Thoughts On Collections - New and Old

A friend of mine wrote to me yesterday and asked what I collected. *ha ha* What an interesting question, although I don't know if he was prepared for the following dissertation. People seem to fall into one of two categories. Either you tend to keep things or you don't. Although we are identical twins, this is just one more time where we are anything but identical in personality. I keep things and she does not. 

For those of us who enjoy having things around us, collections are a very good excuse for keeping and storing things. Most often we are labeled "hoarders" or "pack rats", which I think can be quite unfair. However, even I do get overwhelmed (occasionally) by the amount of stuff that one can accumulate in a relatively short amount of time. 

Over the years, I have had many collections. Also over the years, I have gotten rid of many collections. These included tea boxes (yes, I mean the cardboard boxes that tea bags come in), library receipts, rocks and creamers. Although, I do still have most of my rock collection in two small bins, all labeled with the name of the place where they came from. Tea boxes went out to make room for treasures that needed storage space and the library receipts were dumped one day after I found out how toxic the thermal printing paper is. Creamers were the last and most were given away about a year and a half ago. So, I have grown enough and Sarah has helped me become a not-so-quite-pack-rat and I have focused on a few, but nicer, collections.

BOOKS - I'm not sure that I should include this as a collection, but I suppose it is, technically. With me, books are more of an obsession. Mom raised us from the very beginning with books. We read early and I have always loved books. Although, I did take a long time to graduate from kiddie picture books (i.e. "Berenstain Bears", "Curious George", etc.) to larger books. I did make the jump successfully and now love large history books written by university professors (which don't often have any pictures!). Books are a wonder. They can transport you into an imaginary world, they can give you an abundance of information, they entertain, they teach. And you don't need electricity to use one! I definitely prefer non-fiction. WWII, British history, etc. However, when I have been reading something heavy, I usually get a mystery book for a break. "Cadfael" series by Ellis Peters or Agatha Christie. This Summer I really worked at collecting Christie books. Got many hardbacks and a lot of paperbacks. For some of them, it isn't worth the shelf space or the money to get hardbacks. Others, however, I have read and really liked and have tried to find nice, hardback copies. I think that I had over 60 different titles, last time I counted! Here is a photo of the shelf. However, this is only part of them, the rest are all stacked behind these.

 

SHEET MUSIC - Another collection is sheet music. Sarah and I love to play together and since we like the popular songs of the 30s-50s, we have collected old song sheets for years. Our collection  is way over a thousand (we have never actually counted) and takes up two old sheet music stands, three hutch drawers, one cabinet and the entire top of a sideboard (those have to be put away and sorted through for duplicates). Most are from 1935-1955, which is our favorite era. Many are quite rare and many are movie covers or have famous people on them. Sarah and I do have several that we have for the covers, but most are collected for the actual music. Sis collects pieces with Bing Crosby on the front and I collect ones with Deanna Durbin on them. However, they are for playing as well as looking at We have gotten several pieces signed by stars who appear on the covers. Jane Powell, Joan Fontaine, Ann Blyth, Rise Stevens, Tony Martin, Janis Paige, etc. *The photo shows the inside of one cabinet.

STAMPS - We all have stamp collections. My main one is Monaco during the time of Princes Grace. I am actually going to scrapbook around it and have it go year-by-year. Photos of Princess Grace, a timeline and all the stamps from that year. So, I am actually doing USA stamps for Oct. 1929 - April 1956 and then Monaco from April 1956 - Sept. 1982. Also any Monaco stamps that have her on them, regardless of the year of release. This is really fun and should be quite cool when I get it put together. I got autographs from two of Princess Grace's children to include in it, even.

I also have a few topical collections. One that is guide dogs and blind schools (postcards and stamps), French Resistance during WWII, the Philippines while it was a US territory, and opera stars, composers and singers on stamps from around the word. I also like first day covers and postcards. Although, they are just things I like and no particular collection.

LILLIPUT LANE  COTTAGES - My personal "collection" is Lilliput Lane cottages. These are hand painted cottages that are made in the UK. An artist sculpts a cottage (most are based on real houses) and then it is cast and reproduced and the artist paints each one. This collection started when I got three little cottages in a $2 auction box. What a box! Mom didn't know what it would start! I have collected them for about three years now and the family gets one for me every birthday and Christmas. That is also what I usually spend any spending money I get on, as well. We found a gift shop in Wales, The Blue Casket of Conwy, that sells them and I buy all the new ones there. I buy some discontinued models on eBay. I now have 35, including one that is a special edition of the Tower of London, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

Lilliput Lane does mostly British houses. However, over the years, they have done houses from other countries. In 1990, they did a line of twelve French buildings. These were only sold in France and only made in 1990, so they are a bit harder to collect. I have really been working at it, and yesterday got the sixth one in the mail! So, I am halfway there with the French collection! 

RECORDS - Sarah and I also collect records. 78s, 45s, and 33s. We downsized all of these this year, but still have hundreds of each variety. Very heavy collection, though The 78s and 45s are actually stored under my piano. We don't often add to the record collection anymore, so these are kind of "finished" collections.

BEANIE BABIES - When it comes to TY beanies, Sis and I are suckers. We actually each got one of the second series when they were brand new and still just little stuffed animals in toy stores and not a collectible for adults. Over the years, we collected a bunch more. They were some of our favorite playthings and we carried beanies everywhere! Since the craze died, we have taken advantage and bought a lot of them from people who were liquidating collections. We never pay a lot (usually 50 cents) and now have about four hundred of them. We figure that you can't have enough, especially when we have kids and split them between our houses and grandparents houses! 

Of course, I have a lot of things that I like. I have two cabinets in the hallway at the top of the stairs where I have a bunch of my Lilliputs. Also in there are many little "treasures" that I have collected over the years. My modest collection of cigarette lighters, cases and ashtrays. Some souvenirs of the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair (Century of Progress), old glass marbles, pinbacks, silver spoons that have silent movie stars engraved on them, WWII ration books and identity cards, our Grandparents' Cuban passports, some figurines, and many other little odd treasures. 

So, all in all, I still like collecting, although I have channeled my resources and energy into a few more permanent choices. Sarah is always helping me decide if a thing is really worth keeping and storing and caring for. She is a wonderful live conscience and my own, personal Jiminy Cricket. What a fabulous sister! Even if I do get upset when I have to go through things sometimes. *smile*

Olivia, Our Fabulous Mama Kitty

OLIVIA 

AKA Mama Kitty

                 - 5 Jan 2013

Today, we lost our dear mama kitty. Olivia was about the best pet you could ever ask for. Honestly, she was fabulous. We got her in February of 2006. We had seen her for months. She lived across the street and often sat on the old air conditioner by the side of the house. Well, she was quite friendly and started coming into our yard. She would play with leaves and she would follow us around while we did hung laundry on the lines. All she wanted was love. Well, we realised that she was expecting and we thought we would let her live in the garage. That didn't last long. The skunks started eating her dry food and we didn't want her to get in a serious fight with them.

So, one day, Mom decides that we will see if she will come into the house. Kind of work at introducing the idea of inside to her. So, we put wet food on a plate and closed off the front room, opened the front door and in she walks. She ate the food and then promptly climbed into the tunnel on the kitty tree house and prepared to stay. We were going to the movie theatre to see "The New World" that night and were not ready to deal with a new addition to the feline family. Man, did it take a lot of coaxing to get her back outside. We got the idea that she wasn't going to have such a big adjustment to indoor life as Mom thought.

So, the next day dawns and we prepare for the grand entrance. We didn't know the first thing about pregnant cats, so we figured we would segregate her so that the other cats (we had four at the time) would not pick on her. We drove to Lowe's and bought a wooden screen door, which Dad put up in place of one of the dining room doors and we made a whole little palace for her in the dining room. She had towels and a litter box and food bowls and beds and we even made a little cave for her by putting a large, dark tablecloth over the card table. She never looked back. If there was ever a cat who loved indoor life, it was Olivia. 

Sarah and I spent a whole evening trying to name her. We had the air mattress up in the back room upstairs and were watching "Dodge City", with Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland. We came up with "Barbara" and "Olivia". So, she became "Olivia". We already had "Oliver" and we named one of her kittens "Olivier" (who we later called Manly).  Quite confusing . . . ;o)

Well, on April 15th, Olivia presented us with a litter of six surviving kittens. She had mated with two daddies, so, in reality, she had two litters at the same time. We got a grey-striped, a tortie, a tabby-tortie, a black, a tuxedo, and an orange-striped.They grew up in the dining room and Olivia discovered that she could have her life of freedom if she jumped through the screen of the upper half of the door. She was rather agile for even a cat. She would jump up and perch on the waist-height rim of the door and then jump into the living room and do whatever she wanted. She would go back to the babies the same way. She was an excellent mother. 

In June, we decided that it was time for Mama to get fixed. She was in constant heat. She would sit in the little hallway upstairs and you would hear the howling start. First it would just be a little meow, then it would keep growing and growing until she sounded like a wolf who was howling at the moon! It went on all night! She was the cutest thing to watch, when she did it, because all that noise came out of her and she barely opened her little mouth! Well, the kittens seemed old enough and we figured we would stop the howling. We call and get an appointment and on that morning, we are lying in bed early in the morning and here a slight bang. Nothing too alarming. However, when we went downstairs about 15 or 20 minutes later, a screen was fallen in and Olivia was sitting on the front step (right next to little Romeo) asking to be let back in. Needless to say, we cancelled the appointment and at the end of September she had another littler of kittens. This time, we waited until they were about six weeks old and had her fixed before she could have another assignation with Romeo. 

She was always a fabulous mother, and for her entire life she took care of the three "mama's babies" (Manly, Avis, & Frodo). She would bathe their little heads and let them sleep next to her and eat with her. She was really wonderful. The sweetest thing ever. Never a bad thought. She never looked back to outdoors life. If ever a cat needed no adjustment, it was her. She knew she had a padded life! 

She was always sleeping on my bed at night. We would close the door and get ready for bed and then sit and pet her for a while. She loved it. You couldn't pet her head enough. And she had the cutest buff coloured chin. :o) Then we would lift her down to the floor and pet her for a bit while her little legs got used to standing (she was a solid baby who weighed 35 lbs) and then head to the door. She would toddle across the room and rub against your legs, wanting one last pet before leaving for the night. 

She was terrified of thunder storms and big wind. She usually headed downstairs and would get underneath the washtubs, staying there until the noise was gone. She was so cute, if she didn't see it, it no longer existed. She would turn her back to something and it would be like it wasn't even there. The old story of the ostrich sticking its' head in the sand. She was quite a cutie!

So, with many memories to keep her in our minds, Olivia went to Heaven yesterday. I know that Manly must have been ecstatic yesterday morning and the two are probably together on a soft cushion right now. We'll never have another like her.

Remembering Uncle J.D.

Usually I would do a Christmas blog entry, but I woke up with a beastly cold yesterday, and am not feeling tip-top today. So, Christmas news and updates will come later. It was a fabulous Christmas! On the 26th, we got six inches of beautiful snow, and it hasn't gone yet! Gorgeous, white and fluffy world outside. I couldn't be much happier. 

I was just looking at some of our FindAGrave memorials, when I went onto Uncle J.D.'s. I noticed that he died 35 years ago today. Since he was brought to mind, I thought I would post the absolutely beautiful poem that he wrote. It really is a beautiful sentiment and doubly cool since he wrote it. Don't have a lot from him, and I treasure the things that we do know and have. I wish I had known him, he must have been a fabulous person.

A SINNER'S PRAYER
Written by James Denver "J.D." Gillespie (1928-1977)

I went out for a walk one day
on a cold Winter's morn.
Then I saw a vision
of Gabriel with his horn.
I fell down on my knees to pray
and to Jesus I did say,
"Please cleanse my soul of sin, O Lord,
for I repent today.

I am just a lonely sinner, Lord,
who is learning how to pray.
So, won't you shine your light on me,
so I can see the way?
I pledge my soul to Jesus,
to do with what He may,
In hopes He'll take me to His Father
on that Judgment Day.

O, Jesus, can't you hear my plea?
I put my trust and faith in you
who walked upon the sea.
Oh, yes, I love you, Jesus,
I look for you today,
Who gave His life upon the cross
so my soul can be saved.

Yes, I want to go to heaven
to sit by His right hand;
I want to climb those golden stairs
into that promised land,
If I could meet my Savior,
who wore the crown of thorn,
Then I could die in Peace, O Lord,
let Gabriel blow his horn."

Immanuel - "God With Us"

(Charles Spurgeon, "The Birth of Christ", Christmas Eve, 1854)

This is His name, “God with us”—God with us, by His Incarnation, for the august Creator of the world did walk upon this globe! He who made ten thousand orbs, each of them more mighty and more vast than this earth, became the Inhabitant of this tiny atom! He who was from everlasting to everlasting, came to this world of time and stood upon the narrow neck of land betwixt the two unbounded seas! “God with us.” He has not lost that name—Jesus had that name on earth and He has it, now, in Heaven! He is now, “God with us.”

Believer, He is God with you to protect you! You are not alone, because the Savior is with you! Put me in the desert, where vegetation grows not—I can still say, “God with us.” Put me on the wild ocean and let my ship dance madly on the waves—I would still say, “Immanuel, God with us.” Mount me on the sunbeam and let me fly beyond the western sea—still I would say, “God with us.” Let my body dive down into the depths of the ocean and let me hide in its caverns— still I could, as a child of God say, “God with us.” Yes, and in the grave, sleeping there in corruption—still I can see the footmarks of Jesus! He trod the path of all His people and His name is still, “God with us.”

“Immanuel.” It is wisdom’s mystery, “God with us.” Sages look at it and wonder. Angels desire to see it. The plumb-line of reason cannot reach half-way into its depths. The eagle wings of science cannot fly so high and the piercing eye of the vulture of research cannot see it! “God with us.” It is hell’s terror! Satan trembles at the sound of it. His legions fly apace, the black-winged dragon of the Pit quails before it! Let Satan come to you suddenly and do you but whisper that word, “God with us”—back he falls—confounded and confused! Satan trembles when he hears that name, “God with   us.” It is the laborer’s strength—how could he preach the Gospel, how could he bend his knees in prayer, how could the missionary go into foreign lands, how could the martyr stand at the stake, how could the confessor acknowledge his Master, how could men labor if that one word were taken away? “God with us,” is the sufferer’s comfort, is the balm of his woe, is the alleviation of his misery, is the sleep which God gives to His beloved, is their rest after exertion and toil. Ah, and to finish, “God with us” is eternity’s sonnet, is Heaven’s hallelujah, is the shout of the glorified, is the song of the redeemed, is the chorus of angels, is the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky! “God with us”

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." - Matthew 1:23

Christmas Prayer

I have a little book titled "Hilltop Verses and Prayers: Collected Poems of Ralph Spaulding Cushman". It is a tiny book with maybe a hundred poems in it. But what a lovely little book. Each poem have a matching Bible passage and a little prayer to go with it. Some are just so lovely. So I thought I would post a couple of the Christmas ones. Here is the first. 

Let not our hearts be busy inns,

That have no room for Thee,

But cradles for the living Christ

and His nativity.

Still driven by a thousand cares

The pilgrims come and go;

The hurried caravans press on; The inns are crowded so!

Here are the rich and busy ones,

With things that must be sold,

No room for simple things within

This hostelry of gold.

Yet hunger dwells within these walls,

These shining walls and bright,

And blindness groping here and there

Without a ray of light.

Oh, lest we starve, and lest we die,

In our stupidity,

Come, Holy Child, within and share

Our hospitality.

Let not our hearts be busy inns,

That have no room for Thee,

But cradles for the living Christ

And His nativity.

We pray, dear God, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth! But how can Thy Kingdom come until we love Thee more than we love the kingdoms of this world? Oh, let not our hearts be busy inns. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. - Matthew 7:21-23

Remembering Manly, Our Precious Little Man-Cub

MANLY

15 Apr 2006 - 4 Dec 2012

AKA Man-Cub, Manly-Moo, Cubby, Cubby-Roo

 It is so hard to imagine that Manly is gone. I still expect to see him sleeping on my bed or on the trunk in front of the fire.  He was such a marvelous cat. Actually, Sarah and I were sitting on the sofa on Sunday, just watching Manly sleeping on the trunk in front of us. I told her that of all the cats, he would be one of the two I would really miss the most. Now he is gone.

Manly was born in our dining room at 9p.m. on 15 April 2006. He was the last of the first litter of kittens. Sarah and I had been wanting an orange striped kitten, but one hadn't come yet. We had gotten a grey one, and a tortie one, and a black and white one, and a tabby one, and a black one. We were starting to give up hope, but then out popped the largest orange kitten you have ever seen! He was so big that he never had that baby rat-look. He looked like a baby kitten.

Due to inbreeding and extended labor, Manly was a bit backward. He never learned to give himself a bath, didn't really know how to play, and he would get lost if he walk up to a wall. So he would start howling until someone turned him around and he saw that he wasn't stuck. However, Manly was all love. You could practically see little hearts coming from his head. If you passed by him, or looked at him, or petted him, he would start purring away. And he could purr! He had big, rumbly purrs. He never had a bad thought or a naughty thought. He loved attention. He would gaze up at you with half-closed eyes and a completely flat head, and it was just pure love.

Everything about Manly was big. He weighted 30 lbs, and if he was sleeping on the sofa, he took an entire cushion! We had two dog beds that he liked. Some of the only ones he could actually fit in. Although, his favorite spots were on the beds or on the trunk in front of the woodstove. Sometimes, he would try and sleep in normal baskets and beds. Silly Manly. He would be bulging out all around and could barely lay his head down!

He always thought he was a little baby kitty. He loved to curl up next to you on the sofa or in bed. One time I was in Mom and Dad's bed reading, and he came right up and curled up in the tiniest (for him) little ball up against my stomach. It didn't look very comfy, but he was so happy. If you were lying on the sofa, he loved to curl up behind your legs on the blanket. He would always push himself as close to you as possible, which usually meant he was kind of propped up against you. He would purr for a few minutes and then when he finally went to sleep, he would do the biggest sigh and let out a moan. It was the sweetest sounding thing ever. 

He was always a Mama's boy. Never realized that she no longer wanted to nurse such a strapping, big kitty. Actually, when she was pregnant with the second litter in September of 2006, she went into labor because Manly climbed up on the bed with her and started nursing! Silly Manly! Until the last, he always wanted his mother. Most times, if you saw Olivia somewhere in the house, you would find Manly not too far away. Both of them were soupy nuts. We would put some dry food kibbles in a bowl of hot water and let it sit a bit until the kibbles softened. Manly and Olivia loved it. They would sit at the bowl and just drink every drop of the water. Actually, Manly would go to get a drink and drop a kibble in the water bowl, then try and eat the kibble. It was funny to watch him chase the floating kibble.

Manly had a few toys that he loved. His very favorite was an old rabbit-fur muff. We had had it as long as I can remember with our dress-up clothes. However, Manly found it somewhere when he was a few months old, and we never got it back. He would carry it in his mouth and walk around with it, howling all the while. Then one day, he sat at the foot of the stairs and tore every bit of stuffing out of it. Loved it even more then. ;o) We would come home or wake up and you would find his muff lying in front of the door or in the middle of the floor. Sometimes he would take it to bed with him.

He also loved chasing his own tail. He would work himself up to wild manzies, and then catch a glimpse of his tail (which was the funniest little thin tail, with a bend in the middle and a pencil-tip) and off he would go in wild circles after it. Sometimes, if he got to engrossed in the chase, he would bang into a chair or something. Poor Cubby. It was really funny to watch, though. He also loved catnip. In his own way, he went nuts over it. He would take a toy, and plop over in the middle of the living room floor and roll around with it. He had the cutest buff tummy and the tiniest feet and legs, so when he would be on his back, it was irresistible.

If we had the door to the back room upstairs closed, he would sit in the hall and paw at the door with both paws going full speed. It was really funny to see, if you happened to be on his side of the door. He got into the habit, earlier this year, of doing it all night on our bedroom door. That wasn't so endearing. However, he must have gotten the hint after several months, that we weren't going to let him in. He was really cute to sleep with, but once he got in position, he stayed that way all night. So, he slept great, but you didn't sleep much at all. ;o)

So, now we only have three kittens from that first litter left. They are all a bit lonely. Manly left a large emptiness, which will take a while to get over. On my part, he will always be missed. Time takes away the hurt, but my heart will always have a special place for Manly. You aren't blessed with a baby like him very often! We were blessed to have him for six and a half wonderful years.

Click here to view a photo album of Manly.

Manly

Goodbye, Manly

We lost Manly today. My baby boy. He jumped off the tree house this morning and broke his back leg. So he went to sleep. The house won't be the same without him. No more muffs lying in front of the bedroom doors when we wake up in the morning.

God blessed us with six and a half wonderful years, getting to enjoy our big boy! Now he is with his other siblings, happy and smart. My heart is crying though.

Catching up on Falltime

Man! Am I behind on posting! Oh, well . . . life has been rather busy, so my blog is always one of the first things to fall behind. This time it was because of books, clearing out the house, and colds. Let's see . . . where to start. After doing all these books sales this year, Mom and I looked at the stacks of books boxes waiting to be shelved and realized that there was no possible way to cram them onto the already bursting shelves. We also had a discussion about the structure of the house. So, we started going through all the books and doing a massive weed job. Scanning them and deciding if we wanted them, if we were interested in having a book on the particular topic, if we got a better replacement, etc. We are hoping at the end to get back to the approx. 10,000 volumes we had several years ago. We've done a good chunk of it already. Dad has been taking loads down to the Knox County Friends of the Library Book Sale.

We have also been going through the house and all the stuff we have accumulated over the years. The house has gotten way out of hand and we all decided it was time to get rid of a lot of stuff. We have four grown people, living in one house for many years, collecting a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. So, we decided that we are going to pretend that we are moving. If we really moved, would you really want to pack and move each thing you pick up? One day a couple weeks ago, while Mom and I did a lot of books, Sarah did the walk-in closet. Man! Is it nice! Even went through the games and puzzles!

I am afraid the the end of September and all of October haven't been very fun for me. Six weekends ago, I caught a cold, right at the beginning of canning tomatoes. Well, I was hoping it was just a quick cold, but it turned out to be an awful thing. The typical flu-shot-time-of-the-year cold, but terrible. Mom ended up getting it right after I did, so we spent a lot of down time. We were actually going down to Cincinnati to visit Walt and Janice, but we had to cancel the plans and postpone the weekend. Well, I had trouble shaking of the remains for a couple weeks. Then, to top it off - I got another cold two weeks ago! I was really depressed. I mean, this isn't a banner October for me. Actually, it will be fabulous when it ends.  So,  suffered through some more symptoms, and sadly Sarah came down with it last Monday. Well, our plans for Cinci had been changed to this past weekend. We played it loose, hoping we would feel better by then. Then Mom sprained her back lifting books. Man! We were beginning to wonder whether it was a message about going down to Cinci. Problem was, should we go, or should we not? Well, our colds are down to terrible sounding coughs, but that is about all.

We ended up going down on Saturday. Walt and Janice had some friends over on Saturday night and we played cards. It was really fun! It was really fun to play games with so many people. Even if I was so nervous I probably looked like a scared rabbit! Ah, well . . . Terrible being shy. But, it was fabulous. Wish I had felt better, too. Sunday we all hung around and played some more games. We left after dinner and stopped at Whole Foods on the way home. Got some olive oil and coffee. It was a terrible drive, rained all the way home. However, I didn't see much of it. I slept the whole way. First time I've been able to sleep since coming down with this cold. I think I am suffering from sleep exhaustion!

Yesterday, we made some coffee in the morning and took it nice and slow. Then we went down and visited Buddy and Kay for the evening. They were home for half a day, and it might be the only time we get to see them for the rest of the year, except Thanksgiving and Christmas! They have a super busy schedule.

We have gotten some fun fan mail back these past two months. I think the first was Ann Blyth. Something happened to it, and it got wet along the way. Not just damp, but soaked! I think it was on the way to her, because my letter had been stuck to one of the photos. However, she signed them very nicely and I was able to get the paper pulp off and the photos look great! Amazing printer! They are fabulous photos and she did a beautiful job signing! As she is one of my all-time favorites, I was really excited! Here is my very favorite song she ever sang (that I've heard so far, that is!)

Next, we got back Linda Evans, who was Audra in "The Big Valley" TV show. We already had Peter Breck and Lee Majors, so she was our last "Big Valley" cast member. I really thought she did a great thing with signing, because she wrote "Love Audra" instead of her normal signature! 

Just last week we got back a really fun one. From British actress Joanna David, who played Mrs. Gardiner in the 1995 mini-series of Pride and Prejudice. She not only sent our photos back signed, but a nice note as well apologizing for the delay in replying and that she included newer photos of herself, and ones of her daughter, since we mentioned we liked her, and she sent us autographed photos of her son - who is also an actor. So cute! Well, that was a surprise and a really cool success. I love her daughter (who we wrote too, as well, but haven't heard back from yet), so I was excited to get an autograph of her, as well.

Book sales are over for the year (Um . . . maybe. Mom just found another that might be good!). Three weeks ago was the largest Ohio library book sale up in Elyria. Dad even went us with us. They had approx. 70,000, and I found the book that I had been searching for all year! A nice, old library-bound copy of Pitcairn's Island, which is the last of the Bounty Trilogy by Nordoff & Hall. I was so thrilled! I have been looking at every sale! We had nice library-bound hardbacks of the other two in the set, but only an old, cheap paperback of the last one. 

Throughout the book sales, I have really worked at collecting nicer (and more) Christie books. Slowly but surely, I now have 61 titles and four trivia books. Some really nice hardbacks of titles I like. Even got the movie tie-in cover hardback of Murder on the Orient Express. A nice hardcover of Ordeal By Innocence. Even found copies of Cards on the Table and N or M?. We got a new shelf for them (while we have been rearranging) and I thought it would give me plenty of growing room, but it is almost filled! Really fun, though.

 

Oh, before I close, I discovered a new favorite singer and favorite song. A friend down in Australia, who also likes opera, asked me about my thoughts of Anna Netrebko. Well, I had only ever listened to a few tracks of hers, so I didn't really have any thoughts. So, I ordered in four cds from the library and started listening. I liked her last half of La Boheme (Always my starting point). She was very good. However, when I heard track 13 of her album, Souvenirs, I was sold! A traditional Jewish lullaby, it is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever heard. Dad even loves it! My new favorite. Then I listened to her highlights from La Traviata album, which was so fantastic! I love highlights and this is one of the best. You never realized when they skipped sections. Very well done and beautiful!

Well, that pretty much catches up to the present. This morning we woke up to a bit of snow on the ground! It is really, really windy and cold. So, I think Winter is close! More house cleaning/sorting and book weeding is on the agenda for the next few weeks. 

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven . . ." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Mountains of Books

Ah, life is just a mountain of books. Books upstairs, books downstairs, books on the shelves, books on the floors, books in the truck! Last Saturday, Mom and I went and spent the day with Mr. and Mrs. Keultjes, helping them go through there books. They need the space in the basement and only wanted to keep some of the books. So, Mom and I sorted and moved and sorted some more! In the end, we had pulled so many to try and sell for her, that we had Sarah and Dad meet us up there with the truck. Fourteen banana boxes full! So, I spent three days last week cleaning books outside. Finally finished on Saturday. Whew!

On Thursday, Buddy and Kay came over in the afternoon and we had a wonderful time visiting. watched a movie and solved the problems of the world.

This week we have discovered two fantastic, new films! First was The King's Thief (1955) with Ann Blyth and Edmund Purdom. What a fantastic film! So exciting! Can't watch it right before bed. :o) It is like a nice type of Three Muskateers. Sarah and I have found a new favorite. Alright, it won't win any Oscars, but it is pure entertainment and adventurous! Second was Top O' the Morning (1949) with Ann Blyth, Bing Crosby, and Barry Fitzgerald. Sarah and I have been wanting to see it for years. A friend in California ended up downloading it from netflix for us and we were finally able to see it! A fantastic film! So cute and funny and entertaining! Definitely this is a film that needs to be released on DVD!

Well, we have another booksale on Friday and Dad leaves for Florida on Saturday. So, we are trying to get ready. Sarah's computer went on the blink yesterday, so it goes into the compie shop. Sad.

The weather is cooling off a bit and getting much nicer. Sarah and I are getting ready for winter and hobbies. We got some fanmail replies last week. From Mary Costa, David Suchet, and Jane Powell. So fun! So we are wanting to do some more. :o) I'll write another post soon about some of the cool books we have found in the past month!

Concerning Books, Book Sales, and Bookstores

What happier topic is there than books? Simply wonderful. I love books. No, I LOVE books! Well, this weekend we spent two days surrounded by books. On Friday, we drove up to Wooster and went to their library book sale, which is in the basement of the old library building. We got two whole boxes of kids books, including Aunt Eater's Mystery Christmas and Wagon Wheels. Two Step-up readers that have been on our 'to get' list for years. After that, we went to Books In Stock, the bookstore that we have grown up going to. It still looks like an old bookstore. Just rows and rows of books in an old two-story building. We got some really fun ones. Another copy of the Roy and Dale bio that we absolutely love, a cool book on the liberation of the French Riviera during WWII, a really swell 4-stories-in-1 Yogi Bear storybook, Sarah even found a 1940 paperback movie edition of Gone With The Wind! However, my special find was a 1922 copy of Lorna Doone. It is the 'Madge Bellamy Edition', which was released along with the silent film. It has a picture cover, and has many illustrations and photos from the film inside. I am so excited! I actually weeded my collection of Lorna Doone.

Saturday dawned very hot. (What's new?) We got up early and had our coffee first, then all four of us headed down to Worthington. Went to their library book sale, which turned out to be bag day. So, we came back with eight large bags of books! Some kids books, but mostly adult non-fiction. Lots of WWII ones. Happiness. I even got a couple Christie hardbacks. Really nice ones, too. We were there probably close to three hours. :o) Then we went to another book store just down the road. We used to go there when Sarah had a violin teacher right around the corner. This is more like a book warehouse. Rows and rows of book shelves and about three feet of boxes and stacked books all along the base of every shelf and wall. I got a really cool hardback of Christie's Ordeal By Innocence. The find of the day, however, was a piece of sheet music that Sara dug out of a stack. The theme song from the 1954 film, Woman's World, showing all seven stars on the front! Sarah and I love the movie and the song, but we never knew there was sheet music for it. So, this is fantastic! Sarah also found a nice piece with Dan Duryea on the cover.



So, all the books got carried up to the back room upstairs so that I can work on them. Yesterday (Monday), I spent all day sorting and cleaning. I worked until 7pm and got about 2/3 of them cleaned. I'll finish tomorrow. Got some really nice books to fill out parts of the collection. Added to some sets, replaced beat up copies of a bunch of books, filled out many topics. The job will be finding places to put all of them when they are all cleaned! Ah, well . . . that has it's fun points too. ;o) I cleaned so many ink stamps off of the laminated library binding, that my fingers are still black! All fun, all fun. Books make me happy, and in this terrible heat, that is a good thing. It is very grey and heavy today. They are saying thunder and rain, but so far nothing has happened. I fell like Atlas, except I have the weight of the world on my chest, not my shoulders. I can't wait for Winter! In the meantime, though, the book are calling.



How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, 'You God Reigns!' - Isaiah 52:7