Thank you, Sally. Yes, a bit of a bind. But hopefully healing will be that much faster after. I hope so, because I pulled out the Mandarin and Raspberry cake recipe yesterday - it's that time... XXXX
bummer about the surgery, here's to a speedy and event free recovery.
and yes i do carry a hankie, but none nearly as pretty as yours, although the ones that used to belong to my kids when they were tiny are special, thin and soft.
I think your hankies sound perfect - the softer the better.
True bummer about the surgery but recovery from the big one has had a problem and hopefully this'll fix it and I'll be hale in 3 weeks! Hoo-bloody-ray! Pardon my language!
It'll be a month on Monday since the big op, and yes, he's a really good problem solver. His name is Emilio Mignanelli and he has a pretty A1 reputation.
Me clever? Hmm - put my phone down somewhere today and it took an age to find it, the soup I've made is awful and it's one of the two icky days I've had since the big surgery. You know the sort of day - where you want to throw something through the window? This too will pass...
Thanks Beth. Glad you still use hankies. If I have a cold, I have some man-sized ones. I hate tissues, as they never last more than one blow! May the Gods prevent me getting colds at the moment, please. Hope you're well in this odd winter!
I have many hankies, love the silky, thin feel especially the beauty in those with the tiny appliqué. Have upcycled in textile art, but hard to release. Sajou, oh how gorgeous a sewing box. Another surgery, oh dear. My husband had ulnar repair, still can't use arm. We return to surgeon this week. Only use of one arm since December. So painful to see the loss of movement in his days. Healing makes us stronger one told me. Whatever! Hope this healing speedy and your last fir some time. I imagine you're ready to twirl the room again. I listen to the tune. Much love!
Oh my husband uses hankies, one of another kind though. More bandana-like. Like my father and his white ones. I was always in charge of ironing them. 🤔😂
My husband uses white ones if he wears a suit which is rarely these days. For the rest, I bought dark checks and tartans. Invariably they end up stuffed in the pocket of his farm clothes with Lord knows what wiped on them!
Your poor husband. I do feel for him - hopefully he will have full range of movement in time. My thoughts are with him.
It's all about time, CJ, isn't it? I've just been looking at images of the Princess of Wales at the Trooping of the Colour and every now and then you can capture a slight glaze in her glance, rings under the eyes - I am in awe that she has the strength to do it.
I liken the feeling I have to driving a car without a fuel gauge. Suddenly the car stops because its running on empty. With me, there's no warning - just flaky legs and the need to sit down fast.
But its getting better - in my head yes, I'm ready to twirl but in truth, it'll be awhile longer...
Oh Prue! Sorry about the further surgery - I'm sending all the love! ❤️
I thoroughly enjoyed this post about hankies - these precious squares of cloth can mean so much, can't they? I iron for my parents, and when I get to the pile of 'flat stuff' I can zone out with thoughts and memories. All of the napkins have been handwoven by Mum, and they're in a range of designs and colours, and all of them beautiful - and as for the hankies, there are some paisley ones whose seams are held on by threads, and the cotton is soooooo wispy thin in the middle, but they're the very very comfy ones to use, so they're destined to remain in circulation until they actually dissolve. There should be two piles of hankies in my pile - ones that get ironed and put away, and the 'gardening hankies' which simply get folded and put on a shelf in the back porch (the place where the wellies are, and the gardening books, the grubby fleeces and sunhats, balls of twine, the piles of kindling, the trugs and the secateurs). Needless to say the clean hankies - 'smart' ones AND gardening ones alike - very often end up in the same pile, and I'm not - how can I put this? - LICENSED to decide which are expected to be ironed and which are not. I do them all, of course!
Dad got a couple of dozen crisp new white cotton hankies for Christmas. They've got a slight texture, the edges are so mean, and there are so many loose threads at the corners. What's more, they're not comfy!
Thank you so much, Prue, for sharing my own hanky-related post, and for giving me the opportunity to think even more about my hanky heritage!
I love this hankie story of yours, Rebecca. You're right about the quality that's for sure. I remember the day when to have a good daily hankie, one had Irish linen ones. Now, I suspect they're nearly all polyester cotton and made in Asian sweat shops.
It's why I will pay more for the ones I buy OH and for the Liberty squares - I can see the perfect rolled hems and the good quality cotton. Unless one went to Jermyn Street or similar in London, I can't imagine being able to purchase the softest linen ones anymore.
My 40 year old black Liberty one - actually right at the very back of the picture (the front one is navy) hasn't faded at all. It's perfectly rolled hem has never come unstitched and the fabric is still quite gutsy, although its become much softer (better for my nose when ballet music swells and I feel a tear coming on!)
Thank you for the best wishes. I'm started to get a little nervous again. The last thing i wanted was to have to go in and stay. Back to noise, people and hospital food for a few days... sigh. The surgeon wanted to put me in on Friday just past, but I asked for the weekend to come to the cottage, so that the garden, beaches and Outdoors could do their thing on my psyche. XXXX
Gosh, thinking about it I don’t think I’ve ever had a linen hanky - they’ve all been cotton. Oh, Jim had one (not any more - I disposed of it because it was useless) which was nylon or polyester or something - for goodness’ sake, these things are supposed to be absorbent, and that one was a ridiculous excuse for a handkerchief, honestly!
Liberty lawn is not only beautiful but soooo soft. But the best hankies of all are the really, really old ones, before they get too holey and threadbare, and which are almost fuzzy. Oh, and they’ve got to be big enough - something which my small collection of Liberty ones lets me down on!
I’m so glad that you’ve been able to spend the weekend at the cottage instead of having to head for the hospital on Friday. I guess it’s Monday morning in Tasmania by now, so perhaps you’re on your way in. Sending love for being able to channel some piece in the hospital hubbub. Thinking of you lots. 😘
Loved your musings on kerchiefs…they reminded me of my collection of my beloved grandma’s fancy hankies, and how I treasure each and every one.
Your lovely posts on “everyday” topics are every bit as meaningful as the philosophical ones, if not more! I am in awe that you haven’t missed a week during your medical ordeal, and grateful too, that you’ve checked in with your progress.
Speaking of, I hope the surgery goes well on Monday, and your healing is speeded up as predicted!
Recuperating is hard and don't worry about your writing...it's as fine as those beautiful kerchiefs! I doubt I could persuade myself to blow my nose into something so lovely.
My dad always carried one and Mom used to let me press them with a warning about the hot iron. I remember feeling quite grown up! I never used one and I believe they're a throwback to the older generation.
Good luck with the additional surgery. I'm sorry to hear you have another round to go, so I send more good wishes your way!
Hankies and teatowels were the first things Mum every let me iron!
Thanks for your wishes. I'm lying in my hospital bed with a little pump doing its thing by my side. My inspiration this week is the Princess of Wales...
I’ve been flying between continents so I missed this until now, and you’re probably in surgery now. Hope by the time you read this you are done with it and recovering well! I hope the weekend gave you the best frame of mind and is carrying you through now too.
What a wonderful ode to handkerchiefs! My father always used plain white ones and I’ve never thought to use one myself. I am tempted by those lovely Liberty print ones…a treat next time I’m in London perhaps.
Hi Sabrina. Were you flying back to the States or Europe?
Yes, surgery done and I have a little pump lulling me to sleep with its rhythm. Hopefully this is the last summit to be conquered (one step at a time) and from late this week onward, I shall be truly healing and on my way.
My Dad was a white hankie man too. Maybe it was a generational thing. Even his little pocket squares on his business suits were white. In OH's time, when he was wearing suits daily, I would match his pocket square to his tie. I'm such a matchy-matchy bod!
Do go to Liberty when you're next in London. I guarantee it'll be like an Aladdin's Cave and you'll find it hard to choose anything, let alone a hankie! XXXX
I’m so glad you are on the road to recovery for good! Happy healing again and for good! I’m in the US now for awhile. Already loving the perfect climate. And yes to Liberty treasures! It is my most often stopping place, at least once or twice a year, if not more! But now I’m on a mission for hankies!
Well, if I'd read this when it first arrived, I could have wished you well for your next procedure. As it is, I'll wish you warp speed healing, and good humor. Are you staying in the hospital again for this round? Courage, Prue!
I, too, inherited a number of hankies from my mother. She was the sort who shifted over to tissues and had one in every pocket, a pink or red lipstick blot the typical inaugural use. But, she also had kerchiefs, none so refined as yours. I have one covered in tiny violets and another more of a paisley, both so well loved that it feels like the fabric might not withstand what I might ask of it.
My own handkerchief is a bandana. I have a collection, also well-loved, and keep one at the ready in my car, and in coat pockets in winter. I think I'm just a bit too...uh...vigorous for a dainty hankie.
And, I'll go on record to confirm that I look forward to everything you write. There is nothing lacking in it!
Warp speed appreciated, Elizabeth. Yes, back in hospital for 3-5 days after surgery yesterday. I'm carrying around a little pump which is on 24/7, quite noisy and absolutely guaranteed a private room. I have fantastic earplugs and jam them in and can hear very little to nothing, so that's good.
So with a private room, self ambulatory (the issue that caused the surgery emitted little pain but a lot of daily blood and the pump entry and procedure is causing no pain), I'll be walking a lot around the hospital, grabbing hot chocolate and marshmallows from the little cafe and writing. So different to the way I felt with the BIG One.
I'm loving that everyone has hankie stories, be they big bandana styles or little linens and cottons. Bandanas are great when I'm with husband on the farm or even gardening as you can whip them round cuts and grazes as intermediary first aid.
And thank you for putting up with the diminution in writing quality over the last month. XXXX
I hope you feel supportive love of family and friends as you go through the surgery journey. As for handkerchiefs, I have mine from the early 60s that I took to church in a tiny, red plaid snap purse. I also have some of my maternal grandmother's. She always had one tucked into a sleeve. Beautiful post, beautiful song.
Oh Prue I’m so sorry to hear you’re enduring more surgeries. Much love and good energy to you for this next step x
Thank you, Sally. Yes, a bit of a bind. But hopefully healing will be that much faster after. I hope so, because I pulled out the Mandarin and Raspberry cake recipe yesterday - it's that time... XXXX
I wish you well for your upcoming surgery. I love your writings on beautiful, everyday things. They are valued.
Thanks Colleen. I think beautiful everyday things are sometimes what makes the world go round.
Sorry to hear that you are having more surgery Prue, I hope its just something minor and I wish you a speedy reccovery xxx
A nuisance is what it is, Libby. I'll DM you. Things can only get better.
That sewing box is lovely - as is the Liberty kerchief ... and yes, that word is so Jane Austen. Hope your surgery goes well.
Thanks, Joanne. I'll be hoping that this stint will be what drives recovery along at the speed of light!
bummer about the surgery, here's to a speedy and event free recovery.
and yes i do carry a hankie, but none nearly as pretty as yours, although the ones that used to belong to my kids when they were tiny are special, thin and soft.
I think your hankies sound perfect - the softer the better.
True bummer about the surgery but recovery from the big one has had a problem and hopefully this'll fix it and I'll be hale in 3 weeks! Hoo-bloody-ray! Pardon my language!
3 weeks that sounds very speedy. yay for clever people who can fix other clever people
It'll be a month on Monday since the big op, and yes, he's a really good problem solver. His name is Emilio Mignanelli and he has a pretty A1 reputation.
Me clever? Hmm - put my phone down somewhere today and it took an age to find it, the soup I've made is awful and it's one of the two icky days I've had since the big surgery. You know the sort of day - where you want to throw something through the window? This too will pass...
XXXX
But see you know this too shall pass, that’s clever.
Sorry you’re having an icky day may tomorrow be better feed the soup to the worms put your phone in your pocket and know this day is almost done.
Seriously may tomorrow be easier for you
Thank you, Kate.
I still use hankies. So handy. (Though tissues are best for a cold.) Best of luck with all things medical. Hugs my dear.
Thanks Beth. Glad you still use hankies. If I have a cold, I have some man-sized ones. I hate tissues, as they never last more than one blow! May the Gods prevent me getting colds at the moment, please. Hope you're well in this odd winter!
I have many hankies, love the silky, thin feel especially the beauty in those with the tiny appliqué. Have upcycled in textile art, but hard to release. Sajou, oh how gorgeous a sewing box. Another surgery, oh dear. My husband had ulnar repair, still can't use arm. We return to surgeon this week. Only use of one arm since December. So painful to see the loss of movement in his days. Healing makes us stronger one told me. Whatever! Hope this healing speedy and your last fir some time. I imagine you're ready to twirl the room again. I listen to the tune. Much love!
Oh my husband uses hankies, one of another kind though. More bandana-like. Like my father and his white ones. I was always in charge of ironing them. 🤔😂
My husband uses white ones if he wears a suit which is rarely these days. For the rest, I bought dark checks and tartans. Invariably they end up stuffed in the pocket of his farm clothes with Lord knows what wiped on them!
Your poor husband. I do feel for him - hopefully he will have full range of movement in time. My thoughts are with him.
It's all about time, CJ, isn't it? I've just been looking at images of the Princess of Wales at the Trooping of the Colour and every now and then you can capture a slight glaze in her glance, rings under the eyes - I am in awe that she has the strength to do it.
I liken the feeling I have to driving a car without a fuel gauge. Suddenly the car stops because its running on empty. With me, there's no warning - just flaky legs and the need to sit down fast.
But its getting better - in my head yes, I'm ready to twirl but in truth, it'll be awhile longer...
Oh Prue! Sorry about the further surgery - I'm sending all the love! ❤️
I thoroughly enjoyed this post about hankies - these precious squares of cloth can mean so much, can't they? I iron for my parents, and when I get to the pile of 'flat stuff' I can zone out with thoughts and memories. All of the napkins have been handwoven by Mum, and they're in a range of designs and colours, and all of them beautiful - and as for the hankies, there are some paisley ones whose seams are held on by threads, and the cotton is soooooo wispy thin in the middle, but they're the very very comfy ones to use, so they're destined to remain in circulation until they actually dissolve. There should be two piles of hankies in my pile - ones that get ironed and put away, and the 'gardening hankies' which simply get folded and put on a shelf in the back porch (the place where the wellies are, and the gardening books, the grubby fleeces and sunhats, balls of twine, the piles of kindling, the trugs and the secateurs). Needless to say the clean hankies - 'smart' ones AND gardening ones alike - very often end up in the same pile, and I'm not - how can I put this? - LICENSED to decide which are expected to be ironed and which are not. I do them all, of course!
Dad got a couple of dozen crisp new white cotton hankies for Christmas. They've got a slight texture, the edges are so mean, and there are so many loose threads at the corners. What's more, they're not comfy!
Thank you so much, Prue, for sharing my own hanky-related post, and for giving me the opportunity to think even more about my hanky heritage!
Sending love. xxx
I love this hankie story of yours, Rebecca. You're right about the quality that's for sure. I remember the day when to have a good daily hankie, one had Irish linen ones. Now, I suspect they're nearly all polyester cotton and made in Asian sweat shops.
It's why I will pay more for the ones I buy OH and for the Liberty squares - I can see the perfect rolled hems and the good quality cotton. Unless one went to Jermyn Street or similar in London, I can't imagine being able to purchase the softest linen ones anymore.
My 40 year old black Liberty one - actually right at the very back of the picture (the front one is navy) hasn't faded at all. It's perfectly rolled hem has never come unstitched and the fabric is still quite gutsy, although its become much softer (better for my nose when ballet music swells and I feel a tear coming on!)
Thank you for the best wishes. I'm started to get a little nervous again. The last thing i wanted was to have to go in and stay. Back to noise, people and hospital food for a few days... sigh. The surgeon wanted to put me in on Friday just past, but I asked for the weekend to come to the cottage, so that the garden, beaches and Outdoors could do their thing on my psyche. XXXX
Gosh, thinking about it I don’t think I’ve ever had a linen hanky - they’ve all been cotton. Oh, Jim had one (not any more - I disposed of it because it was useless) which was nylon or polyester or something - for goodness’ sake, these things are supposed to be absorbent, and that one was a ridiculous excuse for a handkerchief, honestly!
Liberty lawn is not only beautiful but soooo soft. But the best hankies of all are the really, really old ones, before they get too holey and threadbare, and which are almost fuzzy. Oh, and they’ve got to be big enough - something which my small collection of Liberty ones lets me down on!
I’m so glad that you’ve been able to spend the weekend at the cottage instead of having to head for the hospital on Friday. I guess it’s Monday morning in Tasmania by now, so perhaps you’re on your way in. Sending love for being able to channel some piece in the hospital hubbub. Thinking of you lots. 😘
I have a soft Liberty hankie right with me.
It was appreciated earlier.
XXXX
Loved your musings on kerchiefs…they reminded me of my collection of my beloved grandma’s fancy hankies, and how I treasure each and every one.
Your lovely posts on “everyday” topics are every bit as meaningful as the philosophical ones, if not more! I am in awe that you haven’t missed a week during your medical ordeal, and grateful too, that you’ve checked in with your progress.
Speaking of, I hope the surgery goes well on Monday, and your healing is speeded up as predicted!
Thank you, Susan. It's a month this Monday and I'm hoping the extra surgery allows that healing to speed up. Frustration is rearing its head!
And so glad you cherish Grandma's hankies. They'd be so special.
Recuperating is hard and don't worry about your writing...it's as fine as those beautiful kerchiefs! I doubt I could persuade myself to blow my nose into something so lovely.
My dad always carried one and Mom used to let me press them with a warning about the hot iron. I remember feeling quite grown up! I never used one and I believe they're a throwback to the older generation.
Good luck with the additional surgery. I'm sorry to hear you have another round to go, so I send more good wishes your way!
Golly you sparked a memory!
Hankies and teatowels were the first things Mum every let me iron!
Thanks for your wishes. I'm lying in my hospital bed with a little pump doing its thing by my side. My inspiration this week is the Princess of Wales...
I’ve been flying between continents so I missed this until now, and you’re probably in surgery now. Hope by the time you read this you are done with it and recovering well! I hope the weekend gave you the best frame of mind and is carrying you through now too.
What a wonderful ode to handkerchiefs! My father always used plain white ones and I’ve never thought to use one myself. I am tempted by those lovely Liberty print ones…a treat next time I’m in London perhaps.
Wishing you all the best Prue!
Hi Sabrina. Were you flying back to the States or Europe?
Yes, surgery done and I have a little pump lulling me to sleep with its rhythm. Hopefully this is the last summit to be conquered (one step at a time) and from late this week onward, I shall be truly healing and on my way.
My Dad was a white hankie man too. Maybe it was a generational thing. Even his little pocket squares on his business suits were white. In OH's time, when he was wearing suits daily, I would match his pocket square to his tie. I'm such a matchy-matchy bod!
Do go to Liberty when you're next in London. I guarantee it'll be like an Aladdin's Cave and you'll find it hard to choose anything, let alone a hankie! XXXX
I’m so glad you are on the road to recovery for good! Happy healing again and for good! I’m in the US now for awhile. Already loving the perfect climate. And yes to Liberty treasures! It is my most often stopping place, at least once or twice a year, if not more! But now I’m on a mission for hankies!
Well, if I'd read this when it first arrived, I could have wished you well for your next procedure. As it is, I'll wish you warp speed healing, and good humor. Are you staying in the hospital again for this round? Courage, Prue!
I, too, inherited a number of hankies from my mother. She was the sort who shifted over to tissues and had one in every pocket, a pink or red lipstick blot the typical inaugural use. But, she also had kerchiefs, none so refined as yours. I have one covered in tiny violets and another more of a paisley, both so well loved that it feels like the fabric might not withstand what I might ask of it.
My own handkerchief is a bandana. I have a collection, also well-loved, and keep one at the ready in my car, and in coat pockets in winter. I think I'm just a bit too...uh...vigorous for a dainty hankie.
And, I'll go on record to confirm that I look forward to everything you write. There is nothing lacking in it!
Warp speed appreciated, Elizabeth. Yes, back in hospital for 3-5 days after surgery yesterday. I'm carrying around a little pump which is on 24/7, quite noisy and absolutely guaranteed a private room. I have fantastic earplugs and jam them in and can hear very little to nothing, so that's good.
So with a private room, self ambulatory (the issue that caused the surgery emitted little pain but a lot of daily blood and the pump entry and procedure is causing no pain), I'll be walking a lot around the hospital, grabbing hot chocolate and marshmallows from the little cafe and writing. So different to the way I felt with the BIG One.
I'm loving that everyone has hankie stories, be they big bandana styles or little linens and cottons. Bandanas are great when I'm with husband on the farm or even gardening as you can whip them round cuts and grazes as intermediary first aid.
And thank you for putting up with the diminution in writing quality over the last month. XXXX
I hope you feel supportive love of family and friends as you go through the surgery journey. As for handkerchiefs, I have mine from the early 60s that I took to church in a tiny, red plaid snap purse. I also have some of my maternal grandmother's. She always had one tucked into a sleeve. Beautiful post, beautiful song.
Thank you, Mary, I do. Folk have been lovely. It's like being wrapped in soft wool.
I love the sound of your hankies - I can see the ownership of same is not entirely done.