Italy Scrapbook

End of Day 1. We lucked out and only had two days of rain...the first two we were in Florence.  It was late February so we expected 'winter'.  These layouts were part of the very first ones I made in 2005; that's when I started scrapping. I still have a simple style; but the story gets told and that is what is important.

How about that grafitti...

This is what they look like together.  Man oh man...we were so tired at the end of our first day in Italy. A bed never felt so good.



Start of Day 2

Up and out to see all we could see that day. Being I need to cook most of my food we hit the wonderul large Market for food....went there several times in the two weeks we had our apartment in Florence.

This is what they look like together.

Bye for now...

Easter Joy

Granddaughter with giant bunny rabbit

Granddaughter with her Uncle/Godfather (they both needed to rest their full tummies).

Daughter and Granddaughter

Cousins came to visit....three redheads: how cute!

 

Aunt and Uncle with 'cousin in waiting'...not very long before Granddaughter gets to meet her new boy cousin.

Three generations...I am truly blessed.

Cute, cute and more cute!

So...she's not looking very excited about her Easter presents.

Cute cupcakes brought for dessert.

Bye for now; have a good Easter Monday. 

Happy Easter of 2010

Happy Easter.......

Easter decorations at our home this year:




Granddaughter's first basket from Grammy and Grandpa (the peeps are for her mom). I think those little finger puppet books are so cute.


Fenton Eggs



Fenton Spanish Lace basket. Those crocheted eggs are so delicate.



Larger Fenton Spanish Lace basket with eggs made of stone in it.

Lenox Easter tree

All I have to do is add the goblets; oh and food. My parents gave us that china as a wedding gift. We did pick out the pattern....still love it.

Cute Lenox crystal bunny salt and pepper shakers.



I bought these about 5 years ago and still think they are adorable.

Crafty project done in the late 1970's. There was a brand of pantihose sold then called Leggs. The hose came in white egg shaped containers. I created these Easter eggs out of the containers.


This basket was hubby's when he was young. I'm glad his mom saved it and gave it to him as an adult.

I ordered this Fenton duck because I thought it looked cute in the catalog...hmmmm; all I see when I look at her is "don't mess with me baby!" To me it's a shame they didn't soften the eyes; make them more whimsical...

well, have a blessed Easter day and enjoy all the blessings you have, family, friends and a warm home.

Garage Sale Friday

Happy Friday all - no garage sale shopping today...it's blustery and rainy. The list of estate sales around us is small and after checking out the photos decided not even worth going to. It's Easter weekend though and things are always slow because of that...and the weather.


Last Friday Hubby and I went to an estate sale and found the pieces below. The creamer and sugar and shot (or bar) glasses are a pattern called Victorian, made by A. H. Heisey and Company from 1933-1953. Interestingly this pattern had the name Victorian originally by Heisey yet in an early ad they called it Squares. Other trade companies referred to it as Old Colony, Wayside Inn. Today, occasionally, dealers will refer to it as Block or Waffle Keg.

Heisey made very elegant and fine quality glassware during their years of business. These pieces are marked with the Heisey embossed trademark of the letter H inside a diamond. Not all Heisey pieces are so marked. It's always fun to find quality Heisey at an estate sale or garage sale.

The small candleholder below is also made by Heisey in their very prolific pattern Lariat. That pattern was made from 1941-1957. Heisey developed this pattern to compete with Imperial Glass Company's Candlewick pattern. It is said the Heisey Company had their own stable of horses and that is how the edge pattern was developed: a rope with a loop in it was to be the theme of Lariat.


I prefer colored glass for decoration but if I am going to buy crystal it will be quality pieces such that Heisey made. My most favorite crystal piece I own made by Heisey, in their Lariat pattern, is the candle hurricane lamp pictured at the bottom. It's, to me, a wowzer piece. - not found at a garage or estate sale though....I love roses.

Heisey Victorian pattern, creamer and sugar

Victorian shot glasses

Heisey Lariat small candle holder

Lariat Hurricane Candle lamp. The rose vines on the shade part are hard to

photograph as they twine around the shade....well that and I'm not a good

photographer.

Close up of the painting.

Close up of the base. The little raised pieces around the center hole where

a taper candle sits are there to hold the shade in place.

I won't be posting over the weekend. We're hosting family for Easter dinner and I've got a lot to do of course. Happy Easter all....I'll share family pictures on Monday. This is Granddaughter's first Easter and I bought her a basket from Grammy and Grandpa...like she could care, huh?

Red and Lucy

As a child I had a dislike of wildly dressed, colorfully painted Clowns – the kind you see at a circus or in a parade. As an adult I still dislike them. I find them boring….but I have been told I have a ‘different’ type of sense of humor. We know lots of children are frightened by them, but I hope I’m not the only adult alive that doesn’t like circus clowns.




When I was growing up there was a TV show done by Red Skelton (Richard Bernard Skelton). I love Red Skelton’s humor. In an interview I read, given by Red, he referred to himself as a clown – and proud of it. I had never seen him as such…always just considered him a Comedienne and Pantomimist. He ended up having a comedic variety show on TV for 19 years. That’s a long time. Red was a movie star long before he became a TV star.

Two of my favorite characters he did were Clem Kadiddlehopper and Freddie the Freeloader. Clem was a hick country boy and Freddie was a hobo. Red did Freddie in pantomime; mostly, and did a fabulous job. Red always closed his weekly TV show with “Good night and may God Bless.” At a young age I was touched by that kind saying. He seemed like such a gentle man. Red became a celebrated painter and how I wish I could afford to own one of his paintings.







Another comedian I love is Lucille Ball (Lucille Désirée Ball ). Lucy, like Red, was a movie star before becoming a famous TV star. The I Love Lucy TV show was a favorite of mine…her antics could cause me to laugh hysterically. After I Love Lucy was cancelled; (Desi and she divorced), she went onto to do several other ‘Lucy’ sitcoms. Lucy was an amazing business woman and ran a multi-million dollar corporation; a pioneer for sure.

I heard Lucy say in an interview that she considered herself a clown and also was proud of it. After I surprisingly heard that I did a little research via dictionaries and discovered the definition of clown is: joker, comedian, jester, entertainer, slapstick, comic. Wow….They were clowns – thankfully not the boring Circus kind I don’t like. I love their style of Clown. This is a fun comedic sketch they did on TV.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um08hUHX7uk



In 1943 Red and Lucy made a movie together for MGM called Du Barry Was A Lady. It is a slapstick type musical about a Hat Check guy who has fallen for an entertainer. I did not see that movie until I was an adult and it was on TV…Red and Lucy together in Technicolor....fun for me.


May they be resting in peace and when I get to heaven I hope to see them entertaining.

Now, go have a good day and find something that makes you laugh...it's good for the body and soul.