At Nana's

I spent some time rummaging around my grandma's house (where I'm sort of long-term house-sitting....long story), and came across yet another set of gems.

My grandma went to an all girls school in the late 1930s for stenography training. She graduated the top of her class and went on to work as the secretary to the U.S. Ambassador in Madrid, Spain during WWII. I found a couple of her pocket word-books from the 40s and 50s:

I love everything about this little read one-- the typeface, the size, the little comb-like graphic, etc. etc.

The word-book is like a dictionary without definitions, since, as the preface mentions, "nine times out of ten, we use a dictionary to check the spelling of a word."
I'm not sure if that's still true today, but it's a neat idea anyhow,

Another little blue one,

I also found a set of vintage-y Christmas postcards,


And neat-o neutral tone angel stickers,

I also found a leaf pressed in glass. I love leaves. !!


My grandma has always been a bit of a pat rack, but only because she finds value in certain things, and keeps them for years. I think she'll enjoy hearing how I've found these things and see value in them too.

Happy birthday Stephanie!!
And Happy b-day to little Jasper who turns 1 on the 10th.*
I can't believe it's been a year...!


*got the day wrong....woops! won't happen again, little jasp!

Throwback

I'm not much of a soda drinker.

Back in October, when I made the long drive from Wisconsin to Virginia and back with Stephanie & boys, we stopped at a gas station and she said she was going to see if they had Pepsi Throwback. I had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained: for a limited time, Pepsi is selling their original recipe under the moniker "Pepsi Throwback."

Well, I came home and forgot about it until a couple days ago. I saw a commercial for it, and decided I wanted to try it out for myself.

So I did. It was pretty good-- since I'm not much of a soda person, I couldn't really tell the difference between it and "regular" Pepsi. I do remember thinking that I'd rather be drinking a flavored soda (just found delicious pineapple flavored soda at Powell's).

The thing that bothers me is that right there on the bottle it says: "Made with REAL Sugar! For a Limited Time Only"
I'm wondering what sort of a society we've become if our far-from sugar-free soda (excluding diet here, of course) only contains "real sugar" as a special offering, for a limited time.

I like real sugar. Real ingredients. Real food. Is it too much to expect this as a constant offering?

(Long live Jones Soda)

Bilth

I had the pleasure of taking photos at a retired community's annual dinner theater event last weekend, for the 5th year. I always look forward to it; they get all dressed up, put on a musical, and serve a catered dinner (that I get to eat, too!).

My job is pretty simple; I show up, take pictures of folks in front of a back drop that a gentleman named Fred paints (this year he focused on making a cool car cut out of wood), and then watch the play and eat dinner.

There are so many people who buy tickets to the event that they have to host it two nights every year, so I'm there both nights to take photos.


I decided to try the car out myself,

The event takes place inside a gated community, and so I stopped at the gate and told the guard who I was. I told him my name, and he handed me a pass for my dash that said "Bilth"

The second night, when I saw the same guard at the gate, I made sure to say my name loudly and clearly, and even spelled it for him.

Still ended up with Bilth.

I've gotten Blith plenty of times, and even odd ones like Blay and Blatag (seriously), but Bilth is probably the worst mistaken name yet. Bile + filth.

I found it quite funny.

Switchcraft

Awhile ago, I was blog-browsing and saw someone re-purpose an old dome clock, like this one I happened to have lying around (thank you Nana!):



I had a number of ideas for what I could use it for, so I started taking it apart. It actually came apart really easily and cleanly.


Unscrewing the bottom was really all it took to dissemble the clock,


And so this is what I was left with. Terrarium? Display case? So many possibilities.

I used matte black spray paint to paint the bottom, and then popped in a little cheapy globe I found at Target.

I'm planning to turn it into a little terrarium when I can make a trip to Armstrong's.

(boys)

I think about these boys every day,


and wonder what sort of mischief they're up to,



how they're growing,


and the things they're learning,

Steph, if you are reading this, good things are on the way.

Pictures from Lunch

Had lunch with Jordan at the Gypsy Den at the Lab (he always gets the chicken walfdorf sandwich, I got the adobe stew this time), and took a couple photos.
I'd like to share these with you-


lunch


that wall, with the "B" and the vines and the window, and the lines everywhere, and the hanging succulents: