My new baby
Posted on February 8, 2010
Filed Under me and my brain, nostalgia, the written word | 1 Comment
I’d like to introduce you to my new baby–not THAT baby, not the one mentioned in my previous entry. This baby is new to me, but it’s actually older than I am. And it’s probably a little older than I thought it was when I bought it.
Here’s a 1967 ad for my new baby.
And here’s a picture from the adoption agency:
It works great so far… came with a correction ribbon, the manual, and the case. I suspect that between Rainey and this new (as yet unnamed) baby, I will be spending less time doddering around on facebook and more time writing useful things for myself and other people. Maybe that will even inspire me to write more here. These are all good possible outcomes, I’m thinkin’.
And finally… My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Miscellaneous
Posted on January 18, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, nostalgia | Leave a Comment
I’ll finish up with some favorite odds and ends.
Red and yellow with flowers
This one looks (to me) like a round grenade.
Red with blue dots
Gold with pink dots
Flowers
Tree
Silver, Red, and Green
Unsilvered lantern with pink and mica
This one is stamped West Germany.
Blue-green lantern
Pink and white with mica
Candles
Silver striped lantern
I really love these last two.
Plaid with red and blue
Plaid with red and white
And even more… My Collections: Vintage Christmas ornaments–Flocked and painted words and images
Posted on January 18, 2010
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I found this one at an antique shop in Montreal.
I have a larger one very similar to this but in worse condition.
Joyous Christmas
Silent Night
Merry Christmas
Santa on skis
Merry Christmas w/holly
Red Merry Christmas
Santa and stars
Now Dasher!
My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Bells
Posted on January 15, 2010
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I promised the ornaments would keep on coming! I’m wishing now that I’d taken better photos of them. Ah well… maybe next year.
So! Onto the bells! My guess is that these are from the 40s or 50s.
This one looks a little older.
It has a clapper inside it, so it rings.
My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Hand-painted leaf and feather shapes
Posted on January 13, 2010
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I am especially drawn to these ornaments, many of which I believe are from the 1930s, though some are probably newer.
1. Probably 30s
2. One side
2. Another side
3. Probably 30s. This is a recent addition to my collection.
4. Probably 30s.
5. 30s or 40s
6.
7. Probably 30s
8.
9. Most likely from the 1930s, this is one of my absolute favorite ornaments.
10. This one looks a bit newer.
11.
12. Probably from the 1930s.
13. I love the translucent red glass of this one.
14.
15.
My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Fruits, Seeds, Flowers, etc.
Posted on January 12, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, nostalgia | 4 Comments
Most of these ornaments are much older–probably from the 1930s, possibly 1920s.
Pine cones
I just got another lovely silver pine cone ornament, but I haven’t photographed it yet. I like the lightly frosted pine cones a lot.
Acorn
Grapes, berries, fruits
This next one might be a little newer. Note that the top is not as narrow as some of the others.
I’m not sure about this one. Cluster of berries?
Flowers, baskets of flowers, etc.
The rose
The top on this next one has definitely been replaced.
This one is tiny and would have likely been used on a feather tree.
My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–The Stripes
Posted on January 11, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, me and my brain, nostalgia, photography | 1 Comment
While taking down our Christmas tree this past weekend, I decided to take pictures of my vintage ornaments before putting them away. Over the next several days (weeks?) I’ll be posting pictures and any info I feel like adding about my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. I won’t post every single ornament, but I’ll include quite a few of them. I also hope to post more about my much bigger collection of vintage Christmas postcards, and I may get into some of my other collections and treasures as well (socks, books, music). But I’m starting off with what gave me the idea–the ornaments.
In general, I collect what I like. I’m not looking for the most valuable items or necessarily for a particular manufacturer or artist. Instead, I’m looking for what appeals to me–and in the case of vintage ornaments, they have to be genuinely old, not reproductions. I think most of my vintage ornaments are from the 1930s-1950s. Perhaps someone with a lot of knowledge in this area will come upon these posts and tell me more about what I’ve got (and also let me know if I have any misinformation).
Just because, I’ll start with the stripes. Some of these are a bit newer–50s and 60s. I’ll share some older ones in future posts. The clear–or unsilvered–ones may be from the 40s. The story goes that during WWII metals were needed for the war effort, so Christmas ornaments produced during this time were made with unsilvered glass.
This next one seems older. The glass is heavier and sort of frosted and it shows a different sort of wear.
This next one also seems older to me. It’s a bit smaller than many, and something about the glass and the way it’s worn makes me think it’s older.
I love the colors of the one below.
Dolores Del Rio
Posted on January 9, 2010
Filed Under art, films, nostalgia, photography, the telly | 2 Comments
Watching Flying Down to Rio on TCM, I was moved to check out more about the film’s star, Dolores Del Rio. In my search, I came across some strange, wonderful, and sometimes creepy images.
(Photographer for the above two images: Slim Aarons)
A restyled doll by Juan Albuerne
And a beautiful one…
_02.jpg)
And a fabulous one…
Now it can be told
Posted on August 10, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, family, me and my brain, nostalgia | 4 Comments
Before our son was born (2 and a half weeks early on July 17th), we kept secret the name we’d chosen for him. Now that he’s here, I can share the scoop on his name–what it means, why we chose it, etc.
Rainer Eli Wise Ball
(Rainey)
Rainer is a German name meaning “strong counselor.” In German it’s pronounced roughly “Rye” (like the bread) - “ner,” but we pronounce it “Rain-er” (or “Ray-ner”)–which I think is the Anglicized/Americanized pronunciation.
On May 3, 1997–early on in our relationship, Ez and I found ourselves wandering in the rain en route (the wrong route, as we later discovered) to a Kentucky Derby party. We never did make it to the party, but basically spent the day grinning and holding hands like school kids. We were struck by the idea of the rainy planet—that we live on and are a part of this sort of mystical, magical place where things are alive and breathing and changing… where things are charged and growing. The rainy planet is the mood and the place where we came together and where we live, still. That’s where the name Rainy Planet Press came from.
When we were searching for names for our son, we were looking for something that would feel right and have real meaning for us. Once we fit Rainer into the context of the rainy planet—we’re pretty sure it hit us sometime in May—we knew that would be his name.
Eli is Ezra’s late great grandfather’s name, and it’s Ezra’s middle name.
Wise Ball came about somewhat randomly, somewhat by default. Ez and I had been trying for a long time to figure out what to do about our kid’s last name. In the end, the woman at the hospital called about the birth certificate–Ez and I had been sleeping. I turned to Ez and mumbled something, he mumbled back, and we ended up with Wise Ball–no hyphen. Maybe someday Rainer will sign his name Rainer Eli W. Ball or Rainer E. W. Ball. However he decides to do it will be okay with me.
Some famous (some more than others) people named Rainer:
Rainer Maria Rilke (poet)
Rainer Gross (contemporary painter)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (director)
Rainer Hosch (professional photographer)
Rainer Schluetter (ATP tennis player)
Rainer Ptacek (blues musician)
So, without further ado… the mister:
All right, here are your pictures
Posted on May 31, 2009
Filed Under Blather, art, das kiddo, family, friends, nostalgia | 2 Comments
For those of you who need to see the nursery and other things I’ve mentioned (Kim, for example), here ya go.
Some views of the nursery in progress:
I’m planning to hang some images from vintage children’s books in the nursery once I get mats cut.
I’ll try to put this one in a shadow box–the book is in nice condition and I don’t want to cut it up.
And here we have Heather’s adorable doggie, Misha. This is an old picture, but it’s so cute I couldn’t resist. How could anyone abandon this dog? Heather just found her… tried to discover her owner, but no one ever stepped forward, so Heather got herself this great dog!
Song of the Day
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The Knitting Turnip
On My Needles
Rhapsody in Tweed cabled pullover for Ezra! using Tahki Donegal Tweed in Forest, from Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I've just picked this one up again, so it's moving up in the queue!
Sweater with Cable Patterns pullover using Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in Mauve, from Rebecca Magazine Number 28
Heather Pullover using Classic Elite Wings in Larkspur, from Rowan’s A Season’s Tale... This needs the knit doctor. I'm going to have to frog back a little bit and redo the shoulder area. Long story.
Hush Pullover using Jo Sharp DK wool in Wine, from Rowan’s Calmer Collection
More scoop on my knitting endeavors can be found at my home on Ravelry (clicky here).
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