Sunday, December 29, 2013

A Timely Wagon

This is the second vintage piece my mom received from her friend. (To see the first item, click here.) It is a small wagon of blocks that when put together right, a clock face is formed, much like a puzzle.




A Timely Wagon is written on either side of the base.



There are seven blocks surrounding the clock, each one depicting a day of the week.



If you look closely, you can see a picture and writing on each piece...Monday Washing, Tuesday Ironing, Wednesday Mending, Thursday Shopping and Friday Cleaning.



Saturday Baking and Sunday Church are written on the two blocks supporting the upper half of the clock.

I have searched the internet for information regarding this vintage toy, but have found nothing. The only thing I have to go on is the tiny logo near the wagon string that reads Universal Toy and Novelty Company.

If anyone has information to share about this unique item, please leave a comment. I would very much like to hear about it.



Saturday, December 28, 2013

Mr. Christmas Vintage Holiday Carousel

While visiting my mom during Christmas break, she showed Don and I two of her new treasures, given to her by a neighborhood friend.

The first thing she shared with us was this Mr. Christmas Holiday Carousel






From what I could find out online, this vintage holiday carousel is patterned after an original made in 1876 and created by the Mr. Christmas Company, which began production in 1933 and is still offering Christmas decor today (see this link).

The carousel continuously plays 21 favorite Christmas songs: Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, Away In a Manger, We Three Kings, The 12 Days of Christmas and more. It also has a volume control, which I think is a nice feature.

Don and I love vintage things. We only own a few items that belonged to our grandparents and I doubt we have anything of great material worth, but what we DO have, we cherish.

I will show you my mother's second treasure in a future post. You can check back in a day or two, or follow me via google+, Networked Blogs, or Bloglovin.


Monday, December 23, 2013

Joseph and the Christ Child

I can give or take most art work, but when I saw this painting by Simon Dewey called In the Arms of Joseph a few years ago, I knew I had to have it.




It's easy for me to imagine the relationship Joseph and Jesus must have had, especially since Don came into my life when Cody was only 6 months of age.

Now I watch a similar pattern as my son Chase is raising our oldest grandson, Walker. Everyone in the family fell madly in love with Walker the minute we met him. He was only 16 months old at the time.

Simon Dewey not only paints beautiful pictures depicting the life of Jesus Christ, he has been a series artist for Scholastic and Penguin book publishers, illustrated toy lines for Hasbro/Milton Bradley and he has done cover and poster work for RCA Columbia, Warner Home Video, and CBS Fox.

To learn more of Simon Dewey, click here.


Friday, December 20, 2013

Healthy (and Easy) Christmas Gift Idea

Mrs. B gave me a couple of gifts for Christmas this year. One of them was this bag of Halos with a sweet little note attached. 



This idea is going to go on my Clever Gifting Pinterest board. 

Thank you Mrs. B. :)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

We Have a Winner!

Voting was unanimous. Don WON the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest for his work party. 


I'm not a bit surprised that he won, but how is he EVER going to top this next year?!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kindergarten Bulletin Board for December

Each December, after reading Twas The Night Before Christmas to her students, Mrs. B. puts up this bulletin board...


The Children Were Nestled All Snug In Their Beds

Typical sleepover. Some are asleep, but most are not.

The kid in the middle looks like he's wired on a Red Bull and sugar. I don't think he
will be dreaming of sugarplums. In fact, I don't think he'll be dreaming at all.

Top to Bottom: Mrs. B., Mrs. A. (our afternoon aide) and me.
Notice that I'm peeking out from under the bed and not tucked inside it. :)



Monday, December 9, 2013

Wacky Wintry Weather

Here are a couple of pictures of what a cold front did to our neighborhood on Saturday. Snow is uncommon where my family lives and this much snow is exceptionally rare. 


Look! We have icicles hanging from our icicles!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Christmas Memories

As long as I remember, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I have the best memories of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a kid. My parents always made sure my siblings and I had a magical time.

One particular Christmas, Teresa, my younger sister, and I got up in the middle of the night and started playing with our new Barbie’s and Barbie Motorhomes that Santa had given us. My mom and dad, obviously hearing commotion in the living room, came in and made us go back to bed. I’m sure they were disappointed they had missed seeing the look of joy and wonder on our faces when we first laid eyes on the carefully set up display of toys.

Sleeping was always hard for me on Christmas Eve and, because I shared a room with my younger sister, I made sure she didn’t sleep much either. J

Gifts from Santa were never wrapped at our house and we always had Christmas stockings filled with an orange and unshelled peanuts, Brach’s Pick-a-Mix candy and, when Teresa and I became teenagers, usually a piece of jewelry sitting at the top.

For the most part, I tried to keep traditions that I grew up with alive for my own children. Don and I didn’t include peanuts in our kid’s stockings, but we did throw some Brach’s candy in along with other treats.

While living in Oregon, Don and I started our own Christmas traditions. One of my favorites was taking our little family to Friendly Street Church to their annual live nativity. We also picked out a Christmas tree from Madsen Tree Farm each year, drove around the city looking at lights and décor, attended church Christmas dinners and, on Christmas Eve, exchanged gifts with Don’s family.

Christmas Eve 1995 really stands out. Don’s dad flew to Oregon from South Carolina to spend Christmas with his kids and grandkids living in Eugene. (At that time, Don only had one sister that still lived in South Carolina.)  On Christmas Eve day, Don’s dad went to his youngest son Jeff’s house for a few hours, but when he returned, dad told Don and I not to eat the turkey that April (Jeff’s wife at the time) was cooking for our big Christmas Eve get-together. April was not the best housekeeper and I don’t remember exactly what dad told us she did to that turkey, but I'll never forget him insisting, over and over, "Whatever you do, DO NOT eat the turkey!" That night we loaded up and went to Diane’s (Don's sister) house and our little family did not dare even nibble the turkey for fear of getting sick or upsetting Don’s dad or both! The Donald Lancaster family ate a lot of ham that Christmas Eve. 

The time spent with my father-in-law that holiday was priceless. My kids came to know their grandpa Lancaster and it was the last time we saw him alive. I have great memories of him chewing my caramels. I had over-cooked them and they were hard that year, but he enjoyed eating them anyway, or at least he made me feel like he did. Dad Lancaster was very kind to me.


The movie Toy Story was released that Christmas, so Don and I took his dad and our kids to the theater. Dad had not been to a movie for quite some time and he told us he would buy our treats if we bought all of the tickets. Believe me…he ended up spending a whole lot more money on popcorn and drinks than Don and I did on admission. Watching Pixar’s first movie that year with our children and their grandpa was a real treat and a great memory.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Ugly Christmas Attire

Don is sporting an ugly sweater for his work party.
I'll let you know if he wins anything. :)

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