Thursday 24 January 2008

Hypothenuse


This is the new quilted shopping bag. The lining is the same green flower print as the middle part of the handles. The button is a wooden vintage button I have admired in my mother's button box since childhood. She gave them last autumn to me to give to my daughter. I didn't, but kept them myself, because I had liked them a lot longer. I let her pick the ones she wanted the most, and she will get the rest later.
I think I will give this bag to my mother next time I go visit her. She lives alone now since my father died a little over two years ago, so there is not too much shopping to be done. On the inside the bag has a zippered pocket for her purse and keys so that she only needs this bag to take care of. She is 91 years old now, and her memory is razor sharp. She is of course a little fragile and needs a walking support with wheels, but she can do her own shopping and "mind her own business". Last week when I phoned her she told me that she had been thinking of the hypothenuse. Why on earth that, I thought. Well, she needed to cross a square in town so she thought that the hypothenuse is always shorter than the sum of the sides of the right angle, so she decided to save some steps and walk from corner to the opposite corner for the taxi station. And then she needed to know which language this funny word comes from, and she checked it at home from her books. It's Greek. This little bag is also full of hypothenuses, I hope she enjoys them as well. And the beautiful button I have dared to use.

10 comments:

  1. Your mother sounds like quite the lady. What a pleasure and blessing that she is still so sharp at 91!

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  2. A beautiful button and a lovely story too! I will be thinking about hypothenuses:)

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  3. Thank you for these comments. Yes, she really is quite the lady! I just wish I will be that way too at her age. Maybe I then give the rest of by fine buttons to my not yet existing granddaughter, and Kaija will keep them safe for some decades before she lets her have them.

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  4. Give Kaija her buttons back!!!
    Love the rug.

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  5. Lovely bag!

    I'm happy to hear that your mother is so well. She reminds me of my granma, who will have her 92th birthday this spring. She's very sharp too, she lives alone and knits and crochets every day (except for Christmas Day and Easter Friday). She cooks and bakes and can always make a witty remark. I hope I will be like that too when I'm at her age...

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  6. Seeing my mother reach such age in such condition reminds me of the importance of good health. If I'm expected to live to be over ninety, I must try to keep my joints moving and blood pressure down. And my head sane. I want to be able to do things with my hands for decades to come.
    I will come back to the button question when I have gathered some strength.

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  7. Hi Ulla. I now understand about the buttons after reading Kaija's blog! Apologies, I now know that they are treasured heirlooms,and we daughters must be patient!

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  8. I will help you with the button dilemma because I have been admiring the very same wooden buttons ten years longer than you... If you release ONE of those buttons to your daughter, who happens to have a very special spot in my heart, I will give you six pale lilac hand made silk buttons in return. My buttons used to belong to our mutual Grand Mother, who gave them to me, when I was a teenager and you were still a toddler.
    Funny thing about lovely buttons! They can capture you in a way. I never even dreamed about using any of mine.

    p.s. For a show of good will I will throw in two big Kalevala Koru bronze buttons, one for each of you

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  9. She will get all the buttons any day she wants. She needs just to say so. I'm not a monster. I now have pictures of all of them, and I know I can negotiate with her if I ever really need a button from this lot.

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  10. I'm very happy about the fact that you're not a monster, because it would most likely make me one too.

    There's way too much drama going on with these buttons. We're both just so Finnish that some misunderstandings are pretty much unavoidable. I'm all right with my mom having my buttons (and she's completely entitled to keep the juniper buttons forever, they're hers). Lets just all enjoy our pretty button photos. Ok?

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