Christmas Memories And Trees

I have so many great memories from my childhood about Christmas.  Some of the following pictures are of past memories with a few finds thrown in.

Top Row:
The 1st picture is of a folding Christmas tree and the mannequin in a Christmas apron I found at my favorite second hand store.
The 2nd picture is of Jell-O molds I would pick up when I found them to make this tree I have in my kitchen this year for Christmas.
The 3rd picture is one I took at a plant store that was holding a Christmas market this year,
Bottom Row:
The 4th picture is a cardholder I found at a second hand store that I decorated with my brooches.
The 5th picture is a ceramic Christmas tree yet again a second hand store find which had all it's parts.
The 6th picture is a metal cone tree with Christmas ornaments in it.

My dad would go from Christmas tree lot to Christmas tree lot looking for the best tree around Vancouver when I was young.  He did this till the mid 1970's then my mom got a fake tree with green lights, red thread ball ornaments and thick white garland.  No lovely smelling tree, no color lights, no colorful ornaments or lots of silver tinsel.  What was she thinking.  My dad went along with it but I think he would have gladly gotten in the car and gone looking for the tree.

I hope you find some of these memories interesting.

Thanks for visiting.

Denise  

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Curb Alert

Roses, Elvis And Christmas

Roses, Elvis and Christmas and a few other finds seemed liked the way I wanted to go with in this post.

The top picture is a biscuit tin by Carr and Co. Ltd. in Carlisle England.  I love the blue background and the roses on it.  I found it at a favourite second hand store for a good price.
The rose Christmas apron on the mannequin I thought made a lovely apron to use for Christmas.
The white child's skates with a green rose on a stand and the black skates with a cream rose make a great Christmas  display.

These Russell Stover chocolate tins with Elvis' image were a garage sale find.

This 45 Elvis record I found at a second hand store it's going to be part of my Christmas decorating on my hoosier this year.

Mama Liked The Roses

Oh, mama liked the roses, she grew them in the yard

But winter always came around and made the growing way to hard

Oh, mama liked the roses and when she had the time

She'd decorate the living room, for all us kids to see

When I hear the Sunday bells ringing in the morning

I remember crying when she used to sing

Oh, mama liked the roses but most of all she cared

About the way we learned to live and if we said our prayers

You know I kept the family Bible

With a rose that she saved inside

It was pressed between the pages

Like it had found a place to hide

Oh, mama liked the roses in such a special way

We bring them every mother's day and put them on her grave

Oh, mama liked the roses, mmm

Mama liked the roses,

mmm

Written by John L. Christopher

This song Elvis recorded in 1969 it was on his 1970 Elvis Christ Album.

These are some roses the fiancé bought for me early in our relationship.

Wedding Update:

Today the fiancé and I went engagement ring shopping and we found a ring.  I decided to keep it close to home and went with a Canadian diamond set in a white gold band.  The fiancé's budget went down the drain good thing I was there to direct him in the right direction.

I found this ring holder a few weeks back after a little cleaning she shined right up.  She could come in handy.

This brooch is a nice addition to my brooch collection, it's an unsigned piece.



Denise

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Planning A Wedding

I'm getting married!  We've started planning our wedding for late September or early October.  We just told the family on the weekend. Hopefully in future posts I won't bore you too much with wedding plans.

I've posted my grandmother's wedding dress before but I thought I would share it once more.  There is not a hope of me wearing it, I am not the right size.

Dahlia's are one of the flowers I'm planning to use to decorate with for the wedding.  Ferncliff Gardens is close to where I live and they sell cut Dahlia's.  I also plan to raid my garden and my friends gardens.

Okay enough about that, this paperweight I didn't find, I inherited from my fiance's ( boy it's weird not saying boyfriend) mother's collection.

Last Sunday we went to a Christmas market and one of the vendors let me take the picture of this old phone an doorknobs.

As it's nearing the time to start looking and sending out Christmas cards I thought I would share these vintage card boxes I found at my mothers.

I cannot remember if I've posted this pink brooch before or not so I'm posting it now.

Thanks for visiting.

Denise

Sharing with: 

Monday:

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Tuesday:
We Call It Junkin

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wednesday:
Controlling Craziness

Friday:
The Cottage Marke
Helene's Treasures
How Sweet The Sound  

Saturday:
Sew Many Ways

Remembrance Day November 11th 2013

Today in Canada it is Remembrance Day and in the Province of British Columbia it is a stat holiday.  

I personally believe this day is a time to remember our military service people past and present and say thank you.  

I start my day off watching the Ceremony in Ottawa then I catch some of the specials through out the day. I know no matter how much war footage I watch I will never in a million years understand what a soldier goes through on the field.

So to those who served and did not make it home THANK YOU.

To those who served and made it home THANK YOU.

To those still serving THANK YOU and my prayers are with you.

I found this picture of the little girl and the Union Jack flags at an antique store.  When I saw this picture I thought of a little girl praying for her father or older brother to make it home from the war.

These collectors plates are from the Canada Remembers series by David Craig.  The top two are new to me this year the one on the left is "From East To Western Sea" the one on the right is "In All Thy Sons Command".  I got the bottom two last year and posted them the one on the left is "We Stand On Guard" and the one on the right "With Glowing Hearts".

I was at a second hand store and saw these little military figurines so I got them I thought I might be able to use them in a window display.

The above pictures are from the family photo albums and could be of family or family friends. The first group picture at the top I believe my Great Uncle is in, it's from World War I which he served in.

The poppies in the above picture are what we wear leading up to and on Remembrance Day.

The following poem was given to me and I do not know who wrote it.  I hope you have the time to read it as it's kind of long but I believe worth reading.

Why Wear A Poppy?

"Please wear a poppy," the lady said,

     And held one forth, but I shook my head,

And I stopped and watched as she offered them there,

     Her face was old and lined with care,

But beneath the scars the years had made,

     There remained a smile that refused to fade,

A boy came whistling down the street,

     Bouncing along on carefree feet,

His smile was full of joy and fun,

     "Lady," he said, "May I have one?"

When she pinned it on, he turned to say,

     "Why do we wear a poppy today?"

The lady smiled in her wistful way,

     And answered, "This is Remembrance Day,"

"And the poppy there is a symbol for,

     The gallant men who died in war,

And because they did, you and I are free,

     That's why we wear a poppy you see,

I had a boy your size, golden hair and big blue eyes,

     He loved to play and jump and shout,

Free as a bird he would race about,

     As the years went by he learned and grew.

He became a man as you will to,

     He was tall and strong with a boyish smile,

But he had been with us such a little while,

     War broke out and he went away,

I can still remember his face that day,

     He smiled at me and he said , "Goodbye,

I'll be back soon, Mom, so please don't cry,"

     But the war went on and he had to stay,

And all I could do was wait and pray,

     His letters told of the awful fight,

I can still see it in my dreams at night,

     With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire,

And the mines and bullets and the bombs and fire,

     After at last the war was won,

And that's why we wear a poppy, son,"

     The small boy turned as if to go,

Then he said, "Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know,

     That sure did sound like an awful fight,

But your son, did he come back all right?"

     A tear ran down each faded cheek,

She shook her head but didn't speak,

     I crept away in sort of shame,

And if you were me you would have done the same,

     For our thanks in giving is oft delayed,

Though our freedom was bought, thousands paid,

     So, when we see a poppy worn,

Let us reflect on the burdens borne,

     By those who gave their very all,

When they answered their country's call,

     That we at home in peace might live,

Then wear a poppy, remember and give.

Thank you for reading my Remembrance Day Post. 

Denise 

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My Collections / His Collection

In our household I have many collections.  My boyfriend collects fishing stuff.  Some of the following items are some of these things.

Things I Collect:

Art Glass

I actually didn't find this vase, it was from my boyfriends mothers collection.  When I moved in with him it was added to my collection.

Paperweights

I found this paperweight at a local secondhand store.  I added it to my collection of paperweights.

Pyrex

These Pyrex bowls are in the Homestead pattern are part of my collection.

Costume Jewelry

This is a piece of Coro.

Fire King Mugs

My boyfriend found this mug at the flea market it has a Bobwhite Quail on it.

My Boyfriends Collection:

Fishing related Stuff

I found this small tin with a fish on it for him at the secondhand store.

A couple of weeks ago the doorbell kept ringing each day with his little ebay spending spree.  The above flies are some of the items he bought all are from England.

Thanks for visiting. 

Denise

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Halloween 2013

Yet again Halloween is almost upon us so I hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful safe Halloween.
As a kid I remember many good memories around Halloween for the few years my parents let us trick or treat.  I used to love the fireworks watching all the colors explode in the sky.

This chip and dip bowl when I found it said three pieces but the holder for the dip bowl was missing.   I still haven't found another holder.

I can't even remember when or where I found this tin.  I thought it was a good fit for this post.

I have not found many Fire King / Anchor Hocking mugs lately.  But I found this one last week.  I'm not sure if it was on my Saturday marathon secondhand store shopping day.

This past week I found this Butterfly Gold 2 casserole dish at my favourite secondhand store.

This Corvette model car I found at a secondhand store.  I bought it with a good plan for it.  My nephew collects model cars and corvettes are his favourite.  He has a model truck from my dad's collection I would like so I thought here's my chance to trade with him.  On Thanksgiving I showed it to him I was ready to make a deal with him to trade.  But no my plan unravelled when he said it was nice and he already had it.

These pictures are from someone Else's photos.  I don't know if these are Halloween pictures or just them dressed in costumes. 

Thanks for visiting.
Denise

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Reminders Of My Grandmother

This past weekend my cousin came out on Saturday and we got in the car and hit 7 local secondhand stores and 9 in the surrounding area.  We even managed to get lunch in between.  The only problem with my cousin and me going together is we both like a lot of the same items.  It's a challenged to see who gets through the door first and who finds the things the other one would like first.  We're at the point now were we say if you don't get it I will.  Boy did I get a lot of stuff.  As soon as I get the pictures done I'll post my finds.

These plastic containers reminded me of my grandmother.  I'm not sure why they do they just do.

This pamphlet I found in my grandmothers stuff it's B.C. Electric Home Service News from October 1948 it has recipes, tips for sending things overseas for Christmas and things they might like for Christmas in England since there were still shortages because of the war.

                                                                              More Fall Color Pyrex.

This small blue art glass vase I found at the local flea market.  It has no markings the lady who sold it to me said it is Yugoslavian glass.

This brooch is unsigned but made me think of Fall.

I found this biscuit tin and thought with the ducks on it, it would be good to get to use in a Fall display.

I do not know who's in the car but I'm guessing the car might be a Ford at Central Park in New York 1916.

The little girl is either my boyfriends mother or her sister.

Thanks for visiting.

Denise

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