Finding the Time.

I wish I had time to sew an apron. I like the cupcake/fairy cake patterns as well as those vintage style fabrics in the greens and oranges. I enjoy cooking and I bake at least once a month. I am using non-gluten flour. I have purchased a few aprons, but I want to make my own,and yet the time escapes me as I invest time reading, writing, posting, and spending time with my husband. Now I have returned to blog. I own two good sewing machines, but I do not have the time at present for sewing. I am optimistic that by next fall I will find the time to sew two aprons. I have the patterns, the material, the sewing machines ... It is good to keep occupied with delicious books and other projects.

Journaling: My Favorites!

I have found these two journals somewhere in the world of Pinterest. I like the clutter in the pages! Writing and illustrating in the form of scrapbooking,art,paper/fabric art!
Journal poems, recipes, diary, schedule, collection-inventory (of your books, collections, etc). There are many wonderful journal theme books. You decide what works for you. At present I am working on the creation of three standard journals!

Midori / Journal-Scrapbooks

ravenscauldron.blogspot.com

I enjoy journaling with illustrations and color as well. This is my favorite journaling blog! I like all her videos on youtube.com

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~

THE BUSINESS ABOUT TELEVISION NEWS

*The entertainment, humorous image has nothing to do with the news. This is how I feel watching the news when their small talk and giggling, laughter, has nothing to do with the news!

I think that humor finds a home in all our hearts! 'Laughter is the best medicine, 'I often hear said. Remember propriety and do not misuse the 'right time as to' when to laugh as opposed to being spontaneous. Why should one have restrictions to laughter? Would you laugh while you sit during a funeral or when your president or prime minister delivers a speech, or when a teacher is giving a lecture?

Tonight my husband watched the national evening news. Moments before the national broadcast started, I watched the local news and was disappointed, again. In my day serious, fahsionable men delivered the news as well-dressed, ‘suit and tie anchors,’ and they smiled when it was appropriate to do so. The ladies used to wear blazers/jackets and were pleasantly charming.

Tonight several newscasters joined the evening anchor and there were two very young ladies, a reporter and an anchor, I believe. These young ladies giggled as they announced their news show due Monday morning. The clothes they wore looked more like beach clothes, too informal, too colorful for serious news during the evening hour. Furthermore, their childish giggling outburst was out of place, undignified ... I thought I was back in grammar school, yes, that childish. These days I see that very young anchors and reporters who report dress down, some dress too casual, there is something missing in the newsroom today and that 'something' is class, accompanied by good taste and professionalism.

The news is serious and now they attempt to add glamour, sex-appeal and entertainment. I like to feel that I am being informed, and not merely entertained by class clowns! I used to watch consumer investigative reporters. I do not see those specializing and working on behalf of the consumer as I used to watch during the local news. I see 'entertainment' and not a serious, trusted news production. Folks, it's the news, and not the comedy hour mixed in with a fashion show that knows very little about TV news reporting and presentation. Dress- up accordingly, be serious and informative and offer your audience respect.

FROM LUXURIOUS TO RAGS AND HAPPY ABOUT IT

PHOTO: google.com fascinating photographs. Let's dine
I do not know if this has ever happened to you ... All I can say is that I grow up setting the dinner table beautifully. Mother prepared meals and my father set the table, made swans and flowers out of white or pink napkins and the table looked lovely. This year I noticed that I was changing my ways drastically and I cannot explain it other than my fascination for 1970s Retro-everything! Indeed, my ways are changing and I feel great joy. When family comes over to dinner I set the table beautifully for my nieces and nephews. My husband helps me. Yet, these days, when I enjoy meals with deliciously prepared home meals made from scratch, I have developed a fascination for old, simple dinnerware, browns, and nothing fancy, not a folded napkin, not a fancy dessert or fruit salad bowl. I accept this humility lovingly and willingly. I create a 'fancy' ambiance for the family, but like my husband, I like it simple, very simple. I have changed and I am glad that I did. Although, on occasions, let's say ... once a month, I go along with fancy, but the rest of the time I enjoy the simple, old,down-to-earth dinnerware and table settings. Congratulations to ME.

HAPPY GATHERINGS: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR LOVED ONES.

There was a time when families shared thoughts and the news of the day at the dinner table. In today’s busy world this token of affection and communication is often set aside into obscurity. In America we are having Memorial Day weekend. Share the dinner table with friends and family at home or on a picnic. We need to converse and share ideas. We text and do so skipping words, hurrying to send the next text … Chew your food well and digest the words that family members share at the dinner table. Sharing at the dinner table, akin to the old days when families gathered together,ate and talked! It’s called communication. We have lost that special ability of sharing thoughts at home. It is never too late to set the foundation for new traditions such as the gathering of family and friends at home the dinner table as opposed to restaurants where there are many distractions.

TIS' THE SEASON!

I was writing a story about winter and the 'feeling' dawned on me. I miss autumn! I mean it, the crisp autumn cool, cold and refreshing and gray sky, too. The colors and hues of fall are precious to me. I have a board dedicated to autumn on Pinterest, I Fall for Autumn. Oh, it is precious and I hope you visit.

Find the season that makes you happiest and enjoy it even during the off-season. The planet Saturn has many seasons. I would be happy just having two seasons, autumn and summer!

If you Google Saturn on the link I will post alone you will notice that one of its seasons, 'summer,' last nearly 8 earth years! Each season has a special motif for us to appreciate. I miss fall and when the mood happens and the 'season' calls, I use the brown set of dishes, dark brown and lovely, and I dress up wearing browns, take cover with my brown blanket, and wear cayenne-brown or cinnamon-brown lipstick to color my lips.

My husband is fond of spring. He likes the green grass and all that grows and sunny, warmer days! I understand his fascination for spring because I feel that autumn is just as special!

Enjoy your day and if you have time and are curious about one of our most beautiful planets, Saturn, google-the-facts:

50 Interesting Facts about Saturn - Random Facts - Random History
facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facts-facts-about-saturn.html‎

google.com
May 3, 2010 – Saturn facts, including comparisons to Earth, recent Cassini discoveries, ... Many astronomers consider Saturn the most beautiful planet in the solar .... Saturn is at its farthest.b; Because Saturn spins on a tilt, it has seasons.

RETRO DINING

I enjoy using either of my two Retro eating trays, Retro Tupperware, Retro Corning/Corelle, anything Retro. Today I had a special breakfast: A broth with vegetables to lower my carb intake. There were delicious vegetables, and that included ginger root and garlic and I added low-fat cheese and a bit of Parm, had a buttermilk biscuit and it was all homemade! I did have applesauce, however, and this was purchased at the store. It is unsweetened, I do not like sugary sweets, and it was delicious served cold for breakfast.

It was an early breakfast, not brunch. I also had some of the vitamin supplies of the day. I used to have a sort of English/British breakfast with my half-cup of baked beans. I am a cheese-eating vegetarian and never tasted their black pudding, eggs, bacon, or any of that, but I still enjoy that kind of breakfast, baked beans, buttermilk biscuit, and a few extras that qualify such a breakfast as an Irish breakfast, but I still serve with Retro dishes, and not Irish dinnerware. I have fancier dinnerware, but I am forever and happily hooked on retro.

PS One of the other bloggers, a very nice and qualified homemaker and retro cook, posted on the tornadoes affecting her area in Oklahoma. I hope that tornadoes cease and I pray that all will be well. I like Oklahoma. It is a state that unlike some of the other states, Florida and Texas, seems different from most. I felt mystery and old-fashioned campfire in oil country as we drove along. Route 66 is a good memory for me. Oklahoma is a wonderful state and its people are very friendly.

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE.

All I have to say has been said in this image that I found long ago and have continuously shared. Never give up. Move on and try, try again. Remember that situations do not reflect your good points. All of us fail and recover. Enjoy the wisdom!

Living with Asthma: My World of Flowers

This is a lovely photograph for those of you who enjoy gardening, shabby chic, the country look, and yes, for those of you who like me have a fascination with flowers, moreover, with daisies! I like all kinds of flowers, including wild flowers. As a child I had first loves in the holy flower kingdom: My first love was a certain large purple orchid. Later, I discovered jasmines, Chinese honeysuckle at my maternal Grandmother's house, near the house where my grandparents lived at a time there was a small front garden with pink and white carnations, and I fell in love with those, too.

I was inspired by a flower I called the Carolina, a myrtle, a puff duster myrtle, and this flower is native to the tropics, and is very famous in Australia. The red myrtle such as the hairbrush myrtle came along later on. There was the grand plumeria and for those living in the tropics, such as in Hawaii, you are familiar with it. I had the pink plumeria in the front lawn at my maternal grandparents' house. I used to 'pick' all pink flowers. Violets are special in my life, and there is the Tenerife Teide violet, a unique violet and one of fragrance. One finds the Parma violet in Italy and in the south of France, and its perfume is very costly.

I am in love with flowers, but now flowers are not my friends, for so many of them produce asthma in me: jasmines, hibisci, myrtle, and I sneeze and freeze ... I feel the itching of skin rash that reproduce, and I sneeze and wheeze at the site of a mango tree, tomato plants, and eucalyptus plant, myrtle, hibisci, and so forth. I ask, is this allergic reaction fair to one who adores the world of nature? I enjoy paper flowers such as paper lilies dearly, and the tissue paper flowers that I used to purchase in Mexico. There are alternatives in life and I settle for second best in regard to the emotional ordeal of having to distance myself from certain flowers. I cannot consume herbal teas due to a particular ingredient, hibiscus. This brings about severity in asthma which I recently discovered, as recent as one year ago.

I enjoy flowers that produce massive reactions in me, but I enjoy these flowers through varied sources: botany books, flora books, paper flowers, soft tissue flowers, printed flowers in dishes, and through the memories of a young girl who enjoyed the world of flowers, a gift she inherited through her father who always brought flowers home to her and through the genetic prime of her paternal grandmother who adored the flowers of her native North Africa. Thank you for passing on to me the beauty of the world of flowers despite allergens that affect me. I have learned to stay away from certain flowers, but in my heart, like my gardenia loving father used to say, 'All flowers are beautiful.' Thank you for such a fine gift from nature's own 'imperfetion.' Thank you, Julia. Today, your great-grandaughter, Julie, also inherited the gift you passed on to me, a fascination with all flowers!

SCRAPBOOK JOURNALS ARE FOR ME

Scrapbook journal
indulgy.com
I enjoy old-fashioned, simple, plain scrapbooking! I also write and keep a journal. But my journals were too plain and lacked personal creativity. I found this on google.com and this idea is inspiring, 'scrapbook journals' are perfect for my personality. Oh, I will enjoy a project such as the masterpiece shown on the photo. I plan to decorate the journal, leave ample space for writing and create a personalized book where I will record my thoughts and bring in the art!

WOMEN: TRUST YOURSELVES AND PRACTICE SAFETY

I search for illustrations on google.com and think of their beauty. There are lovely images and I am partial to Retro. I was thinking about the woman in this image and the ideals women have in marriage. In life we make choices by thought or impulse and we are held accountable. Yet, as we watched the news we are finding mental torture and abuse and this is not the case of animals or children being victims that we watch on the evening news these days. Now we see women who are kidnapped by family members, boyfriends, strangers, and the men become possessive and abusive with their hostages. This is sick.

I wonder, what motivates a man to be so cruel? Is the fear of God not in men today? Do we delegate blame to parents or the family unit? Must we blame parents who failed their sons?
Perhaps these are men who do evil and were the product of stable, decent families and yet, they failed society. The abuse has to stop. Children, the elderly, animals, and women, the abuse has to stop. I am not a feminist.

I wonder if those who are characterized as worldly, modern feminists, if they escape the cruel hands of men who destroy character and spirit. Or might they, too, be victims? The stories that are presented in the evening news are horrible real life stories of a sick society.
How can the clergy, teachers, and government help? What are the social resources to focus on the needs of women of all ages to learn how to protect themselves against predators -- strangers in their lives ... and those trusted beaus and husbands they once trusted.

A child is born innocent and develops in stages. When do critical changes happen to affect the minds and morals of such wicked men? How can society educate and help women avoid such perils? How can society teach men values? Do unto others as you would like done to you ... Not a bad start, but what happens when men become monsters who my intimidation and mental abuse hurt others. There are many shelters for abused women. I am grateful for the news networks that inform us. Let your children beware! Not every clown who smiles is a trusted friend!

I am a product of a stable home, attended finishing school and learned etiquette and personal development. However, I think that young girls and young women today are better off being taught judo, karate, any self-defense class and self awareness. They have to be taught to look behind their backs when they walk, not to drink from their glass/cup that is brought to them and that might contain one of those drug-mickies one hears about it on the news, by word of mouth, and so forth. Parents, teach your children not to trust with ease.

Love does not hurt and any man who hurts them and see them as the wicked of the genders is not a righteous man! I am tired of all the violence the news reports every day. How will it ever stop? This is a universal problem that must be addressed every day. I think that a girl, a woman, should learn how to defend herself, how to scream, how not to fear, rather then learning etiquette, the social graces, for such is the world we live in today, a jungle of ready creatures rushing to inflict pain on the innocent!

RETRO HOME AND VINTAGE DELIGHT

As I age, I feel that I have a greater need of being surrounded by old familiar objects. I miss old china, stoneware and Fire King lead the way. I think of Tupperware and that is a winner. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I hardly like anything mod! I enjoy modern art, pop music by Celine Dion, but I add the oldies music from Neil Diamond and classical music, especially Tchaikovsky and Chopin. Yes, I feel that I am deprived from my era. I like a 1970s living room and kitchen which blend with Depression Era values. I used to be hooked on the 1960s until approximately two years ago. Other than modern art and a 'limited' repertoire of modern music, I decline on fads, modernity, and trends of a sort, and as for Home life, I live retro. An old-fashioned apron, 1940s style or one that is Shabby Chic rules my heart. It is important to enjoy what you wear and what surrounds you at home, your castle, your comfort zone, and in terms of chores, it is as important to wear what you enjoy. Remember the old Donna Reed show (reruns for me, I do not go that far back in age), Donna wore pearls and an apron. Of course, that is television, but I am not on TV and I used to wear any of my white pearls and an apron a few years ago. Whatever works for you is ideal!