Blessings

The background for this digitally altered photo is from this site which offers free high resolution images. Check it out!

Happy, blessed Fourth of July to my fellow Americans! May we give pause amidst the festivities to give gratitude for the freedoms we so enjoy in this country. I know my personal heart fills with pride and gratitude for our military troops and their families who have, are currently, and will continue to defend the values we all hold so dear.

May God continue to bless our great nation!

Photos below are a small sampling of what is available at the above listed link.

Another school year begins...

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." Christopher Robin to Pooh

***

And another school year begins this morning. Our baby -at six feet tall- left for his first day of high school. His brother, also a Senior this year, left together in the older son's pickup. As I stood out on the driveway watching them pull away I couldn't help but remember how it seemed like yesterday when the youngest left for kindergarten. I didn't even make it out of the school building before the swells of emotion took over and it came out my eyes. I loved the preschool years and was sad beyond sad that those days of having little ones at home had come to an end.

When I returned home that day I noticed that the painters had arrived to finish painting our basement addition. Not wanting to be seen I quickly snuck away to the master bedroom, shut the door and laid on my bed and sobbed my guts out. My last baby was gone...they had taken him too! All three were in school. How did this happen so soon? But wait, it gets worse. All of a sudden the bedroom door opens. I bolt upright and our two faces meet and there is an awkward moment of silence. There stands Steve, the man whose painting company has painted every square inch, inside and out of the home we lived in. In other words, we know each other well by this time. He sees my face and says, "Are you okay?"

Half laughing - embarrassed to death - and half crying I try to talk but all I can do is shake my head no. Finally, as I see the deep concern on his face become even more intense {he's thinking someone's died} I tell him that I just delivered Sam to his first day of kindergarten and I'm SO EMBARRASSED to be caught in this blubbery mess. He starts to laugh and apologizes profusely for having opened the door but said when they arrived no one was home so he thought he would go around the house and do some touch-up painting in the rest of the house.

But before he closed the door and let me finish my "motherly business" he said his first left for college this year and believe it or not, he had the same reaction I was having to seeing my youngest go to kindergarten. Except, I bet he didn't have the Ricky-Raccoon-mascara-eyes-look that I sported that day...!

Today wasn't like that...in fact, I was a little giddy to have them back in school.

*****

Anyway, enough of that.

Today in honor of childhood and all that it represents,

I want to share these darling cards I acquired years

ago. They are miniature in size {about 2 1/2" x 2"}

and bear a copyright date of 1921. So they are

13 years shy of being 100 years old!

The above scan shows the fronts of the cards...

The deck is comprised of 13 different letters of

the alphabet and each letter has a series of four

cards. The picture remains the same for a

given letter, but as you sequence through the 4

cards they share a little health topic.

Is this not fun? Can you imagine a deck of cards

printed today stating that coffee and tea

for children is a Sin?!!!

Don't miss the little fairy who is pictured in all

series of the cards. This set makes me smile.

Do you notice how strong and virile the little boy

appears to be...in contrast to the little girl

who seems to have just enough strength to

hang from the bar...

Please feel free to use any of my scans today for your personal use. With the exception of the first letter "T" scan the rest of them should be able to be clicked on and enlarged.

Happy Monday to all...I'm off to enjoy the rest of what would be a sin {MY COFFEE} if I were still a youngster...but I'm not. Not even close!

xoxo

Sue

Pink Saturday

Welcome to Pink Saturday

We are in the final countdown of days until school starts in our area on Monday. All the original plans I had for this weekend have changed dramatically. That will teach me to make plans before consulting with the teenagers in our household!! Silly me. So I will get my post up and have to come by later to see all the glorious pinkness for this day.

The gracious hostess, Beverly at How Sweet the Sound has a complete listing of all the participants for today.

My photos today are from the Appalacian Mountain area of western North Carolina. We fell in love with the area and all its charm and beauty. The first photo posted above is from the cover of a vintage french magazine called Le Petite Echo de la Mode {with a bit of digital adjustments}. I first discovered this vintage publication at an antique store in the mountains. They had a framed series of 4 of the covers that sent me into a "I'm in love meltdown"... Did I mention the price they were asking would fill a greyhound bus tank three times at today's gas prices? Needless to say, they didn't come home with me. But instead, I copied down the name of the magazine and hopped on Ebay later. I eventually found a seller in France where I bought a stack of them for less than the price of one of the framed prints.

The following are photos of different rhododendron that fills the roadsides and woods of this area. They are everywhere and so glorious to behold.

I hope you enjoyed your little mountain tour!

Blessings on your day,

xoxo

Sue

Pink Saturday....

It's another glorious day of sunshine {think: HOT} here in Georgia. Hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods as well. Nothing like sunshine and a little dose of pink to add some cheeriness to the day. Right? My post today will feature a few of the little pink items that adorn my home. Besides my craft room over the garage, I have to sneak in small doses of pink elsewhere as there are too many "male" occupants in this household to get away with big splashes of it. Sigh.

I just adore these little old lamb planters. I have quite a few that I've picked up over the years. And of course, who doesn't like the old flocked forget-me-nots?

Honestly, would these little lambs be as cute if they didn't have a splash of pink on their face?

This little beauty of a doily was a recent treasure from Stephanie. She snagged two of these and was offering one up for sale. By the time I contacted her she had already sold it but said she would let me have hers. Ohhhh.....is that sweet kindness or what? I just love it, Stephanie! Thank you!!!

For those not familiar with PINK SATURDAY, it is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Everyone is welcome to participate! Head over to Beverly's for a complete listing of all those who are playing today.

Pink blessings on your day as you run off to greet old friends and meet a few new friends on this Happy Pink Saturday.

xo

Sue

Do you suppose....????

Is this little guy precious, or what?

Little by little, I continue to plug away at organizing my new art room above the garage. It will be wonderful, when, or is it IF I ever finish? Between collecting for bazillions of years, with a healthy dose of packrat added to the mix, and all of my stash tucked away in multiple nooks and crannies, the task sometimes feels overwhelming. But it gets worse. Each time I dig through a new area looking for stuff that needs to be moved to my new room, I get sidetracked. I find myself wanting to do something {as in create} with a newly discovered item.

So last night as I was browsing through my stash of vintage photos I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled a few of them to scan into my computer files. I'll tell you why I was so amused in a second. But before I do that, do you ever wonder as you view a vintage photo like the boy pictured above what his life was like? Did he marry? Did he have children? Did his hair stay curly?

And then it happened. I burst out laughing as I pulled out the next photo. You don't suppose this is a shot of the little boy all grown up, do you?

Who cut this man's hair and what were they thinking?????!

Wishing you all a "good hair day".....

xoxo

Sue

An encouraging word...

On the journey through life have you ever hit a patch of rocky road? I thought so. Me too. Remember how good it felt during those times to receive a dose of encouragement? It was just the little nudge you needed to take the next step. Or at least take it with a greater sense of renewed hope. Yes, encouragement is something we can never give or receive too much of...especially during a time of great need.

It seems everywhere I look {including in the mirror} I see people who could use a dose of encouragement. So my little hands have been busy putting together some little books of encouragement.

This one went to a teacher who taught two of our children. She is that “one in a million” who goes about 10 extra miles beyond what her job requires. Teaching is her passion and it shows. While both of our little cherubs squawked loudly, more than once, about how difficult her class could be, they both have a deep sense of respect and gratitude for how well she prepared them for their subsequent years.

When I heard she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, I was deeply saddened and wanted to do something to encourage her heart. Another neighbor and I came up with the idea to collect cards from our neighborhood (quite sizable) and send a box of encouragement to her. I placed them all in this girlie box topped off with flowers and a glittered bow made of tulle and sent it on its way.

Now that I’ve made a couple, I’ve gathered the supplies to make a few more to have on hand. I enjoy sharing what I love to do {create} with others in the hopes that it will brighten and encourage their journey.

Another little booklet of encouragement embellished with vintage millinery.

PINK SATURDAY

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us."

~Iris Murdoch, A Fairy Honourable Defeat

It's PINK SATURDAY and our pink hostess,

namely, Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound

has a complete listing of all

the participants in today's event.

My "pink" for today is a photo from my backyard.

Crepe Myrtles are definitely in a 200 way tie for

first place in terms of my favorite flowers. They

are planted in abundance in this area of the

world. Large clumps of them still take my breath

away everytime I see them.

I'm grateful I live on a planet where there are flowers!