(Some Of ) My Deer Lamps

The latest installment of my ongoing saga of The Deer Obsession - thought I'd show you some of my lamps. I got this one on eBay, and found the perfect lovely shade for it in Sutter Creek:
Next: this is one of a pair of bedside lamps - also eBay:
See how this one is the reverse on the colors?
I am rather fond of this chartreuse leaping deer, who is kind enough to hold some jewelry on my dresser:
And this is another favorite - I also found this PERFECT shade in Sutter Creek - not at the same time as the other one I mentioned above:
The last one for today - a TV lamp that sits on a table to light up our foyer in the evening:
and that is not all of them. I have others. Perhaps another day....

Some Shoes

I like these shoes from 1939 - they just look comfortable to me. You may think they look like Grandma shoes. Don't care - I like 'em:
I like comfort. These shoes (from 1954) are elegant and pretty, but I think they look extremely uncomfortable. Couldn't do it:
These are slippers (Indorables!) - but I love this little red number. I only WISH they were shoes:
I also really like both of these wedge styles (from a 1974 Seventeen Magazine):

And here we go - platforms and chunky heels from 1977. Now, none of these look like they would be too painful. I like them, too:
I LOVE suede, and I love wedges. These are a little more recent - Anthropologie from a 2005 catalog. "Karma Wedges in Celery Suede" - gorgeous:
And more suede wedges from another Anthropologie catalog (2004):
I'm afraid I won't be buying my shoes from them - the celery ones were $358. Too rich for my blood. But I WILL continue to drool over the things in their catalogs!

Betsy McCall ( Yes, Again)

Yes, more about Betsy. Because I found some more pages featuring her in some old McCall's Make-It magazines. So I took some more pictures of my dolls to share, as well.
How can you resist her sweet and adorable face?
She's modeling clothing you could knit at home. And you could even make Nosey the dog!
Just look at her little outfits. Do you see that sweater with the fringe trim? I love it.
I had to try to enlarge this picture which was on the cover, because it was in color, and showed the little oufits made up:
Gratuitous cute pictures of my beloved Betsys.

Come on - I mean, really!! How CUTE is she?

The Smothers Brothers

I LOVE these two! I was thrilled to find this vintage LP in a thrift shop a while back It is pristine - it still had the plastic covering on it, which protected it over the years.
We used to watch The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour - LOVED it. I'm still hoping I might get the chance to see them in a live performance some day. I think they're great.
These two albums were packed away in our Mother's stuff. I am sure she found them at a thrift store, as well:

I missed this program (below) when it was on PBS last month. I'd have liked to have seen it. My friend gives me her copy of the program guide sometimes, but I got it too late to know this was on. I blame the stupid TV Guide magazine (that isn't) completely for this. I know I can look online - but I just don't. TV Guide no longer gives us the correct information for what is on our local stations. I plan to write more about this in an upcoming post. OH, YEAH - I have a lot more to say. Don't get me started.
Rant over (for now). Shout out to Dick and Tom - Love you guys!!

Then And Now #28 - Saran Wrap

Good old Saran Wrap - it's been around awhile, I guess. Here it is in an ad from 1954:
And here's how the box looked in 1963:
And again in 1986:

And today - as with most products, there are more varieties to choose from. Oh, the decisions.
I hope you don't think these posts are too odd. I really enjoy comparing the look of the packaging then and now. And the old ads. I hope you do, too!

Remember When?

Do you remember when they were called Service Stations - because that's what they were? Far more than a gas station - your services from the nice attendant would include: washing your windshield and back window, checking the air pressure in your tires, checking your oil, checking your radiator water level - and oh, yeah - filling the tank with gas. And, you could even get a map for free. Not to mention stopping there simply to ask for directions. No problem.
And do you remember when you had to depend on finding a phone booth if you needed to make a call while out on the open road? Whether for an emergency or not - you were sure to find those dependable Bell Telephone booths along your path.
You know, in case you needed to stop for any reason - like one of these, from this 1959 advertisement:
I know they still pump your gas in Oregon - I love that when I'm up there - but in most places you are on your own. And you actually seldom need to even have cash with you to purchase fuel for your car. So many people have GPS systems that they sure don't need to stop and ask for directions! And almost EVERYBODY has a cell phone - who stops to use a phone any more? There aren't many phone booths left out there - and why should there be? Everything gets vandalized these days. Even in our neck of the woods- don't you dare leave your car by the side of the road if you break down at night! More often than not, by morning some jerk will have smashed it somewhere - and sometimes they even burn it up!
Sigh...

A Card For Denise

Today is my friend Denise's birthday. We worked together as rural mail carriers (she's still there) and she is one of my favorite people in the world. I made a special card for her:
I just happened to have one fabulous 100 year-old postcard among my stash with a horse on it, which was perfect for her. With my limited supplies and my equally limited "crafting" abilities, I was very pleased with how it turned out. I used chalks to highlight the embossed detailing on the card border (card was purchased at Michael's, by the way, with a Christmas gift card!), and I think you can see that the horse postcard has embossed details, too - so it fit perfectly. I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed creating it for her!
Happy Birthday,Denise!!

Blue & Yellow, Yellow & Blue

Just two pretty colors today. I found this book at a thrift store, and couldn't pass it up. Because the cover was so darned pretty, and because I really would like to try my hand at mosaic one of these days:
This is the front cover of an old vinyl photo album from the 70's. I had to take the pictures out - they were those weird old sleeves that can mess up your pictures, you know? But I'm just not sure what to do with it now. I just like the looks of the cover:
And then, here are two pages out of the cutest book - also from a thrift store - "My Slippers Are Red", by Charlotte Steiner:
Such sweet illustrations:
And then, this is just goofy - but I was preparing this post, and I needed a snack. So I went and scorched some microwave popcorn - then I tried again. Felt like grabbing a bowl to eat it out of - and realized that my snack was blue and yellow, too. (Honestly - I did not plan this ahead of time!) So, like any good blogger, I decided to take a picture of it so I could add it to this post. I'm just silly that way.
My sister had this popcorn when I was at her house. So the next time we went shopping, I got some. It's Jolly Time 100 Calorie Healthy Pop Kettle Corn. One bag is 1 point on Weight Watchers. I like it! When it isn't scorched.

More Stuff I Found In The House

I know you might be getting tired of all this - but I get so excited when I find more neat stuff. I realized that maybe I had never looked up on the very top shelf in the cupboard above our little telephone nook near the kitchen. Inside of old stationery and card boxes, I found these:
The baby announcements are mostly from the mid-to-late 1940"s. I also found birthday cards and invitations from the 1950's. I about went crazy when I saw the little cowboy boots!
And how about that dancing candy, below? I love dancing candy. Dancing around cake. Looks like my kind of party.
I also found neat old hotel brochures from the 1930's:
But my greatest find? A Disneyland Hotel brochure form 1957!! I've never seen one before. The family went and stayed there, so this is what she received after sending in a deposit. Oh - and the price of the most expensive suite was $25 a night.
I was really tickled to find that!
(Edited to add: My friend Kari pointed out in her comment that the Disneyland Hotel letter is dated exactly 52 years ago today! I hadn't noticed!)

Red Wing Dinner Plates

My mother-in-law had a lot of dishes. And so do I. Back before we moved into this house - to clear some room in the cupboards - my husband packed up SOME of the things and they were stored in a huge box in the basement. Among her dishes were partial sets of these two vintage Red Wing patterns - Bob White:
And Tampico:
They remained packed up for a long time, and then I started thinking I needed to get rid of some things. Well, I tried to sell various items, and I did sell a couple of serving pieces and cup and saucer sets in these two patterns. But no one ever bought the plates. I finally just decided "to heck with it" - I'm keeping them. I mean, it was never about not liking them. It wasn't even about not WANTING them. It was only about not NEEDING them. And the fact that I really CAN'T KEEP EVERYTHING! (Sorry - I thought maybe if I shouted, I would hear that.) Oh, yeah - and storage space. Well, I finally managed to clear a place for them on a pantry shelf, 8 of one set, and 6 of the other, all stacked together. And I have used them occasionally, and will again. And I'm keeping them. I really like them.
There was only one plate in the Capistrano pattern, above, with the swallow. Tried to sell that, too. And then I gave up and brought it home, and I've displayed it ever since.
I like dishes WAY too much.

Burl Ives

Burl Ives seemed like he must have been SUCH a nice old guy. I love his distinctive voice, and thank goodness I can still hear it any time I want. I was inspired to write about him because I found this album recently at a thrift shop:
I already had this piece of sheet music. How many of you out there remember this song?
I even remember watching his old TV show titled "O.K. Crackerby". He was such a marvelous actor who enjoyed a very long career playing many different kinds of characters. Who can forget him as the snowman in Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer? And some of my very favorites were his Disney roles. Like when he sang this song, below in "So Dear To My Heart".
But especially when he played Osh Popham in "Summer Magic":
I got this soundtrack LP on eBay, and the comic book, too.
I love "Ugly Bug Ball" - but I think my favorite has to be "On The Front Porch." It's such a sweet, old-fashioned romantic song.
I am delighted that my favorite entertainers will live on forever in their roles and their music!

Inauguration Day

So - the day is really here!
There's just something so (pardon the overused word) AWESOME about it this time, isn't there??
It's exciting. You know, I don't expect miracles. I don't expect the new leader of our nation to solve all of the problems our country faces. How can you ever expect that from one man?
But, I'm hopeful. And that's a really nice feeling, don't you think?

Welcome to the White House, President Obama.
And God Bless America.