Shirley Temple's Special Day

Happy Birthday, Shirley!!
If I didn't know better, I would think she was photographing her doll in this pose for a blog post!
Looks like something I would do.
:)
The illustration above is from this fabulous book, published in 1935 by Saalfield Publishing Company:

Here's hoping that our beloved Shirley Temple Black will have a wonderful birthday today!

We can celebrate, too - by watching one of her many delightful and entertaining, endearing and enduring films.
Thank you for being YOU, Shirley!

From Yosemite Faith

My friend Faith sent me a delightful little surprise recently out of the blue! A MINIATURE painting of Yosemite for my dollhouse! (Yosemite Falls, from eBay seller marysfineart):
It now has a place of honor above the mantle inside my dollhouse:
She also sent me this great vintage postcard:
And as if that wasn't enough, a while back she sent me a fabulous matted set of a series of four enlarged photographs her husband John had taken of the natural firefall at Yosemite. They are gorgeous. Here is a vintage postcard showing the firefall (with real fire) that took place for years at the park:

This article from the Modesto Bee newspaper tells the story of the natural firefall. (Enlarge it to read it, please!)

And, just because it seemed like a good idea to add them, here are two more vintage postcards of Yosemite . Both were mailed to my father-in-law. The top one in 1935, the other in 1941:
As Faith always says: Peace, Love, Yosemite, The Great Lakes!
Thank you, Faith! I truly appreciate your friendship, kindness and generosity!

Plants I Know and Love No. 8: Lilacs

Good morning. Gold Country Sis Tina here. Today I am going to talk a bit about the Lilac. It is a very common shrub throughout North America. You would think it has always been here. But it is not native, although there is a wild lilac that grows in the Sierra Foothills. The lilac came to the United States in the 1750s.
This is a shot of our tallest lilac bush. It is rather straggly, because it is partially in the shade, but it was the first to bloom this year in spite of all that. I am going to try to prune it a little vigorously this year and see if I can't get it to bush out a bit more next year.

Here is a picture of a very large and bushy lilac shrub. This one is what I think of when I read "Under the Lilacs" by Louisa May Alcott. This is a lilac you could play under, take a nap under, do about anything under. I hope someday that our little bushes here in Kelsey will grow as big.

White is one of my favorite colors for lilacs. When we lived in Diamond Springs I had several white shrubs. One outside our bedroom window was approaching the roof of the house. I started all of these from little tiny shoots that were given to me by a good friend, who had been growing lilacs in her yard for years. She lives on Sacramento Hill in Placerville, and they really like it there! Lots of sun, closer to heaven, I don't know the reason, but they grow like weeds. We had a lot of luck with them in Diamond Springs also. Here in Kelsey they are very slow growing, and the deer like to prune them too, so it takes a long time for them to get over 3 feet tall. I don't think they are too fond of our heavy clay soil, either.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew lilacs. Lilac shrubs can live for hundreds of years, and like daffodils, they are another indication that once an old farmhouse may have stood were they still grow.

When I was young, one of my favorite songs was "Green Grow the Lilacs". Green grow the lilacs, all sparkling with dew, I'm lonely my darlin' since parting with you...

In this vintage postcard, a real photo, the lilacs tower over the carriage. I bet the scent is lovely. I enjoy smelling lilacs. However, they make me sneeze, and set my nose to running. I discovered that problem when I would take large bouquets to work and set them on my desk. I tried to suffer through though.

This lovely vintage artists depiction on this postcard is very realistic.

What a lucky person to receive a birthday bouquet in a wheelbarrow!

The lilac has graced many vintage postcards. Here is another real photo.

Another shot of my tallest lilac. As soon as these blooms are faded, it will be time to prune. Never prune lilacs at any other time except right after blooming, if you want optimum flowering the next year.

This is a closeup of one of the two shrubs in our front yard, overlooking the river. They were the first two we planted, dug from starts in Diamond Springs. They are still growing slowly, but bloom nicely each year now, after 11 years in the ground. Notice the wire... they are both fenced off from the deer. There is a small herd of seven does who like to graze in this area every morning.

This is the other, larger lilac growing in the front yard. I believe the soil in this area is less clay and has a bit more leaf mold in it.

One last shot of the two oldest lilacs. Like my daffodils, I like to imagine they will someday indicate to visitors that the people who lived here loved to garden.

Thrifting Update - The Latest

Here are some of my favorites from recent thrift shop visits.
A vintage nursery lamb print that glows in the dark, lustreware salt and pepper birds, a red pillar candle holder, a redheaded Skipper, a heavy glass frame (I put A Disney Cinderella illustration inside), and some more movies:

A nice covered pot (biscuit jar?) with "basket" handle (actually an eBay purchase),

A pretty vintage floral sheet with matching pillow case, a crochet-covered hot mat for my collection, and a bunch of books:

A great chenille bedspread - it had some stains that, I am happy to report, came out:

Another sheet, with blue roses this time, two needlepoint canvases, embroidered pillow cases, two more of my metal mug trees, a pretty little ceramic lady, and more books - vintage ones published by Whitman for my collection. I love those old books.

Now, where to put all of this stuff?

"Turkey Frame" Soup

On a very wet, windy, rainy day not too long ago, I decided I wanted to make some soup. So I hauled this turkey carcass out of the freezer that had been in there since Thanksgiving:
I had searched everywhere for a recipe, and finally found one for "Turkey Frame Soup" ( I guess that sounded more appetizing than carcass) in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
You see, I am not quite adept enough to concoct soup on my own.
This recipe turned out very well! I did tweak it just a bit. I added more broth , and more meat than it called for. Oh, and some salt. It needed salt. This is the first time I have ever made turkey soup in my life. Yes, you read that right.
We enjoyed it that night with a sandwich - and there was a LOT of it so I ended up freezing some.
The Thanksgiving turkey that keeps on giving.... and giving...

Needlepunch Pillows Part Two: Swans And More

Part Two as promised: more of my punchwork or needlepunch pillows. A lovely swan couple with palm trees:
A single swan and another palm:
A swan with water lilies this time:
And another version with a palm tree:
Mother:
And Father:
Bright colors for this dutch girl and her windmill:
And one more of those for good measure:

Part three will be the final installment!

Then And Now # 63 Reynolds Wrap

Good old Reynold's Wrap aluminum foil. The ad seen in the photo below is the coolest - a double page spread from a 1955 magazine - the pages are actually made of foil on one side!
A scanned close-up:

Pardon the scribbles on this 1956 advertisement; this particular magazine has a lot of them!

Tips for tastier turkey in this ad from 1966. Is it crazy that I still remember the little song from their commercials years ago? "Reynold's Wrap is oven-tempered, for flexible strength."

And here, from 1975, their Heavy Duty foil in a larger size - the better to wrap your fish for freezing, my dear!

As we approach Earth Day , I applaud Reynolds for now offering foil made with 100% recycled aluminum:

Still Thrifting

More thrift finds today: a pretty matte white pottery candle holder, a scarlet tanager on a little plate/plaque to hang on the wall, and a trio of cats who look ready for a party. One has a cake, one balloons, and the other is ready to strike up the band. I wouldn't call them Christmas ornaments, because there is nothing "Christmasy" about them. But they're cute!

I found two of the green depression glass saucers, and pretty plates to fit underneath glass domes (one I had already, one was a recent find), a great vintage aluminum champagne bucket, 3 iced tea spoons that happen to match the bucket, and a little planter pot that I believe is Czechoslovakian:

Another picture of the "bucket"
A set of four gorgeous placemats:
The sweetest little nursery lamp my friend Jamie got for me:
This is a glass flower frog (I think) with glass ducks attached to it - cute!

And last (but definitely NOT least), some great Christmas stuff! A table runner and a bunch of these vintage boxes of ornament hooks:
And a box of vintage Shiny Brites! I didn't have a box with these graphics. I was THRILLED when I saw it! 75 cents! I love the tree topper and the cross, too, and you know how I love sequined felt ornaments. I only had the tiniest plastic Nativity scene that is like this larger example, so I was happy to find that, too.
VERY happy with my latest finds!