Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Magic Orange Tree


A tale from Haiti
Retold by Diane Wolkstein

CRIC? CRAC!

There was once a girl whose mother died when she was born. Her father waited for some time to remarry, but when he did, he married a woman who was both mean and cruel. She was so mean there were some days she would not give the girl anything at all to eat. The girl was often hungry.

One day the girl came from school and saw on the table three round ripe oranges. Hmmmm. They smelled good. The girl looked around her. No one was there. She took one orange, peeled it, and ate it. Hmmm-mmm. It was good. She took a second orange and ate it. She ate the third orange. Oh-oh, she was happy. But soon her stepmother came home.

"Who has taken the oranges I left on the table?'' she said. "Whoever has done so had better say their prayers now, for they will not be able to say them later.''

The girl was so frightened she ran from the house. She ran through the woods until she came to her own mother's grave. All night she cried and prayed to her mother to help her. Finally she fell asleep.

In the morning the sun woke her, and as she rose to her feet something dropped from her skirt onto the ground. What was it? It was an orange pit. And the moment it entered the earth a green leaf sprouted from it. The girl watched, amazed. She knelt down and sang:

Orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow.
Orange tree, orange tree.
Grow and grow and grow,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

The orange tree grew. It grew to the size of the girl. The girl sang:

Orange tree,
Branch and branch and branch.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Branch and branch and branch,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

And many twisting, turning, curving branches appeared on the tree. Then the girl sang:

Orange tree,
Flower and flower and flower.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Flower and flower and flower,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

Beautiful white blossoms covered the tree. After a time they began to fade, and small green buds appeared where the flowers had been. The girl sang:

Orange tree,
Ripen and ripen and ripen.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Ripen and ripen and ripen,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother.
Orange tree.

The oranges ripened, and the whole tree was filled with golden oranges. The girl was so delighted she danced around and around the tree, singing:

Orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

But then when she looked, she saw the orange tree had grown up to the sky, far beyond her reach. What was she to do? Oh she was a clever girl. She sang:

Orange tree,
Lower and lower and lower.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Lower and lower and lower,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

When the orange tree came down to her height, she filled her arms with oranges and returned home.

The moment the stepmother saw the gold oranges in the girl's arms, she seized them and began to eat them. Soon she had finished them all, ''Tell me, my sweet,'' she said to the girl, "where have you found such delicious oranges?"

The girl hesitated. She did not want to tell. The stepmother seized the girl's wrist and began to twist it.

''Tell me!" she ordered.

The girl led her stepmother through the woods to the orange tree. You remember the girl was very clever? Well, as soon as the girl came to the tree, she sang:

Orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

And the orange tree grew up to the sky. What was the stepmother to do then? She began to plead and beg.

"Please" she said. "You shall be my own dear child. You may always have as much as you want to eat. Tell the tree to come down and you shall pick the oranges for me", so the girl quietly sang:

Orange tree,
Lower and lower and lower.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Lower and lower and lower,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

The tree began to lower. When it came to the height of the stepmother, she leapt on it and began to climb so quickly you might have thought she was the daughter of an ape. And as she climbed from branch to branch, she ate every orange. The girl saw that there would soon be no oranges left. What would happen to her then? The girl sang:

Orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

The orange tree grew and grew and grew and grew. "Help!" cried the stepmother as she rose into the sky. "H-E-E-lp...."

The girl cried: Break! Orange tree, Break!

The orange tree broke into a thousand pieces and the step mother as well.

Then the girl searched among the branches until she found .... a tiny orange pit. She carefully planted it in the earth. Softly she sang:

Orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow.
Orange tree, orange tree,
Grow and grow and grow,
Orange tree.
Stepmother is not real mother,
Orange tree.

The orange tree grew to the height of the girl. She picked some oranges and took them to market to sell. They were so sweet the people bought all her oranges.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Of Course you NEED a Pumpkin Hat!!


And you can make it yourself!! Really!

Materials:
any worsted weight yarn to suit...you'll need orange and a little green
US size 6 circular needle, double pointed needles

Size:
To fit 22"-24" head circumference.
Note: If you want a size 22" hat with a snug fit, you can either use a yarn that knits to a gauge of 22sts per 4 inches or cast on 100 stitches instead of 110.

Gauge:
On size six needles, 5 st/inch

Pattern:
Cast on 110 st. on circular needle and join.

Knit 1 inch st st.

*Knit 9, purl 1*, repeat between *s all the way around.
Continue the knit/purl pattern in the round until the hat reaches the crown of your head. About 6-8 inches. 6 inches will probably sit just above the ears and 8 will cover them slightly. To be absolutely sure, try it on when you think it's long enough. It will curl up at the bottom.

Decrease for crown:
*K2tog, knit 8*, repeat all the way around one row.

*K2tog, knit 7*, repeat around.

Continue to decrease the same way, fewer knits each row, until you have 22 st. Switch to green (or brown). Knit around as many rows as you like until the stem is long enough for you. k2tog all the way around. Run the yarn through remaining stitches and finish.

This pattern is © Maggie Burns 2000, all rights reserved.
Image copyright Sarah Bradberry 2003.


patten found here

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fabulous Orange T-shirts!



Okay maybe I should say tshirts that have orange themes??? or something like that.

Most of these t's are available on Cafe Press.
I found them when I was looking for t's about Pride and Prejudice.
You do know that you can find a tshirt about almost anything...right?






I like the saying on this one but I'm not too sure about the guy with the combover.

Now this tshirt is interesting....sorta like a ...shoot what is that painters name??? I'll get back to you ..but I'm sure it starts with an M.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

My New Orange Obsession!!!



Yep! Here it is.....not only is it ORANGE but I gotta have it!!!
The Sony MHS-CM1 Webbie HD Camera and Camcorder !!!

Yes, I really do NEED a camera and a camcorder but .... HEY, it's orange, too!
It just doesn't get better than that.

Okay, that's all I had to say...you may return to .....whatever you were doing.
Later!!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Orangish Shawls



I'm working on 3 orange shawls.
2 are knitted and one is crocheted.
The picture above is what one of the knitted shawls should look like when finished although I am using a different yarn.The shawl and pattern can be found here. If all goes well I will do it again in a really nice yarn.

The crocheted shawl is more like a wrap and I am using a basketweave pattern in a burnt orange.

The two knitted shawls are in varigated shades of orange.
When I finally get a decent digital camera, I'll put up pics.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Hmmm.....


Maybe I should make one of these.....love the orange yarn...maybe diff colored flowers...Orange Ones!!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Yep! Lots of things happening and not enough time left to just play on the net.
Much less keep up with my many blogs but I try!!

I am also into to crocheting lately and I have to add that to the mix.
But being a good orange lover I managed to combine my love of crocheting and the color orange....Tah Dah!!!





Not sure what to call it....a collar..or maybe a mini scarf???
Whatever! It's orange so I love it!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I do not have a shoe fetish!

I just happened to get an email from Zappos ,cause we're close like that, and surprise surprise!! I found a few pairs of orange shoes that I just love!





I Like:

Malibu by Keen at Zappos.comMalibu
by KeenZappos.com - Powered by Service