Baby Shoes

Earlier this week, when I showed you my pioneer nook I had a comment about the "little black shoes" that I have tucked in on one of the shelves. So for today's Vintage Thingy Thursday, I thought I'd tell you about the little black shoes!

The shoes are definitely "vintage"... but they don't go as far back as pioneer days! They were my baby shoes. They aren't the tiny "first pair" that many mothers save and cherish... but my mother saved them because she just really liked them, and she was sad when I outgrew them. I wore them when I was about 18 months old.
I've had them for a number of years, tucked away in a box with other mementos of my babyhood... but after we moved into our new house this spring, I decided I wanted to use my keepsakes as decor throughout the house. I'm still working on that, but the shoes have found their place here!

And To Think That I Saw It...

I recently came across a fun Wednesday meme at Muum's Musings where she features weird things she sees at WM. (You know... the big box store? Not sure why it's a secret... but since she whispers about it, we will, too.) I don't know if anyone else participates in her Wednesday meme with her, but they should. Because if you're going to see something weird, chances are, that's where it will be!

I don't have pictures (for obvious reasons) but I once saw a bride and groom shopping in their formal wedding attire. I didn't stare... but I did do a double-take. Why would you go shopping in your wedding gown?

Another time I saw a little kid with a pair of pantyhose on his head, pulled down over his ears like a cap, with the legs knotted together and dangling down his back. You just gotta wonder. Who would let their kid go out like that?

Since we have joined the ranks of RVers we have come to appreciate WalMart's policy (whoops! Iwasn't s'posed to say WalMart!) of allowing campers to spend the night in the parking lot. But I have to say, this one just really caught my eye earlier this spring:
I had the camera in the car, so I made my husband drive closer so I could take a picture. (Sorry about the pickup in the way. This was the best shot I could get surreptitiously.) What I really wanted to do was get out and walk around it and read all the epithets so carefully painted on every available inch of the brightly colored bus. But I didn't.

The ones I could read from where we were had such inspiring messages as "Repent or burn!" or various obscure scriptures taken out of context. I had hoped to be able to enlarge the picture and read more of them after I got home, but I wasn't quite close enough for my camera to pick up that detail.

I have a morbid fascination for weird things like this. I suppose that's what the owner of the bus is going for. Draw attention to the bus to convert people to his brand of religion. (Not quite sure what that is.)

The sad thing, that my husband and I remarked on, is that many non-Christians will probably see the wacky bus and think that all Christians are a bunch of kooks!

My "Pioneer" Nook

When I was a new bride in the mid-1980s the country style of decorating was in full swing, and I loved it! But like all styles, we got tired of it and moved on to something else... and now you mostly find decorative items in dusty rose and country blue, and all the ducks and geese collecting dust in the thrift stores.

Recently, though, I decided to re-visit that style of decorating in one small area of my home, with a "pioneer girl" themed "nook". I was inspired by participating in the "I Remember Laura" Blog-a-Thon and Art Swap hosted by Miss Sandy at Quill Cottage.

I gathered up all my Little House on the Prairie books (including the spin-off series, the picture books, and several LIW biographies) and my set of LHP DVDs and put them together on this small bookcase, and then decorated with a pioneer theme around them, incorporating the pieces I received in the Art Swap. I'm sure I'll be tweaking it some, but so far I am pleased with it.

My porcelain doll actually has a prairie dress and sunbonnet. I just don't know where they are right at the moment, and I haven't bothered to go digging for them because I like her school jumper, too.

Whaddya think? It's not too 1980's, is it?

Coeur d'Alene Lake

Thursday Thirteen - Edition #29 - "Q"

Continuing with my alphabet theme, here are 13 things in my life that start with the letter Q:

1. Qi. I just discovered that this is a valid Scrabble word! Only 2 letters and doesn't require a U after the Q. I had no idea what it meant though. I had to look it up. Do you know?
2. Qualified. Even though I don't always feel qualified for everything I'm called to do, I'm so glad God gives grace and strength anyway.
3. Quart. A fun childhood memory is of shaking raw cream in a quart canning jar to make butter. Oh, yeah... and rows and rows of home-canned garden bounty in quarts and pints. I never understood why Mother thought that was such a pretty sight. I do now!
   
4. Quarters. I've been collecting the state quarters for the past 10 years. I have a map of the US folder to keep them in. Do you collect them, too?
5. Quartet. I enjoy good southern gospel quarter music sometimes.
   
6. Queen. I love being queen of my home!
7. Quiche. I posted a favorite recipe here.
   
8. Quiet. Sometimes I enjoy silence more than music or conversation.
9. Quilts. I posted about some of my treasured quilts here.
   
10. Quilting. I have sweet memories of sitting at the quilting frame that Grandmother had set up on her porch the summer of 1980. Dad was between pastorates for a couple of months that summer and we stayed with my grandparents for several weeks. I was 14. Grandmother taught my sisters and I how to quilt. I have enjoyed it ever since.
11. Quiver. There's a verse in the Bible comparing children to arrows and saying the man is blessed whose quiver is full of them. Our quiver seems to hold just two... and we are blessed!
    
12. Quiz. I enjoy fun blog quizzes once in awhile.
13. Quote. I like watching for meaningful quotes when I read.
    

Love as a Way of Life

I highly recommend this book! It offers a good challenge on how we can choose to love others more... with practical ideas for making that happen. I really appreciated it.

The publisher has provided me with two extra copies of this great book to give away. Please click through to my book review blog to leave a comment for your chance to win one of them!

Backyard Project

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, July 14, 2008:

Outside my window... it's a sunny day. Probably gonna be another hot one.
I am thinking... about the road trip we are planning for vacation next month.
I am thankful for... the recent salvation of someone we have been praying for a long time.
From the kitchen... my daughter made chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yummy!
I am wearing... a pink gingham dress.
I am creating... a crocheted sunflower doily. (See picture below.)
I am going... to get groceries this evening.
I am reading... Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman.
I am hoping... for a good commission check this weekend.
I am hearing... birds twittering.
Around the house... I am working on getting my bedroom organized and decorated.
One of my favorite things... Diet Coke with cherry and lime from Sonic.
A few plans for the rest of the week... I hope to finish my bedroom project, and get some more boxes from the garage unpacked and put away. I also need to work 20 or 30 hours for Sonlight.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...Visit ~The Simple Woman~ for more participants in this theme.

Vintage Radio

I was going to do this post for Vintage Thingy Thursday, but the day got away from me... and here it is, late Thursday night... so maybe I can post it for Show & Tell Friday.

Anyway, I wanted to show you my "new" vintage radio. As a long-time fan of Old Time Radio shows, I've been wanting an antique radio for years. I didn't care whether or not it worked. I just thought it would be neat to have one.


I've seen replicas that are very cool (and also spendy) but they usually just have a regular modern radio or maybe a CD player inside. To my notion there's just something very wrong about modern radio programs coming out of a classic radio! So I've been looking for one that had an XM receiver (because there's an OTR channel on XM) or an MP3 player (because I have lots of OTR shows on MP3).

Well, I haven't found one like that so far. But I have big plans for this one. My husband is pretty handy when it comes to sound systems and all things technical. So I'm pretty sure he can fix this one up for me to actually play my OTR programs!

Isn't it cool? It's an old cabinet radio. The radio controls are on the top, not on the front. It looks like perhaps someone's cat got ahold of the speaker fabric.
On the back side is this deep cubby hole, presumably for storing records...
...because the top flips open to reveal a record player! It even came with 4 records! These aren't the 33 1/3 vinyl records I grew up with, either! They are actually the old celluloid 78s... which was way before my time. They are very thick and heavy compared to vinyl records. Also "non-breakable".
Except they aren't.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but one of the records had a crack from the outer edge all the way to the middle. I just thought it was ironic that the wrapper said "non-breakable."The record player doesn't work, nor does it have a needle, so it doesn't really matter. But these are Big Band records, so it would have been cool to be able to listen to them.
Neat addition to my living room, huh?

Wouldja like to guess where I got it? And how much I paid for it?

Okay. I won't make you guess. I'll just tell you.

Freecycle!

I know! Right? (That phrase sounds totally silly to me... but it seemed to fit right there! So I thought I'd just try it! LOL!)

A couple weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, someone posted that she was closing down her garage sale and she was going to pile all her leftovers out in her driveway, and if anybody wanted any of it they could just haul it off. I was very busy that day, but when I realized it was only about 4 blocks away I couldn't resist seeing what she had.

And that's where I found this treasure!