darning

As I sit in my easy chair with my faithful friend at my feet, I was darning a pair of warm socks. Thses socks were given to me by my daughter Cathy for Christmas or birthday. It's so long ago it's hard to remember. Some oif the younger people will not know what darning is all about. It just isn't done these days. Some older folks will know what it's all about.
this particular pair of socks were so worn our, with holes in both heels and toes & holes in between. One morning they almost hit the garbage. They were so warm and toasty that the thought of throwing them out was just too much. Out came my sewing basket, out to the kitchen for a large naval orange, which Molly thought I was about to eat, and I settled back in my chair and began. You put the orange in the sock and it gives you good stability. It's strange how a person's mind begins to wander. A vision came into my head of my Grandmother. While she lived with my family on the farm, she did all the mending and darning of socks. We were a large family so there was always mending and darning. Gramma sat for hours in the rocking chair with her basket of wool, needles etc., beside her. It was a beautiful dark green wicker basket with an orange stripe around the top. Unlike me, she just made a fist, inserted it in the sock and began her work. It was amazing to see her at work. She was a tiny lady with hair so long she could sit on it. Every morning she brushed and brushed it, and then she wound it around and around until it was in a bun. By the way, she was the mother of 12 children. No wonder she could darn those socks. After a time my socks were finished and they are still keeping my toes cozy. They're not as beautiful as when they were new. They now have threads of navy grey and brown spots on them. The colour of these socks were originally pale green with white sparkley thread around the tops and silver threads holding pearls in a lovely design on the sides. You can see why it was to hard for me to throw them out!