Tuesday is recycling and trash day in Walpole, one of the towns I drive through.
There's always construction somewhere on my drive, and the guys need a home base, if you know what I mean!
The Longwood medical area has most of the Boston hospitals and teaching schools.
Blue signs mark everything very well, because so many people come here from out of state or other countries.
The Boston MFA is just down the street if you can fight the traffic. It's easier to take the "T".
This Vespa is always parked on the corner by Brigham and Women's Hospital, no matter what time of day I am there. It has only been missing twice since I've started keeping track!
When I arrive, I am welcomed no matter what language I speak!I hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of what I see all the time. Be sure to visit Sally and the other Blue Monday participants. Maybe you'll join us with your own blue post next week!
She is still in very good shape, although her fur is a little squooshed. Her body is a mercury glass ornament and the hands and feet seem like some kind of duct tape material. The pink color is bright and her face hasn't chipped off at all. Someday I will give this ornament to my niece, but she wouldn't appreciate it right now, so it will hang with honor on my tree for many years to come.
I rarely buy any of my vintage things, so this one is special in that respect, also.
My sister and I each have one of these stocking pins. Hers has a kitten and mine has a poodle. They are attached with a little lever to the stocking so they kind of bob around when the wearer moves.
This is another one from my 1970s childhood. I really like it because it makes a statement and is big enough to wear on a coat.
Ah, the bells! I'm sure my parents just adore the person who got us these. They have a nice strong ring to them! When I wear it now I tape the clapper down.
This Santa head has a fuzzy beard and still lights up! However, the little pull cord has become detached and I can't get it back on properly. Since the red on his nose is worn off, I just wear it as a pin. People really like this and always ask about it. You can still buy these new; I found them at 
This fun Christmas tree was my mom's. Technically it probably still is, since she lent it to me about 5 years ago! When I was bald for Christmas (twice, by the way!) I had a great black furry hat that I would decorate with different pins every day for work. I conveniently forgot to return the pins I borrowed. The tree is enamel with pearls and rubies. It's only missing 2 stones, which is pretty good in 60 years.
The gold and pearl tree is also missing 2 stone. I don't know if it is better to replace them so they look better, or leave as-is for their value as originals. No one ever notices that they are missing, they just see the overall design.
Finally, my favorite of all, the 50s reindeer! I just love his style and form! The metal is a matte brushed silver. He looks great on a plain red sweater.
My teachers' union sick bank. I donated one sick day to the bank when I was first hired by the town. When my sick days ran out almost two years ago, I was able to apply to the bank for more days, and all of my requests thus far have been granted, which means I continue to receive pay even though I am not at work. Having a chronic medical condition is scary on many levels, but at least I can pay my bills right now.
Modern technology. With the Internet I can do all of my shopping and have my groceries delivered. But more importantly it has opened up a social world to me where I have met so many wonderful people on message boards and discussion groups who inspire me to create, decorate, read new genres and authors, try different films, and think about things from perspectives I may not have had in the past. I truly appreciate everyone who visits my blog and comments, which encourages me to write interesting posts and share my limited world with you. It cannot be said enough, the Evil Overlord's Entourage has some of the most fabulous people on Earth!
The mouse is super quick and easy. Cut a large tear drop shape and an ellipse for the ears. Pop on the google eyes embroidery floss whiskers, pom pom nose, and make a few cuts for the ears and candy cane to go through, and it's done! I've seen people embellish the body with a child's initial or some glittery swirly design.
The horse is a little more difficult, at least for me, because it is glued at angles and I always have trouble lining things up. He is double-sided, with an eye and an ear on both front and back.
The mane is made by cutting angled slits in the felt. The eyes are a circle of felt with a sequin in them, or a google eye. I've also seen this made with fancy gold stitching around the shape of the head instead of glue.
In researching this book and author, I learned that School Story books for both boys and girls are highly collectible right now in both the UK and Australia. People are buying them more for the stories than as untouchable collector's pieces, which I think is interesting.
I enjoyed the story of life in a boarding school, and the way the book was published with small illustrations throughout the text. I loved the drawings of the clothes and hairstyles.
At some point this book belonged to Gay, which was a popular name in the 30s. This message is written with a fountain pen and looks like a younger person's handwriting.
The book itself is from England, according to the publishing information, but no date is given. How did Gay's book get to the Seymour School library? Maybe Gay grew up and passed it on. Maybe some bookseller got it in a box of stuff and didn't want it and sold it for 10 cents. Who knows, but somehow it found its way to the US and to me!The book was put into circulation in my school's library in 1972, according to its card. I checked it out twice, May 1977 and November 1977. The last person to check it out was Fiona Micheli in 1978, the only person I knew who read as much as me!
gives me the spirit of Christmas, in a film that doesn't really seem to age or to be too sentimental.
A few years ago I received this vintage copy of 
by Valentine Davies as a gift from my parents. It is a mass-market Pocket Book paper-bound publication from 1952.
The cover is beautifully illustrated on both front and back. I also love the red sketch illustrations throughout the book, with the giant letters at the beginning of each chapter.
The film and book were released in 1947, a wonderful time of hope and belief for the American public. Valentine Davies, the author of this classic story, wrote several Broadway plays, was president of the Screen Writers Guild and general chairman of the Academy Awards, but few of us know his name. Valentine Davies won the Academy Award in 1947 for best original story, Edmund Gwenn, who played Kris Kringle, won an Oscar for best supporting actor, and for best screenplay it was George Seaton, who adapted Davies novel. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to Gentleman's Agreement.
Do you remember about 12 years ago when someone decided it would be a good idea to colorize the black and white classics? At the time, I thought it was a good idea, having grown up with only color films. But then I saw one and was horrified! Skin looked blueish, eyes were too white, it all was just kind of creepy. I'm sure it would be better if done today, but I've aged and come to appreciate things in their original form.
I don't know how you could have gotten away with not seeing this perennial favorite, or either of the other two I mentioned! If you have, get them now; I'm sure your local library has them for check out! As I do every year, I will watch all 3 at some point before Christmas, usually with a fun Christmas snack!
At 
The base of the ornament is a 3 inch Styrofoam ball. I have also made them larger, and some of my friends have tried the egg shapes. They all look great, it just depends on what the store has in stock and your own style.
I've also used very thin wire and wrapped it around the ornament, but it is more of a challenge to put the covering on the Styrofoam with the floppier wire. I've seen some people just cover the Styrofoam and then use thin ribbon wrapped around the ornament and glued to make a hanging loop. I like to use the loop to hold the ornament while I am working, and without it I'd be constantly touching it and messing it up.
In addition to scraps of red, green, and Christmas fabrics, I have scraps of regular colors for those who like to do a color theme. Only once have I seen someone do their entire ornament in the same fabric and it didn't look very good, at least to me. If you're going for a patchwork quilted look you want several fabrics.
Once they are dry, I brush on a thin layer of Mod Podge and hang them to dry again. I check the bottom of the ornament a few times because hanging there it gets a bump of glue on the bottom. I like to do 2 thin coats of Mod Podge, and I vary shiny or matte depending on the style I'm going for. The final step is a big cheery bow on top! For some reason I really got into using lace for a while; it gives an even more homemade look.