Short and Sweet

"I" is for Incredibly embarrassing!

2012-01-17T13:17:00.004-07:00

The letter "I" is brought to you by Jenny Matlock. Visit her blog for more "I" entries.

It all started when I let the dogs out through the door in our bedroom! I walked into the backyard in my nightgown and slippers and waited for the dogs to finish whatever they were doing. I turned to go into the house and suddenly realized that the door had locked behind me! My husband was in Tucson (98 miles away) so screaming and pounding on the windows and doors was not an option. I kept repeating to myself, I'm locked out, I'm locked out, what am I going to do? Oh, crap...this can't be happening to me! I somehow realized that I had to get to a phone so I decided to walk to my neighbor's house in my humiliated glory with my boobs bouncing like ~~tennis balls~~ melons for the world to see. Of course my neighbors (whom I know) weren't home! I knew that there were neighbors in the next house who had recently moved in so I thought that I would try my luck with them. I sheepishly knocked on their door and a man answered looking at me like he was seeing Dolly Parton and Carol Burnett's washer woman all rolled into one! I had crossed my arms over my chest to hide my true embarrassment and politely introduced myself. He and his wife welcomed me in and let me use their phone which wasn't any ordinary phone. They and I had trouble calling out so the man (Marty) finally let me use his normal cell phone. I called my friend, Cindy, who lives nearby because I knew that she had the key to our house. No answer! I called my father-in-law (age 90) because I thought that he might have a key to our house but he couldn't help me. I kept apologizing to the new neighbors (Vickie and Marty) and they assured me that it was okay to stand in their kitchen without any dignity...Marty finally told his wife to get a robe for me because he could obviously sense that my near-hysterical embarrassment was about to skyrocket into uncontrollable sobs with a side of flailing and gnashing of teeth! I pulled myself together and decided to call Cindy back while silently promising God that I would make novenas for the next 10 years! This time Cindy answered the phone and I explained what had happened. Funny thing...Cindy was in her nightgown, too, and had to change and find my house key before she could come to my rescue. I dashed out of Marty and Vickie's house with a stream of "thank-you's" trailing behind me. I met Cindy at my front door and nearly kissed the floor when I walked into my house. I, too, thanked Cindy profusely, let the dogs in, took a shower and drank a cup of coffee. I left for my hair appt. and took time to buy some flowers for Cindy, Marty and Vickie. It seems now that when I leave my house I always feel incredibly insecure and tense, but I always make sure that I'm sufficiently dressed, have my cell phone, keys, water, sack lunch and chocolate with me...even if I only put the garbage bins out front or water the yard! I think an incredible case of paranoia has set in.

Clip art courtesy of Bing!

Golf 101

2011-12-05T22:20:00.003-07:00

One Saturday in September my son-in-law took my two grandchildren golfing at a local course in Tucson, AZ. Lillian, almost 2, and Brandt, age 4 had fun learning the finer tips of the game!

Because Joe, my son-in-law, has been golfing since he was 9, he knows what he is doing and he can easily coach people when it comes to the form and technique of the game. Therefore, he is showing Lillian how to hold a club while Brandt looks on.

Somehow they all made it onto the green and it looks like Brandt is ready to putt.

Apparently Lillian got bored with the game at one point and started to make up her own rules!

Brandt is normally right-handed but he putts with his left hand. He has been going with Joe for a few years now and Brandt is developing into quite a golfer!

Hmmmm...where did that ball go?

Okay, I'll just pick up the ball and put it in the cup!

Lesson 1 for Lillian is apparently over for now!

I AM NOT AMUSED!

2011-10-16T11:18:00.002-07:00

My 2 year old granddaughter is not happy because her father is trying to do her hair!!! It seems that I am the only one who can comb, brush, and style her hair into "piggies"!

Just give up and let my hair do what it wants to do!

Halloween/Fall "costumes"

2011-09-25T19:01:00.001-07:00

I have several Longaberger baskets around my house and each serves a different purpose. I also have "garters" so I can dress my baskets according to the season! My first photo shows a basket all dressed up for Halloween with a black garter fabric that inclues bats, stars, ghosts, and pumpkins. I like the bow that adds to this "costume".

This basket has a green garter that features purple spiders, webs and candy corn.

This corner basket features a beige garter and bow with fall-colored leaves.

This obviously isn't a basket but it is a cute sign that I bought at Home Goods the day after Halloween. Can you say..."a $2.00 steal"?

This next basket is invaluable to our household. It is our "media" basket and it holds the remote to the TV and the ceiling fan. It also serves as a home for our beverage coasters and a phone when not on a charger. I really like the bright Halloween colors in the "garter" and the darling harvest tie-on.

My baskets are ready for Halloween and their "costumes" are so cute and festive.

"V" is for Vegetable Invasion

2011-09-14T10:47:00.002-07:00

                                             THE VEGETABLE INVASION

                        By Jay
   (a 6th grader many, many years ago)

                  DEDICATED
   to my sister, Renae...may my spinach
            always end up on her plate

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a race of highly intelligent vegetables existed. There was no hunger or war on this planet and they lived by the motto "Lettuce Have Peace".

One disastrous day the Seer of the planet, Mr. Potato Head, looked into the future and saw that a huge cheese sauce was going to destroy their entire civilization. He ran to warn their ruler, Caesar of Salad.
             "Tell everyone that we must evacuate the planet immediately," Caesar cried.
             "But where shall we go?" asked Mr. Corn, who had heard all the chaos.
             "To the planet Earth!" said Mr. Lettuce, who was the head of core intelligence. "On Earth we will be superior beans!"
So they all climbed into their carrot sticks and flew to Earth just before the giant cheese sauce made vegetable dip of the entire planet.
When they arrived, they found that Mr. Lettuce had been right. The inhabitants of Earth were infinitely more inferior to the vegetable race. The humans couldn't see into the future, they had no super-sonic hearing, and the closest thing they had to real intelligence was a Cabbage Patch Doll!

Unfortunately living in a nearby valley was a terrible giant who hated vegetables. Even as a little giant, he refused to eat his broccoli. This giant was determined to rid the valley of all the vegetables, so he called together all of his dwarf servants and told them of his plan. They were to lure the vegetables into the valley by inviting them to the Betty Cracker National Vegetable Bake-Off. (Little did they know that THEY were the ones to be baked off!)

When the vegetables arrived ready for the contest, the dwarfs led them into the giant's evil lair. It looked pretty pleasant, but Mrs. Avocado knew something was wrong.
                  "I fear we have fallen into a pit!" she cried and then the door slammed shut.
                  "Ha ha, ha!" came the laugh of the giant.
                  "Somehow I seem to know that laugh," said Mr. Lettuce. "What color is that giant?"
                  "Why, he's GREEN!" screamed the vegetables. "We should have known! We're in the valley of the Jolly Green Giant!" they screamed.

As the giant turned the knob of the huge microwave to "Vegetables....well done," the poor creatures began to lose their super powers. The potato became blind, the corn was deaf, and even the beets lost their rhythm!

Yes, the vegetables were done, but not forgotten. Their story was passed from generation to generation, down through the ages until even to this day you can find a head of lettuce, an ear of corn and eyes still grow on potatoes.

This was written by a 6th grade student of mine many years ago who assured me that this story was original and not copied. The clip art is from Bing.com and came from a "free" clip art link.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday blog for the letter "V".

"T" is for Transformation

2011-08-31T14:02:00.001-07:00

I'm joining Jenny Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday and our assignment for this week is the letter "T". My granddaughter, Lillian, will be 2 in October so I decided to transform a 30 year old doll cradle that my daughter used when she was little so Lillian can put her "babies" down for a nap! Lately Lillian has shown a real interest in her baby dolls so this little project seemed like the perfect choice for a transformation.

This plain white cradle was a gift from my father along with a cute table and chair set that is also white. The table and chairs are also in need of a transformation but that will have to wait. At any rate, I never did anything with this doll cradle when my daughter was younger, so it just sat and collected dirt and dust as she got older.

Since Lillian's room decor includes some pink and green, I decided to incorporate those colors (along with a butter yellow) into painting the cradle.

I decided to personalize the doll cradle so I added Lillian's name along with some embellishments that I found at Michael's.

I also added the word "baby" because Lillian uses it so often in her vocabulary. She takes her "babies" for walks around the house, and now she will have a place for them to go "night-night" while she takes a nap!

The trim at the bottom of the cradle is actually duct tape in a new snazzy design!

I'm not crazy about this side of the cradle and I wish I was more creative in using the self-adhesive embellishments. I'm the type of person that has to see something and "borrow" ideas...I just can't seem to create on my own!

Please visit Jenny's blog and enjoy the "T" posts from other participants.

R is for Recipes and Memories

2011-08-16T21:48:00.005-07:00

The whole idea of doing a book of recipes came to me when I came across so many of my mother's handwritten recipes. A friend of mine, Cindy, was looking through my mother's notebooks, vintage recipe books, and handwritten notes and suggested that I keep them in a book. I selected only a few pages of what is contained in the Recipes and Memories book to share in this post. I hope that you enjoy my narrative pages (a trip down 50's memory lane), the scanned vintage photos, and the recipes. You really should click each photo to enlarge so you can read and see the detail on each page. I'm joining Jenny Matlock's blog for Alphabe-Thursday and the letter "R".

The Dedication Page to my mother and grandmothers.

Four pages of childhood memories of our kitchen, family get-togethers, tons of food and love.

Some Italian recipes

A staple in almost every kitchen~~~~~The Apron!

My mother's tattered apron...my grandmother may have worn it too.

So many happy photo memories

I really want my grandchildren to know part of their heritage and what it was like for me to grow up in the 50's, therefore, you can see the two children at the bottom of this last page. This is not the last page in the memory book but it is the last page of this post. I have 3 more typed pages for my grandchildren and a page that I have handwritten to them. I hope that when they are older, all of this will make sense and they will treasure my memories as I have.

P is for purge and plates

2011-08-02T20:16:00.001-07:00

I'm joining Jenny Matlock this week at Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "P". Before I continue, you must realize that I'm home with our two dogs while my husband is in Tucson and, due to a dust storm and rain, our cable is out! That happened Sunday evening and Direct TV won't be here to fix the cable until Thursday morning!!!! With that said, I'm going to share with you some things I've done out of sheer boredom!

I've been meaning to clean the china hutch in my dining room but somehow I never found time...until now. I looked at the contents of the hutch (way too much clutter) so I decided to purge and replace the contents with my mother's set of china. Maybe I'm being very melancholy right now along with bored because in a few weeks it will be the first anniversary of my mother's passing. At any rate, I took everything out of the cluttered hutch and started anew.

You can see the clutter behind some Easter decor. I had plates, two sets of glasses and miscellaneous cups and saucers from garage sales all packed into the hutch.

After the purge, you can see my mom's china and some meaningful memorabilia on the shelves.

A close-up of her dainty pink floral pattern.

Now for the mess in the kitchen cupboard that held my wine glasses and everyday drinking glasses. Another purge was in order.................
Before

After

Now for the cupboard that held the dishes we got for our wedding 33 years ago!!! I think it is time to move on and use the dishes that were in my china hutch so......during the purge

After

The whole wheat pattern on the Mikasa plates that we registered for before our wedding in 1978...so long ago~~~~~

The plates that will now be used everyday

During the hutch purge

Bright, shiny glasses ready for a new home in the kitchen cupboard.

I found this cow creamer while I was cleaning/purging. It is old as I believe my mom acquired it while we were living in IL. My mom used to put milk in the cow and my daughter (now 31) would drink the milk out of the bucket that goes with the cow.

I also found these two egg cups that my mother had for many years.

This purge proved interesting as I also found this vintage pitcher with glasses that my mother brought with us when we moved to AZ in 1962. I'm sure that she had it for many years before that.

Oh, the memories!!! I remember eating my cereal out of these bowls when I was a little girl living in IL. The design is so pretty.

I also found these plates that my mom saved. My parents got married in 1943 so I'm sure that these plates were purchased before or shortly after their marriage. Hmmmm...68 years old!

My mom's bowls from IL. Again these are probably close to 68 years old!

Now what???? I have the old Mikasa wheat pattern plates and cups from 1978 when I got married, and a very nice Noritake dinnerware set that we purchased years ago....why I don't know!!!! The Noritake set was on a shelf above the Mikasa wheat set that we used everyday. For the life of me, I can't figure out what made us buy that Noritake dinnerware set!

Maybe I'll sell the Mikasa wheats on ebay and save the Noritake set. So with all the purging...I'm really only getting rid of one set of dishes!!!!!

Prima Ballerina estate sale

2011-07-17T15:57:00.002-07:00

This darling ballerina was bought at an estate sale this weekend. She will join my other ballerinas as a Christmas display for the Nutcracker Suite. She is so pretty in her sparkly tutu.

Dance, ballerina, dance!

My Heart Hurts!

2011-07-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

I wasn't in the courtroom. I didn't follow the trial because it hurt too much to think about a murdered 2 year-old. Someone murdered Caylee Anthony, and someone should pay dearly for her tragic death. Justice or a Joke????? Will this sad, sad incident ever be resolved?

Pretty Pink Planters

2011-06-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for another delightful Pink Saturday. Visit her blog to see some darling "pinks" and visit some wonderful bloggers. My first "pink" is of a bunny planter that I found at a yard sale for $1.00. This little darling would be perfect at a baby shower adorned with pretty flowers.

This next photo is another planter that I found at the same yard sale and, yes, I only paid $1.00 for this cutie.

Here is a photo of both planters that would make any baby shower whimsical and the topic of many happy conversations.

Happy Pink Saturday to Beverly and all the other pink bloggers on this fine day.

Pink Saturday revisited!

2011-06-03T17:52:00.001-07:00

It has been ages since a posted anything for Pink Saturday so I thought I would get back into the swing of things and post some photos of treasures I've picked up at estate/yard sales.

Actually this first photo shows cupcakes that I found at Kohl's for Valentine's Day. I'm sure that they were on sale or I wouldn't have bought them! The pink crochet doily was made by my mother or grandmother and it is very old.

This next photo is of 3 tiny frames that I found at a yard sale. I actually bought 6 little frames with pink roses in them, but I'm only including these 3 for Pink Saturday.

I couldn't help but include a photo of my precious granddaughter with a darling pink hat!

The toile fabric, the bath crystals, the shaker, and the pretty shoe were all found at a yard sale on New Year's Day no less! I used the fabric as a backing for some shelves and the other items in this photo were placed on the shelves.

A close-up of the pretty shoe.

This tea cup and saucer were also found at the New Year's Day sale. I think that the flowers are so dainty.

This cute doll was made for my daughter when she was a baby (she is 31 years old now)! The doll is dressed in pink dotted swiss and she is sitting in a vintage high chair that I bought at a yard sale.

I was very surprised to see this pink vase for a whopping .50 at a yard sale. I'm not sure if it is a hob-nail or not! Any thoughts?

Please visit Beverly for other delightful Pink Saturday posts.

F is for Finally Finished (Almost)!!!!

2011-05-23T21:14:00.006-07:00

This week Mrs. Matlock has assigned the letter "F" for the class assignment. I wasn't sure what I would blog about until I realized I finally finished a project that has been in the planning stages for months!!!

Several months ago I purchased this bookcase at a yard sale and, as luck would have it, it matched perfectly with a headboard and dresser that I already had! However, I didn't immediately put the bookcase in the same bedroom with the matching pieces!!! Instead the poor thing sat and sat forever in the garage until I found this fabric and these treasures at another sale. I finally got around to working on the bookcase/fabric project and the following photos show the outcome.

Before

During

After

Other than a few books for the bottom shelf and one or two more things to complete the shelf with the box of roses, I'm finished! ALMOST!!!!

Join Mrs. Matlock's class for more postings of the letter "F".

"Easter Parade" of sales

2011-04-10T19:25:00.003-07:00

Once again I ventured into the glorious world of yard/estate sales and I'm glad that I did.

This first photo is of a pretty red rose in bloom in my backyard. It has nothing to do with yard/estate sales, but I thought it was nice to look at anyway!

I found these three darling, puffy "Bunnies by the Bay" at a yard sale of a mother and daughter. I struck up a conversation with them and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I was taken with their friendly smiles and easy, delightful conversation. Merlie, the mother, and Amanda, the daughter, were selling a variety of things including Vera Bradley handbags, Coach and Dooney. They also had so many wonderful books...decorating, doll, and cooking...as well as some furniture and wonderful home decor items. Merlie has a real eye for decorating and I wish I could have bought the vignette in her living room (the sale was both inside the house and outside in the yard and garage). I even went back the next day to visit and buy stuff!!! It was so nice to meet such gracious people.

The red bunny in the middle was $2.00 and the white ones were $1.00 each...all from Hallmark.

This three-tiered serving stand was crooked and stuffed into a plastic bag. For some reason I liked it and instantly came up with a proper use for it. So I straightened it out and............

put some of my miniature dolls on it along with an old tea set. I'm still not finished with it but at least I now have a purpose for buying the serving stand.

The two little Victorian dolls on the top tier and the two dolls in front (pink and blue) are from an estate sale. You really should click on the photo to enlarge it so you can really see the detail. They are Maud Humphrey Bogart pieces and I spent a whopping $8.00 on all four!

The mini frames below are from Merlie and Amanda's sale. I don't think that I've seen frames quite as tiny as some of these. I like the rose pictures in the frames, however, I think I'll switch some out for photos of my grandchildren.

A close-up of the frames

Picture Perfect!

2011-04-01T21:41:00.004-07:00

I recently found this double frame at a yard sale and walked right by it to look at other things. For some reason I went back to the frame and decided to buy it even though I have a bazillion frames at home!

I didn't know what I was going to do with the frame until I thought about the gigantic roll of wrapping paper I bought at Hobby Lobby several months ago.

Here is the frame in its original state.

Here is the frame with the harlequin wrapping paper I bought at Hobby Lobby.

And here is the frame on the wall along with two corners I bought at a yard sale today!

I don't like how I put the corners up, so I'm going to move them closer to the frame. My husband is going to love the extra set of nail holes in the wall, and he will probably threaten to put up his favorite jumper cables if I continue to pound holes in the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The entire project cost about $5.00 excluding the wrapping paper and the photo of my mom both of which I already had.

Yard Sales and Treasure Hunts

2011-03-28T22:15:00.003-07:00

Every Saturday morning I visit yard sales and/or estate sales in my area. I go alone (except I sometimes take our Labrador, Bear) because I have a system and I don't want to wait while a companion leisurely browses all the goodies for sale. I quickly look over the merchandise and I make split second decisions. Time is of the essence and I move on if nothing catches my eye. Bear sits in the back seat with his head out the window and 95% of the time people ask me if they can pet him. I always say "yes" because Bear is very friendly and loves people. Little kids get a kick out of Bear as he slobbers kisses on them!!

Bear is such a baby that he won't even look at the camera because he is afraid of the light that comes on when I'm ready to take a picture!!!!!!!!!!

Every single thing in this photo is from a yard sale except the two pictures of my grandchildren! The frames, the corbel and the cute illustration of a baby gown with a precious inscription, were all purchased for next to nothing over the past few months.

I've blogged about this entry table before but not about the things on it. I found the birdcage and the pear at a yard sale, and the finial at an estate sale.

Here is a close-up of the finial and the pear.

Easter goodies

The cloche is from an estate sale, the ribbon is from a yard sale, the hanging eggs and the pink rabbit in front are from yard sales, the letter "F" is from Hobby Lobby, the black egg was free and the pear is from a yard sale.

The "Recipe for Friendship" was purchased from Cracker Barrel while the pink vase was recently purchased from a neighbor's yard sale.

For some reason I was drawn to this as I've never seen a pink hob-nail like this.

Darling rabbits from a yard sale.

This little writing desk was given to me because I did a favor for a friend. I'm still not sure what I should do with it or where I should put it!

These two rabbits were rescued from a box of discarded Easter stuff!!! One man's trash......

Cute little rabbit ready for Easter. She came home with me from a yard sale.

This darling table, the finial and the oval frame were purchased at an estate sale. The pink bunny is from a yard sale.

A close-up of the table and the other goodies.

This whole yard sale/estate sale thing has become an addiction but I love it. I can't explain the "thrill of the hunt" mentality; I just know that I thoroughly enjoy it!

Please link to Jenny Matlock's blog to read more "Y" posts from other participants.

Breakfast at Tiffany's??????

2011-03-20T21:30:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago my friend, Debbie, invited my husband and me to her house for an informal breakfast. She asked what I might want and I told her "...pancakes and coffee will be fine." My husband and I walked into Debbie's house and we were greeted by people visiting from Wisconsin, Debbie's brother and sister, their respective spouses, their children, Debbie, her husband and their two children. I was surprised but I was also happy to see Debbie's family again and meet the visitors from WI. I was also shocked by all of the food! Debbie's "informal breakfast" consisted of:

Coffee

Orange juice

Bottled water

Tea

Waffles galore!

Warm blueberry syrup

Chicken quiche

Vegetarian quiche

Chocolate-covered strawberries

Muffins

Sliced turkey sausage

Cheeses

Ham slices

French pastry

Fruits

Nuts

Fried potatoes

(Debbie is in the background dressed in red)

(Wisconsin visitors in foreground)

BUT.......

there wasn't a pancake in sight!!!!!!!

Of Titanic proportions and T-Ball

2011-02-19T16:14:00.015-07:00

A few months ago my daughter and I visited the Titanic exhibit in Tucson and we came away with feelings of awe, sorrow and a little regret. We were amazed at the artifacts but we wished that more were on display. The portraits and stories were heartbreaking, but revealed remarkable feats of heroism and selflessness. If the Titanic exhibition is in a town near you, I suggest that you visit it and read and view everything that is contained in the exhibit.
Upon arrival, each guest is issued a boarding pass with the name of a passenger on the reverse side. At the end of the exhibit, you will learn if your passenger survived the sinking.

My passenger, Mrs. Jacques Putrelle (Lily May Peel), age 35, survived the tragedy and returned to her two children waiting in Scituate, Massachesetts. However, I don't know if her husband survived.

Several months ago, my daughter, husband and I were watching a documentary on the HMHS Britannic and we learned so much. Some of what we learned was also presented in the Titanic exhibit. I never knew that the RMS Titanic had two sister ships, the RMS Olympic and the HMHS Britannic. The RMS Olympic collided with the HMS Hawke in 1911, but it was able to safely return to port. Of course we all know what happened on that fateful night in 1912 when the RMS Titanic tragically sank with so many people on board. In 1916 during WWI, the HMHS Britannic struck a mine in the Aegean Sea and, it too, sank. Another very interesting fact that I never knew was that a stewardess/nurse, Violet Jessop, was aboard all three vessels and survived the mishap and tragedies. She wrote about her days with the White Star line and she passed away in 1971 at the age of 83!!!! Surprisingly my 3 year old grandson (he's 4 now) was in the room while we were watching the documentary and he was playing with his trains as he does everyday. Suddenly he had all kinds of questions about the Titanic and the Britannic!!! To this day, he talks about the ships but I'm sure he doesn't fully understand the impact these two ships had in history.

Speaking of my grandson, here are some photos of him playing T-ball. He really enjoys it, but he has the attention span of a gnat!!!!!

This is how my grandson stops the ball coming his way!!!!

He's happy about something!

He made it to first base!!!!!!

Go get it, Brandt!

If you want to read more blogs participating in Alphabe-Thursday, please go to Jenny Matlock's blog. Every week she presents a different letter of the alphabet and this week's letter was the letter T.

Sweet Valentine treats

2011-01-30T14:04:00.001-07:00

Sweet treats from Kohl's~~~~Valentine cookie jar and two "delicious" candles!

A sweet key to anyone's heart!

New Year's Day Madness!!!

2011-01-01T16:59:00.005-07:00

Well it's Saturday and that means yard/garage/estate sale day to me. However, it is also New Year's Day which might mean other things to many people. We don't usually go out on New Year's Eve so I don't have to worry about feeling funny/sick/bleary-eyed/or exhausted on New Year's Day. So I headed to one of the few sales that was advertised on Craig's List and I'm happy that I did. I saw this "shabby" sale yesterday on CL, but I was too busy meeting friends for lunch and shopping with my friend, Robin, (which is always an adventure) to go to this sale. Alas, this morning I kicked it in gear after a leisurely breakfast with my husband and I found some nice things.

I bought this darling pink and white toile fabric (about 4 or 5 yards) and I might use it as a backing for a light cream-colored shelving unit. Instead of seeing a bland cream-color background behind the shelves, this fabric will be there! I have high hopes for this project!!!

I also found the pink bath crystals, a shaker, and this cute shoe at the sale. They all will undoubtedly go on the shelving unit.

A close-up of the shoe....I think it is so pretty.

A copy of a vintage print that I think is so precious.

There were several teacups and matching saucers at the sale, but I decided on this one because of the soft colors.

Here is the vintage print in its frame. The frame looks blue in the photo, but it is actually a soft, pale green color. I like the texture the frame adds to the print.

All in all I'm pretty happy with my New Year's Day venture into the world of yard sales. For some reason I have a lot of energy, enthusiasm and excitement today....I only hope that it lasts throughout the New Year!!!!

The very best to all for a fruitful, safe, and healthy year ahead.

Merry Christmas to all

2010-12-23T15:44:00.002-07:00

Merry Christmas to all my blog friends

"L" is for Lovely Lillian

2010-12-16T19:23:00.012-07:00

It's been soooooo long since I participated in Alphabe-Thursday hosted by the wonderful Jenny Matlock. I finally decided to do something with the letter "L" because my granddaughter's name is Lillian. Of course all my photos will be of lovely baby Lillian.

This photo was taken on Lillian's first birthday in October.

She has such a lovely face and darling curls.

Needless to say she thoroughly enjoyed her cake!

Lillian's Christmas photo

This photo is of Lillian right after she "helped" decorate the tree!

Lillian is being coy and shy.

When I first saw this next photo, I thought that my daughter put a wig on Lillian!

However, this photo shows Lillian's hair after my daughter took it out of pigtails

(piggies)

Baby Lillian asleep in her daddy's arms.

Visit Jenny Matlock's blog to enjoy more wonderful blogs participating in Alphabe-Thursday.

Christmas things, quilts and trees...oh, my!

2010-12-07T15:35:00.012-07:00

I'm finally (almost) finished with my Christmas decorating and its only taken me a week to put up everything. I still have to finish my dining room table and the kitchen table which is currently serving as my gift-wrapping area.

I've seen so many wonderful blogs with darling villages displayed that I thought I would try to put one together this year. Soooo I shopped after Christmas last year and I bought some houses at Joann's (pink church and white building). I also found some pieces at yard sales and estate sales. I was also lucky enough to find a whole bag of bottle brush trees for a $1.00 so I could include them in my village display. The following photos are the beginnings of a village that I hope will include "people" and other Christmas things next year.
I like the little bridge with the horse and buggy on it. The horse and buggy came from a movable display that I've had for a few years.

There is a horse and buggy in the following photo along with another one that can't be seen because it is moving behind the house in the background.

Here is the very beginning of my tablescape for Christmas. Everything in the photo was bought from a Craig's List ad or at a yard sale. The dishes are Paula Deen and I think they are so festive.
The vintage ornaments and the container they are in were bought at different yard sales. The entire box of vintage ornaments was a dollar as was the tinted glass container. The "golden" apples and pearpurchased at yard sales.s are sitting on a charger and they were all

My dining room hutch is adorned with festive garland that lights up along with two big Santas. The garland was found at an estate sale and the Santas were purchased from Dillard's after Christmas many years ago.My dolls consist of Apple Cheek dolls from Pic & Save (many, many years ago), Daisy Kingdom dolls, ballerinas from Dillard's (after Christmas), thrift store ballerinas, and some from Collections Inc., a mail-order catalog.

This pink tree is one of about 20 that I have in my house. Some trees are a few inches tall and the tree in our great room is 9 feet tall!!!!

Here is the 9 ft. tree with red and gold ornaments.

Here is a better view of the tree along with other Christmas delights.

Here are some of my Jim Shore Christmas items. Most everything was purchased at yard sales. The sleigh, the big Santa and the snowman were bought from a couple whose store was going out of business. The pieces were 75% off so I couldn't pass that up.

My entry table adorned with angels that I've had for years along with the candy-cane trees that I purchased after Christmas last year in Tucson.

Another photo of my new entry way table that was a Craig's List purchase.

This is a photo of a tree that still needs ornaments. It is in the guest bathroom.

Two little gold trees in the half bath or powder room as some people call it! Ignore the smudges on the mirror....I certainly have!

Of course the half bath toilet needed a tree too! Some of you might want to offer therapy right about now!

My mother passed away in August just 20 days shy of her 96th birthday so I'm more sentimental this year than ever before. These two trees are in her room decorated with all of her vintage ornaments and other things that she saved. Some of this stuff is older than I am so I already told my daughter to take extra care with everything when she gets the pieces.

My husband calls this tree the "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" because it resembles the poor spindly tree from the comic strip and television show. I recently bought it at Walmart because I still had an extra box of ornaments with some dating back to 1980 when my daughter was born. I have Hallmark ornaments and miscellaneous things on this tree. I taught school for a long time so I also have some darling ornaments from former students. My daughter bought me an ornament from Bloomingdale's one year...the one just to the left of the middle holding two bags that read "Born to shop". She knows me well.

Jim Shore angels sit on top of a curio cabinet in the hallway. The angel (cookie jar) on the left was part of the Craig's List purchase and the other two angels were gifts from my daughter. The purple tree and ornaments were from a yard sale.

This red and green wedding ring quilt was purchased at a yard sale along with another quilt. They were new in their original plastic cases so I bought both of them for $5.oo total!!!! The lady was moving and didn't want to keep anything that she absolutely didn't need. The dolls in the photo were made by my mother many years ago, and I put them out every Christmas.

This is the other quilt that I purchased. I think that this one has a bear paw or bear claw design. This one will go with us to our house in Tucson.

Needless to say, this next quilt is quite different from the previous quilts in this post. My father-in-law bought this while he was in Iowa a few months ago. I think that there was a huge Amish community near where he was visiting so he bought this wedding ring quilt made by hand by the Amish women. It is beautiful and it is on our bed.

The Amish quilt in all its glory!!!

Wishing you all the best for a Merry Christmas.

WOW! What a weekend!

2010-11-21T21:42:00.006-07:00

My daughter and her family came to visit us from Tucson this Friday which turned out to be the beginning of a wonderful weekend. After all the hugs and kisses, we all settled in to watch my grandson play with his trains (I keep two sets at my house) and watch my granddaughter walk around nonstop going from one interesting item (toilet paper) to another (pots, pans, spatulas). The family was here to have their Christmas picture taken at a studio in Chandler, and to play a game of indoor simulated golf (that was for my daughter and son-in-law).

My husband and I accompanied everyone to the photo studio and we had a ball laughing and trying to pose the two kids for a decent picture. My grandson (almost 4) and my granddaughter (13 months) were troopers except that Lily was too curious about everything to sit still longer than a nano-second!

~~~This is just one photo of the two of them together~~~

I like the way Brandt is watching over his sister

Lily, of course, had to be entertained by all sorts of craziness going on off camera. This is just one of many pretty photos of baby Lily as she laughs at all of us.

Brandt is growing up so fast! He is such a delight who never misses a beat in communicating with adults. His humor and understanding of his environment are astounding for someone who isn't quite 4 years old yet.
After the photo shoot, we all went to dinner at Rigatony's in Tempe. The salad and warm seasoned bread are to die for. Of course the main entrees are delicious, too. The two kids were really tired by this time, but they still managed to hold it together for the most part.

The next morning my grandson was up at 5 AM and came into our bedroom saying, "It's so dark in here!" I mentioned something about turning the light on which was a mistake because he woke up the two dogs and my husband and that pretty much started our day. I got up and started getting ready to go to my garage sales (my Saturday morning ritual) while my son-in-law and husband drank coffee and decided on a breakfast menu. When I returned from my excursions, (another train in tow!) my kitchen was clean (compliments of my son-in-law) and the rest my house was in disarray (compliments of my grandchildren). My grandson was so thrilled to see the train that all he could say over and over again was ...."this is so cool!" After my daughter and son-in-law left for the golf game, we watched the kids. Brandt played with his train for hours and we hardly knew he was here, while Lily took every ounce of energy we had because she was here, there and everywhere. My house is not baby-proof so we feel like we have to be extra diligent in watching the kids. When we babysit at my daughter's house, we feel more at ease because they don't have a pool and their house has toddler precautions everywhere. I admire my daughter and son-in-law for keeping up with the children and I also realize the purpose of menopause....it's God's way of keeping women from having children that could easily make each day feel like a marathon run!
All in all, we had a wonderful time and we look forward to our visit in Tucson for Thanksgiving.

After-Halloween Treasures

2010-11-02T11:24:00.003-07:00

I can't believe my good fortune in finding this framed Halloween treasure at Home Goods!!!!!!!!! Two days before Halloween I was shopping at Home Goods with my daughter and we saw 4 of these cute framed art Halloween goodies. The price for each was $19.99 which I thought was too high. I was sure that the price would be at least 50% off after Halloween so I waited to buy one then. I woke up early on Nov. 1, so I could be at Home Goods when the doors opened. I was the first person in line and I peered through the window to see that all the Halloween inventory was marked down 50% as I previously thought. When I walked over to the display of Halloween treasures, I found that each framed art piece was marked down to $5.00 each!!!!! I was shocked so I picked up the last 4 to save for next year. I gave one to my daughter and I'll display the others in various nooks and crannies for next year's Halloween festivities. I can't believe that I bought 4 of these for the price of one!!!! Each one measures 12 x 17 so I'm pleased with the size as well.This treasure was originally $7.99 but I paid $2.00...again another post Halloween find at Home Goods.
Stuff like this never happens to me so I feel fortunate that my diligence paid off.

BUSTED!!!!!

2010-11-02T09:00:00.005-07:00

My granddaughter gets into everything as evidenced by this photo!!!!!

Bitchy Witchy

2010-10-16T19:20:00.006-07:00

It all started with an invitation for the "Ghouls" to attend a "Bitchy Witchy" party on Friday, October 15, at Robin's house. Just beyond this red door, the ghouls gathered to eat, drink, laugh, and chat about anything and everything. Let's take a look at some exterior decorations.........Plants, pumpkins, spiders, ghosts, and a witch greeted us in a friendly way

I can't believe that I didn't rotate this photo!!!!!! You still get the general idea...

A happy witch and her black cat wait for the party to begin....

I think that Robin made this wreath but I'm not 100% sure....

My witch's hat waits to adorn my head!!!!!

My blingy gloves await with my special jewelry....

My sparkly shawl and pretty purple glasses can't wait to be worn....

Some delicious witchy desserts and snacks....

Robin always has just the right decor for every occasion...

Our hostess, Robin F, with Toni showing off their witchy stockings.....

Toni and Sarah sample some food and drink in the kitchen....

There were plenty of libations to put us ghouls in just the right bitchy mood....

From left to right: Robin W., Toni, Suzanne, me, Tracy, along with Sarah and Robin sitting in front. Joanne, Marti, and Jennifer hadn't arrived yet!

Robin's gorgeous, 21 year-old daughter, Tiffany graced us with her presence. How she put up with us "older" ghouls is beyond me!!!!!

Our hostess in her witchy finery!

Here I am decked out in all my bling!!!!!

Here I am with Robin showing off my warts and all!!!!!!

We had so much fun. We ate and drank outside with candles, pumpkins, and candy on the tables. One conversation centered on Jennifer's ex-husband, "Lucifer" and his new wife, "Lucifina"!!!! Needless to say, that was interesting! Thanks again, Robin, for a wonderful "ghouls" night out.

Plum SPOOKY!

2010-09-08T17:14:00.002-07:00

Our final color for summer school is violet which brings to my mind a broad spectrum of the color purple. My post has a variety of purpleness...violet, plum and whatever. I'm definitely taking this color in various directions!

My first photo is of spooky purple bats for the upcoming Halloween celebration. They are magnetic and stick easily to my refrigerator door.My mother in all of her plum finery. She recently passed away only 20 days short of her 96th birthday and I enjoy looking at all the vintage photos that I have of her. She was a sharp dresser and she always put together just the right accessories to top off her outfits. I've always loved this special photo of her.

A pretty hankie with the color violet mixed in somewhere.

Finally a good example of the color violet with some violets on a hankie!
My mother saved her hankie collection so I have quite an assortment of colors and designs to choose from.

Please visit Mrs. Matlock and all the other summer school participants. This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the color violet.

A dollhouse~~~~Past and Present

2010-09-07T14:36:00.007-07:00

For some time now, I've had an overwhelming desire to grab onto a small piece of my childhood and try to relive the happy memories associated with it. I came across an old photo of me standing by my beloved dollhouse and I thought ..."boy, I wish I still had that dollhouse"!!!! Of course I don't remember who my mother gave my original dollhouse to, so I kept looking on ebay to try to find one just like mine. I had to be careful because my original house had a garage and so many on ebay don't have the garage. Many from the early 1950's have a garage but with a Disney character nursery which my original house didn't have. I researched the history of the Marx dollhouse and I learned that my model was made from 1949-1951 with a garage and no Disney characters although the same house was available with a garage that included the Disney nursery. The following is an excerpt from the Marx dollhouse history.

A PLACE TO PARK THE CAR....
This house was first produced in 1949 along with the Disney house. It had a cute little animial motif in the nursery instead of the Disney motif. The other rooms were the same: living/dining room, kitchen, garage on the main; nursery, bathroom, master bedroom and patio on the second floor. The exterior of these earliest houses seemed to be the standard white clapboard with coloured brick style. Inside this house was pretty much identical to the Disney house, except of course for the aforementioned nursery. After 1951 however, the houses were produced with a utility or laundry room rather than a garage. Please go here for a superior reference to the Marx dollhouses.

Sooooo I kept finding houses with the utility or laundry room instead of the garage!!!!!
I finally found a dollhouse exactly like my original and it arrived today!!! Yipee! I had to put it together which was quite a chore with all those metal tabs, but I finally managed and you can see the finished product above.
Here is the nursery with the animal motif instead of the Disney characters.

Here is garage instead of the utility/laundy room.

Here is the kitchen which is identical to my original house complete with the clock, curtains, and other things on the walls.

The living room/dining room exactly like my original house.

The identical bathroom

The master bedroom

Now all I have to do is furnish the thing! I'm going to try to furnish this house like my original even though it's kind of difficult to see each piece of furniture in my original black and white photo.
The colors and the lithographs are so clear in this dollhouse and there isn't any rust which is a problem with so many houses on ebay. Overall, I'm very excited with my recent purchase and the memories that come with it.

Chunker Baby

2010-08-29T21:31:00.007-07:00

My granddaughter, Lillian

This baby girl has so much beauty and personality that I'm in awe whenever I see her. She is just about ready to walk and then my daughter will really have her hands full. Lillian seems to be quite independent and very curious as she is constantly exploring her environment. She likes to flip the pages in her books and she likes her brother's trains...much to his disdain! She likes to observe and analyze new faces, and she has a ready smile with a crinkly nose that makes us chuckle!LOVE YOU, BABY GIRL

Loretta's blues------NOT

2010-08-25T18:46:00.004-07:00

Well, I tried to post my "blue" photos until I realized I couldn't access them from my laptop!!!! I'm not home this week because I'm visiting my daughter and her family in Tucson and, since I'm so computer illiterate, I thought I could still post my photos using my laptop!!! My daughter chuckled and mentioned something about the hard drive on my computer at home being different from the hard drive on my laptop. Trust me, you would have really enjoyed my blue presentation. Alas, instead you get to read blue words on the screen! I'm sooooo embarrassed!

A Heartfelt Thank You

2010-08-20T22:37:00.003-07:00

Needless to say it has been a roller coaster week for me filled with raw emotion, whirlwind activity, and just trying to cope with the loss of my mother. However, an incredible group of people came to me from blogland, and helped me deal with feelings and look beyond my tears to see just how wonderful friends can be. I finally met our Alphabe-Thursday teacher, Jenny Matlock, when she came to my mother's visitation. I recognized her instantly from the picture on her blog and we hugged each other as if we had been friends for years. She not only came to give me support, she brought along some "cupcakes in a jar"!!!!! I can't thank Jenny enough for being so thoughtful and for taking the time to be with me when I really needed to be surrounded by friends.
Along with Jenny, I must thank Viki, Anne, Cindy, Linda, Cindy B., Christy, Debbie, Jo, Carmen, Nora, Kat, Cheryl, Julie, Nature Girl, Colleen, Freda, Wombat Central, Sarah, Sue, Vicki, Diana, Catherine, Myorii, Polly, JDaniel's Mom, Christina, Sue, Cheryl, Tracy and Terra, for posting so many beautiful comments and expressions of sympathy on my blog. You ALL helped in ways you can't imagine. I am so appreciative to each and every one of you for selflessly lending your support and for offering prayers and thoughts of comfort during a difficult time. I would be thrilled to meet each of you in person so we could become friends in reality instead of cyber-friends.
Thank you again for all of your well wishes and prayers...I'm okay and I'm facing each day with renewed strength from God and my mother.

Requiescat in Pace

2010-08-15T18:39:00.002-07:00

My mother, Sarah, passed away at 4:30 PM, August 15, 2010. She was born in 1914 so she had an incredible 95 + year journey on earth. Today she joins my father, her parents and brothers in heaven with God and His angels.Mom would have been 96 years old in just 20 days so now she can celebrate her birthday with her heavenly family.

Thanks, mom, for an incredible and amazing life filled with unconditional love, support and a friendship that can never be rivaled. You will be missed but never forgotten.

Yellow rose and more

2010-08-11T15:12:00.006-07:00

For our yellow summer school assignment, I've chosen some photos of yellow roses that bloom in my backyard. Mrs. Matlock wants us to follow the colors of the rainbow which include some wonderful color combinations!

This first photo is of a pretty yellow rose that was taken in my backyard in February of 2009.

This next photo is of another yellow rose that was taken during our wonderful winter in Arizona.

This next photo was taken on Good Friday, April 2009, and shows two more yellow roses in all their glory.

A pretty yellow hibiscus

This is a photo of the nursery in my daughter's dollhouse.
Big Bird and Bert! Can't get any more yellow than Big Bird!

I found this can on Craig's List while searching for some home decor items. This purchase led to a whole new look in my kitchen!
This hankie was a .50 yard sale find. I love all the needlework to make the butterfly.
This Christmas ornament has probably been around longer than I have. My parents had this lemon on every tree they ever had and I proudly display it on one of my trees during the holidays as well.
This pretty pitcher was also part of my Craig's List treasure hunt and it sits in my kitchen along with the can.
My mother made this vase with the yellow flowers during the 1970's when she took a ceramics class with our neighbor.
Please visit other "yellow" posts here.This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the color yellow.

YIPEEEEEEE !!!!!!

2010-08-08T17:51:00.005-07:00

I'm sooooo happy because football is back on TV. The Hall of Fame game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys is on now which means that my favorite season is right around the corner! I so enjoy Fall/Autumn because it signifies the end of dreadfully hot summers and the beginning of a coolness in the air that refreshes my soul. I also really enjoy watching football games...both pro and collegiate. I learned about the game of football when I was a student at Arizona State University. I used to date this guy named Bob and he would tell me what and why something was happening in the games we were watching. Since that time, I've really come to love the game of football simply because I understand it so well. I usually impress my husband with my football knowledge, and our most "serious discussions" center around which games we are going to watch during the season. Our poor dogs aren't used to hearing hootin' and hollerin' in the house, so they run and hide when they hear us cheering or screaming during a football game!
I was so excited to see this first football game on TV that I called my son-in-law to tell him to watch the game. Of course my sports-minded, smarty pants son-in-law already knew about the game!!! In fact he told me that football is on every weekend from now until the Super Bowl. I'm so happy! RAH, RAH, RAH

Orange parade

2010-08-04T14:14:00.006-07:00

Our summer school with Jenny Matlock continues with the color orange this week.
I looked for orange things around my house but I couldn't find any so I have to rely on items that I display throughout the house for Halloween. Thus, I have a parade of orange Halloween things this week.

The first photo is of a cute dish I use to put Halloween goodies on

I really like to display this soap and use these candy dishes in October

This scarecrow is so puffy and orange!

Pumpkin bling!!!!!

More orange and Halloween fun

Orange Halloween ornaments for a withered tree

I made this card ages ago and never did anything with it

Orange garland from a yard sale

This dish is just waiting for some candy corn

The orange "BOO" sign says it all

This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the color orange.

REDS

2010-07-28T20:12:00.003-07:00

In our first week of summer school, Mrs. Matlock assigned the color red for our class to write about. Since I chose red for my letter "R" in Alphabe-Thursday, my red selection is now rather limited.

My first red photo is of a red rose taken on December 21, 2008 in Chandler, AZ, which is just outside of Phoenix. While a lot of the U.S. was covered in snow, we were basking in pleasant sunlight with flowers blooming all over the place! My mom's Little Red Riding Hood shakers from the 40's or 50's. I have these safely stored in a kitchen cabinet out of harm's way.
This lamp shade sits in my great room. It really goes along with my decor and I found it at either Ross or TJ Maxx.
This darling hankie is part of a collection that my mom saved over the years.
The Elmo chair was a gift to my grandson but the cat decided to take ownership when Brandt wasn't sitting on it.

This darling lass is a card from 1991 The Gifted Line, John Grossman, Inc. She is so cute and her red cape is so pretty.
This booklet was printed in 1950 for The John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, Boston, MA. The children are so cute and depict life in the 50's.
For Christmas I usually have my sideboard set up with all kinds of dolls. You can see two Apple Cheeks dolls dressed in festive red for the holidays.

A lovely Jim Shore angel

So many things are red and can be seen by visiting Mrs. Matlock here. This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the color red.

For the Birds!

2010-07-24T11:34:00.004-07:00

I saw a listing for "home decor" on Craig's List and I decided to check it out. It
was an indoor sale (thank goodness because it's hot in AZ right now) and everything that was available was showcased in the owner's huge living room. She had silk plants, pictures, vases, pillows, candles, lamps, and a ton of other things that she wanted to sell before her move to Arkansas. I bought a cute photo album for a $1.00, and a patriotic basket for .25! I walked by this bird cage twice before I finally looked down at the floor and saw it sitting on the carpet. I picked it up and saw a price of $3.00 so I immediately added it to my stash. The photo doesn't do it justice as it is really cute with a design on the bottom, and it has a curvy shape. The little bird was given to me at an Arizona Bloggers luncheon, and it adds just the right touch to accent the bird cage. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchases and I might go back to find more!

Baby Bling!!!!!

2010-07-17T14:13:00.009-07:00

Mrs. Matlock has asked that we have an "alphabet soup" week which means that we can use any letter from "C" to "Z" in a post. I decided to use "L" because I think that my granddaughter looks so cute in the following pictures.

I just love these photos of my granddaughter, Lillian, in her new "blinged" out dress! The dress was a gift from my daughter's friend, Elizabeth, and I just love it. My daughter and Liz were friends in high school, roommates in college, and Liz was in Karen's wedding. They both live in the same city but they don't see each other too often because Liz is a lawyer and she works a bazillion hours a day. I guess being a new attorney can be quite stressful since Liz barely sees her husband during the week and their weekends are packed with running errands and keeping a house in order. At any rate, Liz always manages to find the cutest outfits for Lillian! The stitched necklaces on this dress just crack me up! Lillian is really stylin' it.
My daughter also put these photos on her blog and titled it "Like, Totally Awesome" from the 80's. This top also has leggings that match it so Lillian can continue to wear this adorable dress/outfit well into our winter months here in Arizona. I can't wait to see Lillian with the leggings on and a pair of shoes because she certainly will be walking by then. Maybe we can also put two socks on each foot like they did in the 80's! Maybe one pink and one gray or white! Somehow I don't think that my daughter would go along with that idea!!!!!

You rock baby girl

This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for alphabet soup!

"Z" is for Zones

2010-07-12T23:52:00.007-07:00

Well we have reached the end of the alphabet this week with the letter Z. Mrs. Matlock has required a lot of intense work from her students, and I'm sure that many of us are looking forward to our summer school class assignments using the colors of the rainbow.

Mrs. Matlock, I'm going to step out of my usual role as a student and become the teacher that I really am for this "Z" assignment. When I taught 5th grade for 23 years, I would teach my students about the climate zones along with several geography terms. The final geography test was very detailed, and my students had to know quite a bit about latitude and longitude, the continents, the oceans, the hemispheres and so much more! I even gave them spelling tests to make sure that they knew how to spell each term and use it correctly in a sentence. I was tough! Soooo...I've decided to do a very short lesson on the 3 basic climate zones for this "z" post.

I quickly drew this rendition of a sphere to show some lines of latitude or parallels.

Let's begin with the equator or zero degrees latitude. The equator is the great circle of the earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole. It is also an imaginary line so you won't see it if you are flying over it in a plane or crossing it on a ship. I told you this was meant for 5th graders!

Everything from the equator to the North Pole is measured in degrees North latitude. The Northern Hemisphere is in this area.
Everything from the equator to the South Pole is measured in degrees South latitude. The Southern Hemisphere is in this area.
There are 90 degrees from the equator to the North Pole and 90 degrees from the equator to the South Pole.
At 23.5 degrees north of the equator you will find a dashed line for the Tropic of Cancer and at 23.5 degrees south of the equator you will find a dashed line for the Tropic of Capricorn. Between these two dashed latitudinal lines you have the tropics. Obviously the closer you are to the equator the hotter it is hence the Torrid Zone.

From the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North) to the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees North) you will find the Temperate Zone in the northern hemisphere.
Conversely, from the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees South) to the Antarctic Circle (66.5 degrees South) you will find the Temperate Zone in the southern hemisphere.
Don't forget that hemi means "half" and don't forget the second "e" in Temperate or the first "c" in Arctic and Antarctic. That is very important for the spelling test.
Gosh I sound like I should be back in a classroom!
At any rate, most of the people on earth live in parts of the temperate zones.

From the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees North) to the North Pole (90 degrees North latitude) you will find the Frigid Zone (Polar) for the northern hemisphere.
From the Antarctic Circle (66.5 degrees South) to the South Pole (90 degrees South latitude) you will find the Frigid Zone (Polar) for the southern hemisphere.
Needless to say, it is extremely cold at the poles. The Arctic Ocean is at the North Pole, but the continent of Antarctica is at the South Pole. The Polar climates have no summer.

This is rudimentary at best. I'm sure there are sub-climates and a lot that I'm leaving out. However, if I was teaching a class to future meteorologists or cartographers (map makers) I'm sure that my information would be more in-depth. Yes, my students had to know about maps and cartographers!

For more detailed information about the 3 basic climate zones, go to this link.
Please Google "Meadowlark Lemon Presents the World" for additional information about a video that is absolutely perfect for helping children understand basic map skills. I would always show this video to my students right before their final geography test and they loved it.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I'm sure many of you are totally asleep right now hence the z's above. Thankfully I only concentrated on the the lines of latitude for the zones. If I included the lines of longitude (meridians) you would be pulling your hair out right now!

This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "z".

Y is for Yearning

2010-07-07T19:49:00.006-07:00

Mrs. Matlock has assigned our letter for the week and it is "Y" which is an interesting letter that can be many things like: yodel, yard, yes, yoke, you, yucca, yo-yo and countless other words that begin with "Y".

Lately I've been very nostalgic thinking about my childhood and how wonderful it was. Maybe I'm doing this because my 95 year old mother, who lives with us, is getting quite frail and facing new challenges each day. I know what is going to happen so I think I'm re-living my past when times with my mother were less complicated and more carefree. I yearn for those times and my mind keeps taking me back to my childhood home on S. Central Ave. in Rockford, IL. If this was a perfect world, I could easily say that I had a perfect childhood. Instead I'll have to settle for an almost perfect childhood with indelible memories filled with love, security, warmth, belonging, wondering, and creating.

Not too long ago, I found some papers that my mother had from the first house that she and my dad worked and saved for. My father helped build this house and drew the plans for it with my mother. It is a typical 50's house...not very big, only 2 bedrooms, a nice-size kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, a basement and an attic. This first photo shows the plans that my dad drew with notations on the side. The year was 1949 and my mother still had this floorplan!
A work in progress~~~The little white house with the green trim. My house...the womb of my childhood contentment.

This is a photo of the little white house with the green trim in 1961 shortly after my parents put it on the market so we could move to Arizona. We lived here for 11 wonderful years.
I yearn for my memories of all the parties that we had in the basement like this Halloween party when I was almost 3. I'm the little gypsy in front!

We had many yuletide celebrations in our little house and I can't help but wish that I still had some of these precious toys from yesteryear.
Oh the fun I had with my cousins playing cowboys (when toy guns were acceptable because we watched the Lone Ranger).
My dollhouse! I played with this forever and I'm sad because my mother gave it away before we moved to AZ in 1962. What would a 14 year old need with a dollhouse?
I had many happy birthdays in our little house with family, friends, and neighbors. Notice the socks, shoes, and dresses. In fact, all but one of the pictures in this post is with me wearing a dress! Times have changed!
Another dress, coat, hat, gloves and purse for Easter 1955. I still have the doll, the rocking chair, and the ballet slippers in this photo. Curtains with ruffles were the thing back in 1955 as evidenced by the ones in my bedroom. Oh, yes, let's not forget the big Venetian blinds!
Finally a photo with me not wearing a dress! I had so much fun on my swing set which was in the backyard of our little house. I'm on the right without a shirt along with my cousin, Rosalie, and Joe on the glider.
Another dress with a nurse pinafore no less! I'm standing by my train which I played with a lot. My father put it on a piece of plywood in our basement and I would build hills for the train to go over. That train didn't make the trip to Arizona either because my mom gave it to one of my cousins!
My bike and another dress or skirt and blouse! I know for a fact that I was an active child that played with the neighborhood kids so I'm sure I wasn't always in a dress! I rode my bike constantly and, until I learned how to put the brakes on, I would stop by falling into the neighbor's bushes or the sidewalk. I had a lot of skinned knees and scratches on my legs and arms.
This is the house as it stands today. Every time I go back to IL to visit my family, I stop by my childhood home to reminisce and take pictures. One time I rang the doorbell and the owner let me in so I could walk through my memories and relive part of my past. The house seemed smaller than I remembered or maybe I was bigger!!!!

and only the good times matter when you're young

I can't help but think of the song, The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert. She wants to visit her childhood home again but, unlike me, she is troubled and she wants to feel the security of the house she grew up in. Apparently Miranda and I yearn for walls that cradled us in our formative years.

This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "y".

X is for XCP !

2010-06-29T23:52:00.017-07:00

Mrs. Matlock has assigned the letter "X" for our class assignmet this week which might pose a problem for some students. I, however, am not one of them. I thought of "X" for an x-ray....but no I'm not going to write about that. Then I naturally thought about a xylophone but I'm not going to even take that on since I have a zero interest in instruments because I'm so tone deaf!

Sooooo what does that leave for me to write about that has an "X"?

My alma mater of course!

I attended the best Catholic high school in Arizona and my memories of that experience will forever be in my heart and mind. Xavier High School was opened in 1943 with a total of 17 ambitious and pioneering students. Xavier is an all-female private school with a rigorous curriculum that includes everything from aviation and architecture to zoology. There are honors and AP classes taught by a staff with Master's degrees and Ph.D's.
Xavier had the designation of "high school" from 1943 to 1980, and then Xavier became a "college preparatory" after meeting the criteria to qualify for this distinction. When I attended, Xavier was called Xavier High School (XHS), but now it is known as Xavier College Prep (XCP). As I write about Xavier, I will refer to it as XCP because that is the school's official name now.

The first photo shows the entrance to the school which is a bit different from when I was a student. The cross and the name are much higher on the building now because the boys from Brophy (the boy's college prep school not far from XCP) kept stealing the X when I was a student in the 60's.
This is an old school pennant that I found in my high school scrapbook. You can see the school crest on the pennant.
I snapped this next photo from my yearbook so you can see what XCP looked like when I attended. Notice the "high school" wording is lower on the wall. The school has expanded with many new buildings to the west, south and east of the original campus. I would need a tour now because I'm only familiar with the building in this photo.
My 1966 yearbook! I have such warm, fond memories of my high school days, and I would have stayed longer than 4 years if it was permitted!
This is a photo of me (long, dark hair in a flip) at the Sophomore/Senior Tea held on May 4, 1966. My classmate and I are being served by a sophomore.
This photo is from the yearbook and it shows the senior class officers. I'm on the left standing near the lamp shade. I was the secretary of my senior class and I still have some of the minutes that I typed to read at the meetings. Notice our gloves and high heels!
Here is the cover of our events calendar for my senior year. The class officers planned activities and we used the calendar as a reference and guide for our planning.
AHHHHHHHH, yes! Good ol' fashion homecoming! OURS in '65~~O-Our, U-Unlimited, R-Roaring, S-Spirit. XCP girls were cheerleaders for Brophy whose colors were red and white. My senior homecoming was held on October 29, 1965, but I couldn't go because I had pneumonia! Yikes!
Our senior Christmas dance had a Christmas Carousel theme. An invitation is shown below and a teddy bear favor is below the invitation. The dance was held on December 29, 1965, in Scottsdale, AZ.
The next photo shows a program from a Glee Club concert on December 18, 1965.
The shoe with "I kicked in 10" was for an ad campaign for our yearbook. My class ring came in the small envelope and we could only wear our rings at the end of our junior year and all of our senior year.
The Spring Sing program was a singing celebration for the entire student body with each class performing songs or a dance for all to enjoy.
The program on the right was from a show titled "Fashion by the Yard" The Home Economics students modeled the clothing that they made in class during the year.
Paradise Plantation was a program from our Junior/Senior Banquet held May 5, 1966. Since the banquet had a southern theme, our menu consisted of Salad La Louisiana, Southern Fried Chicken, Cotton Balls, Black-eyed Peas, Short'nin' Bread, Magnolia Buds, Planter's Punch and Dixie Delight.
The "Memories" program was from our senior presentation depicting our 4 years of high school. The seniors participated in songs and skits and it concluded with our class singing our class song Climb Every Mountain.
Here is a copy of my invitation to my 20 year high school reunion. You can see the XCP crest below the Brophy crest because we had our reunions together.
This is a copy of my invitation to my 40 year high school reunion which was, again, held with the alums from Brophy.

Here is my 1966 senior photo that was included in the yearbook.

This is a Xavier gator (the alligator is the mascot for XCP) luggage tag. I bought it when my daughter was a student at XCP from 1994-1998. I also bought Christmas angels, XCP dolls, sweatshirts, a stuffed gator, and many other things during her 4 years of high school. Somehow I think that I bought these mementos more for me as a way to reminisce about the good ol' days at XCP.

Well that concludes my paper on the letter "X" and my trip down memory lane. This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "X". Visit Mrs. Matlock here and check out XCP here.

W is for Weddings

2010-06-23T16:28:00.006-07:00

Well we only have 3 more weeks of school for Alphabe-Thursday and then we start on some summer activities that Mrs. Matlock has planned for our class.

This week we are working on the letter "W" and what could be more appropriate in June than WEDDINGS! I have vintage photos of weddings, recent weddings, wedding dolls, and magazine articles on weddings and wedding dresses. Please click on each photo to enlarge for a better and clearer picture.

This first wedding photo was probably taken in 1919 when my mother was 5 years old. She is the little girl on the right with a big bow and a bouquet almost as big as she is!

This next photo is from the 1930's and my mother is on the right again sitting next to the flower girl who is standing. Notice that my mother is the only one with her hat tilted in a different direction!
My mother is on the right again sitting next to the flower girl. This photo was probably taken in the 1920's when carrying gigantic bouquets was in style. Can you imagine being able to afford those flowers today??????
This photo is of my husband's grandparents, Pauline and James. It was taken in 1922.
My grandparents are in the next photo which was taken in 1913. My grandmother was 15 and probably not too happy to be marrying a man she hardly knew. They were married for 43 years before my grandfather passed away.
This photo is of my parents and it was taken in 1943 right before my father left for Europe and WWII. My parents were together for 55 years before my dad passed away. My mother, who lives with us, will be 96 years old in September.
Here is my mother's wedding dress and veil (top part of the picture) from 1943. She has kept it all these years and I will, in turn, pass it to my daughter so the dress will stay in the family. I can't believe that I let my daughter play "dress-up" in this gown!! What was I thinking??????????

My 1978 wedding announcement

My 1978 wedding

My daughter and her husband on their wedding day

This bride doll is from my childhood. She wasn't originally a bride doll but my mother bought the bride dress when she had the doll restrung. The face on this doll is still as clear and as pretty as ever.
Here is a 1952 or 1953 photo of me (on the right) with my cousin holding our dolls. This is the doll from the previous photo.

Here is a vintage ad for wedding dresses. I believe it is from 1932.

I bought a series of 4 bride dolls from Ashton-Drake with an interesting story behind them. Each doll is related and they all have on a variation of the same dress.

This first photo is of Elizabeth with the dress from the 1900's.

Here is Betty (Elizabeth's daughter) in the dress with a 1930's style.

In this photo, you see Beth (Betty's daughter) in the dress with a 1960's style.

Finally there is Lisa (Beth's daughter) in the dress with a 1990's flair.
Each dress over the span of 90 years seems to have the bottom lace in common.

Here is the magazine rendition of the first 3 dolls wearing the dress. Trust me, the magazine photo is much better than my individual photos of the dolls.
Here are all 4 dolls but the picture is rather small. Hopefully you can click to enlarge.
This is linked to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "W".

V is for VINTAGE

2010-06-15T23:14:00.010-07:00

Our teacher, Mrs. Matlock, has assigned our class the letter "V" for this week as part of Alphabe-Thursday. I thought of many things to write about, but I finally decided to post photos of some vintage items that I have. The things I'm writing about are quite varied, so relax and enjoy the photos of a time gone by when fashion had a whole different look, magazine ads were quite stylish, cars were cheaper, childhood toys were simple, and history was being made.

This first photo is of a vintage booklet printed in 1938. The lady on the cover reminds me of Donna Reed with her fresh dress, nice smile, and perfect hair. The man has on a tie and so does the little boy which would probably not be on a current cover of any book for today's homemakers! Even the dog seems to be smiling in this idyllic family setting. This 1942 vintage ad shows a sailor skating with a pretty girl dressed and coiffed for the occasion while drawing attention to razor blades being sold for either a dime or 27 cents!

If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know that my mother saved many sentimental things. This photo shows the 1948 calendar when I was born. My birthday is May 12, 1948, and you can see that sour cream peach pie was the pie of the month. I also have calendars like this from 1949 and 1952 but I don't know why my mother saved these two specific years.
Ahhh, speaking of vintage toys....you can see doll shoes that belonged to my Vogue Ginny and Jill dolls (two white with straps, pink, red and the white strap heels). The black shoes and the cream-colored shoes with bows belonged to other vintage dolls that I had (actually I still might have the dolls that match the shoes but they are packed away).
I never heard of Vera Borea but apparently she was a countess that brought haute couture on her visit to America. Interesting fashion indeed.
I chuckled when I saw this vintage 1932 ad for "little women or larger-hip figures". Did Paris designers actually think that some women were fuller and shorter than their slim, tall model counterparts?
I've always liked this graduation card from 1966 which was the year that I graduated from high school. Could this actually be vintage???? Yikes!!! Does anyone else remember flips, heavy bangs, headbands, gloves (which were a MUST) and puffy sleeves on delicate dresses? Lord, give me strength!
The next two photos show hats that I think are so striking. Apparently high crowns, ribbon and feathers were important in some vintage fashion.

This vintage photo is of my grandmother (second from the right) and it was probably taken around 1910 or 1911. More fashion of the time but not from Paris!
This next vintage photo is of my mother and her brother, Peter, taken between 1925 and 1927. Wavy hair and sack dresses must have been popular then.
My 1966 Ford Mustang!!!! My parents bought this car for me when I was in college. I drove this car for many years and I still drive it occasionally! My husband really likes this Mustang and he has had a lot of work done to it. I wasn't happy about it because my baby blue Mustang isn't totally original anymore, but so many people have told me that my car is worth more money now. I hope that my grandson likes it because it will be his car one day.
A car for $535!!!! Hmmmm, seems vintage to me! Notice the cartoon ad in the background. It is for a Mickey Mouse animated cartoon with the original mouse character as Walt Disney drew it so many years ago.
This next photo is a small portion of a vintage table cloth that my mother embroidered in the 1930's. She spent quite a bit of time working on this and I wish you could see all of it. The table cloth is quite large and her work is very precise.
A cute vintage Valentine with two darling children sharing hearts and flowers.
My father saved quite a bit of WWII history because he was part of it. He served in North Africa during WWII and he was a very proud veteran. I have many vintage newspapers, but this one stands out. It was printed as an extra edition on December 7, 1941 in the territory of Hawaii. The news was transmitted via "transpacific telephone" by the associated press and the paper cost all of 5 cents! I wish that I had taken a better picture of the newspaper but I was in a hurry.
Thank you for going on my vintage and historic journey and please visit others participating in Alphabe-Thursday. This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter V.

"U" is for unbiased

2010-06-07T21:49:00.007-07:00

Here we are again celebrating another class of Alphabe-Thursday with our teacher, Mrs. Matlock. She has assigned the letter "U" for our class to work on this week, and I found it a bit challenging until I decided on a subject. The focus of my "U" paper is my utterly, undeniably photogenic granddaughter, Lillian Sarah. Of course you all know that my opinion on this matter is completely unbiased!!!! Sooooo...the ultimate goal of this post is to share with you photos taken of Lillian this past Sunday, June 6, the day of her Baptism.

WELCOME TO LILLIAN'S SPECIAL DAY

I welcome you with utmost pride to participate in celebrating with our family and friends an unbelievable journey of smiles, twinkling eyes, chunky cheeks, and the unabashed posing of a baby girl who always knows where the camera is.

Baby Lillian is ready for her big day and patiently poses in a baptismal gown that is almost 96 years old! She is the 5th person to be baptized in this dress along with her 3 year old brother, her mother, me, and my mother who will be 96 in September. The dress was made in 1914 by a friend of my grandmother's for my mother's Baptism. Unfortunately the gown has some holes in it so I must have an experienced and very skillful seamstress repair the dress for the next generation to wear. I don't know if my grandson's future wife will want their children baptized in this gown, but Lillian has to have her children baptized in it as she is the next female descendant in line. Needless to say, this gown is a true family heirloom....that almost met its demise this past Sunday! My daughter re-wrapped the gown and slip in the white tissue paper I had it in and unwittingly gave it to my husband to hold. As everyone was walking out of the church, my husband said that he needed to find a trash can. I was too busy talking and taking pictures so I really didn't pay much attention to him or what he kept saying. Fortunately I turned around just in time to ask him what he was doing with the bunched up tissue paper (and I mean he had really bunched it up). His reply, "I'm going to throw away the diaper that Karen gave me"!!!!! Thankfully my son-in-law's sister was near me and kept me from falling in the church's main aisle!
In this next photo, Lillian is sucking on the heirloom baptismal gown and undergarment. I don't know if the gown originally had a slip for my mom's Baptism, but the dress now has the slip in this photo. My mother made it for my Baptism and it is cut from her wedding dress slip. The gown is from 1914 and the slip is from my mother's 1943 wedding slip.

My daughter and granddaughter visit with family and friends before the Baptism.
You have to understand that Lillian is a very social baby who enjoys attention and smiles from onlookers.
In the next photo, you can see that Lillian is totally uninterested in what the priest is saying. She was probably laughing for her Uncle Ed who was serving as the family photographer for the event.
Finally the priest gets Lillian's attention as he seems undaunted by her antics. During the ceremony, the priest underscored the importance of the sacrament of Baptism.
You can easily see in this next photo that Lillian is definitely not undernourished.
She has chubby cheeks and the cutest legs, arms and hands.
Again Lillian saw a camera and she decided that posing and smiling was way more fun than having her head and hair wet from the pouring of the baptismal holy water. You can also see a full-length view of the gown in this photo.
Lillian relaxes after her Baptism and she decides that her fingers are pretty tasty. I'll have to remind her that when she is older she can't suck on her fingers or people will think that she is uncouth!
Here is my daughter with her husband and my precious grandchildren posing as the united, loving family that they are.
My daughter had to unfasten the buttons on the gown and undress Lillian in the church so Lillian could wear her regular clothes for her party. Of course Lillian had to smile once again for the camera!
Lillian is enjoying her brother's puzzle and she seems unconcerned that there is a party at her house.
Everyone's unanimous opinion is that Lillian was not uncooperative any time during the day. She was a delightful doll with her smiles, coos, and laughter.
My unbridled opinion is that my granddaughter is a beautiful, happy baby with a personality that draws people to her. I thank God everyday for blessing me with two treasures to love with all my heart and spoil with all my hugs and kisses.

This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "U".

T is for turquoise and things

2010-06-02T22:37:00.006-07:00

Our letter for this week's assignment is the letter "T". Mrs. Matlock has been a wonderful teacher and I have really enjoyed her class and all of our assignments. We only have 6 more weeks and then Alphabe-Thursday will end, but I hope that Mrs. Matlock comes up with more things for our class to blog about.

TURQUOISE THINGS

I found this turquoise vase at a yard sale for $1.00!!! It was late in the day so I'm surprised that this lovely vase was still available.This turquoise purse has a southwestern flair. Unfortunately the zipper is broken or I would use it!

I found this turquoise jewelry at Stein-Mart and I really liked it. It work well with a pretty top and white pants. I'm not sure if the material is tortoise shell or abalone.
I found this darling cup and saucer at an estate sale. It is Aynsley and I was drawn to the color and the detail.
What would turquoise be without the wonderful color of this Tiffany box? For my daughter's bridal shower, the hostess had a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme, so there was a lot of Tiffany blue/turquoise around. The locket and the chewed up ring in the photo were mine when I was a baby. Why I had a baby ring, I'll never know! Why I never choked on it, I'll never know! I have a 16x20 picture of me as a baby wearing this locket, and I hope to get a photo of my granddaughter wearing it as well. Why I never took a picture of my daughter wearing the locket, I'll never know!

~~~~~Miscellaneous "T" things~~~~~

This oval picture is of my tuckered out grandson asleep against the wall. He looks so cute in his baby jeans with the pant-legs rolled up!

I found this truffle dish at a yard sale for .75!!!! I think I also paid $1.00 for the harlequin candle holders.

This train was made by my mother who spent hours knitting it and putting it together.
This tissue holder was also found at a yard sale. It pretty much states how I feel and look without my daily dose of chocolate!
This teddy bear is older than I am since my mother bought it when she found out that she was pregnant. The arms and legs move on the teddy bear but the head no longer moves back and forth. Apparently my older cousin was very mischievous and he stepped on the teddy bear's neck causing the movable mechanism to break. Fortunately my mother had it repaired and no one would know the difference.
The teddy bear is sitting on my baby rocker and they are both displayed in my guest room.
This teddy bear is showing a lot of patriotism by waving the American flag. This plate is part of my patriotic decor that I have displayed throughout my house for Memorial Day and the 4th of July.
This tea set is from the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. My mother bought it and she has kept it all these years. This photo is from my previous house, but the tea set is also proudly on display in my current home. The shelving belonged to my grandmother and it is very old. The two Japanese figurines on the top shelf are "occupied Japan", the alabaster dogs on the bottom shelf came from Italy when my dad returned from WWII, and the yellow shoe has been around since I can remember. I think all my aunts had a shoe like this but I don't know why.
This closes my paper on the letter "T". Visit my classmates and enjoy their "T" presentations as well. This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "T".

"S" is for a spider, a scorpion and STUFF

2010-05-26T12:51:00.008-07:00

Welcome to another edition of Alphabe-Thursday compliments of our teacher and fearless leader, Mrs. Matlock. Join other students for an adventure with the letter "S".

The whole spider/scorpion thing started when we moved to Arizona when I was 14 years old. I came from Illinois so the desert was completely foreign to me. I just knew that everything (animal) that lived in the Arizona Sonoran desert was poisonous (or so I thought) especially spiders and scorpions so I was really fearful of both. Therefore, you can imagine my shock when I saw a spider crawling up my leg while I was taking a shower one night! EEEK! I quickly finished my shower, dried my hair, put on my pajamas and went to bed. I waited all night to die from this horrible spider that had been on my leg but nothing happened. Lesson #1...not all Arizona spiders are poisonous...just two. Beware of the black widow and the brown recluse both of which can deliver a nasty, painful bite and sometimes death depending on the circumstances.

Another night as I was walking on a friend's driveway I happened to look down and I saw a scorpion the size of a lobster on steroids walking next to my foot! EEEK! again. My screams were heard in Australia. Lesson #2...there are many types of scorpions in Arizona and only a few pack a wallop. Beware of the small bark scorpion although any scorpion sting can cause pain. The bark scorpion is very dangerous especially to small children.

Now for the more enjoyable "stuff" with photos

This first "S" photo is of two hankies that my mother has. Since her name is Sarah, these hankies have S's on them.

This photo is of my grandson playing in the California sand. I just love his little footprints leading away from the ocean.

This photo is from a 1932 ad. I think her face is so pretty.

Two sweet friends sharing a silly secret

My Shea doll dressed for a party

Shoes, shoes and more shoes from a 1931 ad

My mother knit these darling skates many, many years ago

My grandson is sound asleep after drinking his milk, eating a snack and watching TV. Typical behavior for a man in training.

An 1894 ad for a spool of thread

Gale Storm paper dolls from a bygone era

Such a sweet face on an Avon bell

Two sweet lambs...one stuffed and one a baby planter

Sweet, tattered and torn doll from an estate sale

Sweetness personified...my answer to Hormone Replacement Therapy

I hope that you enjoyed your "S" journey with me and please visit my classmates on Mrs. Matlock's link.
This post is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "S".

"R" is for mostly Red vintage items

2010-05-19T18:27:00.006-07:00

Welcome to another session of Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by the letter "R".
Mrs. Matlock has really cracked the whip, and she expects our best "R" papers this week.

When I thought of the letter "R" the color red naturally came to me, but I didn't expect so many of my vintage items to be red as well.

This first photo is of a red and white apron that I made in 7th or 8th grade when I lived in Illinois. I was in 7th grade from 1960-61 and 8th grade from 1961-62 so this apron qualifies as "vintage"! I sewed the apron and even did the cross-stitching on it. The word "mom" is stitched on the pocket.
My next photo is of a Shirley Temple doll that I have. She is a reproduction so she isn't old but her clothing and shoes are certainly in the red category.

This Christmas bird is a favorite of mine because it is shiny, red and very pretty.
Of course I had to include red nail polish and my red cell phone. Where would I be without them?????
Back to vintage red things with my childhood "record house" and a red record! Does anyone remember red records? Wow...three "r's" in a row!
I believe that these are Little Red Riding Hood salt and pepper shakers from the 40's or 50's. My mother always had these in the kitchen and I'm happy that she brought these to Arizona when we moved here in 1962. I now have them in my kitchen cupboard for everyone to see.
This is a close-up of my daughter's bridal bouquet. I just love stargazer lilies and red roses!
Being Italian I had to include pasta and sugo (sauce). I hate to cook but my husband makes wonderful sauce even if he doesn't follow my mom's old recipe.
Here is photo of vintage cake decorations. My mother saved these and I just really enjoy seeing the girls and their old red record player.
My mother and grandmother would knit and crochet quite a bit so I'm not sure who made the outfit on the right for my Vogue Jill doll. The doll clothing on the left is vintage clothing from the 50's for my Jill doll.
Several years ago when I was still teaching, some of my colleagues and I would get together for a painting/craft session. We enjoyed ourselves and looked forward to these "theraputic" get-togethers! I made these red watermelon pieces complete with the ant, raffia and red ribbon.

I hope that you enjoyed your red visit today and please take the time to visit other students in Mrs. Matlock's class. This post is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "R".

"Q" is for taking a break

2010-05-12T13:46:00.003-07:00

I'm not participating this week in Alphabe-Thursday because I'm in Tucson celebrating my birthday. I've had a glorious time with my family and I'm more in love with my grandchildren than ever before if that's possible! We have had so much fun together and my grandson, Brandt, couldn't wait to say, "Happy birthday, Nana, happy birthday, Nana, I have a surprise for you". He met me at the door with a lovely gift that I will treasure forever. I will take a picture of it and post it in another blog. Today is my birthday and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Tonight we will celebrate with a birthday cake and I will have Brandt blow out the candles. I'm so happy. I will return next week for the letter "R".

"P" is for Plethora....of "P" things!

2010-05-05T19:53:00.013-07:00

My "P" post this week includes a plethora of "P" things. I stayed on the "P" topic, Mrs. Matlock, but my "P" ideas are so abundant...hence the word "plethora".

My first photo is of Patsy Joan an Effanbee doll that I won at a doll show in Phoenix several years ago. Since I don't display all my dolls anymore, she is safely tucked away in her box and she has never been played with.This is a photo of a doll that was naked when I bought her. I asked my mother if she could make a dress for this doll and this is what she came up with. My mom even added two strands of pearls on the pink dress, and gave the doll a flower to hold!

This photo is of an American Character Tiny Tears doll from the 1950's. I played with this doll a lot and dearly loved her. All of her pink clothing is original except for her shoes and socks.
This pink vignette was in my former house. I have since packed most of the items away but I wanted to include the photo because of the predominant pink colors.
Mrs. Matlock, do I get extra credit for a triple "P" entry for these Patti Page paper dolls?
The following photo shows one of my favorite childhood pastimes...building with my plastic bricks. My cousins and I spent hours building houses or other structures with these wonderful interlocking bricks. These are definitely from the 50's. Does anyone remember them?

Pumpkin bling!

A 1942 Philip Morris cigarette ad promising "Inhaling needn't worry your throat"! Maybe not but inhaling would really take a toll on your lungs!

This 1932 Pictorial Review cover is so colorful.

I really like this October, 1927, Priscilla magazine cover.

I found these Paula Deen dinner plates on a Craig's List posting. I now have 8 dinner plates, 8 salad/dessert plates, and 10 cups by Paula Deen for our Christmas celebration.
This is a photo of one of my mom's vintage hankies with pretty pink flowers.
I remember these two pink containers from my childhood. They were in our bathroom in the 1950's.
My mom's vintage pink jewelry box. She has about 3 jewelry boxes in her dresser and I'm glad that she kept this one from the 50's.
Finally I have a photo of a pink poodle that I bought at a friend's yard sale. Maybe my baby granddaughter can play with it someday.
This concludes my "P" post for Alphabe-Thursday. Visit other students who submitted "P" papers to our teacher, Mrs. Matlock, and please have a wonderful day.