A Haven for Vee

Monday, January 25, 2016

1925


Thank you for all the feedback on sleigh rides. A number have been on one. It was surprising to me and, of those who said that they had been over the Jingle Bell trail, no one had any disparaging comments to make. I may need to rethink the idea that they sound more fun than they are. 

The picture I used for the sleigh ride was an old Christmas card from my grandmother's collection as seen on my fridge above. It contains a nice note from Ross and Effie (who were among  my grandparents' dear friends). They owned a dairy farm with a view on the ridge above "the lake" in New Brunswick. (I do adore a prepositional phrase.) It was always great fun to visit them because the barn was full of kittens. Lots and lots of kittens. I don't remember the cows. Besides that, Effie kept the tidiest home and had the most darling yellow and blue kitchen. I have liked the combination ever since.


 So I had found the Christmas card and a whole lot more while tidying my bedroom on Saturday while so many of you were dealing with Jonas. Actually, I had been tidying all week and have more to show you another day. When your home receives a sudden influx of "stuff" where does it land? Everything, that I have no idea what to do with, lands in my bedroom. A week ago, I could hardly find my way to the bed. It's a little better these days. You can see the closet in need of organization there behind my grandmother's photo. (More on the photo in a bit.) 





I removed the Ruth Fielding series from the bookcase that lives in the closet and packed it away in boxes along with the vintage Nancy Drews and the newer Nancy Drews and the Bobbsey Twins set. I decided that they were taking up prime real estate. The closet will be this week's chore I believe.


As I have mentioned many times over, there are boxes and boxes of vintage photos. This particular one was taken in 1925 when Nan was Sweet Sixteen. As you can see I have tucked it into my winter display. My goal is to keep these photos accessible so that I can rotate and show them off. I also have my gallery wall for display, though it is filling up fast.


It was fun to get out my magnifying glass and take a closer look at this photo. Nan (her name was Irene) is wearing a pale pink dress, a string of pearls, a bracelet, and a pair of silver shoes. There are ribbons hanging from her shoulder...very feminine. This edit is very much to my liking with the blues beyond her. 


One of these stuffies is an old friend. His name is "Monkey." I  must have had a twisted sense of humor as a child for anyone can see that he is actually a rabbit with his long ears. He's a mess. Anyone holding onto old stuffed animals that have been loved right to death? I don't think that I could part with him, but he probably needs to be given a decent burial. Wait until I show you who else I am holding onto one day.

My one Downton Abbey thought...no spoilers (Susan Branch is providing wonderful commentary for Downton Abbey, [link goes to last week's; click on her home page for current offerings])...is this: has Tom gained a wee bit of weight? 

That's enough yabbering for a Monday. Join me Wednesday when I reveal how much progress has been made on the Catherine Holman puzzle and show you a positively geriatric stuffy. Aye! Life's exciting and, yes, I have been watching a lot of Monarch of the Glen. How could you tell?




46 comments:

  1. What a a lovely photo of her. So pretty. Your stuffy is adorable too. xoox Su

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  2. Neat pic - golly she's only 16 but looks so much older. they all did back then - just grew up so fast!

    And yes - about Tom on DA- first thing I said when he crashed the Carson's wedding. LOL.

    I didn't keep my plushies but wish I would have kept them: my white real rabbit fur cat, my pink octopus and my leopard my grandfather gave me, and my soft yellow teddy - my first (and almost only) win from an amusement park. I got a bug in my bonnet when I was growing up and just rid myself of so much. Oh well. I didn't look it, but I grew up fast too, I guess!

    Have a wonderful week.

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  3. Beautiful photo. I didn't keep any of my childhood toys as we moved around so much when we first got married as we were both in the Army. My Mum did keep a few bits, so all is not lost. Take care.

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  4. I hadn't noticed about Tom! You have me intrigued now!! xx

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  5. Leave Tom alone, I like him just fine, giggling. Have a beautiful day, friend.

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    1. Oh I may love him all the more, there being more to love! =D

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  6. What a lovely treasure! I adore your photo! I can tell how much you enjoy all of these vintage items! I would too! And yes, Tom looks a bit older and chubbier....but, he would probably say the same of us!

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  7. I agree about Tom. When you see flashes of old scenes (as they did after the program last night) you see how they have all gotten older. And Mrs. Carson is much thinner. Oh you are having fun with all your old things. It's like a trip back in time. I am trying to pull some old pictures together to make a valentine card…and I've been reading letters, oh my, they are so interesting. Bobbsy Twins…read them all.

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  8. Oh, I love the photo of your Nan!! She is so beautiful and glamorous! (I wonder if "posing" was more of a thing then? Or maybe it depends on the person. So many photos of my mom were "posed"! Come to think of it, she still likes to strike a pose when being photographed!)

    It is such a good idea...using your family treasures in your gallery wall and including memorabilia in your displays. You are making them meaningful and familiar to your children and grandchildren while you enjoy them yourself.

    I, too, noticed that Tom had added a little weight. I rarely notice weight gain or loss unless it is significant, so that might say something. No problem. Who am I to care about a few extra pounds? ;)

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    1. I don't believe that the average family had cameras in 1925...must look into that. A lot of the photos are done by portrait studios. This "style" may have been reserved for the "sweet sixteen" look. She always referred to this as her "sweet sixteen" photo. It's the only way I know that it was 1925 except for the clothes... She was born in 1909.

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    2. Meant to say that my mother, probably more of a contemporary to your own, rarely posed, if ever, except for a studio photograph.

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  9. I agree with Linda above, leave Tom alone. LOL I do believe your Nan could be on Downton herself. The dress appears to be of the 20's or so. She's lovely! I have my children's old teddies, saving them when they come to their senses and take them to their homes. Oh how nice to have Bobbsey Twins and old Nancy Drews. Have fun walking down memory lane. ♥

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  10. That storm 'Jonas' was just awful where it hit. I don't know how people cope with such weather when they aren't used to it. And so many deaths attributed to it as well. We're still in a holding pattern of sunny cold days which may end tomorrow with a mild spell but that's ok. What a lovely photo of your grandmother at sixteen. I wonder how her own grandmother felt about 'Nan' showing off her legs like that! Imagine!! Your 'Monkey' looks well loved. I don't have any of my stuffies or dollies. I donated them to the annual church rummage sale when I was 12 or 13. I guess Mum was in a cleaning mode that spring just as I am lately. Have a great week!

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    1. Since they had a very contentious relationship, I doubt that it went over well. Even more likely is that she never saw it living as she did in Gloucester, Massachusetts and Nan living in Moncton, NB.

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  11. I love old photos and I have a powder room where the walls are filled with family. I get a lot of comments after someone uses the "facility." XOXO

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  12. The photo of your Nan is so lovely! I am trying what to do with all the photos of our ancestors and the current generations stories. Nice to know that I am not the only one.

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  13. I love old photos also! I have many I should pull them out and do something with some of them!

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  14. Stuff...yikes! For K it lands on the table and I have a place on the kitchen counter. I wish we would mend our ways. ~ Not an old stuffed animal, but my 61 year old doll. I know my kids will one day wonder why I held on to her. ~ What a beautiful picture of your Nan. I think she must have been the prettiest girl in school.

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  15. Your Nan was such a beauty. There is something so poignant about those old photos. A sixteen year old was so much more innocent in those days.
    I forgot to tell you about my sleigh ride experience in the last post. I have had many, as when we lived in rural Ontario it was a winter treat. The most memorable, though, was in 1986 at the Chateau Lake Louise in Banff. The sleigh ride was across the lake, as it was February, and we were tucked under Buffalo skin robes. It was a lovely experience.

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  16. My stuff ends up in my craft/office room.
    Since we missed last weeks DA and it's always a rush to make it home after church we are just going to watch it at a later time.

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  17. Ha! The first thing we commented on when we saw Tom was his chubby face! That is a very soft and feminine photo of Nan! Speaking of Jonas, the only thing around here that I attribute to it is the state of my kitchen table. It looks like it was hit with a storm and now has a pile up! I have to do some serious cleaning this week!

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  18. What a beautiful picture of your Nan!
    I forgot to watch Downton last night so I haven't read Susan's post yet. That will give me something to do while nursing my sprained ankle.

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  19. What a beautiful woman your nan, Irene, was! I loved her wistful pose in that photo and her glamorous clothes and shoes. A wonderful glimpse back in time! You have so many wonderful treasures, Vee. I know how hard it is to sort through them all and decide what to continue to keep. I had to do that at my Mom's house when she passed. Taking a photo of what goes to charity or disposal can be helpful as you keep the memory without the object. I still have to sort through all her many many photo albums and boxes of photos. I still find it hard to do that.

    I did notice the weight gain on Tom. Hmmmmm--life in America must have been good for him, or else he discovered junk food--lol ;)

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  20. My grandparents barn was always full of kittens too. One of my best memories is climbing into the loft when I was very young (5 or 6) and just sitting until I could hear the kittens, hidden in the bales. I would dig until they were mine :)
    The photo of your Nan is glorious! Silver shoes and a pink satiny dress. I wish I had a reason to wear something that pretty more often.

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  21. Your nan looks like a movie star, Vee. I think I would cast her in Little Women.
    Amalia
    xo

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  22. Your grandmother was a lovely lady and very stylish. Glad Jonas didn't reach Maine. You had enough last year to last several winters. There were quite a few deaths from this storm. Tragic, and so unnecessary. I find I have no patience with people who say, ooh, it looks so pretty. Ooooh, I wish I was there. Ooooh, it is 72 degrees here today. Those comments, I want to smack them. Yes, Need to ask myself, what would Jesus do. I find when I am stressing out, I get nothing done. Two days of fretting,prayer, feeling peaceful, looking out the window, more fretting, more prayer, and I survived. My diet did not.

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  23. Its fun to go back and find all kinds of stuff though can be quite interesting . That photo of her is lovely, she looks like a porcelain doll ! Very nasty storm on the US east coast not good when people aren't used to that kind of thing not like us here in Canada who are used to snow storms all though we have hardly any snow this year here so far and rain will be for this evening and over night with mild temps . Yes Downton Abby I am watching the last season BOOHOO ! and Monarch of the Glen I have seen years ago , I have been a big fan of British TV could do with I am part Brit lol so have seen hundreds of great shows over the years . Thanks for sharing , have a good day !

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  24. That is a delightful old photo.
    I do know what it's like to get more stuff when in a small house. I purged last week. Threw tons of stuff out. Still need more room.

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  25. I love that photo of your Nan. She's a real beauty. I had a lot of stuffed animals but more as a teenager. I wasn't really attached to them, except for my Snoopys.

    Everything ends up in my bedroom, glad to hear I am not the only one!

    Tom is a tad chunkier, must be all the American cooking he ate! Having already seen the whole season, it is so hard to wait to talk it all over with you all!

    I am watching Monarch of the Glen here as well. I'm starting to think in a Scottish accent!

    Deanna

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  26. Oh my, your Nan was quite the beauty. I loved her picture! I love the idea of displaying your pictures like that. Such a good idea. Don't have any of mine or my kids old stuff animals anymore, though I did keep them for awhile, lol Just no room anymore. Tom DOES look like he's put on a little weight....Enjoy the rest of your week Vee!

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  27. If you run across a photo of Ross & Effie's kitchen, feel free to post ;D. It sounds incredibly cozy and right up my alley.
    Now that photo of your Nan is gorgeous. I can't help but wonder what she was thinking while she was posing for that shot.
    I believe the photos have ended up in the right hands. You are taking such good care of them. It makes me sad to see family photos wind up at the antique shops.

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  28. Hi Vee!

    Beautiful pictures, 1925 must have been an elegant year, I do love the pearls and ribbon! I love, The Bobbsey Twins, and have a couple of those books from my childhood. My mother wasn't a, "keeper", so so many of our things were tossed out when we were children.

    My grandfather, loved photographs and cars, and we have so many, very old, pictures of him sitting in an old Model-T Ford, and lots of pictures of women, men and children, who are nameless . . . sad. We keep them, because we know that they belong to us somehow, just not sure who they are. Maybe one day we will find out!

    I love to go on a sleigh ride. When we were first married, my husband worked for his uncle in the hills near where we live. It was winter, and he would go out early in the morning and hitch up the horses to the big feeding wagon that had skis, like a sleigh. It was lots of fun to go with him to feed the cattle. Yes, I love sleigh rides!

    So glad you didn't get all the snow! Stay warm!

    Hugs,
    Barb

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  29. What a interesting post. Nan is a real beauty and I was noticing her silk stockings. Not your mother's panty hose, I'm sure. I am thinking they must really be hot since they were quite thick looking, although in those days, they were held up by a garter belt, most likely. Anything and everything that I cannot find place usually ends up in my craft room...or the dining room table :)

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  30. Such fun to read this.......I have some of my mother's Ruth Fielding books and tons of old family photos (Your Nan was very beautiful and quite in fashion)...I need to go through them with my daughters (and I need to write the names of people on the back of them)....And I need to not keep everything. How I wish I had my old teddy bear. Only in my memory!

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  31. Awww I loved the perfectly kept photo of Nan! Wasn't she a beauty, Vee? To include these precious photos in vignettes is a wonderful idea and keeps family members alive among us. God bless you for being the keeper of all these family treasures.

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  32. Oh Vee - that picture of your Nan is just precious - what a natural beauty! She could have posed for the Alice Emerson book cover - very similar. I know what you mean about everything landing in the bedroom - ugh! Stay safe while Jonas rages. Oh, and BTW, season six came out today and is sitting next to my DVD player (kind of wish Jonas was hitting here so we'd have to stay in and watch it) :). Can't wait to start - maybe this weekend.

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  33. That is a beautiful picture of your Nan! I love these moments stepped back in time. Family memories are so very precious, thank you for sharing! Have a great day!

    Blessings
    ,Jill

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  34. What a beautiful picture of a lovely girl. I like your idea of rotating photos. I have a bunch of vintage photos all shoved in a box I need to get out.
    I have not been watching DA, but we're taping it and will watch it all in one fell swoop.
    haha Vee, I love how you turn a (prepositional) phrase!!

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  35. Beautiful photo of your Nan. What a lovely idea to rotate vintage photos in and out of seasonal displays. I have some displayed here and there, but I like your idea even better. I will also tuck some into ribbon boards with other paper treasures, from time to time.

    I do like your idea of boxing up some books when they are taking up "prime real estate". Mostly I have tried to donate books we never read, but I always end up keeping far more than I should. I need to do a major decluttering of our entire house (and my dad's) this year. We will see how that goes...

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  36. That was my first thought when Tom reappeared on Downton Abby...that he looks a little more substantial than the last time I saw him!

    Love that photo of your Nan. So beautiful!

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  37. L.O.V.E. your winter window display, as well as Nan's photo, and all your stuffed friends. Keep them all. Let the kids dispose of whatever after you are no longer around to see it.

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  38. Your window display is sooo sweet...now, I want to do one, too.
    Irene's photo, at Sweet 16, is priceless...she sure looked grownup for 16...I was such a kid for so long...I must have been 21 before I even started growing up...and I'm STILL growing. Oh, dear...
    Your little men look so cute and grown up in their school pics

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  39. Great post, Vee! Like everyone, I like the window display. Your Nan is precious. So many memories---I wish I had grabbed things up when I was surrounded by them. My older sisters had all of the Nancy Drew books, at least until the 70's. I read each and every one as they were passed down. I have no idea where they went. I sometimes see them in antique stores but they aren't mine (or my sister's). :( I now treasure so many mementos. History is beautiful-we may not know it at the time, nor our children. But perhaps...

    I'd love to watch Downton Abbey, I will have a lot to catch up with but right now television doesn't have much going for it. A perfect time.

    Jane

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  40. Wow, Irene is so very graceful in that photo, what a treasure. Thanks for the link to Susan Branch's commentary on Downton. That was a fun read.

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  41. Hi Vee,

    I've been away for a bit so am trying to catch up on my visiting. I enjoyed reading about Effie's tidy home and her darling blue and yellow kitchen. I love that combination, too, and that's what I used when we re-modeled our kitchen in 2012.

    I love your grandmother's photo (and your winter display in the window, as well)! Your grandmother looked sooo elegant to be just 16 years old. I love the ribbons on her shoulders, too. :) That is one big puzzle you've got there! It reminds me of one Hal and I put together many years ago at the beach house. My mother-in-law has it displayed on top of one of the bedroom dressers underneath a piece of glass. It has scalloped edges and was quite a challenge to put together. I've heard that working puzzles may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, so I think that's a great activity.

    I hope you're all doing well, and have a great week Vee!!

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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