When a Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

So what do you see when you look at this photograph?  Two little girls eating dinner at the table and almost ready for dessert, right?

I was looking at these pictures and zoomed in, just playing around.  I don't know if this was my sister's birthday cake or just a regular daily dessert (yes, that blond tyke is my sister!).

You can see so much stuff when you're looking at pictures.  Edges of things you can barely see in the photograph, but you have a perfect image in your mind's eye.  I see the frosting covered spoon on the table and you can't zoom in enough to tell, but I can also see the star pattern on the handle of the spoon.  I see the edge of a booster seat I'm sitting on, but can't recall it at all.  I see the high chair my sister is in and recall the grain of the vinyl used to cover the seat.  I can remember on the edge of the table where the formica was pieced--right about where I'm sitting.  I recall the gold stardust design in the formica.  I also remember that by the time the kitchen was remodeled, the formica was worn to plain white in places around the sink!  I remember our old refrigerator and how, when it became nicked and chipped around the handles of the freezer and refrigerator portion, my mom cut a design out of  woodgrain ------  to dress it up.  And when I think of that refrigerator, I think of refrigerator magnets shaped like fruit. 

And I see these plates I had 'forgotten' about!

If you look over my left hand (clasping a star studded fork!), you can see the door that went into the utility room before my parents remodeled our house and you can also see where the paneling meets in the corner.

A corner that was very convenient to my mom.

A corner that stunk. My mom willingly sprayed Lysol in it to make us happier.  Probably why we have respiratory problems today (haha.  Just kidding Mom!)

A corner that was frequently inhabited by me, my sister or my brother.  Sadly, my youngest sister did not experience this corner.  It was gone before she was big enough to stand in it.  Not that she had to stand in corners because she NEVER GOT IN TROUBLE because she was the youngest and we babied her. 

Happy Birthday to Andi (not the blond tyke in the above picture!).  Have a terrific day!

Thrifty Treasures!

Some good friends of ours recently moved several hours away.  We loved them both, but Laura was a girl after my own heart, loving thrifty, vintage treasures and crafty projects!  She bought lots of bits and pieces for someday and some project!  You might have guessed I have a closet full of that stuff myself!

I went thrifting and treasure hunting Saturday morning while Les did his solo flight.  I had made mental plans to thoroughly clean my shower.  Then I realized I needed milk for breakfast so I took off for the grocery store, but my car carried me to Main Street instead and I ended up in Not Necessarily New and the Mercantile Antique Mall.

How'd that happen?

Laura may have moved but she still has a booth in the mall,  where I found a cute little suitcase filled with treasure!  This shot contains just a few bits and pieces.

Molly was so excited to get all these jewels!

So far, she's made these two cute hair bows out of vintage pins and that's only the beginning of the crafting possibilities the suitcase contains.

 

I found a treasure for myself at Not Necessarily New.  When I was in college, my grandparents let me have some wool suit coats of my grandad's from the forties and fifties.  I wore them all the time and got tons of compliments on them.  Then I had kids and outgrew them and got into a frumpy mode and for some bizarre reason, I got rid of them.

I've been kind of sad about that, so imagine my delight in finding a jacket that looked just like one I used to have!  Who knows, it might even be the same one! 

 

I wore it to school today and l-o-o-o-v-e-d it, just like I thought I would!  

The White and Drifted Snow

I don't know where they will sleep come January!

Sorry for the blur.  It's hard to take pictures by Christmas tree light!

La Posada

I think I've told you before about my all-time most favorite in the world teacher, Mrs. Husted. She taught my fourth grade class and ran the library in our tiny little rural grade school.

She made us all feel special and she had the best teaching ideas! Every Friday after lunch we recited or read poetry.  To illustrate multiplication, we added our boxes of toothpicks to a boot box partially full of toothpicks from fourth graders before us.

At Christmas time we learned about Mexican Christmas traditions with a day long fiesta!

The girl in front on the left--that's me with the mismatched floral patterns!  They would have worked so much better together if one had been a small print.  If I knew then, what I know now......

We commandeered the gym all morning with  "la Posada," a reenactment of Joseph and Mary's journey in search of a place for Jesus to be born.  (Yes, in public school!).  'Joseph' and 'Mary' wandered around the town (gym), asking each group of people if there was room for them.  Finally, a good and generous 'innkeeper' will agree for them to come in and the party begins!

We had Mexican food for lunch and later broke open the Santa pinata we had made in class.  Have you ever made a pinata?  It's quite fun--especially if you're in fourth grade.  The base is balloons, covered with layers of strips of newspaper soaked in glue.  When that is dry, the pinata is embellished with strips of fringed crepe paper for clothes and beard, construction paper face and belt buckle and the arms and legs were made of cones of cardboard covered with fringed crepe paper.  Creating this magnificent pinata took us several days, adding to the excitement of the coming celebrating!

The guys in our class of ten wore vests and sombreros and the girls wore head scarves, long dresses and ponchos to give the day a more exotic feeling. I don't dare say realistic and mislead you and I wanted to be sure you knew that we did not normally wear long dresses or headscarves to school!  It was in the 70s but we were neither hippies, nor commune dwellers.  I'm sure my dress was my Christmas dress (cause that's how they were back then--long!) and I must tell you that I made the poncho myself for my very first 4-H dress review!  I think.  Maybe!  or maybe not.  Time changes the mind so....

Wordless Wednesday

It seems to be bug week!

Photo Credit--Molly Castor