Vintage Goodness - Day Five

And now for something different! I do occasionally fall in love with things that are not glass. Like this nifty camera. It came complete with it's leather case, which was in pristine condition, but for the fact that the strap had worn through and broken off. The rest of the case looks brand new.

This is a Spartus Full-Vue camera, circa 1947 - 1950. It has a Bakelite case and gorgeous Art Deco detailing. Unfortunately, I can hear some glass moving inside, and I suspect one of the internal lenses has come loose. It still looks great in my craft room though, and reflects my love of scrapbooking and vintage photos.

Vintage Goodness - Day Four

More kitschy goodness today, in the form of this little sweetie pie:

I can't tell you anything about her, since there are no markings on her anywhere. I had to have her though, because of her cute face, and those charming roses. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?

Vintage Goodness - Day Three

I decided to mix it up today, and not do another glass/kitchenware post. Today we're doing kitschy, and it doesn't get more kitschy than this:

Is she not the cutest little mademoiselle EVER? She lives in my craft room, overseeing everything from her perch on a shelf. She's what's known as a spaghetti poodle, because of the technique used to add texture to her legs, tail and ears. These poodles were often connected to their puppies by a chain attached to their collars. My poodle has the loop where the chain was at one time, but alas, no chain and no puppies. She's a bit of an empty nester like me! I've named her Monique.

Vintage Goodness - Day Two

Here's some more Fostoria Americana - a set of four beautiful pedestal glasses. I don't know the correct name for them - I really need to get an identification guide so that I can start cataloging what I have, as well as finding out the proper names for all of the pieces.

Won't these be pretty filled with fruit salad or an ice cream sundae? I picked them up on the same day that I found the ice bucket I showed you yesterday.

Vintage Goodness

I have been finding some wonderful vintage pieces lately! A new thrift store has opened up here in town, and I seem to find something wonderful every time I go in. I am always on the lookout for pieces to add to my collection of Fostoria Americana depression glass, as well as other kitschy things that may catch my eye. For the next few days, I'll share some of what I have found.

This little beauty is a Fostoria Americana ice bucket. So sweet! Yes, I absoulutely DO use these pieces! For me, life is a special occasion, and you should have all of the beauty you can find in each day. I can envision this ice bucket holding lots of things - perhaps even ice! Wouldn't it be gorgeous filled with Christmas ornaments? Guest soaps? Greenery?

Fred - Fred the Dog

Last week my husband David left a pile of clothing on the couch for me to take to the dry cleaner. Which I did. I picked it up the other day. David carried it upstairs to the bedroom, and a minute later he called me in. He was in the closet, where he removed a hanger from his row of freshly cleaned and pressed

laundry. "Since when do we send this out to be dry cleaned?" he asked. I stared at the object for a minute. It looked familiar, but I couldn't place it right away. And then I did. "That's Fred's blanket!" Fred is our dog. Who, apparently, deciding that his fleece blanket needed some freshening and TLC that I was unable to provide in our washer at home, put it in the pile with David's laundry. Which I then dropped off at the cleaners. And there it was, pristine and neatly folded on a hanger. I laughed until I cried, imagining what the folks at the cleaner's thought when they came across it, and then how they went ahead and cleaned it. I didn't get an itemized receipt, so I don't know what they charge to clean a dog blankie. But they did do a nice job.

I have some more shirts to be dropped off today. I'll be sure to ask Fred if he has anything that needs to go.

How cute is this?

My friend Kristen (who knows how much I love cute nails) sent me a bunch of pictures from Polyvore featuring amazing manicures. This is one of my favorites. I really like the look of combining more than one design in a manicure, and this one is so cottage/retro/feminine that it just makes me sigh and smile.

nails | Tumblr (clipped to polyvore.com)

These Things I Know...

The title of this post imposes some pretty strict limits, since I don't know as much as I used to think I did.  I do know some things though, and I thought I might share them with you.  Most of them were learned the hard way. That seems to be the way I tend to do things.  It sure will pound the lesson home.

1.  Life is short.  Yep, no matter how long it is, it's short.  Ask the guy who is 99 and 364 days if 100 years is long enough.  Chances are he'd like another few years.  What to do with this knowledge? Here are my suggestions:

• tell people you love them. Tell them every day, and SHOW them - don't just mouth the words.  Mean them and let people see that you do.  
• decide what you want out of life and go get it.  Don't tell yourself you are too old, or that the thing you want will take too long to get.  So what if it takes ten years?  In ten years' time you'll be ten years older and you'll either have the thing you wanted or you won't.  That time will have passed either way.
• Be nice. Compliment people you don't know - they could probably use it.  Smile more. Laugh as much as you can. Talk to strangers. (Not the creepy ones.)  You will learn fascinating things.

2.  You cannot make people change.  You can only change yourself.  I learned this one at Al-Anon.  It seems like such a simple thing - you'd think everyone would know it.  I didn't, and once I heard it and really took it in, it made a profound change in my life.  Are you waiting for someone in your life to change?  Stop.  Stop right now.  If you have told them that their behavior is a problem for you, and they choose to continue that behavior, YOU need to decide what YOU will do.  Your options are: a) live with it, or b) choose NOT to live with it.  I know - not as easy as it sounds.  This might involve a huge life change on YOUR part, and that change could be painful. Weigh the costs and benefits and decide.  By the way - if you choose option a) - please shut up and stop whining about it.  Everyone else is probably tired of hearing you complain when you never do anything to change your situation.

3. Cake is good.  (Yeah, I know more stuff, but I thought I'd end on a light note!)  

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Today is my little brother Bill's birthday.  He knows how old he is, but I can't tell the rest of you because I will be seeing him soon, and I am sure his retaliation would be fearsome.  The best I can hope for when he LIKES me is to get my face licked when I am expecting a brotherly kiss instead.

Who am I kidding?  I am not afraid of you, William Alfred Ineson Jr.!  Ha!  You are 47 years old today!!! So there!  And..... (throwing caution to the wind....)  take THIS:

Bwahahahaha!  (feeling really giddy right now)

Oh, Lord.  What have I done?    

Happy Birthday, Bill!  (I love you!)

Here we go again!

So, a few weeks ago I was seeing my oncologist, Dr. Naidu for a routine visit.  While we were chatting, he asked me if I was still blogging, and I told him "not really".  He asked me why, and I told him that I didn't think people were as interested in my life while cancer was in remission as they were when it was not.  He said "Oh, I don't think that's the case at all." Hmm.

Well, Dr. Naidu is a pretty smart guy, and I have not gone wrong thus far in following his advice, so I guess I'll give "healthy blogging" a shot.  I warn you in advance - I don't think I am all that interesting, but you can read at your own risk.  If nothing else, this blog may help you to wean yourself off of any sleep aids you may be taking.