Favorite Childhood Toys

I'm playing along with Scrappy Jessi, and sharing some of my favorite childhood toys. It was lots of fun trying to remember what my favorites were and then hunting down pictures of them on the internet. Most of these pictures came from ebay, so ladies...our toys are still out there & we can own them again!!! (I don't have any actual pictures of myself with my toys which makes me think that I need to go through some of mom's old pictures!)

My sister & I played Hi-Ho! Cherry-O by the hours.

Everyone had Little Kiddles & the ones in the lockets, too. We had this surf-board one. (I say "we" because this one may have been my sisters, but we played together with a bunch of them, so who really remembers?) But, I remember the sunglasses, bikini swim suit & surf board like it was yesterday.I know that I personally had this exact locket one, though!!Then when we got a little older, Dawn Dolls were popular. They were like Barbies only smaller. I had this one named "Angie." I read that Dawn Dolls were only made for three years - probably quite a collector's item if I had hung onto it!

For some reason I had my share of boy toys (no brothers, so someone had to be the Tomboy).

I had a race track just like this (along with a dump truck & a cap gun.)

Did any of you have a Show and Tell? Wow, they were great!! There was a record and a film strip-like thing that you watched while the record played. I found this great picture on ebay. We had all of those shows...I remember Ali Baba and the 40 Theives & Hiawatha, too!! Lots of fun in the attic watching this with my sisters. I had forgotten all about it until I was searching for pictures of the Viewmaster, but this beats the Viewmaster hands down.My most favorite childhood toy was this Kewpie doll. I carried it everywhere. (This is not my actual doll, although mine was exactly like this...mine is around here somewhere, packed away in a trunk or something...but I found these pictures online.) For some reason my sister was mad at me one day and locked herself into her bedroom and made a HUGE red ink mark on the side of my Kewpie's face. We couldn't get it off and it faded to pink while trying. Let me just say, it was an awful experience.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the favorite toy posts. I'm sure it will bring back some memories for me!!

If you haven't signed up already, there is still time to sign up for my give-away. I will be drawing the winner at 7:00 (CST). Just leave a comment here. Thanks for playing along!!!

In a few days I will post pictures of the Spring Time in Paris Swap. That was a lot of fun! I sent my box out this week & am also waiting for mine to come - looking forward to it!! Plus I'm trying to get a few things ready for etsy, so check back! :)

Blogaversary!!

Yesterday was the one year mark for this blog!! The year has flown by. I have gotten a lot of new ideas from hopping from blog to blog - all I can say is, WOW! There are so many talented people blogging.

I'd like to give away a little something to celebrate the one year milestone...So - I'm putting together a basket of items - mostly things I've made, including some of my soap. I'll probably add a few things "vintagey." Just comment on this post and your name will be entered into a drawing to win it. If you link to this post on your blog, let me know and I will enter your name twice. I will draw a winner on Thursday, May 1st in celebration of May Day!!!! :)I am also putting together a similar basket for my very good friend Pam to help out with the benefit for her sister, Kary. Please keep Kary in your prayers.

{Muddy}

We have an extra season here in Northeastern Wisconsin - "The Muddy Season". It is sort of a parenthesis, stuck somewhere in early spring. BUT...this muddy season should be much more fun. Look at what my mom picked up for me at JoAnn Fabrics!! Who would have guessed...a fabric store?

(Yep, that's me...standing in icy mud in the back yard.)Also, taking the cappuccino machine out of hiding is sure to help matters. :)

A Long Pause

"The secret to a healthy soul is not the discontinuance of hard work but the regularity of a pause."

(Now where did I get that quote? I have it written in my journal, with quotation marks around it, but did not give the proper person credit. I know I read it in a magazine put out by Life Action Ministries.) Anyway...

I have taken a long pause, and am not sure if I am back in full swing yet or not.

I spent 4 days relaxing with my daughter, sister and mom in Wisconsin Dells. Our time was spent mainly reading, relaxing, hot tubbing, and talking. The place we stayed at was very nice, very quiet and peaceful!! It seemed that I was just beginning to unwind and then it was time to leave.

The week after that my family & I travelled to Michigan to see my oldest daughter & her husband. While there, I found out that I am going to be a grandma!!! Very exciting news.

Since my return home and back to the reality of life in general, I've been trying to be diligent in getting some crafting accomplished. I will be in several shows this spring (which has not really arrived here in WI - it is sleeting/raining as I type...hopefully washing away some of the 4 or 5 inches of snow we got the other day) and summer. Here's a look at what I've been working on...

Lots and lots of embellished notebooks and magnet clothespins.

I am adding tags to a nice collection that began when I received some gorgeous ones in a swap.

I need to begin using these on some gifts at some point.

I've really been swamped with much on my plate lately. I feel that this has been a time of real growth and dependence upon the Lord. My prayer is that I use my time wisely and accomplish much so that I may be of better service to Him. It is a constant struggle.

Hosea 10:12 ~ "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and showers righteousness on you."