So true!

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

 

Kahlil Gibran

So glad you're feeling better!

And speaking of raspberries, these look so pretty next to the pink border!  The card design reminds me of spring yet to come and I'm looking forward to it.  This was sent to me in the 1970s by someone named Eileen who added the notation that she is "a friend of your Grandma Virginia".  My grandmother had everyone under the sun sending me cards ... so many of them from total strangers to me but I loved receiving them!  There's no indication on the back of who made the card but it's a definitely a beaut! 

Raspberry Pinwheels

From Grandma's recipe box ... these are bound to be delicious!

So true!

The fireside is the tulip bed

of a winter day.

Persian Proverb

You're the apple of my eye

I hope this adorable cross-stitch elephant on roller skates isn't too late for Valentine's Day!  Even the skate wheels are apples ... they must be sturdy apples indeed!

Try to keep your foot from tapping ... It can't be done!

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers from "Hellzapoppin

Sick?

I have to admit I'm not wild about the graphics of this card although I do get a kick out of her anchor tattoo!  My grandmother sent me this card in 1974 while I was in the hospital and she writes on the back "I am sure this doesn't look like you or your nurses but it is cute.  I hope you are trying to help yourself get better so you can get out of there.  Are your arms & legs moving any better?  I hope you are getting lots of cards.  Love, Grandma"  Yes, I did get lots of cards, she made sure of that!  

The card is a Fan Fare Custom Contemporaries card by United Card Company which I don't think I've ever heard of before.  I guess she's right, it is cute in an amusing kinda way!

Fast 'n' Easy Beef Stew

Today's recipe from Grandma's recipe box isn't a vintage one but instead looks like something she clipped from a magazine sometime in the 1980s or 1990s.  It looks easy enough and I'm sure it's delicious and filling.  Today is chilly and dreary and it would it definitely fit the bill!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So True!

There's nothing better than a good friend,

except a good friend with chocolate.

Linda Grayson

Mom - Early 1960s

I love this photo of my mother in the early 1960s!  Love the purse, love the scarf, love the pants although I do question her choice of footwear in the snowy weather!

What does your candy heart say? Mine says "Hug me"

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

I love you

This adorable figure was cut out of a magazine but I'm drawing a blank over its origins!  These little featureless characters were immensely popular back in the 1970s & 1980s and I had to think hard to remember the artist's name but it finally came to me ... Joan Walsh Anglund.  I don't know where I got this little paperdoll from but I know it wasn't cut by my hand ... I wouldn't have been as precise with the scissors!  Do women's magazines even feature things like this any more?  The world needs more whimsy!

Especially for you ...

This fold-out Valentine's Day card was sent to me in 1978 by Chris P., a young woman that worked with my mother.  I remember her accompanying my mother on a visit to Longwood's Octoberfest during my first year there.  My mother still has some of the photos taken during that visit on display in her house and it's always fun to see them.  We lost touch with Chris as often happens over time but my mother seems to remember seeing in the newspaper that she was married back in the 1980s.  

The Gibson verse inside the card:  Especially for you ... here's a Valentine greeting that brings you a wish it's a pleasure repeating ... Be happy and spend it your favorite way ~~ This warm, friendly time we call Valentine's Day!  

Chris wrote inside:  "Greetings from Petersburg.  Hope school is going smoothly and that you haven't lost weight.  Love, Chris"

I had problems keeping weight on because I despised the dining hall!  Too chaotic for me and I'd avoid it by not eating there ... possibly not the smartest tactic since it was already paid for as part of the tuition.  Ah well!

Press Cookies

Found in Grandma's recipe box, I think this is the basic recipe used for so many of her Christmas cookies.  She had a press and I remember changing the end with the various designs.  Even undecorated, these plain cookies are delicious with a simple sweet flavor.  She noted in pencil the amounts halved ... even at that, 2 sticks of butter seems like a lot these days but yet this woman had no health issues and lived a long life so maybe fresh butter isn't as bad as we think.  I love butter so I'm partial to that conclusion!

So True!

Happiness is like jam.

You can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself!

Unknown

Me and Fluffy - 1960s

This is me and my buddy Fluffy sometime in the early half of the 1960s after a snowfall.  I do remember those mittens and matching hat with the duck design ... accessories are important!  That's my parent's Impala in the background behind the cedar tree ... I think my mother drove it for most of the 1960s.  My father always drove a truck but we used the Impala for any family excursions.  I used to play for hours in the snow, then go inside for a change of clothes, a cup of hot chocolate and would read for hours on my bed. Sounds good to me still!

Skater

A tribute to the winter that I wish we'd had except Mother Nature had other plans!  The 60F temps are nice but don't feel quite right to me.  This girl's outfit is adorable right down to the little pompoms on her skates!  There's bound to be a mug of hot chocolate at the end of this exhilarating activity!  Ahhhh cold & snowy winter ... I miss you!

So True!

I like days when feathers are snowing, and all the

eaves have petticoats showing.  

 

Aileen Fisher

Josh Williams & Sparrow!

What is your winter personality? I'm Comfortable!

Your Winter Personality is Comfortable

When the weather gets cold, you love to settle in and get cozy. There's nothing better than being tucked under a warm blanket. You can't help but be influenced by the world around you, and winter is your time to slow down and relax. You are genuinely nice and a joy to be around. You have a natural serenity that makes others feel calm. You are unpretentious and very real. You find it easy to connect to others just by being yourself.

What's Your Winter Personality?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

1920s Charleston

National Zoo Ticket Stub - Mid 1980s

I still have the ticket stub from when Jack & I visited the National Zoo in Washington DC in the mid 1980s!  What a fun place!  I particularly loved the Reptile area (ewwww ... icky but true).  I had also visited the zoo back in the early 1970s with my parents, sister and grandmother but I don't have a memento of that particular visit except for little bits of memory. 

Sleeping Beauty!

Grandpa Shufflin'

A get-well wish for someone very special

I love the pinks and purples in this American Greetings get well card from the early 1970s!  Such a girly card!  The card signed "Dotty & Don" who were friends of my grandmother.  Very pretty!

Inside card:   

With the warmest get-well wishes that it's possible to send, 'cause someone very special is on the receiving end!  Hope you'll hurry and get well."

Pecan Pies

These miniature pecan pies are so delicious!  My grandmother made these fairly often and it's impossible to eat just one.  She was such a great cook!  Her handwriting can be difficult to read but I grew so used to it that it's easy for me to decode it! This index card is yellowed and has several ink smears ... she must have flung ingredients around in her enthusiasm!

Mom - early 1960s

This photo of my mother in the early 1960s reminds me of the winter art below!  This is her backyard version!  I love the photo.  I have the coat still and it's in perfect condition.  It's hard to tell in the photo but the fabric is corduroy.  It still looks brand new!

Winter

Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer, with

never a thought of sorrow; the old goes out, but the

glad young year comes merrily in tomorrow.

Emily Miller

Happy 2012!!

I hope your seas are calm, my Captain!

This beautiful Charles Wysocki artwork came from a calendar that I had in the early 1990s ... maybe ... not sure of the exact year. It's so wistful! His Americana artwork is a favorite of mine. Here's a link to see some more ~~~~~> http://www.charleswysocki.com/

So True!

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.

Henry David Thoreau

Marshmallow World

Congealed Salad

Judging by the handwriting, I must have written this recipe down sometime in the 1970s.  I don't remember who served it or who I got the recipe from but I must have liked it!  When did fruit cocktail become salad??  The word "congealed" doesn't appeal to me these days ... it makes me think of sludge.  Let's call this "Colorful & Fluffy Fruit Cocktail" ... I'm in!  

Merry Christmas

Best Wishes for a very merry Christmas!!

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

For you, Granddaughter at Christmas

My grandmother sent me this card in the 1970s and it has such a sweet design!  She would have turned 101 years old two days ago and I miss her terribly.  She could be so acerbic ... I even miss that part!!  She would come to visit at Christmastime and bring tins and tins and more tins of homemade cookies ... we'd be eating them well into February.  And they were so delicious!  My favorite were the little round cookie balls that had chopped walnuts and were rolled in red or green glitter jimmies.  Most times when thoughts of Christmas come to me, they are thoughts of the Christmases of my childhood more so than Christmases of today.  Merry Christmas, Grandma!!  

Inside the card:  You're as pretty as the ornaments that hang upon the tree, as sweet as Christmas candy, and as dear as you can be!  Have a Merry Christmas!"

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree!

So True!

Ah!  There is nothing like staying at

home for real comfort.

Jane Austen

Santa's Hat

Yes, as incredible as it seems, I will even keep a gift tag if it strikes my fancy!!  This beaut came with a gift a few years ago and it is so perfect!  The santa hat cut-out is lavishly covered with red and white glitter.  The red is so red and the white is so white ... it's gorgeous!!  

 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

What Christmas Carol Are You? I'm "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"!

Your Christmas Song Is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light From now on, Our troubles will be out of sight From baking cookies to giving gifts to everyone... You enjoy brightening up the season for those you know

What Christmas Carol Are You?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

Holly Jolly Christmas - My Favorite!

Silver Bells

So True!

Close by the

jolly fire I sit

to warm my frozen

bones a bit.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Where in the world was I ???

Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton is a favorite author of mine and I saved this stamp ages ago ... 15 cents for a first class stamp!!  A lovely stamp and a lovely woman! 

Happy Birthday to Someone Nice

This very sweet birthday card was sent back in the 1970s by my cousin Teresa.  She was about 3 years younger than me and we would see each other when I'd stay with family at the beach each summer.  She writes "How ya doin'?  I really hope you have a happy birthday!!!!!  Are you going to the mountains?  I hope so.  Guess who I met ... Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, all of them.  Did you hear that I was in the hospital?  So how are things up there, are you alright?  Is everybody?  I hope you like this card.  I thought this was real cute.  Have a perfect birthday!  Love always, Teresa."

We haven't stayed in touch as is often the way but I always ask after her when I see distant family.  She was a very sweet girl!

The card is "Hampshire Art" brand and I was unable to find any information on that company via Google.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Me - mid 1960s

I think that coat was so new and stiff that I couldn't move!  The hat had a white puff ball in the back, you can see a little of it in the photo.  All dressed up for somewhere but I have no idea where!

 

Savory Turkey Bake

This recipe & artwork came from a 1990 calendar that I loved so I saved a few of the months!  I did that with numerous calendars over the years, not keeping the entire 12 months but select ones.  I wasn't sure what I wanted them for, I think in the back of my mind I was considering framing my favorites but never got around to that.  Who knew I would add them to a blog?  In 1990 I never knew what a blog was primarily because they didn't exist!  You never know!

What Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Are You? I'm Hello Kitty!

You Are Hello Kitty

You love Thanksgiving because it's a time to catch up with the people you don't see very often during the year. And while you love Thanksgiving dinner, you really look forward to the sweets and pies that follow the main meal. You are friendly and loving. You can always find someone to be thankful for during Thanksgiving. You are sweet and a natural peacemaker. You are close to your family and happy to spend this special day with them.

What Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Are You?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

If wishes were turkeys ...

"It's Thanksgiving and - if wishes were turkeys, you'd sure get a shock 'cause instead of just ONE ... here's a whole noisy flock!"  

A great fold-out card from my grandmother sent in the the early 1980s!  Love the little mouse's teeth! 

Bradford Pear Trees - Fall 2010

Tom the Turkey

My step-grandmother Mildred sent this card in either the late 1970s or early 1980s and as always, I'm sure it was accompanied by a "goodie box"!  This card is huge!!  The design is on both sides and there's a slot & flap at the bottom that allows you to set the card up as a display.  Tom Turkey's feathers are made of felt so I keep rubbing my fingers over it!!  

 

What is your Pilgrim name? Mine is Prudence Sampson!

Your Pilgrim Name Is: Prudence Sampson

A pilgrim is a wanderer with purpose.

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

So True!

Sing a song of seasons!  Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer, fires in the fall.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Signs of the Season

I took these photos yesterday in front of a local business in Farmville.  Fun & very seasonal!  

 

What is your witch name? Mine's Esmerelda!

Your Witch Name is Esmerelda

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

What's Your Witch Name?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

So True!

Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

Frederico Fellini

Golden Leaves - Fall 2010