Veterans Day Tribute

 Pages from my paternal grandmother's photo album.   WWI, I believe. 

My maternal grandparents.  Pop pop was in the Navy in WWII.  

My mom is the oldest of her siblings. 
She remembers how hard it was for her mom to be left to raise the family while her dad served. 

I need to scan some pictures of my dad in uniform.  That is for another day. 

But these are some of my favorite of him as a boy celebrating our freedom.

Listen to the stories of the veterans in your family.  

They have a lot to say, even when they use few words. 

The Wedding

Months of preparation.  

Tons of excitement.  

A little reminiscing.  

Lots of hard work.  

Before

After

Several appointments.  

Too many decisions. 

Plenty of advice.  

Generous friends. 

 Great conversations.  

Few disappointments.

A tear or two. 

So much love.

 A great gathering of loved ones.

Warm, memorable fellowship.

Last minute decisions. 

A whole lot, and I mean a whole lot of help.

A cold front.

A gorgeous setting.

A beautiful day.

Sacred Spirit.

Lovely bride.

Handsome groom.

Another tear or two.

Man and wife.

 Celebration.

Music, singing and dancing.

A send off.

A new beginning.

Carport Sale Gift

The main road near my home leads to many, many retirement communities.  Fall begins the "snowbird" season, and with that come carport sales.  I often lament that Floridians don't have basements to store up old stuff for me to buy at estates sales, but we do have retirees who bring treasures to Florida only to find they don't need them (wool blankets, vintage coats), or don't have room for them (antique furniture, Christmas decorations, knick knacks).

Today was a community-wide sale at a huge park down the road.  One of my first stops had quite a bit of vintage stuff.  The homeowner said he has a booth at a local antique store.

I came across this box and as soon as I picked it up the gentleman said, "Do you want those?  You can have them!"
"Are you sure?",  I asked.
"Yeah", he said.  "I have 2 more boxes somewhere.  I'll give those to you also."

What did he just say?  He'll give me three boxes of vintage vocabulary cards? For free?  Whoa!
This box contains about 1000 cards with a word on the front plus an example of it used in a sentence.  On the back is the definition.  They are kinda cool for all kinds of projects.

For an example, look at this cute idea from the October 3rd post on Itsy Bits and Pieces.

http://itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.com

I waited around a while, but the kind man never found the other two boxes.  I told him I'd stop back by after I browsed the other sales in the neighborhood.  About thirty minutes later I checked, but he still had not found them.  He took my number and said he'd call if he found them.

Well, I figured that was that, but, later that afternoon I got a call from him.  They are found and they are mine!  His sale was still going on, so I told him I'd be right there! 

Here are my F.R.E.E. vintage vocabulary cards!  Yay!  Another box of English and a box of French!   

How exciting is that?

By the way, did I mention they were FREE!

Mom's Button Collection

A few years ago I gladly inherited my mother's button collection.  

 

A seemingly ordinary thing can prove extraordinary if you look closely.  These buttons are a perfect example.

It's wedding season and I am planning to make a few of these adorable hanky favors.  I thought the buttons may work for some of the trinkets. 

Lauren Elise Crafted

Lauren Elise Crafted

I have a great collection of vintage hankies already, so I'll be laundering them gently and pressing them to perfection. After that, the fun will begin.  My sister has promised to help me - her talent and creativity will guarantee success. 

Preserving memories of my dad

I have been drawn to these little oil cans lately.

The memory is a strong one:
the smell of the oil,
the doop, doop, doop sound of dad's thumb pumping the bottom of the can ,
and the visual of him oiling hinges, bicycle chains, and wagon wheels.

Every little girl is in awe of her daddy's Mr Fixit skills.  



I bought this one at a sale my husband found while we were staying at the beach.  I love the robin's egg blue color.  I knew I could make a picture holder out of it.  (I've seen this on other blogs.)
But this morning as I was cleaning it up, I remembered this great photo of my dad in his younger years.  He was an amateur artist, sign painter, and printer, so he apparently set up a little studio and sent this picture to his mom.  (This was all before I was born, so I am making an educated guess).  

This picture is only about 3 inches square.  Don't you just love the white, scalloped border?  LOVE old photos.  By the way, isn't he handsome?




So, I just took the oil can apart and threaded my wire through it.  I stablized the wire by bending the end into a little circle that would stand in the bottom of the can.











Then I screwed the top back on and bent the wire around a sharpie.

I pinched it together with the needle nose pliers. 

















And there you have it.  I enjoy the connection between the object and the man.  That's what I love most about vintage finds.

Nashville Treasures

Hand sewn infant gown with tatted trim

 I am back in Nashville for 2 weeks and, of course, I can't help but look for estate sales.  Unlike Florida, they have basements and attics here.

Cross-stitched birds on a baby boy's jumper

This week we took along my future son-in-law.  Can you believe he has never been to an estate sale?  He met us at 8am (I am so proud of him).




















We went to a home nearby.  The house was huge!  I usually enter, go right and walk the periphery, then go to the middle of the home so I don't miss a thing.  This house was like a maze.  Thank goodness I had help.  My husband, my daughter and her fiance were wonderful.

Baby girl pillowcase

The remnants of our lives tell a story.  In this home I found one who loved Disney, ET, and Madame Alexander dolls; was an expert with needle and thread and a lover of Jesus;  one who treasured children, was well traveled, enjoyed history and Halloween costumes. 

Akro Agate children's dishes

My favorite find of all.......

1889 Card Game

The whole alphabet - this will be framed. 

Extra cards of more commonly used letters.  What can I spell?

I wonder what my home will say about me?

The Suitcase

So, mom is recuperating at home and everyone is pitching in to help her each day.  It is so great to have siblings in the same town to work together in a crisis. 

As promised, I want to share more about our estate sale finds on our road trip.  My favorite find became a project for the wedding. 


Suitcases and birdcages have been on our radar for a while.  Either would be great for collecting cards at the reception.  This suitcase is the answer! 
The lovely woman who sold it to me said it belonged to her father and it's probably about 75 years old.  I love the crackled black leather exterior and the gold fabric lining.  The interior has lots of pockets and fasteners for holding toiletries.  It has so much potential! 

I began  by wiping the exterior and carefully vacuuming the lining.   The pockets were a mess because the elastic was all stretched out.  I opened up the casing just a bit and threaded new elastic through each pocket.  Then I glued down any loose parts of the lining.



That's when I remembered the men's bake lite grooming kit I had just purchased at the same estate sale.  The toothbrush holder and soap holder both fit perfectly on the left side.  I searched my old bottles and found three that fit on the right.  Each of the little holders now had an object.  I really like how it turned out.  

This old gentleman will collect all the congratulatory cards at the wedding reception.  Yay!