Exquisite Idea ...

pin cushion in a small fancy frame /Pinned from stampinbythesea.com on Pinterest: This is a lovely pin cushion! It is a lovely frame! Aren't you inspired?

BEAUTY IN CRAFTING AND IN EVERYDAY LIVING

ravelry.com offers a free pattern, tutorial. I have had this on my Pinterst page for a while. I was just thinking how in the old days we did not have such fancy crafts as we have today. There are so many ideas and everything is so elegant. Scrapbooks, aprons, pin cushions, cakes and all wedding cakes, everything is very stylish these days. In Japan and Paris they do everything so well, so elegant and beautiful. Now I see endless ideas for crafting and cakes, bridal bouquets made of fancy buttons and I wonder what is the point of origin for these ideas. I simply wonder ... It is all very beautiful!

RETRO HAPPINESS: I CHERISH ALL THINGS VINTAGE AND THE MEMORIES, TOO

We have been having massive rain storms and there is more rain due our way according to the forecast! I was thinking about childhood days and how much I enjoyed and cherished tall, shady trees and the green, emerald leaves on trees I wished I could climb, but never did. I was a little lady and was always well dressed, had a splash violet water, and did not go climbing trees. I remember those days so long ago and despite having a wonderful childhood, in my own little way, today I feel happier than I did in those days. Nevertheless, I miss everything Retro. I refuse a fancy TV tray and favor the old metal tray. I recall childhood trading stamps for housewives and wished that stores give out these stamps when we purchase our groceries. I was a kid then, but I miss the fun of collecting as an adult and trade the stamps for fun items for home and comfort.

Back then it was safe for children to play outdoors, skate and enjoy hop scotch, jump rope, and dancing around the posie, the old tune fresh and sound as I remember it. The old television shows and variety shows were spectacular because back then there were better writers and comedians not spoiled by the huge salaries of today. Comedy used to be grand and that was part of my world. Everything we touched or that touched our lives was of quality!

My world did not lack imagination back then. I dreamed of visiting my grandparents’ homeland. I befriended trees and flowers and cats, too. I enjoyed books, though fairy tales and the likes of Mary’s Lou Grant scared me when he was on television screaming at Ted or just giving Baxter ‘the look.’ I recall outdoors skating, and picking every pink flower along the way. Myrtle, carnations, Chinese honeysuckle, and jasmine and daisies were ever present in my life back then. The fragile pink plumeria, ferns and caladiums with streaks and patches of red were ever present in my life. I used to gather fireflies, place them in jars with holes on their cover lids and soon release them, but I was as fascinated by their green ‘light’ as I was with large, emerald leaves holding huge amounts of raindrops.

At school I enjoyed playing field hockey and participating in tug-of-water competitions. I was good playing soccer, but I did not like it and wished it had been croquet. I received the first set of croquet and first little toy sewing machine and Skipper doll at a very young age, at age five, I believe, and I was thrilled. Back then we children played, not text, and we were grateful for all the toys we were given as opposed to demanding expensive electronics from our parents. I guess that in those days there was more humility. We lacked a culture of high tech and collectible toys. We did not collect a certain girl, we played with it, and therefore, we loved our dolls!

I see that in today’s world children expect so much in terms of material possessions. Today's children do not play with their toys the way we used to play. In fact, wives knew how to cook and create delicacies in the kitchen, they knew their way around the kitchen. The women of those days sewed, cooked, cleaned house, was frugal and knew how to entertain. So much of that art I call ‘thrift common sense’ has disappeared from our lives, and it has not totally disappeared due to certain famous ladies on television who have brought the art of cooking, keeping house, crafting, and so much more into our lives. You know who I am talking about.

I doubt that the younger generation in my family understands my past, my childhood days, or the joy that the children of the past were exposed to having so little as compared to the tech-luxuries that children today experience. I have a few vintage Tupperware kitchen items courtesy of my husband and I simply adore them. I refuse few and what I use is modern Tupperware with yellow lids and the four eight oz. covered glasses, lids are in bright orange like the glasses. I like glasses with lids. I miss the past. Yes, I moved on with life, but I miss the good old days. The 1960s were relaxed years for children. The 1970s offered so much of what I miss today in the media (akin to the 1960s) as well as missing RETRO everything … Toys from the past, tin tea sets, gentle dolls with eyes that opened and enduring material, vintage television at its best, not acceptable in today’s so called more 'sophisticated’ society.

Most Mothers were housewives and offered good meals and security when we arrived home from work. Ours were not the electronic baby-sitter, endless hours of television. We had family shows and talk show gave their guests decency and privacy. Food tasted so good then. Moms cooked, many baked (mine did not). I recall birthday parties at ages four and five and my mother used to stay until very late using the old meat grinder to make little French finger rolls stuffed with ham paste that she seasoned with red pimentos. She made the macaroni salad, potato salads from real potatoes, not from the box, and she made custards as well and a huge casserole, a hot meal. She purchased the sodas and the cake, huge cakes, but she actually prepared all the foods. We ate at home for the most part and birthdays were fun. I was camera-shy and therefore hated birthday parties! I observed all the work that went into making a child’s birthday party, dressing-up properly and entertaining during holidays when every meal was a feast!

Adults and children attended my birthday parties. The men wore suit and tie! Women wore dresses and they dressed up and they had lovely hair styles from the beauty salon or home. Back then women did not disfigure their bodies with tattoos, only sailors did that, and not all of them. Skin was protected. Men behaved and were dignified at parties. The men usually went to one side of the room and talked about politics and anything else men talked about and the ladies gathered near the food, socialized with one another and were happy when they were called to take that special group picture with what you might classify today as primitive technology! In fact, we had Mr. Ed and Petticoat Junction, The Patty Duke Show and so forth, and these shows were in black and white.

Our guests were dignified and dressed accordingly despite not being rich. I grew up in the city. We had long summers and yet I dreamed out autumn, my favorite season. Back then I liked spring and the merry month of May because flowers looked lovely and after showers everything was so green and humid and I liked the ‘scent’ of such weather. People had respect for others in traffic. Children were generally well behaved at school because we were properly taught to behave, mind our elders, and learn our lessons. I guess that my favorite years were those years in grammar school which might have been happier years if not for my shy ways! Shame on me, but I was a little girl who was afraid of her own shadow. I wanted to be outgoing, but it just wasn’t me.

Despite my youth, I remember the day that President Kennedy was shot and died. I remember watching the entire funeral. Despite being a sad occasion it had class. Later, I remember Robert Kennedy’s funeral. I understood they were killed. I was a little girl and I understood the difference between fun, pretend television (My Three Sons) and real life, the news as a form of media reality. I was a wise little girl in the way in which I behaved. I was a daddy’s girl. I was bookish, adored cats and birds alike, and was fascinated by color. My father’s Berber heritage, the Romany and the Russia were such a part of me then, and now …

I recall Retro dolls and toys, quiet ways and Southern food, especially pumpkin pie! Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday. I enjoyed cutting paper dolls. That Girl’ was my first set of paper dolls that my mother gave me. Every since then I have been hooked on paper items, not just handbags and books. My mom first gave me a white handbag when I was seven years old. I never forgot the thrill. My father wanted to be certain that if he purchased the set of World Book Encyclopedia that I would read the books. Well, I read each book many times over for many years, used them to write book reports, and was thrilled with the most beautiful woman in the world, First Daughter Tricia Nixon and her wedding which appeared in a year book, I believe.

My childhood might have been happier if my paternal family lived near. I especially missed my earlier memories with my paternal grandmother and aunt. Others in the family do not understand those girlish feelings of longing for the impossible, but through letter writing and photographs I kept in touch with them and the rest of the family to-date. I lost my father a few years ago. What saved me from my loss was that I married a good man who is decent and kind and so much fun, the romantic love of my life! He is not one to care much for Retro, though I think he does, in his own way, due to some of the good Retro he keeps in the kitchen. I am forever in love with vintage Tupperware (especially those in the colors beige, orange, yellow and green). I favor the ‘avocado green’ 1970s kitchen (the brown appliances as well, but mostly what I term as ‘olive green’). I have old cookbooks, a few sets of vintage paper dolls, Baby’s Hungry – the 1968 doll, and I recall my maternal grandmother’s Fire King Jadeite dinnerware. I remember my grandparents dearly. Today I make new memories, and despite the changing culture … I enjoys little journeys into those Retro years.

Joplin Loves 2 Read: Ecothrifty: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happoer...

Joplin Loves 2 Read: Ecothrifty: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happoer...: I really enjoyed this book and it helps end the fears of  "I cant be green because it is too expensive." Yes buying solar panels...

FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS

Many years ago I read the statistics and the correlation between jailed convicts and the inability to read! This photo/image reminds me of a little girl who lived long ago and who was an avid reader and a lover of all good books. That little girl was me. Now I am a big girl and I simply adore books. I have a few boards @ Pinterest devoted to book and the appreciation for the written world. We should be selective and read the finest books and articles.

At a very young age I fell in love with Russian history and literature. Of course, I still read Russian realism, but I do not speak the language and read the translations into other languages. Among my favorite authors are Tosltoy and Chekhov, of course. I adore Russia plays and Chekhov rules my heart I that regard. I like Russian stories as much as I enjoy Canadian stories. Among favorite works of fiction are these Russian authors: Garshin, Bunin, Kataev, Ivanov, and many other great ones. The Red Flower by Garshin is a favorite story that I hold in high regard. I found profound love in Russia realism as opposed to French realism.

I have fallen in love with the Russian dasha as much as with the Winter Palace. Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, and many others intrigue me. In the arts, my distant Franco-Russo heritage inspires me from French Shabby Chic to the Russian arts – the paintings of Wassily Kandisky, the music of Tchaikovsky, the ballet, the art of Faberge (accent), the poetry of Anna Akhmatova and the life and works of Pushkin fascinate me. I like a good game of chess despite being mediocre. I believe the in that old Russia rules the classics. By the same token, I appreciate the work of many authors from different lands such as D.H. Lawrence,Charlotte Bronte and the poetry written by the sisters as well.

I fell in love with Little Women many decades ago. The village novels by Miss Read such as Return to Thrush Green and No Holy for Miss Quinn fascinate me and I find myself rereading the stories at times. The novels and the stories written by L.M. Montgomery are lovely. The author shares common ground with me, her love of books and nature. One cannot leave out children’s books written by Mrs. Wilder. Laura Ingalls Wilder taught us about the spirit of the frontier and pioneer strives through her kind books. I have read many biographies. There is an autobiography that gave me much laughter, Belles on their Toes. I liked the movies based on Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on their Toes, but the book delighted me.

I enjoy reading poetry in different languages. There are two poets (who wrote in English) who motivate to write and read more poetry. These poets excite my curiosity and they are John Keats (Ode to a Nightingale) and Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass). Have you read Whitman’s Salut au Monde? Have you made the time to read his masterpiece of poetry, Leaves of Grass and the lengthy poem Song of Myself? I find the poetry of Shelley, Yeats, and other great masters from other lands great literary works that touch the human spirit. I like Occitane poems by Mistral, French poems by Hugo (The Three Musketeers, a very well written book), Jose Angel Bueza, Jose Marti, Federico Garcia Lorca, and many other great ones that inspire me every day of my life.

I enjoy reading fictional food! There is a special book that I hold very dear to me (despite the author’s reference to ‘weight’ and a few lines that only a man could write and which I will not repeat as they are in very poor taste). The Pop Larkin Chronicles: The Darling Buds of May is very dear to me. I came across the book after watching Britain’s most successful and highly rated television series by the same name, The Darling Buds of May. This book has inspired me in many ways. I fell in love with Ma and her cooking. The first two episodes in the series are my favorites. I watched the entire series and read the books. I like a good cozy mystery specialty: the culinary mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, and stories about Inns. There are cozies without murders in this genre. As for our dear friend, Jessica Beatrice Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote, I appreciate the writing of Donald Bain. I hold dear the novel he autographed for me, A Yultide Murder.

Overall, the Romany of the world does not value books and reading as much as they devote time to other passions such as music, travel, and dancing. I take after my non-Roma grandfather, the gadjo who had respect for learning and who wrote poetry despite being occupied as a businessman. He knew how to invest his money, but he also taught his eight children to appreciate books. He was an avid reader. In fact, it was Grandfather who introduced me to television’s Little House on the Prairie. While others find great pleasure researching and reading about law, medicine, history, science, consumer economics and do not have much time to invest in fiction … I wish you would reconsider and read one work of fiction each month. By the end of the year you would have read a dozen good books. I warn you, fictional reading is addictive!

Enjoy your day, and ladies, remember that it is the month of June, so wear your pearls, your cameos, and a big, wide smile of joy and hope … Smiling is contagious and like books a smile like laughter has so much to offer to those in despair. ~Annie~

America's Broken Dreams - Documentary - The new American poor: The Middl...

The Former Middle Class and now this ...
I needed to write a blog on America's fading middle class and I think that everyone should watch this video.  Value everyone and everything in your life!  Make a budget, be prepared, and be very selective about what you purchase. I often write about the importance of distinguishing between our wants and needs! Please, know the importance of frugality which is now more important than ever.   I hope that all age groups will learn from this video.  Please, watch and think about it.  This can happen to anyone.  Until our leaders resolve the problems and stagnation in this economy we must exercise caution, keep a budget and live beyond our means.  We are special individuals and not Hollywood celebs who can afford not only certain luxuries, but also the basics in life.

WHAT A LOVELY IMAGE, NATURE, A DESK, A VIEW INTO THE MIRROR OF LIFE

Happy first day of the month of June, lovely! Take time and enjoy the view, enjoy your life. It has been very busy around here and just now I am taking time to smell the roses. Sit down or walk down the road, revisit your garden, smell the fresh air and enjoy sunshine. Life is beautiful. It's just that sometimes we need to search for that hidden beauty we often miss. So take some ME time and have the most wonderful day. I enjoy reading Russian literature, reading, writing stories, and a multitude of interests. What do you like to do when you have time alone? ~Hugs~