Passing On The Joy

I received this award a few weeks ago, and should have passed it on before now! But better late then never. Being sort of new to this blogging world, I am learning as I go along, so be patient with me.

Everyday I visit so many different sites and get inspiration for a project, recipe, decoration, or just a picture and inspiring words. But there are a couple that I would like to pass this along to. One is Hope at Second Time Around where it is always fun to stop by and see what she is up to, and also for some laughs! Another place that always makes my day when I stop by for a visit with Stephanie over at The Hearts of Hartmann she always has the neatest projects and makes the prettiest aprons. Last but certainly not least I want to pass this award along to Mables House where I can always get my daily dose of decorating and spring inspiration on these cold winter days. Her sweet pup will bring a smile to your face.

So ladies, here is your award, because you always, "Make My Day"!

Winter Birds

What a beautiful sight outside my kitchen window this morning, bright red cardinals enjoying their breakfast.

I even had a red headed woodpecker seeking out something to eat this morning at the feeder. It amazes me how this bird has to hang backwards just to get their beak into the feeder to get the seed. This is the first picture I have been able to get of this woodpecker, he is always looking around and will fly off quickly at the slightest movement.


During the winter months when all the leaves are off the trees it is nice to see so many at one time. It is usually during the early morning that they all come out together. There was a family of six flying all around, and taking turns at the feeder.

The Red Bird

by Evaleen Stein

Swept lightly by the south wind
The elm-leaves softly stirred,
And in their pale green clusters
There straightway bloomed a bird!

His glossy feathers glistened
With dyes as richly red
As any tulip flaming
From out the garden bed.

But ah, unlike the tulips,
In joyous strain, ere long,
This red-bird flower unfolded
A heart of golden song!

Show & Tell Friday

Its Show & Tell Friday over at Kelli's There's No Place Like Home. Drop by for a visit and see who else is there for Show & Tell.

This show & tell is like some of my others, part of a family memory /memorabilia and part history lesson. I hope you enjoy it!

Today I want to share with you the War Rations stamp books that belonged to my parents. I have these displayed in my family heritage scrapbook. Of all my scrapbooks this one is the most prized; so many family members shared stories, photos, or memorabilia that are priceless, and their history will be passed on to generations that follow.

These were issued in 1943 during WWII. The stamps were used to purchase rationed items such as shoes/leather, can goods, meat, cheese, rubber/tires, sugar, coffee, fuel, and metals to name a few. Each stamp authorized the holder to purchase rationed goods in the quantities and at the time designated by the Office of Price Administration. The purpose was also to make sure that everyone received their fair share of goods made scarce by the war.

"Rationing is a vital part of your country's war effort. Any attempt to violate the rules is an effort to deny someone his share and will create a hardship...Give your whole support to rationing and thereby conserve our vital goods. Be guided by the rule: "If you Don't need it, DON'T BUY IT." - - OPA: Office of Price Administration (1943).

This scrapbook page shows pictures of my aunts, my granddaddy, and my mother. I hope you enjoyed today's show & tell, and I would love to hear any stories you may have about family members during this time of rationing.

I've Been Tagged!

Well I have been seeing that others have been tagged and Hope has bestowed the honor to me. So here goes with 7 random or weird things about me. It took me awhile to think about this, some weird some random, you can judge for yourself which category they fall in, but here goes:

1. I am a member of the Moravian Church. No not Mormon, not Methodist, but Moravian.
2. I don't like to put lotion on my hands before I got to bed at night; it makes my hair greasy. . . . go figure.
3. I love to read magazines.
4. I have a bad habit of finishing other peoples sentences, because I am too impatient to let them figure out what they are going to say next...just say it...get it over with!
5. I am germ-o-phobic. Shaking peoples hands...yuck...get out the germ-gel for my hands STAT!
6. I have lived my entire life within a 20-mile radius of where I was born.
7. Last but not least I am happily married to the best man in the world!
   

I think now I'm suppose to tag other people. Since most of you have already been tagged for this, and I am such a new blogger I am going to leave it open to anyone who reads this to particiapte if they would like. So if you like...your tagged!

National Pie Day!

In honor of National Pie Day I will be posting the receipe for an easy low-fat strawberry pie. I'm sure there are many gooey, chocolate filled pies that would be wonderful, but this one doesn't have the long lasting effects on your hips as those do! There are a number of different combinations to make but strawberry is my favorite.

Jello - Strawberry Weight Watcher Pie

1 package sugar-free strawberry Jello
1/4 cup water
2 (8 oz.) cups strawberry fat free yogurt
1 (8 oz.) carton fat free Cool Whip
1 reduced fat graham cracker crust.

Boil the water and dissolve Jello. Whisk in the yogurt. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour into crust and chill at least 3 hours.

You can make a number of flavors of this pie:
Orange (orange Jello and Mandarin orange yogurt)
The original recipe was for Key Lime (lime Jello and Key Lime yogurt)
You can try any combination, as long as you match the Jello and yogurt flavors.

Serves 8. One serving = 3 Weight Watchers Winning Points.

Thanks Tammy over at The Pink Magnolia for suggesting that we all in blogland put out favorite pie receipes in our posts today! And to Artsy Etc for creating the banner for todays bloggers sharing in National Pie Day.

Enjoy a piece of pie today!

Goodwill Hunting

Okay, okay I know you all are tired of hearing about my treks to all the Goodwill stores within a 50-mile radius of my home, but humor me on this one. I had to share with you a beautiful old chair that I bought today for $10. I have no idea how old it is but I love it, and think it looks good in my living room.


The cane bottom is in good shape, and the curved carved detail on the back really adds to it beauty.

When my husband saw it he liked it also, but I got "the look" like he might be thinking about doing an intervention to keep me away from Goodwill, since I am always bringing home treasures. I just gave him a kiss and said, "Humor me honey". . . and he always does, as he smiles and shakes his head.

It's Snowing Again...and I'm Nesting

What a great day! I am off work and the snow is coming down; no worrying about icy/snowy roads and trying to get to work. This kind of day puts me in a mood to settle in and get a few things done around that house that are enjoyable to me (note: I did not say vacuum!) Reading my new magazines: Country Living, Romantic Homes, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, Flower Gardens, and Better Homes & Gardens Do It Yourself Weekend Projects. Maybe if I'm lucky something will inspire me to be creative or give me a new idea for spring planting.

I did want to share this photo of two of my recent Goodwill buys, this pretty white cup and saucer and planter. The violets were already in the planter, which are in excellent condition. Each was bought at different times, but they are pretty displayed together! And the best part it only set me back $2.50!

Signs of Winter

I love winter weather, but unfortunately around here we usually get a lot more ice than snow. The sun shining through the ice on the trees is beautiful, but the damage it causes is more than I want to deal with. We woke up this morning to a little snowfall which was beautiful; of course it didn't last too long before the freezing rain began....oh well...

Josef Originals - Yellow Belle

My daughter and I went to Goodwill this evening for some bargain hunting. I eyed this little Josef Originals figurine for $1. She is missing a arm, and the bell clapper but other than that is in pretty good condition. When my daughter was young she received several of the birthday figurines and I bought her one for her confirmation.

Josef Originals ceramics were designed by Muriel Joseph George. The first pieces were made in California from 1945 to 1962. They were then manufactured in Japan. The company was sold to George Good in 1982 and he continued to make Josef Originals until 1985. The company was then sold to Southland Corporation. The name is now owned by Applause, and the Birthday Girl series is still being made.

If anyone knows anything about this particular figurine I would love to hear from you.

Celebrate! Memories

I spent this past Saturday at a Celebrate Event in Charlotte. This is the first Celebrate event I have ever attended and it was so much fun! I have been scrapbooking for about nine years, and it has been a blessing to me and my family. Documenting in pictures and words our lives from the everyday events to the special occasions, has brought us closer together. Each year I start a new scrapbook documenting what goes on that year. One of the hardest but most rewarding ones I have completed was a heritage scrapbook. I have also created ones for each of my children growing up. The beauty about scrapbooking is that each one is different and everyone has their own style, so everyones scrapbooks are unique. I use Creative Memories products for my scrapbooks. Digital scrapbooking is also an option, but I like to use paper and scissors! The most important thing is to start documenting your life, no matter how you do it or what you use, so that it will be here long after your gone.


The Celebrate Events are held all over the county, I was lucky enough for one to be close enough for me to attend this year. There were over 800 people scrapbooking all day from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The 50's theme was so much fun, and spending time with friends doing something we all loved was great! At one point during the day they "passed the hat" to collect money for breast cancer research and collected over $1,700! Isn't that wonderful!

"Show & Tell Friday"

Its Show & Tell Friday over at Kelli's There's No Place Like Home. Drop by for a visit and see who else is there for Show & Tell.

Today I want to share with you a few of my favorite things. As you probably already know I love vintage items but the most special ones are the ones that belonged to family members.

The oil lamp was purchased by my husband's daddy and momma when they first married and set up house. The picture is of three of my aunts when they were young girls growing up in Virginia, they were outside of my great grandmother's house. The oldest girl is trying to tickle her baby sister sitting in the chair. All three of them have passed away, the two youngest died this past year and both were in their late eighties. I am not sure who exactly who had the tea cup and bowl, but I love the delicate roses on them. The little black bible belonged to my daddy, and was given to him by a Sunday school teacher on October 4, 1942.

The eye glasses belonged to my daddy's mother. She died giving birth to her 10th child at the age of 40. In the second picture below she is holding my daddy, probably around 1935. She is wearing these glasses in the picture.

My First Award...sigh

I am so honored to receive my first award. Brittney was so sweet to give me. What better compliment than to tell someone that you made their day!

Thanks Brittney, you have made mine!

Ding Dong....UPS, FedEx, USPS Calling!

Always looking for a bargain I spent a bit of time on the internet looking to purchase items for this years Christmas decorations. Almost everyday I have a new package waiting for me on the front porch...oh goody, goody! I found this beautiful apple/pine cone/pomegranate/cranberry "tree" for only $4.99 from Target! The regular price was $29.99 and I got free shipping...a pretty good deal I would say. Since it is not so "Christmasy" I will keep it on my dining room table for a bit longer.

Nora Lee

This is my grandmother Nora, she was born in 1896 and died when I was eight years old. When Nora was three years old her 26 year old mother married a 57 year old widowed gentleman. It was not uncommon then for a young woman to marry an older widower, especially since women sometimes died young, leaving behind a husband and children. Her husband had lost an arm during a charge at the Battle of Winchester on August 17, 1864. He was 22 years old at the time and a member of the 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment, under the command of General John McCausland and Colonial William E. Fife. The 36th Infantry disband April 12, 1865 in Christiansburg, Virginia, after hearing of General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. In 1888, twenty-five years after losing his arm in the war the State of Virginia granted a pension to soldiers who were injured or maimed; he received $30 annually.
I have always had an interest in the who, what, when, where and how about the history of my family. It has been so wonderful to discover the lives of those who came before us. Share these stories with your family, talk to older family members about their experiences growing up. You will be so glad you did! A good place to start is http://www.ancestry.com

"Show and Tell Friday!"

This little tin cup and saucer belonged to my husband when he was a baby. You can see along the rim of the cup the indentions of his little teeth marks. I keep it displayed with a ring of holly berries inside. I can't help but smile every time I look at it and think about him drinking and eating from this set 59 years ago. So sweet.

Flour Sacks and Dish Towels...Oh My!

On New Years Day I visited with my 90 year old aunt, I went through some of her old cloth bags and came across these beautiful prints. Some are stained but maybe I can take care of that without too much damage to the colors. Any suggestions would be helpful. I love the brilliant colors and prints from the 40's and 50's. Some of these were obviously from old cut up flour sacks and the one on the bottom left is a table cloth. I have picked up several dish towels and things with these type prints at flea markets and thrift stores, but it is sort of special knowing that these were used by someone in my family for everyday use.