A look back and hopefully, a helpful coupon link

First a fun look back. I got this in an email today. The car pictured is a Ford Model R, listed in the email as a 1910 model. In truth, the Model R had a limited production between 1906 and 1908. Even if some of the other "facts" listed below are off a bit, it still illustrates how things have changed in ten decades.

THE YEAR IS 1910

One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had no college education, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.
I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the world - all in a matter of seconds!
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

It staggers the mind, doesn't it?

And now, for the hopefully helpful link to prescription drug discounts...

I just got this link this morning so I haven't tried it myself, but the link came from a friend, not a random mass emailing. There is no enrollment, there are no fees. You simply find the prescription you are taking in the list and print the coupon for it. It should be redeemable at most pharmacies. There is a list of big name chains on the right of the home page. If the prescription is already discounted at your drugstore, you may not get the full amount in savings (read the FAQ section), but ever little bit saved helps.

Clickable link:  Your Rx Discounts

I hope I don't wind up with egg on my face if this doesn't work, but I am offering it with the best intentions. I only have one ongoing prescription and it isn't due to be refilled for almost two months. Good luck! 

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

40 Years of Marriage...

A married couple in their early 60s were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, "For being being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish."

The wife answered, "I want to travel around the world with my darling husband!"  The fairy waved her wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in their hands.

The husband thought for a moment and said, "This is all very romantic but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me."  The wife and the fairy were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish, so the fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - the husband became 92 years old.

The moral of this story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember that fairies are female!

The urge to rearrange

Early in our marriage, Bill never knew what configuration of furniture he would find when he returned from work. Looking back, I am amazed at what I could accomplish while the kids were napping, and how I could rearrange a lot of bedroom furniture in a very small room.

Picture this (said in my best Sophia Petrillo voice from The Golden Girls): Our bedroom was perhaps 10' x 12' with a double bed that had large head and foot boards, a tall dresser, a wide dresser with a hutch mirror attached, a night stand and a tall narrow cabinet. Our bed had to be nestled into a corner to make all the other furniture fit. With a door, a closet and a window to work around, the best I could do was flip placement of the bed from one corner to the other on the same wall, and switch the dresser placement. The cabinet had to stay on the wall between the closet and the opened bedroom door as it was the only piece that fit in that small space.

Occasionally I would place the nightstand in the living room (it matched the tables out there) to give the bedroom a little more wiggle room. The rearranging phenomenon was never done when Bill was home. He thought this was nuts and to say it exasperated him would be an understatement. He never complained out loud, but he did give me a look from time to time. For a while he was better at eye ball rolling than I was!

In order to accomplish the rearranging, dresser drawers would be pulled out and stacked in the living room. Some of the drawers were too wide to carry through the hallway normally so I had to side step down the hallway grunting under the load I carried. Moving the large bed and chests in a small carpeted room was not easy. This was before the invention of furniture sliders that are so commonly used today. Pull a little here, push a little there was how things were moved. The hallway was full of knickknacks from the tops of the chests and nightstand and some of the smaller drawers.

This was also before portable phones. We had a phone in the living room and one in the kitchen. Heaven help me if the phone rang while I was wrestling with furniture and had the doorway blocked. If Bill were calling, he knew it was the boys' naptime and I would likely be home. I didn't want to worry him by not answering so I would climb over whatever was in the way and try to answer the phone without sounding winded.

Bill: Are you alright?
Me: Sure (pant, pant)
Bill: You sound out of breath
Me: (with fingers crossed for fibbing) I was just jogging in place / blowing bubbles for the kids / chasing the dog to get my shoe or whatever came to mind that day.

Did I fool him? No. He would come home to find the bed in a different corner or the couch on a different wall (at least the living room was easier to rearrange) and say that he knew by the phone call that something would be different when he came home. He would guess which room on his way home and was right 75% of the time. The bedroom caused more panting. (Hmmm, that doesn't sound all bad, does it?!)
Now, even though our living room and bedroom are much larger, their configurations are such that rearranging furniture isn't easy. Besides that, I try not do anything to cause back muscle spasms.I've pretty much lost the urge to frequently rearrange things.

Except for here.

So here I am with a new blog background. I hope it is easy on everyone's eyes. I will check it on Bill's computer and our laptop later. Each monitor is different enough that I get an idea what your views may be like.

I'm off to run the vacuum now. And maybe move the basket of magazines to the other end of the couch. That will be strenuous enough for one day, after all the exertion to get that sunflower over here on my sidebar.

Fun baby shower theme

I was a guest at a baby shower yesterday. I didn't have my camera with me, but hope my descriptions and a few internet photos will give you ideas if you ever need to work this theme into a shower or other type of party you may host.

The invitations were printed on the computer, cut into a simple square and glued to a star cut from blue cardstock. The heading was "A Star Soon To Be Born".

Each guest received this bag as a favor. It says About To Pop! on the silhouette's belly.

Each table had a centerpiece of movie theater sized boxes of Sugar Babies, popcorn and Junior Mints and a DVD of a baby themed movie. These items were in a bucket like this

The movie in the centerpiece at my table was Three Men and a Baby. A game was played based on the mommy-to-be opening gifts and a pacifier being passed around each table. The person in possession of the pacifier when the last gift was opened won the centerpiece.

My gifts to the baby were the quilt and sweater I've shown recently and two bibs made from a bandana and two washcloths.

I made a card with a bear wearing the sweater and bib, sitting on the quilt and gave laundry care instructions inside along with my best wishes for mommy, daddy and baby.

The pregnant woman image is from Cricut's New Arrival cartridge.

Now that I am past the SC wedding and this baby shower, I can turn my attention to upcoming bridal showers, a rehearsal dinner and an October wedding.

The holidays are either going to be a piece of cake this year or will go by in a blur. I see me sitting with my feet up in January and finally catching up on blog reading!

I'm baaaaack.......

Ahhhh, weddings.....

We are back from a wedding in South Carolina. I didn't talk about traveling there when I mentioning taking a break because of wedding involvement. Something spooked me and I didn't want to announce that all the members of my family would be out of town at the same time. I don't usually worry about many "what ifs" but some people are rightfully concerned about too much personal information being online and I decided I shouldn't make it easier for an unscrupulous person to break in and steal my collection of vintage dust balls. I know I did the right thing. The dust balls are right where I left them.

The wedding was as wonderful and beautiful as a wedding could be. The groom is my husband's godson, his parents are long time friends who have lived in the south for most of their marriage but have never moved an inch away in our hearts. This trip was Colton's first big trip and his first flight. He did just fine. Within 30 minutes of being home he rewarded his parents by rolling over for the first time. What better souvenir of their trip could they have?

The wedding colors were purple and orange, Clemson colors. The scrolls and dots on the cake are purple. Each layer was a different flavor, and all were delicious. The picture in the upper left is Colton with Uncle Billy. Next he is pictured with Grandpa, then his first time in a pool with his Daddy. The picture of him in the middle row shows that he has thighs just like his Grandma, only on him they are cute. The bottom row is dance floor shots and Colton tired of all the celebrating.

Last summer the couple who are now married went to Niagara Falls on a side trip on the way to a wedding of a cousin in another part of Michigan. They stayed on the Canadian side of the Falls, but the young man wanted to propose on American soil, so they crossed as pedestrians to an area in the U.S. His girlfriend LOVES gumballs and used the last of his quarters to get some. He proposed, she said yes, and they headed back to Canada and their hotel. But uh-oh....they didn't have change for the pedestrian fare to get back into Canada. They had no money at all, and the ATMs were down. A shopkeeper took pity on them and gave them the necessary fare to get back to their room.

The groom's mother used this story as part of her table decorations at the rehearsal dinner. Each table had ribbons and votives in Clemson colors, a square vase with pebbles in the bottom and a large Gerber daisy floating on top, packets of gumballs at each place setting and quarters scattered in the center of each table. Members of the bridal party had gumballs in these cute gumball machines made from clay pots and a votive holders. Extra ones were made for the her sisters, for Kim and myself.

Amazing what a clay pot and saucer, a wooden heart and knob, a round glass votive holder, some paint, glue and ribbon can become, isn't it?

Colton is here with us today and tomorrow so it may be a while before I am caught up on reading blogs. Another few days and I should be back to normal.....whatever "normal" means.

Sweater done, and time for a break

I saved the pattern for this sweater from a magazine in the 80s. My sons were already too big for it, but I knew I would want to make it someday. This is a toddler size 2 and will be for a baby shower that I am attending in a few weeks. Recent baby showers have given the mommies so many infant and 6 month size clothes, I thought I aim ahead a bit.

I've been under the weather, almost literally, with sinus woes worsened by the humidity. Nothing serious, just aggravating because the headaches prevent me from doing some things that I enjoy and sometimes things that need doing...like washing floors.

The son of dear friends is being married this weekend. The groom and his bride are wonderful young adults and we are excited for them. We are honored and happy to be involved in so many of the pre-wedding events. Having fallen behind in housework and knowing we will be busy from Thursday on through the weekend, I am announcing a blog break now. I miss reading blogs even when I don't have much to say on my own, but I know what happens when I sit at the computer with my coffee in the morning. Suddenly it isn't morning any more!

See you next week, hopefully recharged mentally and with something lovely to post.

Sunday School Humor

LOT'S WIFE; The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot 's wife looked back And turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, 'My Mommy looked back once while she was driving,' he announced triumphantly, 'and she turned into a telephone pole!'

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?' A thoughtful Little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I'd throw up.'

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, 'Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?' 'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he, with just two worms.'

HIGHER POWER
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?' One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, 'So your mother says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?' The little boy replied, 'Thank God he's in bed!'

TIME TO PRAY
A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night. 'Yes, Sir,' the boy replied. 'And, do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked. 'No sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the daytime.'

SAY A PRAYER
Little Ricky and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Ricky received his plate, he started eating right away. 'Ricky! Please wait until we say our prayer.' said his mother. 'I don't need to,' the boy replied.. 'Of course, you do,' his mother insisted. 'We always say a prayer before eating at our house.' 'That's at our house,' Ricky explained. 'But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!'

A new toy

I have a new camera! I think hubby got tired of me complaining that my old camera took too long before shots, took lousy indoor photos and couldn't take photos of fireworks. Doesn't everyone need pictures of fireworks? He told me a while ago to figure out what I wanted and let him know what it was.

I have a few friends who are excellent photographers. They could take photos with an old Brownie and put most of us to shame. Some of them have expensive cameras with bells, whistles and doodads that I may, in a moment of weakness, desire but when I come out of that lusty stupor, I know I would never master or even attempt to use many of the features. I wasn't actively searching for a camera, but my eyes and ears were open.

While getting ready for bed one evening last week, QVC was on TV as it turned midnight and the new TSV (Today's Special Value) was announced. It was a camera. Eyes and ears turned to focus on the presentation. After the initial sales pitch, I was interested enough to ask Bill to watch.

The following day I researched the camera online. It seemed to fit my needs and the few negative reviews I found seemed to come from people whose skills and expectations were way beyond mine. I ordered it, received it and have played with it over the weekend. So far, so good.

The camera is a Kodak EasyShare Z981

I won't bore you with all the details. The selling features for me were the zoom, being able to manually adjust shutter speed on some settings, burst mode (taking 8 pictures rapid fire to assure getting a photo), the "scene modes" and the all purpose easy capture (regular setting). Scene mode settings include high ISO, night portrait, landscape, night landscape, flower, sunset, backlight, candle light, museum, text, beach, snow, children, self-portrait, stage and...ta dah!...fireworks. If one of those settings doesn't cover what I am trying to photograph, I may as well give up. It also takes panoramic photos: two or three views that are magically stitched together. I played with that, but the photos weren't anything interesting that I would share. Yet. I will share these test photos though.

Zoomed in on the daisy:

Liking the texture and contrast of firewood:

Tree branches from a distance, surprised that I could catch the spider web:

In burst mode, 8 shots are taken in rapid succession. The western that had been on TV seemed like it was fast paced until I took these pictures. Go figure.

Normally last night would have been a good night to try to capture fireworks but the mosquitoes were in full attack mode. I experimented from indoors, watching my neighbors light these on their dock and hoping sparks would not land on our boat cover or ignite their dock.The orange glow in the lower left is their fire pit.

The camera records video also, but unless Bill decides to tap dance before the day is over, you are all spared from me posting a clip here. Heck, if Bill decides to tap dance, you still won't see it. I'll be sending that into America's Funniest Videos and planning how to spend $10,000!

Have a great day, and say Cheese!

Click for a Jaquie Lawson greeting:
Happy Independence Day!

 

Friday, and Done!

Good news from my corner of the blog world. Unfortunately nothing that will bring meaning to your personal lives, but I think we can all take comfort in small bits of good news, especially if we listen to media news and wonder why we even got out of bed in the morning.

First, an update on my neighbor. He is HOME! He is bruised and swollen, but looks much better than I would have guessed and sounds like himself. Attending the funeral of his friend will be difficult, but he felt he had to be there today. After today he can recuperate at home, hopefully without set backs or side effects.

Back in April I complained commented on a sweater that I was concerned would never be finished and that I feared I was running short of yarn for the sleeves. The sweater was started to use up yarn that had been bought for a different project, then abandoned. The first time I had ever done that.    Honest. Oops!

I tracked down an internet source and ordered enough yarn for both sleeves (in case color matching was an issue, I thought two slightly 'off' sleeves would be better than one) and finally, the never ending sweater is done!

The other finished project that I am happy to say is done is a baby quilt for a friend of my younger son. The baby shower is a few weeks away, but so much is going on this month I was hoping to get it off my mind before this long holiday weekend. I succeeded! It is bright. These are not the colors of her baby's nursery, but I figure one of the grandmas is probably taking care of that. Between car travels, nap times at other homes and floor play, babies can always use extra blankets and quilts. The baby's parents are dear to me and I think they will be happy with this exuberant quilt called Animal Party.

The back of the quilt is the same bright green with small dots of many colors as the binding. Some of the squares are cut from Animal Party, a printed panel from Robert Kaufman fabrics.

The rest of the quilt was cut from coordinating fat quarters in a block design called Crazy Eights by Bits 'n Pieces.

 Happy weekend wishes to everyone.

July 1st: Rabbit! Rabbit!

Rabbit! Rabbit!  (said for good luck on the first day of the month) or Wabbit! Wabbit! if you welate to that wascally Elmer Fudd.

Those of us living in the USA know that the biggest celebration in July is Independence Day on the 4th, but when it comes to celebrating, why stop at one day? Here are other holidays for your enjoyment, some are very much in the lesser known category. If you plan a party for any of these events, be sure to call me!

July 1

• Canada Day
• Second Half of the Year Day
• U.S. Postage Stamp Day
• Zip Code day

July 2:

• I  Forgot Day
• International Chicken Wing Day

July 3:

• Compliment Your Mirror Day
• Stay Out of the Sun Day

July 4:   

• Independence Day!    
• Invisible Day
• International Drive Your Studebaker Day

July 7:

• Chocolate Day
• Father-Daughter Take a Walk Together Day
• Tell the Truth Day

July 10:

• Don't Step on a Bee Day
• Teddy Bear's Picnic Day

July 15:

• Gummi Worm Day
• Saint Swithin's Day (click for link to explanation)

July 17:

• Wrong Way Corrigan Day(click for link to explanation)
• Yellow Pig Day
• Cow Appreciation Day
• National Hot Dog Day
• Toss Away the 'Could Haves' and 'Should Haves' Day

July 18:

• National Ice Cream Day

July 19:

• National Get Out of the Doghouse Day
• National Hug Your Kid Day

July 20:

• National Lollipop Day

July 22:

• National Penuche Fudge Day
• Rat Catchers Day

July 23:

• Gorgeous Grandma Day
• Hot Enough For Ya Day

July 24:

• Cousins Day
• National Drive Thru Day
• Tell an Old Joke Day
• National Day of the Cowboy

July 27:

• Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day
• Walk on Stilts Day

July 29:

• Lasagna Day
• National Chili Dog Day

July 30:

• Cheesecake Day
• Father-in-law Day
• National Talk in an Elevator Day

Have a wonderful July, whatever you decide to celebrate!