it up, she said she has a friend in Lunenburg that hooks and she would ask for her help. Then we started to gab.
I was very surprised to learn she is a cancer survivor. That was why she was at the Dawson Daisy. After many trips to the hospital she would check out the latest arrivals on the racks. She's always been a Frenchy's gal, finding some pretty fantastic apparel over the years.
Esther was lucky, they caught her cancer in stage one and she only had to undergo a lumpectomy with mild radiation treatments. She told me she never let it get her down and was optimistic through it all. Her doctor thought she was amazing. She'd come home from a radiation appointment and opt to go cross country skiing to breathe in the fresh air of winter instead of take to her bed to wallow. I always had her pegged as the happy go lucky sort, she was always smiling and is definitely lucky!
So thank-you Esther for bringing in the rug and providing this lovely little story. My curious nature wonders why it was never finished, how it found its way into the Daisy bins. More than likely the rug was a work in progress and the hooker probably passed away, their personal items boxed up and donated to the Daisy. If I was able to finish it, my thoughts would drift and make up scenarios about the person that started it. Maybe someone local will read this and recognize the handiwork. The mystery of this rug could be solved.
Wooly Willy hooked by Mary Doig
RSS Feed
