I'm 'LEAP' ing for joy!

Well, it is leap day and I hope it is a good day for you.

I try to find God's blessings in every day. In fact, I live for every 15 minutes. I know if I can make it 15 minutes, I can make it another and on and on. I know that sounds silly to some but when you have a limited short-term memory, every 15 minutes counts.

Yesterday we came home from school and look what was left at our back door.

A wonderful aged and weathered cotton gathering basket. No, the girl didn't come with it but she is the greater prize, our wonderful, full of life granddaughter. She is in there to show you the ample size of the basket.

An older couple of friends just left this basket at the door. Someone had given it to them years ago and it was just 'in their way' in their tiny storage building. In fact, they said, "Do you want that old thing?' when hubby called to thank them. (They had told us they had a basket they thought we might like.)

God's blessings abound for me. Part of Hubby's test results came back clear of Cancer, I am grateful that we can pay our bills even when it seems impossible sometimes, our Father just seems to care for us in a special way. He always has and always will!

Just wanted to share my joy with you today.

Blessings~
Pam

I Won An Award!

Tricia from Hillcresthome Prims nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award and I am so appreciative.

I am to list seven things about me that you probably don't know.

1-I have played piano for 49 years. Started when I was 8 and trained in the Classical style. Now I play everything from gospel to ragtime to classical to lullabyes for my sweet grands. I also teach piano.

2-I suffered a double brain aneurysm in 1997 and give God the praise for my healing. I have short term memory loss but each day is a gift for me.

3-I built two 13 foot Blackfoot Native American teepees!

4-In my lifetime I have made dozens of dolls and give each one a name before it leaves my home. Many of the names are actual ancestors names.

5-I enjoy researching 19th century recipes and cooking them on my late 19th century wood cookstove.

6-One of the simple thrills of my life is going to my chicken coop and gathering the daily eggs. It is a blessing from the Lord,...and my three little hens.

7-I enjoy collecting American Country primitives in original finish and love researching and executing old, worn finishes on my projects.

Now you know a bit more about me. Hope I didn't scare you too much!

Many things are faked...

I have lately noticed the trend in collecting artificial fruit and vegetables. The vintage stone fruit that is carved from stone and has a dusty appearance is quite in vogue now, and has an 'obscene' price tag to go along with it as one of my friends states! I recently sold a set of wooden carved fruit that was painted and I primmed it to perfection. My choice is in the picture above, paper mache' fruit and veggies. This is a vintage collectible and is still readily available and at a respectable price.

I love the different characteristics that the paper offers, a bit torn, a bit worn, a scuff, a scratch, a peel of the peeling. To the far right is one of my favortie pieces, it is an open pomengranate. Today I picked up the bunch of a dozen carrots for under $4. They aren't paper mache' but they look really good with my collection. Just thought I'd post and maybe inspire someone else to begin a collection that is eye pleasing and easy on the pocketbook.

Another friend commented that life is full of fakery and isn't that so true? We try to hide our fat, disguise our bad breath, cover a flaw, direct the eye away from a definite fault. I always try to be true to my friendships. What you see is what you get! And I always try to 'do unto others as I want to be treated'. What a wonderful plan to live by.

A news report recently spoke about having a day called RAK Day, Random Acts of Kindness. All day just do random acts of kindness for people all day long. Might not catch on nationwide but I plan to do it at least once per month. When doing for others, truly, we don't have time to be fake or artificial.

God sees our hearts and records our every move. I think He would approve!

Storage in Trunks

We live in a Victorian home and though it is wonderful here, it is also authentic in that there is very limited storage. The few closets are small and for collectors of things there has to be other sources of hiding places.

The stack of trunks at the foot of my new bed is one idea you might be able to use in your own home environment.

The bottom trunk is one that my hubby gave me in 1973 as a wedding gift. He refinished it and lined the inside with white satin and braid trim. It houses my wedding mementos, a really neat place especially for those things I love.

The leather trunk above it holds part of our 19th century toy collection. Many of the things we handmade after extensive research. It is easy to grab it and go to the next reenactment or living history event.

Being a reenactor 0f 19th century life we have to be prepared with many of the activities of the period. The next trunk up is a wonderfully grain painted box with a glass knob that my husband painted. It houses our collection of period school supplies. Text books from about 1830-1880, an abacus made by my husband, a clay slate for children to learn their lesson, a metal lunch pail, an old school bell and vintage slate and graphite pencils. We portray the school Master and Mistress.

The brown box, third from top, is my writing kit. It houses vintage pen nibs and a mother of pearl pen, quills, walnut and poke berry inks, a sander, a vintage pen knife and proper papers and stamps dating to the Civil War era. I use it to write children's names at venues. They love to see their name written with ink and quill.

Above that one is a yellow painted cigar storage box. My mama worked for the tobacco company and would stack hand rolled cigars into the boxes for curing. It houses authentic Civil War items that we have collected and a few Indian artifacts.

Last but not least is the small box at the top of the stack. It is a modern black box that has HOME printed on one side. My daughter gave it to me at Christmas and it houses our own address stamp and ink pad. I love it.

Storage is important wouldn't you say? Where would all this live if not in their respective trunks? One other storage place is my heart. I love to hide God's Word there that I might not sin against Him. I thank the Lord for my home and for the storage within, for the memories within, for His grace toward me.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my trunks. I have another for photographs, an early 19th century 6-board chest for the grandchildren's toys, a storage casket for woolens and extra linens, a round top trunk for my children's special childhood things, a Cedar chest and a smallish 18th century glove box that used to be hide covered. Wow! That's a lot of trunks! Lots of memories, too!

Blessings~