OLD TOYS ARE THE BEST TOYS

It has just been a week since the Christmas toys were opened, and look what our 6-year old grandson is playing with? A wooden box, marbles, and an old tractor and trailer that was mine as a child!!!

It was a pumpkin patch to be harvested!

He played and played forever, and never even realized I was taking pictures.

A bulldozer removing snow! Can you hear his sound effects?

May his childhood imagination never end!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sally!

I WAS A QUILTER ONCE UPON A TIME!!

I have mentioned in this blog before that I spent 20 years making quilts for publication in books and magazines. In addition, I traveled to conferences and to teach quiltmaking throughout the U.S. The above quilt, entitled "Starshine", was the first quilt I had on a cover of a magazine - way back in 1990. Whenever I would speak to a group of non-quilters, I always got the same question, "How long does it take to make a quilt?" Well, of course, it varies on the complexity and size of the quilt. But for this particular quilt which is 78" x 78", I kept track of the statistics so I could answer the usual questions. So, for you non-quilters out there, "Starshine" took a little over 800 hours from conception to completion. The 3001 individual pieces are sewn together on the sewing machine, but the layers (top, batting, and backing) were hand-quilted together. There are 96 different fabrics used in the quilt and it took about 500 yards of thread to just hand-quilt the layers together. (You can click on picture to enlarge.)



Over those 20 years, I made a bunch of quilts which I have stored in "the quilt closet"! Be forewarned, if and when my blogging brain goes dead (like today); I will probably drag out another quilt to show you. If you get tired of seeing my quilts, please let me know. Hopefully, they won't show up on the blog too often.

LOOK WHAT I FOUND & I WON CAMI'S GIVEAWAY!!

Yesterday noon, the grand kids were fussing at each other; Uncle Mike, the teacher, was mediating; the noise level was just a tad above my tolerance level. I had this uncontrollable urge to escape! So, I announced, " I HAVE to go to the grocery store!" Men accept that as an emergency. I left the house, knowing full well I was headed to Goodwill to see if there were any bargains. As I entered the store, I spotted clear across the building some pink on the dish shelves. I quickly surveyed the competition - no one was fondling the plates, yet; but I better not dawdle. There was no time to untangle a shopping cart. I'm hoping that what I see will be the usual Goodwill price of $1 or less per dish. Oh my, my blood pressure is rising - could it be? Yes, it is pink transferware; and it's Johnson Bros. Old Britain Castles. There are 16 pieces; but, oh no, the price is $24 for the lot of 16. Still, that's a bargain price, isn't it?? Reconsider, Sally, do you really need them? Of course not, I already have service for 12 of this very pattern. Do I want them? Of course I do!! Did I buy them? Naturally. How could I leave them there? These beauties had already been abandoned by their former owner on the cold doorstep of Goodwill during the Christmas season. I couldn't just leave them there; they must come home with me to join their brothers and sisters.

P.S.: I did go to the grocery store and spent much more there than at Goodwill.


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I WON CAMI'S GIVEAWAY!

The first part of December, Cami at Creating Myself had a giveaway for a beautiful painting of pansies in a basket. And, I, who has never won anything, was the lucky winner. My friendly postman in his Santa hat delivered it to me on Christmas Eve. I was knee-deep in cooking green chile for Christmas Eve supper, but was so excited to receive this special gift from Cami!! It came all wrapped in red and green with a luscious white lace bow and with this Christmas Joy card.

And look how special this painting is with it's green hanging ribbon.

This is what my pansies looked like outside - poor things!

Now, I can have pansies year around.

Thank you, Cami, for this special gift!

2008 IN REVIEW - FAVORITE PHOTOS; FAVORITE EXPERIENCES

I thought it would be fun to participate in the 2008, A Year in Review, hosted by Cindy at Romantic Home. If you are not familiar with Cindy's wonderful, beautiful and informative blog; please take time to check it out.

Here are my favorite photos and favorite experiences from my 2008 blog.

FAVORITE EVENT: Our 50th wedding anniversary.

1958

2008 in London

FAVORITE TRIP: To London, Paris, Canadian Maritime Provinces, and the State of Maine to celebrate this momentous occasion!!!


NEW FAVORITE SNACK: Macaroons from Laduree in Paris!


FAVORITE HOME IMPROVEMENT: The painting of the kitchen cupboards.

FAVORITE HOUSEHOLD CHORE: Doing the laundry.

FAVORITE INHERITED ANTIQUE: My Great-grandmother's Pickard punch bowl.

FAVORITE YARD SALE FIND: An old compartmented little cupboard - $15!

FAVORITE CONTINUING TREASURE HUNT: 19th century aesthetic brown transferware.

FAVORITE MIRACLE: Our daughter's continuing two-year recovery from the worst kind of brain cancer!!!!

FAVORITE QUALITY-TIME MOMENTS: In my kitchen with grandchildren, Caitlin and Wyatt.

FAVORITE VIEW: Colorado's Rocky Mountains anytime but especially in the Fall.

FAVORITE TABLESCAPE TUESDAY: My Great-grandmother's and my mother's rose-covered dishes.

FAVORITE BLUE MONDAY POST: The coast of Maine.

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS DECORATION: Our tree filled with 50 years of memories.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS!!

Some random thoughts about the state of affairs at the Salmagundi House the day after Christmas.

1. Christmas Day is over; my house is a mess!

2. The refrigerator is filled to the brim with leftovers. For some reason, this makes my normally-organized self uneasy! Leftovers are probably a good thing today, however. After spending a ton of money at the grocery store and enduring a 12-hour cooking marathon, I'm not too anxious to return to the kitchen. Let the masses feed themselves!

3. The ornaments on the tree are starting to look dusty! Time to take everything down, pack away until next year, and reclaim the house.

4. Our house revolves on a school-dominated schedule even though we are retired, empty nesters. For the remaining 10 days of vacation, Bob will not be arising at 6:00 am to be ready for a call to go substitute teach. Our single son, the high school science teacher, is visiting for a few days until he's had enough of togetherness and decides to go back to his home and school. And, of course, the grand children are out of school for the next 10 days. When things get boring at home, they will call regularly to see if they can come hang out here with Uncle Mike! I cherish my solitude, so Jan. 5th will be welcomed!!

5. There's talk about a quick day trip out of town to do something fun. Where and when hasn't been decided. I, of course, would love some retail therapy - don't think the men are too thrilled with that. The Colorado weather may be the determining factor.

6. My blog-brain is dead! After all of the wonderful posts by everyone during the month of December, what do we post about in January? Even my camera needs recharged - I took over 500 pictures the month of December!

7. Optimism prevails! We are thankful for our joyous Christmas celebration; but now look forward to the New Year. A new beginning, new experiences; and as usual, drawers and closets to clean and organize. We love this time of the year!

Everything will be back to normal in a few days, I am sure. I'll return then. Hope your Christmas was as great as ours!

Sally

CHRISTMAS 2008

MAY THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS BE HEARD ALL YEAR LONG.

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst." First Timothy 1:15 (NIV)

CHRISTMAS POSTCARDS - SANTA CLAUS

Continuing from my previous post on vintage postcards, today let's have a look at Santa Claus cards nestled among fresh greenery in an old tool tote.



Santa looks scared to death to go down that chimney!!


Love the outfit on this little boy. Santa is pretty spiffy, also!

This is a rare black Santa card. Postcards were often issued in series - I have another one from this series and would love to find out if there are any others.

Here's wishing you "A Blissful Christmas" !

Sally

CHRISTMAS POSTCARDS - THE HOLY FAMILY

One of my favorite Christmas collectibles for years has been vintage post cards. The golden age of post cards in America was from late 1800s to about 1915. The public wanted an easier way to send a quick note; and this included Christmas greetings. I wanted to share a few today of the Madonna and Child from our collection. I've also included this Hummel Madonna and Child figurine that belonged to my Mother.

To me the artwork on these postcards is glorious! They have such an ethereal quality to them.

I've displayed some of them this year in a huge red transferware wash bowl with fresh greenery.


In the next day or so, I'll show you some of the Santa Claus postcards we have collected.




Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

VINTAGE VIGNETTE #6 DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS

For a vintage vignette this week, I would like to share this shelf above my kitchen cupboards.

The yellow plaid cookbook was one of my Mother's shown along with two vintage souvenir transferware plates from the Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado. The bridge was constructed across the canyon 1100 feet above the Arkansas River in 1929. My Mother at age 10 with her grandparents went to the opening day of the bridge. It scared her so much driving over the bridge that day that we could never convince her to go back! The cast iron deer is not vintage, but I purchased it at the famous Nell Hill's store in Atchison, Kansas.

I have so enjoyed the Christmas spirit on every one's blogs the last couple of weeks. Thanks to all of you for sharing the way you celebrate the season.

Sally

TRIM THE TREE THURSDAY

Please check out Brett at The Hostess with the Mostess for a list of the participants of Trim the Tree Thursday. You will find all kinds of glorious Christmas decor!

For my final Trim the Tree Thursday, I would like to show you our Hummel Nativity Set. We cherish this set as a reminder of the ultimate reason for the celebration of Christmas!

Forty years ago this December, Bob went on a business trip to Butte, Montana where he found a wonderful jewelry store with the Hummel Nativity Set displayed. He knew I would love it, and purchased Mary and Baby Jesus for my Christmas present.

Over the years, he has added to it as finances and availability allowed. The first addition was Joseph and then the donkey.

From that point on, I don't remember the order that I received them; but they were all a surprise on Christmas morning. Sometimes, several years would go by before receiving another piece.

A little angel!

A standing shepherd with two attached sheep.

There is also a freestanding lamb.

A kneeling shepherd and a cow.


Three different Christmases I received a King!


And the last piece I received was the camel.

One year, Bob made the stable for me out of willow sticks.

"--- she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7 (NIV)