Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas -- God Bless Us, Every One!
May you have much laughter...
a sense of wonderment...
time to spend with those you love...
and to share sweet memories of those who are no longer with you...
I wish each of you a very Merry & Blessed Christmas!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Staying Home to Bake
There were LOTS of sales to go to today, but I decided not to go to any. The weather helped me with that decision -- it was snowing and slippery, so there was no reason to drive 20-30 miles to look at stuff that wasn't even calling my name.
She lived with us from just a few weeks after I was born and was my main caregiver, because my mom worked. Ning was one of the best bakers around! Yesterday was her birthday (she was born in 1891) so I've been thinking about her a lot. Her mother died when Ning was only 13, and she became the 'mom' at her house, in charge of the cooking & housekeeping for herself, her dad and her brother. Her father sent her to Fleischmann's (the yeast people) cooking school, which wasn't like a culinary school would be now, but more like a high school home ec class would be. I still have the cookbook that she used there.
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| Fleischmann's cooking school book |
I think part of the reason we all love Christmas cookies so much is that they connect us with the past. When I make different cookies I remember the people I loved who liked those cookies best -- my dad liked Hermits (if you're not German, you might not know what those are), my mom liked Mexican Wedding Cakes and Ning liked Springerles (also German). Baking them sort of keeps them alive in my memory.
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| My family's original Hermit recipe, cut out of the paper in the 50s -- it's the one I still use |
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| Hermits |
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| Springerle |
I also use some of the old implements I grew up with! This nut grinder is the same one I used at home as a little girl 'helping' to make the cookies. Turning the crank was my first helper-job, just as it was the first job I gave my boys when they were little. My guys thought it was really funny when we'd go to antique malls and they'd see the nut grinder we had at home for sale as an 'antique'.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The Burning House
I heard the site owner of the-burning-house.com interviewed today on NPR's Here and Now today. His site poses the simple question "If you had to escape your burning house, what would you take?". It all started at a dinnertime conversation about how our choices reveal a lot about what really matters to us.
I'm an almost addictive collector (and have been from my earliest memories) and I think that most of you are, too, dear readers. We all love our vintage Fiesta, Pyrex, bakelite, fabric, china and any other of literally thousands of things. We take pictures of them, blog about them and comment on each others' finds. We all love stuff.
In the end, though, it's all just STUFF! I was glad, as I made my own 'burning house' list, to find that there wasn't a mixing bowl or sifter on it.
My list is simple:
Turner, the dog
Leo, the cat
my Bible
old family pictures
It makes you think, doesn't it? What's on your 'burning house' list?
I'm an almost addictive collector (and have been from my earliest memories) and I think that most of you are, too, dear readers. We all love our vintage Fiesta, Pyrex, bakelite, fabric, china and any other of literally thousands of things. We take pictures of them, blog about them and comment on each others' finds. We all love stuff.
In the end, though, it's all just STUFF! I was glad, as I made my own 'burning house' list, to find that there wasn't a mixing bowl or sifter on it.
My list is simple:
Turner, the dog
Leo, the cat
my Bible
old family pictures
It makes you think, doesn't it? What's on your 'burning house' list?
Friday, May 20, 2011
Fisher Price Happiness!
Garage sale shopping is such an interesting process, combining spontaneity and planning. When garage sale time comes, I check the newspaper & craigslist the night before I shop and try to map out the sales I want to stop at. I use yardsaletreasuremap.com to get a relative route, but in the end I rely pretty heavily on my GPS. That's where any control of the situation ends. If you drive anywhere in the suburbs, you know that the signs sprout up like dandelions in a spring lawn. They're everywhere; neon colored cardboard decorated with balloons & arrows. You'll be on your way to a planned stop and soon your GPS is "recalculating..." at every turn. I've learned, though, that it really pays to go check out those unexpected sales. I often find my best stuff at those.
A while ago, I followed one of those signs down the bunny-trail of the unexpected and hit the Fisher Price jackpot! I love vintage Fisher Price toys -- especially the Little People playsets. I managed to save most of the ones my boys played with, but am also always looking for other ones at sales and flea markets. I saw the farm silo first and grabbed it. Then I looked around and saw more Fisher Price in one place than I'd ever seen outside of a toy aisle. I took it all and got it ALL for less than $30 -- here it is:
A while ago, I followed one of those signs down the bunny-trail of the unexpected and hit the Fisher Price jackpot! I love vintage Fisher Price toys -- especially the Little People playsets. I managed to save most of the ones my boys played with, but am also always looking for other ones at sales and flea markets. I saw the farm silo first and grabbed it. Then I looked around and saw more Fisher Price in one place than I'd ever seen outside of a toy aisle. I took it all and got it ALL for less than $30 -- here it is:
Zoo
School (1980s) - with a pull-out playground stored under it
Nursery School (the roof comes off and the other side of it is a playground) -
I've never seen this before and am keeping this for grandchildren-yet-to-be!
I've never seen this before and am keeping this for grandchildren-yet-to-be!
Swimming Pool and Silo
Parking Garage
School bus from 1965 - the first year they made it
A Plaskool set of Sesame Street blocks (not Fisher Price, but related)
Baby Nursery set
Playground set
This AMAZING box of people and parts!
Look at all the great stuff that was in that box!
Fisher Price started in 1930 and the name was the combined last names of 3 of the 4 founders. They made metal and wood toys until the 1950s when they began using plastic, too. Buzzy Bee was their first toy with plastic on it. The 'Little People' started as 'Play Family' and began in the 1960s. Besides the Little People & playsets, they made the See n Say, Power Wheels, Viewmaster and lots of infant and toddler toys. The original Little People have now been replaced by chunky ones (apparently the original sized ones were thought to be a choking risk). Some of the new versions of the old toys look really different, but a surprising number still have the old designs.
If you need to research and identify Fisher Price toys, I've found this GREAT website: This Old Toy. Every playset, every little person, every animal and every part is identified and sorted by part number and year -- most with pictures! This is one of the most complete and well organized collectors' websites I've ever seen. The little people are even sorted by color of body and type of hair and each accessory in a playset is noted. Kudos to This Old Toy!
My favorite FP toy when I was little was my Timmy the Turtle (#150). I don't know why I loved that little pull-toy so much, but I still remember it and always look for one in good condition while I'm shopping.
What's your favorite Fisher Price toy or playset? I'd love to read your stories and I'm sure others would, too. Share a comment or two here and let us know what you FP you remember! Here's a question, too, for my readers from the UK and Commonwealth countries (and there actually are quite a few of you): did you or your children play with Fisher Price toys?
School bus from 1965 - the first year they made it
A Plaskool set of Sesame Street blocks (not Fisher Price, but related)
Baby Nursery set
Playground set
This AMAZING box of people and parts!
Look at all the great stuff that was in that box!
Since I have all this FP now, I have to decide what I'm going to keep, what I'll sell and what I'll give away. I've been doing LOTS of research about Fisher Price -- I knew it was one of the major toy makers, but didn't realize just how much there was!
Fisher Price started in 1930 and the name was the combined last names of 3 of the 4 founders. They made metal and wood toys until the 1950s when they began using plastic, too. Buzzy Bee was their first toy with plastic on it. The 'Little People' started as 'Play Family' and began in the 1960s. Besides the Little People & playsets, they made the See n Say, Power Wheels, Viewmaster and lots of infant and toddler toys. The original Little People have now been replaced by chunky ones (apparently the original sized ones were thought to be a choking risk). Some of the new versions of the old toys look really different, but a surprising number still have the old designs.
If you need to research and identify Fisher Price toys, I've found this GREAT website: This Old Toy. Every playset, every little person, every animal and every part is identified and sorted by part number and year -- most with pictures! This is one of the most complete and well organized collectors' websites I've ever seen. The little people are even sorted by color of body and type of hair and each accessory in a playset is noted. Kudos to This Old Toy!
My favorite FP toy when I was little was my Timmy the Turtle (#150). I don't know why I loved that little pull-toy so much, but I still remember it and always look for one in good condition while I'm shopping.
What's your favorite Fisher Price toy or playset? I'd love to read your stories and I'm sure others would, too. Share a comment or two here and let us know what you FP you remember! Here's a question, too, for my readers from the UK and Commonwealth countries (and there actually are quite a few of you): did you or your children play with Fisher Price toys? Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day to All!
I miss my mom!
Even though she's been gone almost 20 years, I still find myself wanting to pick up the phone and tell her about a new sewing pattern I found or some craft I'd learned to do. I laugh with my knitting friends about her because she was a leftie and taught me to knit, so I learned to knit left-handed! And I'm constantly reminded by my husband that I'm still Libby's daughter (I'm not sure he always means that as a good thing, either)! 
I included this pic because it's my favorite one of her and me together. I love to think about her as a young woman -- we only really 'know' our parents as older adults -- and she looks so happy and carefree. I wish I could time-warp back and spend the afternoon with her then!
If your mom (mum) is alive, cherish the time you have with her! If not, share some of your fond memories with someone else so they can get to know her through your eyes.
I included this pic because it's my favorite one of her and me together. I love to think about her as a young woman -- we only really 'know' our parents as older adults -- and she looks so happy and carefree. I wish I could time-warp back and spend the afternoon with her then! If your mom (mum) is alive, cherish the time you have with her! If not, share some of your fond memories with someone else so they can get to know her through your eyes.
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