Me & Ken

Here I am with Ken. He always made me laugh and I will miss that.

Memorial to Kenneth Thoms

This is a photo of my husband and his father and mother taken in January. Tim's father, Ken, passed away last Friday night after suffering with Alzheimer's for several years. He was one to liked to make people laugh. He was a very talented artist. We had some time with him over the last couple of years as they had moved here to be close to us. He will be missed.

Americana Snack Time

It was my turn to provided the snack for our DAR meeting last Friday. So since Senator Craig's wife was our guest speaker I thought I would use an Americana theme for the table decorations. I have been collecting some of these things for many years, so it was fun to be able to use them for this occasion.
The snacks I chose were: strawberries, organic pretzels, cream puffs, chocolate chip, macadamia nut, and oatmeal raisin cookies. All foods from Costco. I used my blue old bowls in keeping with the red, white, & blue theme.
I hung an American flag as the backdrop, then used flags, signs, an old book on the Founders of our Country, a vintage alarm clock, telephone, puzzle, old hat, song book, and a red garland to finish it off.
It was fun to put it all together and have it turn out nicely. The members were so very kind by giving me compliments on my decor and snack choices.

Women of Faith Conference

I spent Friday evening and all day Saturday with some friends at the Women of Faith conference in Spokane, WA...which I slept through...yeah in spite of the loud music I was drowsy. Not sure if it was the cough medicine I took or if was from still being sick with this flu, but I had the hardest time keeping my eyes open. Then in church today I did the same thing...so drowsy that my head bobbled. My husband told me to rest my head on his shoulder through the remaining part of the sermon. So I did.
This cough medicine is strong stuff and it is the only thing that stops the cough so I can sleep...so I love it for that...but seems that it is affecting me during the daytime as well. Better not take any long trips where I have to drive while on this stuff!
As for the conference...too much music for my taste, I do love music, but if I want a concert I will go to a concert. I was dissappointed that there was not more speaking...of course I may have slept through it anyway!

Olde Dollie Cradle

Not in the best condition, but I thought I might be able to do some repair work on it to bring it back to life. I know I can either fix or replace the fabric...the cane is another story. There are several broken off pieces on the back of the cradle that I don't know how to fix. So I will have to have help on that. Anyone know what year this is from?

The Mantel

Just a photo of my mantel...the Jesus picture above was my paternal grandparents. My father gave it to me after my grandparents went to be with Jesus.
The pretty women in the center is my dear mother.
The wedding group is me and my children on my wedding day(before wedding). This photo was taken in our yard...we lived on what had been a poultry farm in previous years. The house was a pink farm house.

My Baby DIshes

Aren't these the cutest things? My mom had these made for me when I was a baby...ahhh. The bowl did get broken somewhere along the lines...I think in a move. But all in all they have faired pretty well for being about 54 years old. I think these were a special offer from the Gerber Company. Company's just don't do stuff like this anymore.

Cousin Pauline's dollie

This photo is of my ancestors, seated: My great grandfather William Allison Witt and his wife Julia Holmes Witt, standing between them is their granddaughter, Pauline. The back row is my great uncle Arthur and my grandfather Archie.
I post this picture to show the doll that Pauline is holding. In the posts below you will see a doll that looks very similar to her. When I first saw the doll in the thrift shop there was something about her that seemed familiar to me. One day after bringing her home it dawned on me why...it was because of the doll in the picture. I had looked at this picture many times over the years. So when I saw the doll in the thrift shop it was like I had seen her before. I hope this is making sense.
Anyway, the doll (below) made me feel closer to my family because is looks like the one in this photo. I need to do some research on her to find out who made this doll and what year she was born.

Another photo of my new dollie

Well, I seem to always get these posts backwards...but anyway here is a closeup of my new dollie...see post below for more details.

A child in the house again..well sorta

This little girl is so easy to care for...she never cries, nor does she need diaper changes. She is one of my church thrift shop finds, as is the high chair. The dress with hand made lace was purchased at Spencer's Antique Mall in Spokane, Washington. The poor little girl has really bad hair...every day. It may have been cut at some point, but the hair barely covers the implant holes. So the front may have worn off, but the rest I am not sure about. I have seen these dolls before and it seems to me they have had short hair, so I think they may have come out when cutting of the hair became popular in the 1920's. All is speculation.
I do know that I like having a child in the house again. I do not have a name for her yet...but in the olden days it sometimes took up to a year to name a child. Weird, huh? So I figure I have time to find the perfect name...but it will likely be a family name...one belonging to one of my ancestors.

Will You Accept This Rose?

Okay, I know it is dumb, but I kinda like "The Bachelor" television show. My family laughs at me...but I watch it anyway...there are parts that I do not care for...like when at the end they give the Bachelor the chance to spend the night with his final bachelorettes. Totally not necessary...like you are not gonna love someone because of how they might or might not be in bed! Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Anyway...my hubby is puttering in the kitchen while listening in to my daughter giving me a bad time about watching this 'dumb' show. Then he comes walking into the living room and says to me "Will you please accept this rose?" In his hand is this head of lettuce with part of a tomato sittin' on the top! Funny guy...we got a good laugh out of that one. This guy keeps me laughing...a good reason to love a man. My camera was right there, so I snapped a photo.

Quilt Tops

Two old quilt tops I found yesterday at the thrift shop. The one with the black pieces of fabric is about 36" x 36." Would be a good baby doll quilt. The other quilt top is probably a full size with fabrics from the 1930's. Will I ever make it to a finished quilt? Who knows, but I will use it to cover something that needs to be camouflaged.

Lacey Do-Da Holder

I think this is probably to hold socks or maybe undies, but I thought it would be great in my studio holding olde lace on wooden bobbins, dollies, ephemera, olde photos or what have you. It has a vintage look to it even thought it is not olde.

Birdie cage

Can you see the little birdie in the cage? He is a yellow bird to the right side, not real, of course. This cage came from the thrift shop for 69 cents.

Little goodie cabinet

I found this at my thrift shop yesterday...thought it would be a good thing for my studio. I am always looking for storage containers for my art & crafting supplies. The six drawers will hold thread or bias tape or some such thing. Cost: $2.99. Stands about 10" tall and is about 12" across.

Colonial Biscuit Company

I saw this great wooden box in an antique store yesterday...love the fonts and color on it. It was on the spendy side, so someone else will have to buy it. I think it was around $100.00. But I did want to share it with you.

Lunch at Chaps

I had the grilled cheese with salad for lunch today...delicious! Coffee was a delight as well. Eating here was the highlight of a day in Spokane for Karen and I. Plates and coffee cups are all cowboy themed...so cute!

Me and my new friend, Celeste

Here were are on the steps of Chaps. Celeste, on the left, is probably the nicest person I have ever met. She makes you feel right at home in this old house turned restaurant...which by the way oozes charm. Thanks, Celeste for a great lunch. I look forward to coming back for breakfast on another day.

CHAPS...Great place to eat!!

Oh Lordy...did I ever have a good lunch today. My friend, Karen, and I went to see Celeste at her darling cafe called CHAPS. As for the decor..think Cowboy meets Paris. Quaint and casual and classy all tied up in a bow. It is apparent that Celeste has poured her heart into the place. From Spokane take Hwy 195 to Pullman, when you get to the Cheney/Spokane Rd stop light, take a right. Go past the Zip Trip and around the corner you will see the Trading Post (formerly Tidyman's).Then look to the right and see CHAPS...pictured here. They serve breakfast and lunch and will be opening for dinner in June.