Jewellery

I wonder if anyone can remember Sarah Coventry?

I came across this picture and it sparked off old memories.

Sarah Coventry was a big jewellery manufacturer in the States and it started up over here as a home party selling venture, much like Tupperware. In the mid 60's money was always tight and as I loved jewellery I started up selling. You took your selection to various homes, set out your stuff on a smart black velvet cloth and hoped for orders and more party bookings and I did quite well. I ran our little pub during the day and my husband took over at night so I could go out and sell. I had a little pale blue Morris Minor car then.

The jewellery of course was not gold or silver but the quality was fantastic. The metal was heavy and did not tarnish and I still have a few pieces that look as good as when they were new.
The brooch and earrings set in the picture above I bought for my Mother who loved pearls and wore clip-on earrings.
At that time hardly anybody had pierced ears. Clip-ons were all the go and you didn't dream the day would come when women and  men had not just their ears  but their bodies pierced in often unmentionable places!

I had a quick look on the web and found over 200,000 mentions of Sarah Coventry.
Now this costume jewellery is called vintage and very collectible.

Some car.....

Is this a car for the future? Does it really go?

How many miles per gallon or is it electric?

Where would you put your luggage/shopping?

Come to that, where would you put mother-in-law?

My take on a picture by Edouard Manet.

And this portrait was by Jean Baptiste Greuze.

Today's Thoughts

On Storytelling.....

Tell me a fact and I'll learn. Tell me a truth and I'll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. ~ Indian Proverb


The healing that can grow out of the simple act of telling our stories is often quite remarkable. ~ Susan Wittig Albert

Stories are medicine. They have such power; they do not require that we do, be, act anything —we need only listen. ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Wrinkles

But a Shar Pei's wrinkles are something else....

like the baby, soft and cuddly.

More on Wrinkles

It's a sad fact......as we age we develop more wrinkles........

To start with we can dismiss them as laughter lines....then lessons of life, experience etc. but there's no getting away from it, old age brings wrinkles and everything sags and heads south.
I hate to look in the mirror...especially early morning! Sometimes I see my father staring back at me. Sometimes it's my mother. Don't get me wrong, they were a handsome couple when they were young. I've even been told I was quite a looker myself......

Look at all the experience written here.

As I've mentioned before...everything changes and we cannot stop the march of old Father Time....
Thank God I don't have quite as many wrinkles as this!!

Disappearing

I've read that our seals are disappearing alarmingly from around our shores. Nobody seems to know why.

'Marine biologists have warned of significant and serious changes in the seas around Britain after detecting a steep and "frightening" fall in the numbers of common seals around the coast.


Common seals are one of Britain's largest and most charismatic marine predators and the most likely to be seen by holidaymakers and sailors. But the latest surveys have revealed a dramatic decline in their numbers in Scotland's waters and along eastern England.

In the worst affected areas, such as the Orkney islands, the numbers of common seals are falling by 10% a year, and have dropped by as much as half in the past six years. Along the Argyll coast, from Oban to the Mull of Kintyre, the numbers fell by a quarter last year.

Ian Boyd, a professor with the sea mammals research unit at St Andrew's University, said it was as if the entire population had stopped breeding.

The cause was baffling scientists. "We just don't know," he said. "Our collective view is that there's some large-scale process going on in the northern North Sea which is driving down seal numbers. We're seeing a massive decline. It's quite a frightening decline because these populations don't change as quickly as that under normal circumstances.'

Big Hugs from me to you xx

Elephants

I've always loved elephants. When my daughter left school she spent all her first week's wages on a large china elephant for me, which I still have of course.
I've always thought  it would be lovely to have a baby elephant for a pet in the garden. Entirely unpractical of course as they grow into huge elephants and I don't think we could handle all that manure.......
Seriously, as I've grown old I cannot watch many animal programmes on TV. Animals in the wild kill for food, some get sick and die and I remember a film about a baby elephant that was born with a deformed leg. It too was left to die and I cried and cried..............

This would be my ideal................

Today's Thought

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~ Lao Tzu

Houses and Homes

Yesterday I asked 'who lives in a house like this?'

Here are some more....... this one is in South Africa. I don't think it would pass Planning Permission here!

I'm afraid this would not be my dream property.

And these Dome Houses were built by an American firm for a village in Indonesia after an earthquake.

Vintage

More fascinating old vintage photographs. From Oregon. Just look at that old  pipe the lady's smoking.

This family do look a little better off!

And however old is this one of Union Soldiers?

Some more of my work

Cough

I thought my usual dry cough was playing up a bit more than usual but I find I now have a sore throat, headache and a rasping cough that comes from my boots and my voice sounds a bit like a corncrake! So I'm staying home today in case I spread anything around..........

I went to the dentist yesterday, the appointment I messed up before. 45 minutes of drilling and discomfort, now in a fortnight it should be finished. Just a huge bill to pay!

I do wish I was a bit more able. My coz is having a 'bit of a do' Saturday night and I'd love to be able to go but it's just too far for me to drive. Not just the going, it's the journey back!!

But I shall be with them all in spirit!

Another little boy with his dog.

Pigeon Watch

Treasure Map

I am slowly continuing my thoughts on the Treasure map project and this morning have drafted a Poster to have on the table. I think 3 goes for a pound seems reasonable today.

Have you ever kissed a pig? (or given it a lick?)

Who...lives in a house like this......?

Today's Thought

I said to the almond tree, "Friend, speak to me of God," and the almond tree blossomed. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis

One Boy and his dog.

Anybody could tell you I love old vintage photographs and I have hundreds stored on an external hard drive.                      (Yes, I have the technology!!LOL!!)
I love to browse and find even more. Some I have used in my 'Picture Books'.

These are some I found yesterday.

Everything Changes

When I said yesterday that everything changes I didn't think it would be so soon!
When I tried to upload pictures here today things had changed big time! I suddenly found I should have a Picasa photo album. Usually I can put my pics on straight from my own  Images on this computer.
What a struggle again trying to sort that out..........

The weather has also changed dramatically. The sun is very warm and it has affected my Lupus already. The upside is everything is green and blossoming. There is a beautiful Cherry now in full bloom in my neighbour's garden opposite. The magnolias are out and everything is beautiful. The blossoms don't  last long as the wind will increase and the petals will fall like confetti, leaving pink carpets spread everywhere.
Such a heartwarming sight while they last.........

It's Goodnight from me
               and Goodnight from him.

I'm ready when you are......

Talk about Cowboy Builders........How did they do that?

Thought for the day

The present never ages. Each moment is like a snowflake, unique, unspoiled, unrepeatable, and can be appreciated in its surprisingness. ~ Gail Sheehy

Whispers Challenge

The Challenge this week on Whispers was make a picture with this vase in it. So here's my effort.

I didn't do the challenge last week. I started and spent quite a long time with it. When I went back to finish it, it had disappeared and I didn't have the heart to start over.

A ME day

Today I'm having a ME day. Some quiet and relaxation. Yesterday the door bell was red hot with canvassing politicians and even more leaflets dropping through the letterbox.
Himself had a dental appointment so that was a short trip out.

 On the news this morning  it's reported petrol prices are going sky high again so most trips will be short from now on...... I feel so sorry for people who have to travel long distances to work or where they have to have more than one car. Petrol and motoring costs must make an enormous hole in their budgets.
If you live in the country a car is a real necessity. There are more busses about than there used to be but if you have an appointment, either there is no bus time suitable or you have to wait half a day for the return ride home.
I sometimes wonder how much longer I can continue to drive. My car is 10 years old and has done sterling service and these days I don't travel far anyway. But all things change..............

Also on the news 'they' told us yet again that laughter does more good than any medicine. We all know that so I shall continue to watch old episodes of  'Everybody loves Raymond'.

Let's get Together

Start with a Smile

How did she get into this situation and

what would you do if it were you?

About Turn!

Today's Thought

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. ~

Rachel Carson

More playing around

Here's another Before and After view.

It makes a change to use these Old Master's portraits.  I like to use images from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, too. There is the romantic connotation of knights in shining armour and damsels in distress. And the images are not as over-used as Victorian photography!

Treasure Map

At the end of May our Chapel is fundraising by having some stalls in the Courtyard, cakes, books, bric-a-brac etc. and I am making a Treasure Map. I can sit at a small table and hopefully have some customers who will stick little flags where they think the 'treasure' is buried. I shall put the co-ordinates in a sealed envelope to be opened to choose the winner.  Just trying to think what to have for three nice prizes....

And Finally.....

This picture often pops up on the web but it still makes me smile.

Poor cat. It's probably saying 'The things I have to go through to please some people!'

Today's Thought

A friend is one to whom  one may pour out all the contents of one's heart; chaff and grain alike, knowing that the gentlest of hands will keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. ~ Arab Proverb

I find the face on the little dog in this picture is quite hilarious.

It reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Perhaps it was an extra terrestrial dog!

I turned this one into The Order of the Golden Fleece.

This order makes interesting reading on the Internet and goes back hundreds of years, perhaps even predating the Templars.

I seem to be in my Medievil mode at the moment. The original portraits are so wonderful with their gorgeous rich colours, how can you not enjoy them?

New Pictures

So it's Saturday again.
My day has started and I thought I'd show you some Before and After pics I've been working on.

Her face has been overlaid with the gorgeous Rose Window from Notre Dame Cathedral.