I Spy . . .

<span style="font-size: large;">With my little eye, something in my house . . . </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4bdox0gb-sCGBQmPpXAOof3dqLN3ukVTZxqIk57T6QC0VOaW7ySB5NZHjmvBlnaI53W8WebIOZbPhFaEv5b1lBBp716KlUWHAg_iGqtuujvGoALckG5s_xQ4inWi2elld3We11hlDkk/s1600-h/IMG_4778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4bdox0gb-sCGBQmPpXAOof3dqLN3ukVTZxqIk57T6QC0VOaW7ySB5NZHjmvBlnaI53W8WebIOZbPhFaEv5b1lBBp716KlUWHAg_iGqtuujvGoALckG5s_xQ4inWi2elld3We11hlDkk/s400/IMG_4778.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">That bears a striking resemblance to this . . . </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjCwhyv5n_oArIcE2ZKN4zLw_6LC9IAwsLMrJcDpDOIz0IY-elkbc4zJ3olW-yXEXb9z-TyaUU3j4leUITn00naMR1dThGsHLKMgn6D8YGhE29gLeN8WIDMbZuessZincvMolN5tymJc/s1600-h/IMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjCwhyv5n_oArIcE2ZKN4zLw_6LC9IAwsLMrJcDpDOIz0IY-elkbc4zJ3olW-yXEXb9z-TyaUU3j4leUITn00naMR1dThGsHLKMgn6D8YGhE29gLeN8WIDMbZuessZincvMolN5tymJc/s400/IMG.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This is "The Best" list from the April issue of House Beautiful.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was a bit taken aback that the humble little rug that sits in front of my sink is mentioned in one of my favorite magazines, House Beautiful.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to HB, "the ancient tradition of Shyrdak rugs -- handcrafted from felt -- dates back centuries, to nomadic yurts in Kyrgyzstan." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xh8lGo4WUMp1ItnQ9rVMwf61PGZU6THJg7oPfaVNESq2d5MHrBmHw1b-CLaW0fzgxNkvsbtivA7w45_amxvDVRHvMCvWy5ZX96CmKBZ38Y78AemfTGEEruZmUMYSteBn-97TnKBtDcY/s1600-h/Kyrgyzrugbluered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xh8lGo4WUMp1ItnQ9rVMwf61PGZU6THJg7oPfaVNESq2d5MHrBmHw1b-CLaW0fzgxNkvsbtivA7w45_amxvDVRHvMCvWy5ZX96CmKBZ38Y78AemfTGEEruZmUMYSteBn-97TnKBtDcY/s320/Kyrgyzrugbluered.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm assuming that what I have is also a Shyrdak rug. If not, maybe it's just a distant cousin. Here's the illustrious history of my particular rug, as I know it. My dad went on one of his mountain-climbing trips (he started this particular hobby when I was 12) to Mongolia years ago and purchased two of these small rugs as well as a large wall-hanging. He believes he may have paid $10 for each rug. That's quite a bargain considering the one listed in HB was $500 (of course, the flight over there and back probably cost a bit). The rugs gathered dust in my parents' spare room until I rescued the one above from obscurity several months ago and brought it into its current incarnation -- as a kitchen rug.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I realize Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan are not the same country but they're pretty close (I looked it up), and apparently in Mongolia they live in gers instead of yurts, but close enough (they're both tents basically).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwrSXVKsStOGjSUPCibu-crZzIFIuV5wWvU9TTUgwW_g2RtfCFBBJ5W3tnQnF2ECThXNMOSVtd8r6crfwdSpyHlRr9-vYyFEPIJUrJpoi2O1nrHV2ZpXGuwbJKsByc66c4RAsC86ul3I/s1600-h/asnewnew.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwrSXVKsStOGjSUPCibu-crZzIFIuV5wWvU9TTUgwW_g2RtfCFBBJ5W3tnQnF2ECThXNMOSVtd8r6crfwdSpyHlRr9-vYyFEPIJUrJpoi2O1nrHV2ZpXGuwbJKsByc66c4RAsC86ul3I/s400/asnewnew.gif" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whatever it's called, I love my soft felt rug with the fun pattern. I'm glad House Beautiful agrees. Thanks, Dad . . . you predicted a trend years in advance!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sources: MIL, House Beautiful, www.shyrdak-felt-rugs.com</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>

I Spy . . .

With my little eye, something in my house . . .  That bears a striking resemblance to this . . .  This is "The Best" list from the...

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