Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Getting ready...

Getting ready for the season are these two scarecrow pumpkins that were given to me when I was young. They were given to me by my mother's best friend, Bernice. They are the very first Halloween decoration that I bring out. I can't wait to see them because they remind me of wonderful days gone by.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Introducing Mr. Mouse

I have already showed you Chipmunk and thought I'd better show you Mr. Mouse. He didn't want to come off his little shelf, so this picture is a little dark, but I will try to coax him off another day. I want you to know that Audrey carved him too, and he loves being on this shelf with my little old book "Adventures of a Brownie" that I found in an antique store and my special little prints of drawings that my friend, Joan, did. She knows all about the Brownies. Do you? My book says "a Brownie is a curious creature - a fairy, and yet not one of that sort of fairies who fly about on gossamer wings, and dance in the moonlight, and so on. He never dances; and as to wings, what use would they be to him in a coal cellar? He is a sober, stay-at-home, household elf - nothing much to look at, even if you did see him, which you are not likely to do - only a little old man, about a foot high, all dressed in brown, with a brown face and hands, and a brown peaked cap, just the color of a brown mouse. And, like a mouse, he hides in corners - especially kitchen corners, and only comes out after dark when nobody is about, and so sometimes people call him Mr. Nobody."

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Remembering

" Mrs. Salisbury"
"Maureen"

"Rosemary"

Oh my goodness, bringing out all these old treasures made me dream about my old house and all our neighbors when I was a child. They were a wonderful group of people, like the Midford series or something like that! I love to think about them and they will always be in my memory. I think I need to write notes about them...maybe a story. Anyway, I think some of these "storybook dolls" used to come on Cupid Candies boxes. I think I will name them after my old neighbors!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Do you remember?

Do you remember "Story Book Dolls"? This one is looking at you from my hallway, which is darkened this evening. I will take another picture tomorrow. I have my childhood collection. They've been packed in the basement for too long. They are happy to come up and be noticed again.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A surprise!

Audrey brought me a surprise today during art classes! Remember the chipmunk that I showed you a couple of days ago? Well, this is his peanut and his acorn. Aren't they beautiful? Now he is prepared for winter!

And here are my spooky oak leaf sisters! I must make dresses for them and they will be ready for the season. What do you think? Flouncy gauze?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The old meet the new...

Quilting class today reminded me of fabric collected and the yo-yos that I have put away. The difference in size. The top ones are either my mother's or my grandmother's. The bottom ones are mine.

Mine.

And here are the old treasures. How did they make them so small?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

First day of autumn

My little chipmunk, that Audrey carved, sits on a shelf by this empty fairy chair. I have always wanted to make more of these chairs, and this one needs some repair before it's time for the fairies to come in from the garden for the winter.

Winter is an etching,
spring is a watercolor,
summer an oil painting,
and autumn a mosaic of them all. Stanley Horowitz

Monday, September 21, 2009

Critters!

When she was little, my daughter made little creatures out of little pom poms. Not having been reminded of them in a long time, I was taken by surprise when one jumped out as I was cleaning cabinets yesterday! He told me he was separated from the others, and it was so warm and dark in the back of the cabinet that he fell asleep. He said, when he heard me in there, that he knew I was looking for him. Well..."hello, little fella"! It' s fun to be reminded of days way back when.

Having fits with the other blog that I was trying to use, and in too much of a hurry to get on with this, I decided to continue with user-friendly Blogger. I just can't wait! Anyway, for those who have seen this - yes, I am repeating myself. But this guy needed to be here.

Memory

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." Kevin Arnold

I am in the midst of cleaning closets and sorting things that I have saved. Reading that quote on my calendar yesterday just reminds me of how important some of these things are to me. They deserve a journal of their own. So, that is what this blog is about for whoever may be interested (especially me). Here goes!