I've been so busy organizing upcoming posts for my Birthday Giveaway Week that I haven't acknowledged some lovely awards that have been bestowed on my blog lately. Bear with me, this is a long post and includes questions for all of you, as well as information on giveaways sponsored by other sites!Carolyn, the Harbor Hon from Baltimore has graciously declared my blog to be a place that gives her peace. Not my intention, but a positive outcome just the same!
Bridget @ My Silly Blog has put together a full story about her blogging friends, Red Carpet Divas!She has Photoshopped us into gorgeous outfits, and tells all sorts of funny behind the scenes tales about the Divas.
Karla from Another Road to Ramble has a great book blog with reviews and recommendations on both adult and young adult books. She has presented me with the Share the Love Award, created by Crystal at >Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of the donor family who saved her baby son Noah's life with the donation of their child's heart. The award encourages us to share the love. The rules for this award are to pass it along to some people whose blogs you love. They make you laugh, smile, leave encouraging comments on your blog. You would like to share some love with them because they have uplifted, inspired, encouraged or prayed for you. Please include this paragraph with the link to Memoirs of a Mommy so that everyone know where this award originated. As the recipient of a bone marrow donation, of course I think this is a great message to spread around.
Ronda, that generous, big-hearted reader from Ronda's Rants has honored me with the PROXIMIDADE award. Translating from Portuguese to English, it means, "This blog invests and believes, the proximity," meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy. I have taken this to mean a feeling of community. 
I get to pass the award on to up to eight other blogs, so I am going to choose very carefully. There are many great people blogging, but these are actively working to build a sense of community in the blogging world. I am passing it on to:
I get to pass the award on to up to eight other blogs, so I am going to choose very carefully. There are many great people blogging, but these are actively working to build a sense of community in the blogging world. I am passing it on to:Meghan @ AllMediocre
Debbie @ Blog Around the World
Vicki @ Best Post of the Week
Heather & Tiffany @ The Secret is in the Sauce
They all have great community building blogs that support link sharing and comment love!
On another topic, is anyone having trouble with the Followers widget from Blogger? When I visit a site that has a Followers widget, I am unable to click on it to become a Follower. I have to return to my Dashboard and enter the URL there. The same thing happened when I put up my own widget. Just wondering if it's me, Blogger, or maybe just a quirk. Please let me know what I might be doing wrong! Regarding Following and Blogrolls, I've decided to Follow blogs I enjoy reading, but the authors don't seem to visit me, due to no comments or not having me on their blog roll. My blog roll will be shorter, making it easier for others who want to check out some of the sites.
Here are some giveaways that might interest you.
PJ from Many Children, Many Hugs is having a giveaway for 3 bars of goat milk soap in your choice of scents, ending October 15.
I found a fabric I LOVED at Joanne's for the curtains and seat cushions of my antique wicker chairs. Listen to this bargain: The fabric was $36.00 a yard, marked down to $18.00, and then I had a coupon and got it for $6.00 a yard!!
I've watched Design on a Dime, Decorating Sense, and the other bargain decorating shows so much I figured I could cover the wicker chair seat covers no problem, even though I had never done this before. I got out my handy staple gun, popped the cushions out, and tried to go to work. 
Well, a circular seat creates a good pattern or system for pulling the fabric tight, as does a square or rectangle. My seats are arched. Straight in the front and then a curve in the back. Also, because they are handmade and so old, they are all distorted. It took a long time to figure out where I should start stapling and how to go around corners and curves without making sloppy lumps. I was actually sweating by the time I was done, but I think they came out pretty good! Please note that I did this project 9 months ago when I could still breathe normally!
I usually decorate right after Labor Day, but then I am tired of the decorations long before Thanksgiving, so I decided to wait until the first day of fall. 
I have 2 scarecrows that are 5 feet tall, and a bunch of "funkins" aka fake pumpkins! I've bought a few each year for the past couple of years. I found buying the more expensive or better quality is worth it in this case. The funkins from Wal-Mart molded within weeks the first year, while I have others that just wipe right up when the season is over.Up by the stoop I've got a little vignette with mums, funkins, and a sign. Of course, I include my gnome, even though he is not necessarily autumnal!
In the dining room I mixed the autumn elements in among the usual fare, also.
I love this centerpiece because I just tossed a bunch of elements into one of my Longabergers! The white pumpkins from Wal-Mart are really nice. They are made of a dried corn husk-type material.
I thought the picture was very cool, and when I received it, I chose to have the wire on the frame placed so that the picture hung like a diamond, showing no real top or bottom. I used to have a blue and purple lava lamp that was on a pedestal next to the painting, and they were very snazzy together in my contemporary living room 15 years ago. The lava lamp died and my living space decor changed, but I still love this piece of art. Not because it was created by my sister, which does make it special, but it really does speak to me and make me feel peaceful, almost like listening to one of those ocean sound recordings! Currently it hangs in my craft room/office, which is actually the place I spend the most time, so I get to enjoy it a lot, but I'd love to find a way to get it back into my living space where everyone who comes into the house could enjoy it. I'll keep thinking!
But there are plenty of other great things that will be in the prize packs! The Longaberger Desk Basket collection has some beautiful hand made cards, magnets, and bookmarks; cool pens, and other office/desk type items, including chocolate, of course!
The Snowman Tote Bag set has so many cute winter and Christmas-themed items I just can't stand it! Ornaments, jewelry, cozy footwear, and a fabulous apron are just a few of the items stuffing this bag!
The newest collection I am calling the Happy Homemaker package! This grouping has another gorgeous apron, fancy tea and scone mixes, a hand-made pillowcase, and some vintage hankies. I'm sure there will be a snack in there, too, for when the Homemaker takes a break!
The prizes are growing each day as different people contact me asking if they can contribute. Some of these generous folks include Laura at 
Both the front and back endpapers of every book have the same olive green and cream illustration.
The books each have one black and white ink illustration with a quote, facing the title page.
I have no idea how old this book is, because it does not have a publication or copyright date, but I used some clues to shoot for an era. Based on the style of illustration and type of binding, and comparing it to other books of the era, I am guessing early 20th century.
Deciding what to put on the sidebars is always something with which I am playing around. I keep my profile up top, so that new readers will get a little feel for me overall, and the button for subscribing is up there, too. I keep my awards down at the bottom. Other than that, I am always rearranging the different elements or swapping out widgets. I don't know if my readers like that, or find it annoying.
I had them on display in my last home, and I'm looking for a good way to keep them out in the new house. Even if you are 13 and very cool, it's still fun to wear them!
Next up is the 
We have a lot of the discs still, and some came with story books. Many of our booklets and discs got ruined later on when our mom had a home day care. At least they were used and not packed away!
This Disney Friends View-Master is from the mid-80s, so it's probably technically not vintage, but I wanted to show how jazzy they have become! When my nephews were helping with these pictures, they were telling me all about other themed View-Masters from when they were little, Buzz Lightyear, Elmo, etc. They never had one, but their friends did.
Of course I have to thank Frick and Frack for their photography skills and their modeling. When we first got these out of the box they kept acting as if they were amazed by the rudimentary technology, and had comments such as, "You had to read the story and then look at the picture?" Being around their grandfather, the basement king, they of course have seen many of these items before; they just like to be silly. Within 10 minutes I couldn't get them to take the pictures, they were too busy playing with the View Masters!
Thus my nephew, Frick, takes most of the pictures for me. Well, he's back to school and I haven't had a chance for him to take my blue pictures.
Photo Credits:
I had my BIL buzz the rest down until it was just a stubble. This made me feel in control of at least one part of what was going to happen. As you can see, it was a big show for the kids at the time, too! 
When I was first diagnosed with cancer in July 2003 I was able to teach and continue treatments when the school year started. (On a side note, I only missed 6 days of work that school year, all for scheduled treatments or appointments. I was never "sick.")
I've even weeded through them a few times, getting rid of the ones that are too small because I have a giant head, or uncomfortable, or not my style. I still have 2 giant plastic tubs of hats, and 2 big shoe boxes of scarves!
Besides pretty hats and scarves, I also received many funny hats, which I would wear to work on appropriate days. It never seemed to disrupt learning, and I think seeing me having fun with something that is so bothersome to many made the students and my co-workers more comfortable.
One day during snack, a student decided that everyone should use their brown lunch bags to make themselves hats and have a contest! Another teacher thought this was offensive, but I thought it was funny and let them do it for 15 minutes. I even had some bags for those who needed them! On 2 of our annual 6th grade camping trips I bought bandannas for the whole class and taught them how to tie it into a do-rag. They loved having our signature matching head gear.
Check out this bowl made from newspaper pulp! I can just see it full of apples, vintage photos, or hair do-dads! It was made by 
Trouble is a well-known board game that is still in production and most kids will play in their lifetime. The Popomatic Dice Bubble is the genius behind the game and one reason it has become a classic. Encased in its bubble, the die never goes flying, rolls off the table, or gets lost. The game is the same, even if the packaging has changed over the years.
Password was a game show that ran on television from 1961 to 1975. Host Allen Ludden welcomed 2 teams each week, consisting of a celebrity and a contestant. The pairs had to guess a word, with one team member giving 1-word clues and the other guessing. Like most TV game shows, Password marketed a home-version, as the industry liked to call the board game version. This was a great game for even just 2 people. We actually used to play it in the car on long trips. The best part was the plastic sleeve for holding the strip with the word on it! It had one of those red windows so only the person with the sleeve could see the words!
My final game is Pick Up Sticks! A simple game that challenges dexterity, the sticks were also used by many as weapons! Mine are made of wood and stored in a cardboard tube container with a tin slip-in lid.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my vintage games. I hope they took you back to your childhood for a few minutes! Be sure to stop in at 
1981, Connecticut State Math Fair. My dad and I made this huge hinged plywood display board and stapled fabric to it. If you're interested, you can go down his basement and see the real thing, since it's still there! Please notice my chenille top and bangle wrist watch.
First day of school & first day as a teacher, 1989! I'm on the left w/ Deb, Gayle, and Martha. Kari took the picture. We attended the same college but didn't know each other very well. We all moved to Houston from MA because there were many more opportunities for teachers there than in New England. It was a great adventure and we became a little family. Only Gayle is still in the Houston area. Behind us is my schoolhouse clock that I cross stitched.
My first year teaching, 1989, my family came to visit for Thanksgiving and spent the day with me in my classroom. My mom took this shot of me explaining something, but it seems Nils, the student to the left, stole the show. Can you believe I still remember his name!? Do you like my fashionable door-knocker earrings?
