Time On Our Hands:  End of the Year 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, just 6 hours left, I have dropped by my blog to see what happened here this year.  I like it!  The past month has been a hard one in which to find the time to blog so, alas, I haven't added anything.  But my blog is aged now 6 months old + a few days.  A New Year's resolution: I plan to do more blogging in 2013 than I did in 2012.  Might be hard to find the time with two new residents at our house, but sometimes events like this will increase my organization and therefore my productivity.  

So I promise myself to try.  That's the best resolution I can make!  Try and Try Harder.  The mantra of 2013.  

Time On Our Hands: Old Book

Time On Our Hands:

A Wonderful Childrens' Book

At the Expo Center in Portland I recently attended the Palmer Wirff's Antiques Show.  I bought a couple of photos that I will post later but my prized purchase that day was a book called Pedlar's Ware by Mary and Margaret Baker.  It was published in 1925 and my copy was a library book for its career.  There are four stories in this book and each is written by one sister and accompanied by silhouettes painted by the other sister.  

Here are two examples of the silhouettes.  

There is a silhouette on nearly every other page.  Many are people--a juggler, three fancy ladies with fans, a dancing couple, a leprechaun, a beggar maid.  Some are fairies and some brownies.  Some are cats and some children.  There is a house, a woman with a child and a leprechaun.  They are all so wonderfully done.  

The stories aren't that great, frankly, but these silhouettes are the reason I bought the book to begin with.  I wonder about these sisters and how they spent their days.  Did the artist do her silhouette work hour after hour?  Did she paint them after the stories were written or before, to shape a story around?  

They published other books as well.  Together they wrote the stories and made the pictures for The Black Cats and the Tinker's Wife as well as The Dog, the Brownie and the Bramble Patch.  

I've studied the pages of this book until they are falling out of the binding.  I want to thank the Baker girls for doing this work so that a woman 87 years later could enjoy them.  What a great find!

Time On Our Hands: Shirtwaists

Time on Our Hands: 

Girls in Shirtwaist Dresses

I bought this photo recently at a favorite antiques store where I used to work.  When I first started collecting these school group photos, they were priced high.  This one was only $6.00 which was a bargain, or so it seems to me.

The shirtwaist dresses make me think this was taken in the early 1950s but I'm not sure.  At that time I was less than six so not a fashionista by any means.  But these dresses look familiar,  like they are something I saw as a girl.  A collar, a pair of puff sleeves, some buttons up the front, a belt and swing skirt.  They look very tailored and nice but, from what I remember, they were terribly uncomfortable.  Maybe that was just my problem because I wasn't built with my waist in the right place!

Moms might have made these dresses.  That was a thing stay-at-home moms did back then.

I love the hairstyles, too.  Very much like those I grew up with, at least in grade school.  Say until 1957 or so.  The girls have such sweet faces and fresh smiles.  One pair of glasses in that whole class! I find that pretty amazing.  Oops, just found another. Do you see her?  She's just a little blurry.

The boys in this picture are better dressed than the boys in many of the other ones I have.  The economy must have been good for their families.  They're all so clean cut.  And happy, I might add.  These boys look happy and cheerful.  Not shy and not afraid.

I wish I knew where this school is/was.  As far as place goes,  I haven't a clue to go on.  The boys have sweaters, the girls don't.  Can't be too cold, can it?  These kids have a stance that shows pride and assuredness.  They don't look beaten by the times or starving.  Their clothes aren't full of holes or dirt.  Their hair is combed, their hands look clean.

Would you like to go to this school?  Why?  Who do you think would have been your best friend in this class?  Where would you be in this picture, do you think?  Would someone near you make you laugh?  Who would that be? That little boy in the front row with the L on his sweater?  I think he's saying something very humorous.  There is a lot of joviality in that group of three boys, don't you think?

The teacher is a man, something new in my pile of class photos.  He has a three piece suit and a Hitler mustache.  He looks nice if you ignore that little bit that resembles a torturer.

My favorite person in this photo is the little girl straight up from the middle with a large square white collar, her head tilted slightly.  I would like to know her.

Time On Our Hands:  Cooking

Mr. G and I make pickles!

Here's Mr. G in August of 2010 stuffing quart jars with cucumbers cut in wedges.  I am posting this now because we are revving up to doing this again very soon--within a week or two.  We are just waiting for the cucumbers to be ripe and ready at Joe's Place Farm a short way from here.  

These pictures are of the first and only time we've made dill pickles together.  I had never done this sort of cooking before.  I still don't do any baking but I do love to cook meals.  That is my thing and it is a big thing!  But in this case I took the lead from my husband on this project.  He'd made pickles before and his sister Kelly gave us her fantastic recipe.  These pickles were so good that we made them last TWO years.  Now it's time to have another go at it because we ran out last week....

  

Here's how we made the pickles which we named Kelly's Wonderful Dill Pickles.  First we washed the jars--about 12 or 15 quart jars--in the dishwasher.  We got our  jars at a garage sale and were able to try different sizes and shapes because we didn't buy a case at the store.  We would prefer to use just wide mouth jars in the future as they were easier to work with.  

We put 4 1/2 quarts of water, 1 1/2 quarter of white vinegar and a cup of salt in a large pot.  That's the brine.  We set it on the large burner and slowly heated it to a boil.

In the meantime we put a washed grape leaf, one clove of chopped or pressed garlic, some dill seed and dill weed in each jar.  We put the lids and rings in a pan with water and brought it to a boil to sterilize them.  

We cut up the cucumbers--there were about 10 pounds of those little pickling cucumbers--and stuffed them into the jars, tight!   Then, using a glass measuring cup and a green canning funnel, we poured the boiling brine into the jars to within 1/2 inch of the top, wiped the rims and put a lid and a ring on each jar.  I let Mr. G tighten the rings since they had to stay very tight.   

For 5 weeks we watched the pickles sit in our garage waiting for them to be ready.  We had to be selfish and not share much since we'd made so few jars--even fewer after a few of the lids popped up before the wait was over indicating they were not sealed correctly and probably bad.  I hope this year we can make twice as many and give some away!

Mr. G told me that we have to use new lids each year so we got some at Walmart a week ago.  Thursday he bought some labels for the jars.  We are working up to the big day!!  Can't wait for our new batch of pickles.

Time on Our Hands:  Brothers 

Earl and Chester

Evidently this picture belonged to someone whose uncles Earl and Chester are depicted in it.  On the back it says "Moms Brothers Earl and Chester" and I just have to wonder which two are the uncles.   A further note says, "Will be back at 1 o'clock" and is signed "Nelson".  So maybe this is a picture that includes Nelson's uncles.  That is what I think, anyway.  

The young man on the right and the one sitting in the center with glasses are the two I think are the brothers.  The reasons are that their clothes are similar, their hair is similar and they have faces shaped the same, mouths the same (especially the lower lip that juts forward), ears the same.  Or so it seems in a picture this old.  

This group of boys could be a scholastic group like a debate team or the German Club or they could be a sports team--tennis, golf, football.  Several of them wear V-neck sweaters that might be a way of signing that they have excelled at something, like a school sweater awaiting a letter.  Or maybe it's just a fashion of the times.  

It seems like the pompadour is the hair style that everyone wanted at the time of this photo.  My own father sported one.  He graduated from high school in about 1937 and went off to college only to be interrupted and sent to World War II.  He finished getting his Bachelor of Science degree after the war.  I am guessing that happened in 1948 because I know my brother was born in 1947 before Dad had finished school. He and my mother and brother lived off campus with a dean and his wife while he finished.  

I can't really tell if these boys/men are in their high school years or just into college.  What do you think?  I am leaning towards college.  They have a very elite look to them.  Like "the best of the best", the ones who were able to go on with school.  To me all these young men seem to be just about 11 but I know they are older.  At my age, I am inclined to think anyone under 30 is too young to drive so don't ask me!  

At any rate, they are clean cut and well groomed.  They seem sure of themselves and pleased to be posing.  Shiny shoes, some ties, a couple of pairs of jeans, but neat ones.  Jackets, sweaters, neatly combed hair.  What did the photographer say to get some of the boys smiling and some (all on the right for some reason) NOT.  

"What happened to you?" I want to ask.  "Where did you go from here and what did you do with your lives?"  "Which of you went to war, which went bald, which taught school or was active at a church?"  "Which of you married and who had a nephew named Nelson?"  

Because they most likely would all be dead by now I am not surprised by the faded quality of their bodies and faces.  I don't expect them to be distinct or to look like they could walk right out of the frame.  And they don't.  They look kind of like spirits.  Some don't even have feet in the picture.  They just float there, looking in my direction.  

I hope you had a good life, Earl and Chester.  I hope the promise of this day stayed with you all the years of your life.  

Time On Our Hands:

First Communion

The socks are a dead giveaway.  This was before my time!  The dresses and veils are similar to what we wore in 1956 when I made my own first communion, but those socks?  No way.  So maybe the 1940s?  I don't know really.  Let me know if you do, would you?  

By the way, in my computer I can click on the photo and it will open outside the window.  Then I can make it as big as I need it to be to see those kids.  You might want to try that if you have trouble seeing them well.  

So now, first of all, White-Shoes-On-The-Right.  What was she thinking?  All the other shoes are black!  Didn't she get the memo? Maybe this was a fashion statement or maybe it's all she had. Or maybe she was just a rebel in the making!  Her see-through dress is long enough, though, so that you don't have to look at her knees and the wrinkly socks all the other girls show off so well.  

The girl fourth from the right is stupefied.  Hard to say why.  She looks off to the side, quite puzzled, and wonders maybe if she should be taking communion at all! She looks very innocent to me.  I am sure it's alright for her to go with the others.

Among these children we have prayer books, rosary beads and Easter lilies with ferns.  Hand-me-down dresses and veils as well as spanking new clothes.  The balloon/bonnet veils are new to me I must admit -- they would be the ones worn by the girls on the left end of each row.  I have never seen any like this.  

The second young lady from the left in the second row is a cute little thing, all smiles and sweet cheeks.  And next to her is the tallest of the class, very pretty.  At the far end of the row is a little girl in glasses who is huddled with cold or fear or both!  She looks pretty happy though, so her posture is probably not fear related.  

At the far left end of the little boys stands one tiny gentleman in a suit with a huge Easter lily.  This little guy is cursed with huge ears.

Let me tell you a story.

When I was in kindergarten, our first teacher lasted one day.  It was her first day of teaching and she was killed in a car accident on the way home from school. It was quite amazing to 5 year olds and a horrible way to start school.  But then, immediately, we had a "substitute teacher" even though we didn't really have a teacher at all anymore!  The sub was named Mrs. Cotton and she was a total witch.  I do believe she hated children and don't know why she became a teacher.  She was short and stout and had Brillo Pad hair.  

In our class was one little boy (whose name escapes me) who had huge stick-out ears.  Mrs. Cotton picked on him relentlessly, calling him names that referred to his appearance. Though I don't remember what names she used, fifty eight years later I do remember her terrorism.  I look at this picture and hope that the little boy at the left end does not suffer the kind of injustice my classmate suffered at the hands of Mrs. Cotton, the most horrible teacher I ever had.     

After all the smiles in the first two rows, it's strange to see only one or two in the boys' group.  Most of them look puzzled or depressed.  Not so much angelic as bored.  Come on, boys, it's your big day!

I wonder if any of these children realized what they were about to do and what it meant.  Probably not, though they may have later.  I hope that their faith brought them joy and comfort in their lives and that this day was the beginning of a wonderful and enriching relationship between them and their church.  

God bless these little communicants.    

Craft:

1950s Dressing Table Bench

I picked up this little 1950s Dressing Table Bench at an estate sale last weekend here in Vancouver, Washington.  It was in the basement, dirty, covered in paint splashes and sporting rubbed off spaces.  The seat cover was made of upholstery fabric that looked like carpet.  I paid $5.00.

I cleaned it up a bit on Sunday and popped the top off.  After I removed the carpet/cover, the cushioning material was actually in good condition with no spots or holes and it didn't smell bad as I'd expected it would.  I decided to keep the original padding.  

I chose this fabric to cover the seat.  I got a pretty big piece of it, about 2 - 60 inch yards, at a store closing a few years ago.  

I sanded the wood and gave the piece a once over with white primer.

While it dried, I stapled the fabric to the seat top.  I got confused with Mr. G's stapler and put a row of stables along the middle instead of along the edge before I realized where the staples were going!  Once I turned the stapler around I did fine, pulling the fabric snug and stapling all the edges.  I folded the corners so they are a little unsatisfactory but they are holding well.

In all I gave the wood two coats of primer and then two coats of this green paint.  I had a quart of it in the garage from one of our forays into a hardware store where we picked up a can or two of "oops" paint (mis-mixed paint) for $1 a can along with our planned purchases.  

I like my little bench. It took me one day to finish this project.  I was lucky and got a sunny day or it would have taken much longer! 

I think I'll use it as a footstool but still not sure.  It's kind of tall for that purpose.  It took only $5 + items I had around the house.  

Time On Our Hands:  Book cover 1910

and how it relates to a poem I wrote in 1992

I bought this book over the weekend at an Estate sale.  It's called "Going Some" which makes no sense to me whatsoever.  But I love the cover.  The colors are brilliant for the age of the book and in fact the whole book is in pretty good condition for $1.00.

Here are some fun quotes from the book.  I think they are fun because of the way things are stated.  Just the old language used is amazing.

"And Stover went on his way to spread the tidings."


"Glass allowed his mouth to open in amazement.  The day was replete with surprises."


"'Listen, Pig! If you spik to her again, I will cut you.' The gaze of the Mexican pierced his victim. 'I will not keel you, I will just -- cut you!'"


"' Did you hear what I said?' demanded Willie, in a voice that sounded like the sawing of a meat bone."


"Willie paused, while Glass licked his lips and undertook to frame a reply."

I don't know why these little phrases capture my imagination but they do.  They are here in no particular order but just what I came across on a few pages.  The whole book is full of this colorful language.  Wish I could write like this.  And, you might ask, what does that picture have to do with any of this?  Well, so far I haven't the foggiest idea!

Throughout the book there are small drawings at the bottom of pages here and there.  They are so funny and so apt.  There are Indians, cowboys, gentlemen small and tall, even a few ladies.  One heavyset man appears bald and in a striped shirt over and over.  I am thinking he is Glass or maybe Mr. Speed, another character who appears often.
~~~~~~~~~

One time I wrote a poem for a friend and I guess that's what the cover picture reminded me of.  I'm going to post it here.  See if it brings this picture to mind for you.

STRINGS

Dreaming of fairies

and brownies and things,

Winding through childhood

our lives were like strings.

We tangled our life lines

in jumbles and knots,

Blending and weaving

our fantastical plots.

Carefree, exuberant,

joyful and free;

Around every corner

was something to see.

As year passed to year

our strings were exchanged

For bright colored ribbons

as our lives rearranged.

We ran with our streamers

so shiny and slick.

They flew out behind us

our feet moving quick.

Soon they were banners

proclaiming our views.

We bore them so proudly

Parading in twos.

With childhood behind us

and dreams stored away,

We began making plans

for each passing day.

We slowly turned inward

to our lives and our homes.

We dropped all our banners

and our strings fell like stones.

Then after the kids left

the houses were silent.

The adventures less often.

The string was all spent.

In the midst of our settling

feeling sorry and old,

Were the memories of friends

and bright ribbons of gold.

As we reached for the strings

that once tied us in knots,

Hoping to capture

old dreams and brave plots,

We've discovered our lives

have just barely begun.

We are older and wiser

but twice as much fun.

The ribbons and strings?

We've passed them right by.

With silk gliders' wings

we fly through the sky.

We're soaring and swooping

and spreading our wings,

Once again dreaming 

of fairies and things.

September 1992

Time on Our Hands:  

The Fashionable Bowl Cut

I have no idea of the time frame of this little picture.  The children look very young and of similar age.  Could be one class in a city school.  There is a sidewalk and the building looks a little more structured than a wooden country school house.

This picture has a tear right down almost to the bottom.  It starts at the top of the door on the right and ends at the shoulder of the little girl, third from right, in the front row.  How sad someone  must have been when it tore. After that it was pasted on this cardboard backing.  Then that tore, too!  Luckily not much.

Here is what I see in this photo: Meek and unsmiling children.  It reminds me of the play Oliver.  I expect one of the kids to produce a bowl and say, "More porridge, please!"  But! they all have shoes, they look clean and presentable, and many of the girls have the fashionable bowl cut!  Why oh why did anyone ever think that was attractive, I wonder?  No wonder they look so forlorn!

Or perhaps they've never had a picture taken?  They seem utterly exposed and fearful of that photographer. Maybe he was gruff and abrupt? Maybe he was short tempered.  Looking at those little faces I imagine him to be a horror of a person.

Maybe he asked them to say Cheese! and they didn't know what cheese was.

I guess I shouldn't put all the blame on the photographer. It could be the teacher, the principal, or maybe they will face a test after the photo shoot.

I don't see any unusually naughty kids in this photo, nor do I see any that look particularly smart.  Instead they look like they need breakfast.  The back row is the worst.  That must be the last place the food goes to.  They are thinking that it will be another hour before their line is fed.  The front row, where the faces are anxious but not so desperate, is where the lucky ones sit -- the ones who will eat before long!

I have to admit this one is a bit puzzling.  It's sad for me to see children so young with so little joy.  I wish there were something we could do from the future to make their lives sweeter.

Time on Our Hands:  Class of 1923

 

This class is posing in the Fall of 1923.  In their midst is a young lady named Margaretta Zimmerman who evidently owned this photo for a while.  This is a motley crew.  Only seven are girls in this entire group.  Looks like maybe 5 older girls and two younger.  I am guessing that Ms. Zimmerman is the girl in the front row wearing a dark sweater. Is that what you think?  

Why are there so few girls?  Were there just fewer girls in this community or was it considered unnecessary for girls to go on to school after a few years?  It looks like maybe a high school to me, with the younger ones in front and the older ones in back.  So only two younger girls.  That is a very small number to choose your best friend from!  

The five older girls look studious, well behaved and well groomed.  I think that in their age group there are only 2 or 3 boys.  They all look pretty serious about being up there in the back row.  

In the middle of the picture is a jumble of boys.  Short pants, overalls, work shirts, colored shirts, white shirts, sweaters and two jackets.  Wild hair and groomed hair.  Ties, no ties, scuffed shoes.  What a job!  

Why do you suppose that one boy is off by himself on the steps to the left?  I think he should have been down front at the end.  Maybe he was trying to escape to the privy?  Well, he never made it!  

The boy in the dark jacket in the middle of the front row has a sourpuss face.  He reminds me of a boss I had once who considered it a good day if he made one of the women in our office cry.  This boy needs to lighten up! Behind him and to the left are two boys with windswept hair and mischievous smiles.  There's something going on with the feet back there.  I suppose they are up to something that gave them great joy but it's hard to say what at this point in time!  

My mother was 3 when this picture was taken.  Three and a half.  She started school the next year just after turning four.  Many in this class would be the ages of her brothers or sisters, all but one of whom were older than she was.  Just a few more years until the Depression.  I wonder where all these young people went? Where did those shoes carry them?  Did this teacher prepare them well?  What kind of work did they do?  Did they marry and have children, become ministers, doctors, teachers, postmen, farmers, businessmen?  Did they own homes, land, a business?  Was one of them a banker?  Was one of them a dirt farmer?  

On this day, it doesn't really matter.  All the future was theirs the day this picture was taken.  

Craft:  Texture and Collage

My sister-in-law, Kim, is an artist.  She recently taught a class in collage at a local store.  This is my collage from that class.  

It was such a fun afternoon!  Being small in number, we were able to talk and share as we couldn't have done if our group were larger.

Our first assignment was to choose a color for the board and add it atop the texture that Kim had applied to the board before we arrived.  I loved this pretty aqua color so I chose that, covering the board with it and then painting black at the edges and in toward the middle to add depth.  

I am a hesitant painter.  Not bold!  My black coat is light and not very dramatic.  It would have been better, I think, had I made it more emotional or outrageous, but still I was conveying the song of this sweet little bird so maybe we're fine with this light grey edge.  

The poem I cut from an old book is glued at the left under the bird's tail.  It's title is "A Lament".  The words on the music at the top are "blushed to say he kissed me".  The bird is a cut-out as are all the other icons, including the limb which was cut free hand from a piece of brown paper by Kim.  I painted the musical notes.

The title of the piece is Tweet.

Tweet now sits atop a ledge in my office at home.

Time On Our Hands:  Boys' Class Roosevelt School

Well, here are the boys from Roosevelt School.  I think this one must be in a city because there are enough boys of one age to fill a frame.  I love the little bow ties and dress shirts, slicked back hair for some of them.  For the most part the pant legs have been rolled up though one dark pair in the front fits perfectly, and then a little left of center one boy has very baggy pants of some kind.  Not sure I have ever seen anything like them.  

I always thought the kids in these pictures were clowning around and making faces but I examined this one more and think maybe they are squinting from the sun.  Heads are tipped down and eyes are squeezed almost shut.  

Exceptions exist.  The last boy on the right must be a movie fan.  He is deep into his Frankenstein pose.  He's quite convincing.  

The young man in the center of the back row looks strangely familiar.  Like Orsen Welles, maybe?   

So now the most popular boy...hmm.  I think it might be the one with all the golden curls, three from the end on the right, front row.  He is very cute, tall and lean.  Or maybe it's the banker in the middle in the tan vest and trousers.  

I am not worried about who the biggest cut up is.  I know he is Frankenstein.  He gave himself away for all posterity the day he posed for this picture with such enthusiasm.  

What year is this?  It could be as late as the 1950s but I am not sure.  Bow ties were in then and corduroy (mr. popular is wearing cords).  I don't think it's as late as the 1960s.  Any ideas?  

Cool, too, are the big schoolhouse windows and the window boxes with something just beginning to show it's little green head there.  Long sleeves with sun and little plants starting to grow.  It must be spring at Roosevelt School!  

Time on Our Hands: Bare Feet

Lots of bare feet in this photo.  The original is very small so this one is kind of blurry.  It started out at only 3 1/2 by 3 1/4 so you see my problem.  I  love it but have to use a magnifying glass to see details.  

There's a batch of 6 or 7 little boys in the front that are just adorable and look so tickled with themselves and this new adventure.  Hands in pockets, grins in place.  I have a feeling there might be a frog in one of those pockets, don't you?  

On second thought, the boys might have been told to put those hands in their pockets just to avoid the mischief that tempted them while standing still on the steps.  Even the bigger boys are doing it.  Hands all around in overall pockets.

With the girls it's dresses, smiles and high button shoes or, for even some of the girls, a simple bare foot look if all she's doing is going to school.  

It's a sunny day.  The school yard is dirt, but the children all look well fed, clean and happy.  I see some spunk in this group.  The teacher (is that her up there in the left corner?) probably has her hands full with the fun-seekers but I'll bet her days are rewarding with so many happy children to spend each day with.  

I wish I knew when this was, where it was.  Would love to hear the stories of this class.  

Craft:

making iPad 

cases 

Last Christmas I decided to make iPad cases for my two nieces.  I had these pretty red silk "place mats" which were small--about the size of an iPad is it turns out.  They had rich brocade strips running down the center.  I thought I would use one for the front, one for the back and one for the flap.  I found vintage men's ties in the same shade of red and bought those.  I had some lighter red material that would work fine for the lining and some antique buttons that were just for decoration on the flaps.  

 Here I have the back attached to the flap and I am pinning in the lining with pockets for iPhone and pens.  Does anyone use a pen anymore?  The tie you see draped across is the shoulder strap.

Above is the finished bag for one of the girls.  The antique buttons are sewn to the tie that lies over the flap.  It is the end of the tie that is used for a shoulder strap.  Below is the second bag.  They came out so pretty.  I was very happy with them.
Now I am not so sure they are practical or that they will ever be used but they are super attractive to my eye and the girls seemed to really like them.  It was a fun project and took me only one day....AFTER I spent about 2 months planning!

Acting Up In Class

This picture is probably from the very early 1900s.  Those big ribbons in the back row were very popular when my Aunt Rose was a little girl.  She was born in 1910.

The reason I bought this photo was because of the two girls wearing black in the middle row.  They could be related but I thought they looked like best friends who dressed alike.  On second thought I think they are really sisters because if they were friends they would stand together, wouldn't you think?

Once I got to studying this photo I found so many things I loved about it.  "Acting up in class" is at the right end of the same row as the girls, three from the end.  What is that boy up to?  He looks like he is about to drop dead! His posture tells me that he is fairly proud of his ability to stick out his tongue.  I wonder what his mother said when she got hold of that picture, the one and only picture of him she had for the entire year probably.

I love the little girl leaning half behind her brother at the left of the front row.  What a cute little thing she is, wearing her coat all day when everyone else seems quite warm.  There is another little one hiding behind one of the girls in black.  Is this a family?  The girls in black, the hiders and the boy in left-front?

Off to the right is a boy in what looks like a prediction of 1970s black turtle neck and jacket.  He looks very polished.  Except for those creepy hands!

The teacher in this photo looks like a first time teacher.  She can't be much older than her students.  If she were not a bit taller and standing off a bit by herself I would have thought she was one of them.  So young to be off working.  I wonder what drove her from home?  She probably lives with one of the families in the district.  Things were so different then.  The parents built the school, hired the teacher, put her up, supplied the students.  It was very local.  Very Local School Board!

The three girls in the top row are the cream of the crop.  They dress nicely and are sharing some kind of giggle.  They are so lucky for their time, going to school to the ripe old age of probably 13 or so.  They may end up being the very next school teachers.

Who would I want to hang out with in this photo/in this school?  I would choose the boy in the front row at the left who hides the little girl in her coat.  He looks like a lot of fun.  Always have been attracted to those boys who cause trouble.

Craft

I bought this box at a garage sale for $1.00 last weekend. It's a box that originally came with silverware in it and was at one time lined with red velvet.  The box itself was made of stained wood.  It was in pretty sorry condition!

My husband and I were able to prime it and paint it with a quart can of $1.00 reject or mismixed cream colored paint.  Two coats.  It dried overnight and I sanded the edges in the morning.

In the meantime I/we went to the hardware store and bought some new hinges.  At the craft store we bought some artist board to frame the lining.  I happened to have this gorgeous upholstery fabric from a decorating shop that closed last year in Portland.

Mr. G helped me with the lining. He cut the artist board in ten pieces--one each for the bottom inside cover and the top inside cover.  Then there were 8 pieces of varying sizes for the inside edges, top and bottom.  We cut the fabric just a bit big and glued it with all purpose glue to the artist board and then just kind of crammed it in place.  It held!

He screwed in the new hinges and I put the handle back on.

For the finishing touch we modpodged the cover of a greeting card on the top.  It says, "Those who wish to sing will always find a song."  There are two yellow birds depicted from a painting by Nick Wroblewski.  You can find his work at artiststowatch.com.

Every year we have been together Mr. G and I have accumulated a small ceramic bird figurine of two match birds.  This year we got our sixth one.  The birds on the cover of our box remind me of our little collection.

The box will be used for storing jewelry in small black boxes.  You know the kind.  The ones you wait and wait for.  I am so lucky that I have quite a few.  Thank you, Mr. G!

Twelve Girls: 1937

This obviously looks like country, doesn't it?  I love the bike on the porch.  Wonder if it's the teacher's or maybe the photographer's?

The kids in this one look clean and well dressed.  No one without shoes, at least in the front row!  

The twelve girls here wear dresses.  I have several where the girls wear overalls.  Maybe this place or time is a bit more modern and/or upscale than some I have. In fact I am sure it is.   

The brunette in the middle is surrounded by boys, stepping forward even from the closest girl in the picture.  She is beautiful, the one you want to be friends with.  She will always be treated well, don't you think?  

The little one kneeling on the right is a cutie.  Lots of curls and a big smile.  Why is she crossing her arms?  Shy?  There are a lot of average girls here, though to their families I am sure they aren't average.  I wonder who is the brainiac.  I am guessing that would be the one to the left of the teacher.  

Of these 12 girls, I wonder which will be mothers, which will have careers?  Few with careers is my guess though some may be teachers or nurses.  Most will be farm wives, housewives, and the like.  Sewing, cooking, keeping chickens, raising kids, but at least these girls will be able to read, keep the books and write notes to their children's teachers.  

The boys are always so fascinating to me.  We have here one young man who is dreaming of flying to the moon, can't keep his eyes off the sky.  He loves being outdoors or he loves clouds -- not sure which!  In the front row is a set of twins near the left with their little high button boots.  Their hair parts naturally on the left but one is required to part on the right to keep them from being confused for one another.  It doesn't sit very well.  His hair is all whacky!

I have an idea who is the most devilish boy but no idea who is the most popular.  In some pictures you can tell, but in this one most of the boys are really not much into the idea of interaction with the camera.  Let me know who you think the trouble maker is in this class.  

And now the teacher.  Women in those days seem to look older than they were.  This one looks middle aged but my guess is that she is only 30 or so.  She must have some organization skills if she can keep these kids in line.  That is one batch of kids, all at different levels.  Do you think any teacher you know today could deal with this class/schoolhouse full of kids???  Without help?  

Time On Our Hands

Time On Our Hands: Thoughts of Another Time


I collect group pictures of children from the past.  Whether in school, at a club meeting or some other event, I love to study them, their faces so full of promise, lined up haphazardly and looking hopefully into the camera's lens.  They seem to be throwing nets out to the future to see what they might glean.  I wonder what they would say to me if they knew I was watching them in the schoolyard so many many years later.  I would like to share these photos and what they bring to my mind.


Dedication


My site is dedicated to my father, Roy, who taught me the meaning of the word "craft".  He was a man always interested, always full of questions and always willing to try to fix or build or maintain.  He grew up amidst the tall trees of a national forest, in a time when keeping your hands busy wasn't a choice but a necessity.  If your hands weren't busy, you would starve, freeze or both!  Most people my age say of their fathers, "He could fix anything!"  That was a special thing about many boys who grew up in the 1920s and 30s.  They had to chop and haul wood to stay warm, they had to fix their toys and, later, their tools or do without.  They grew up able.  My own father grew up to be an engineer.  He really could fix anything.  I'm sure of it.

In the fall of 2003, the year I moved to the Northwest to be nearer my aging parents, I wrote this poem about my Father.

My Dad

My dad was around when I was born. 

He was around as long as I can remember.

He was tall as a tree and stronger.

He could lift me up over his head.

He taught me things like how to hammer,

How to mow, change a tire, clean a fish,

And how to be brave.

He taught me a lot by example:

A good work ethic, kindness, 

That it isn't nerdy to be polite,

And that love is patient.

He keeps teaching me even today.

He is 82.

He teaches me that I am nice, that I have

Goodness in me and that I really can be patient

By letting me practice on him.

He believes he will be with us after death.

He told me.  I know it must be true. 

My dad believes in the goodness of craft,

The wisdom of using one’s own hands,

The importance of making each day count, 

And being accountable for each day. 

My dad has soft hands and a sweet smile.

His hair has been white for a very long time.

I love my dad very much.  

I hope he knows.  

I hope he knows that his strength has helped me

Through a lot of valleys and hard climbs.  

I knew he would always be there.

My dad.  

What a guy.

Then later, when he passed away,  I wrote this poem for his funeral program.  

I took a walk with an angel

Last night, under a silvery moon.

I said to the angel, “Please tell my father

That I will be seeing him soon.

"Please tell my Dad that I love him;

His soft hand I feel in my own,

His heart still beats in my heart,

And I’ll never again feel alone.

"Please thank my father for loving me,

For teaching me so many things—

For patience, his guidance and example

And the shower of joy sharing brings.

"I remember he taught me to whittle and fish

And the importance of being polite.

He said I had goodness by nature,

That inside each of us glows a light.

"This light will shine on forever.

He told me, that’s how I know.  

On dark days his star shines upon me,

A twinkle is his sweet hello."

And then the angel left me

In the light of that shimmery moon.

I trust that he found my father

And starlight will comfort me soon.

I miss Dad every day.  Here he is, saying Hello, or maybe Goodbye.  Either way, he is surely watching over me.  I hope you enjoy my site.  


I would love to have you visit my other blog.  It's a special spot where I post things I have written including stories, poems and essays.  Come on by if you have time!
http://mrsgslifeinparadise.blogspot.com


Thanks for visiting today!