Happy May Day!

May Day Celebrations in 1910 (above) and 1911 (below) at the University of Missouri.

{Images from here}

Happy Easter!

Four Little Bunnies is a children's book from the 30's ~ written and photographed by Harry Whittier Frees, who was born in the town where I grew up ~ Reading, Pennsylvania. A whole series of books like these were created using kittens, puppies and other animals dressed in clothes and set in various different scenes ~ I remember liking these as a child ~ the books must have been my mom's when she was young.
The etsy seller where I found the image of the bunny washing clothes mentioned that the book has two notes in the beginning, the first is a dedication: "Dedicated to all the little bunnies who posed for the pictures in this book" and underneath that: "Note: These unusual photographs of real bunnies were made possible only by the patient and unfailing kindness on the part of the photographer at all times."

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Easter!

Speck & Sprocket's Day of Beauty

Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day ~ the perfect day for a trip to Picasso Groomery for the boys' spring makeover. The boys were all excited about the ride in the car ~ until they realized where they were going! Since they are both male and terriers, getting spruced up is not their favorite activity, even though their groomer is Tak, a celebrity! Grrrdy, Sprocket's sister likes getting pampered ~ she was honored with the PDG CLient's Star of the Month for June 2010.

After several hours at the groomery, the boys were bathed, trimmed and clipped and were looking pretty darn handsome. Sprocket wasted no time getting back on the deck to keep an eye out for trespassing squirrels and rabbits.

I think Speck has not quite forgiven me for taking him for a day of beauty......

Wish I could get Speck & Sprocket to pose like these guys. . . . .

{Walter & Delbert from here}

Brrrrrrrrrrr! It's Cold Out Here!

{Image from here.}

Love the tagline! Wishing you all a cozy and warm weekend!

Halloween Advice for Women & Girls

This is the story of one Halloween long ago ~ a lesson well learned and worthy of passing on to every woman & girl. My friend Gina & I were debating whether or not to attend the annual Hallmark artists' Halloween party ~ we hadn't come up with a good costume idea, but really wanted to go to the party to see everyone else's costumes. As a last resort, we decided we would go to the party dressed as single girls sharing a girl's night together ~ eating popcorn, trading beauty secrets and reading about how to attract men in the current Cosmo.

What a great idea we thought ~ easy too! We rustled up our housecoats, popped up a bowl of popcorn, gathered up some junky magazines and even stopped at the local drugstore for the finishing touch ~ cold cream ~ which we smeared all over our faces. Ready in five minutes, we headed to the party where we met our other girlfriend, who for some reason was dressed as a pig. The party was in full swing when we arrived ~ great costumes and lots of people. We weren't there too long before we noticed that few people were talking to us. It was dark and a little hard to see so we headed over the brighter area near the bar for a drink ~ it had gotten rather hot in the venue. When Gina got her drink and turned around, I noticed that the cold cream on Gina's face didn't look so great anymore ~ instead of being an opaque white mask, it had become a transparent greasy and globby mess ~ I cannot tell you what it looked like, afterall, this is a G rated blog! Of course, I looked the same ~ it was no wonder no one was talking to us! Our other friend in the pig costume was faring no better ~ she discovered her boyfriend had run off with someone else ~ they had a big fight and broke up. Miserable night ~ we felt like the ugly stepsisters!

Maybe if we had worn sexier bathrobes?

Moral of the story: If you are a female and want to have fun on Halloween, do not dress as a pig or put cold cream on your face ~ I recommend either a pretty costume or a sleazy one ~ either way, guaranteed good time! Try your luck with one of these:

{click on images to see sources}

Step on a crack....

Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Step on a line, break your mother's spine. Superstitious sidewalk sayings dating back to 1905 ~ I remember carefully walking home from the bus stop avoiding all of the cracks and lines in the sidewalk so I wouldn't injure my mom. I think I skipped over the cracks when I roller skated, even though that was mostly to avoid skinned knees.

So, since I have no kids of my own, how is it that I have a broken back??!!! Well, maybe not broken (I exaggerate), but certainly injured! Sorry for the lame post (and pun) ~ there may be a few more depending on how long I am out of commission ~ hopefully I will be back to my normal self soon!

{image from here}

Drowning!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately ~ I have been inundated with work at my job and at home! in addition to the deluge of work, the Kansas City area has been getting its fair share of rain as well. Please bear with me, I promise a flood of posts when I come up for air.

{image from shorpy}

Poor Misunderstood Tax Man

The more I thought about that evil looking tax man from yesterday's post, the more I thought he was just sadly misunderstood ~ here he is just innocently talking a walk in the garden ~ he doesn't look that scary now does he? Gina, please don't report me to the people at photoshop disasters!

{images from shorpy and nypl}

Tax Time again ~ groan!

It's that time of year again ~ gathering all those receipts for the IRS ~ I am finally at the point where I can drop them off at my accountant ~ woohoo!! The guy below may be the one responsible for all of this joy ~ Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury, laying the cornerstone of the IRS building in 1929. A rather cryptic photo ~ I wonder if the photographer intended the end result to have such a creepy effect? Can you imagine that guy showing up at your door to audit you?! Yikes!

{image from shorpy}

Fun with Coraline!

As I mentioned earlier, D and I decided to go to Coraline for a Valentine's Day treat ~ one of my main reasons to go was to see just what part the scottish terriers had in this movie. I had seen a trailer several months ago and glimpsed a split second of what looked like an entire theatre of scottish terriers ~ I was not seeing things! While the scotchmen played a rather minor part in Coraline, they did add a spot of humor ~ I'm sure someone in the creative group must have a scottie ~ their mannerisms and personality were captured quite well. Check out these handsome well behaved scotsmen below:

While we really enjoyed the movie, I discovered that the Coraline website is lots of fun too! Aside from being a pleasure to look at, one can build your own flower, write your name with jumping mice and button your eyes so that you can stay in the other world if you so choose! Button your eyes here.

{ Our family portraits }

Friday's Attire

Still FREEEEEZING! Guess I'll have to break out the dog wrap for tomorrow ~ I'll be sporting a black and white scottish combo instead of the golden shown below.

{image from here}

Happy Thanksgiving!

{Thanksgiving pageant around 1910 ~ photo via shorpy}

Happy Halloween ~ Have a Devilish Day!

{German devil found here}

{vintage style spun cotton devil found here}

{German Krampus found here}

{Vintage embossed paper devil with paper inserts from ?}

{the real thing from here}

Happy Birthday Dad!

I just had to post about these great Halloween portraits ~ I gave these to my Dad for his birthday October 28th ~ he has always loved Halloween and I thought he would have fun creeping out the grandchildren with them. I mentioned these in an earlier post, but then I hadn't found the frames then ~ I was so happy with the results, I had to share again!

{haunted vintage photos for extra creepy Halloween decor}

Ghastly masks

When I was looking for some mask inspiration I came upon this photo ~ really creepy! Unfortunately there was no information with the photo, so all I can surmise is that it was taken during wartime ~ looks like a large group of children wearing gas masks ~ maybe a youth group of sorts? Notice that everyone is dressed in what looks to be a school uniform ~ except the troop leaders. Odd and disturbing, but mesmerizing.... almost looks like a parade ~ but why would they be celebrating?

{photo found here}

Kismet or Coincidence?!

Whether it be kismet, coincidence or just a case of great minds with the same last name think alike, I was pleasantly surprised to come upon these here. As you can see, the mark I have used in my blog title is similar ~ I am using the one below for my artwork blog which is not up and running yet.

Clip art has been around for a long time ~ these are marks used by a woman photographer in the late 1800's ~ printed on the backside of the CDV's and cabinet cards she made and sold. Mrs. W. A. Reed (Candace McCormick Reed 1818-1900) opened her own photography studio after her husband died ~ she was also a philanthropist who helped many Civil War soldiers. You can read more about women and photography at kodak girl ~ lots of great visuals and information.

{all images via kodak girl}

Fabulous Frights ~ Decor for your Dungeon!

These are just the coolest decor you can find for Halloween ~ even more amazing in person! Whether you call it lenticular art or magic motion, these portraits change back and forth from each image depending on your viewpoint ~ not quite the quintessential "portrait with watching eyes" but just as creepy! Check out the whole family gallery here.

This weekend I made a trip to Curious Sofa to check out their Halloween fare ~ this is where I found my very own "Aunt Madeline" and "Grandpa Esbat". These don't come with frames, so I thought it would be fun to make some of my own out of painted and glittered black chipboard.

{all images via haunted memories}

The Willard Suitcase Exhibit

Quite a while ago I came upon the Willard Suitcase Exhibit online and found it disconcerting, yet fascinating. While there is a traveling exhibit one can see at many venues across the country, the online exhibit of The Lives They Left Behind ~ Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic, certainly gives you a good idea of what it is all about.

{attic where suitcases were found ~ men's on one side, women's on the other}

Basically, the Willard Asylum/Willard Psychiatric Center operated in some form from 1869 ~ 1995, when its doors were closed and several staff members and a museum curator worked to save artifacts left behind. Almost 400 suitcases were found labeled and alphabetized ~ untouched for years ~ the suitcases were moved to a NY State Museum's warehouse where they were later examined more closely and researched further resulting in a major exhibition in 2004 at the NY State Museum. The researchers were able to match residents of the asylum with their specific belongings and memorialize their lives in a respectful way.

{ filled steamer trunk}

{Margaret's personal photos and keepsakes}

{ID card or record?}

Below are several of the suitcase owners whose lives are written about on the online exhibit. You can read more about those below and seven others here ~ click on 'the suitcases' once you enter the online exhibit.

{various photos of Frank}

{Madeline ~ resided at Willard for 47 years}

{Ethel}

{Willard Asylum}

It is interesting to note that over 50,000 patients were admitted to Willard over the years ~ nearly half of those patients died there. All images via.