Vintage Tins

I am fascinated with tiny tins. I love that Altoids mints come in little tins. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else that comes in a small tin these days, can you?

Years ago lots of things came in tins. Now it's mostly paper or cardboard boxes, or even just plastic wrappers. I wonder if there was a time when it was cheaper to make a tin out of, well, tin, than it was to make a cardboard box? I wouldn't think so, but I wonder why they did use tins more in the past?

I have a small collection of funny little vintage tins. They were (and are) very handy for "repurposing" which is, I'm sure, why these are still around.
The Doans Pills tin belonged to my grandparents. It seems they kept matches in it.

The two square tins were typewriter ribbon tins, and the round one was Scotch tape. A friend gave these to me. The Scotch tape tin had straight pins in it. I think the square ones were empty when I got them. Probably just waiting for some practical use to come along.
What tiny tins do you remember?

For more Vintage Thingy Thursday posts visit Coloradolady.

Word-filled Wednesday

[For more Word-filled Wednesday
"scripture photos" visit The 160 Acre Woods.]

Hoar Frost

Someone commented to me that we seem to be having the most interesting weather this winter. I have to agree. Here's another phenomenon I don't remember seeing before... at least not this dramatically. This is not snow. It's frost!

Out of whose womb came the ice?
and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
Job 38:29

Workbasket

It's been awhile since I've done a Workbasket post... and I still have quite a few I haven't share with you yet. I know you're just so excited about that, aren't you? This one is from January 1952, and as you can see, the cover was torn off.
For some reason, this issue seemed to have more than it's share of ads for selling greeting cards.

I wonder if they were as easy to sell as the ad makes it sound?

Here's a crocheted doily pattern I'd like to try for Easter. Doesn't it sound pretty with colored irises and open-work crosses?
And here are some more greeting cards we can sell to all our friends! I'd really love to run across a box or three of these at a garage sale or thrift store sometime. Wouldn't that be fun? It actually seems to me like my Grandmother had some like this when I was a little kid. Wonder if she bought them from some enterprising homemaker friend?
Selling greeting cards not for you? Not to worry. You can always sell your hair! You send it in and they'll make you an offer. If you don't like their offer, they'll "return your hair intact"!! My question is, how did they expect you to put it back on your head? I know people in those days were much handier at making things at home than we are now, but I never heard of anyone making herself a wig out of her own hair! So... what would you do with it if they returned it to you?
Besides reading the humorously archaic ads, I actually do like looking at the patterns in the Workbasket. And here's one I tried!
I didn't mess with making the picots around the edge, because I thought it looked just as pretty without it. And contrary to the description, I would not use "simplicity" to describe the pattern. It was a little tricky, definitely not for a beginner.
For the health-minded among us... or those who would like to "reduce" a bit, I'm sure we would all be interested in the Fat Girls' Diet. Doesn't that just sound like something you want to be a part of? The thing that baffles me about this ad is, what exactly are we getting for our quarters (or dollars, if we want all five)? I would assume they are booklets or brochures or some-such but it really doesn't say.
Aww... look at this! We can whip up some cute little aprons from all our surplus hankies. Isn't that so sweet?

I always enjoy looking at the pattern page, too. Check out that slip pattern! I've seen dresses that were less modest!
Visit Coloradolady for more Vintage Thingy Thursday goodness!

Another Tag!

I've been tagged by Joy @ Books and Life!

The directions for this one are: Open a document or photo folder, choose the fifth folder and then the fifth photo in that folder. Do a post describing the photo. Tag five friends to do the meme.

So... the fifth folder in my Picture folder is for 2005. (We got our first digital camera in 2001.) Then I have subfolders for months. So the fifth folder there is for May 2005. And the fifth picture is this:

This was the courtyard of a hotel where we stayed for a homeschool convention. Kinda pretty, huh? No story, though. Sorry.

Now, idn't that special? Oh, yeah... I'm supposed to tag some more people. This is the hard part! Okay. I tag:

1. Cynthia @ Life is Good
   
2. Dori @ A Moment in Time
3. Emily @ A Beautiful Life
   
4. Farrah @ Light in the Sphere
5. Kristi @ Kiki's Corner
   

The Bible and the Oath

I recently had the opportunity to review The American Patriot's Almanac. It is a treasure trove of all kinds of historical facts and trivia, divided into daily readings, one for each day of the year. One of the readings this week tells how several of our presidents have selected a particular scripture to have the Bible open to when they swear on it. The Almanac listed several of them. I really appreciate how meaningful each of these scriptures is for our country!

Theodore Roosevelt, 1905:

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror." James 1:22-23

Woodrow Wilson, 1917:

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble..." Psalm 46

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933, 1937, 1941, 1945:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal..." I Corinthians 13

Gerald Ford, 1974:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Jimmy Carter, 1977:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

Ronald Reagan, 1981, 1985:

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

What scripture would you choose if you were president? I'd like to know!

Visit Muse Swings today for a list of more Inauguration Day blogging!

I've Been Tagged...

...by Sandi from Rose Chintz Cottage & Inspirations.

~5 things that are in my purse:

1. wallet
2. keys
3. headache medicine
4. chapstick
5. mints
   

~5 things that are in my work room:

1. books
2. a printer/copier/scanner/fax machine
3. my computer
4. an easy chair
5. a lamp
   

~5 things that I've always wanted to do:

1. take an extended RV trip (for several months, not just a week or two)
2. visit England
3. write a book
4. learn to spin
5. travel the full length of the old Route 66
   

~5 things I'm into:

1. genealogy
2. blogging
3. reading/studying/researching/learning
   
4. crocheting
5. old time radio
   

~5 bloggers I pick to do the tag:

1. Aliene @ Meditations and Memories
2. Denise @ Denise's Blog
   
3. Kimberly @ Resisting the Script
   
4. Laura @ Glimpses of Our World
5. Rachel @ A Romantic Porch
   

The "Never Ever" Class - Week 1

The long-awaited day had finally arrived. We had signed the girls up for ski lessons and they are scheduled for each Friday from January 16 to February 20. The girls have been wanting to learn to ski or snowboard for a couple of winters, so they were eager to take lessons, and we were able to get a really good rate through our local homeschool group.

It had been really foggy here for several days in a row this week. (I was amused to hear the weatherman call it a "stagnant air advisory".) I had no idea what that might mean for skiing conditions, but up the mountain we went! I was amazed to break through the fog into bright sunshine just where the ski lodge is. See the blanket of white out in the distance in this picture? That's not snow. It's fog hovering over the valley!!
It made for a "warm" day for skiing. I don't know what the official temperature was but it was definitely above freezing. The girls shed their winter coats in favor of hoody sweatshirts, and even then complained about being "hot"!

This was a first-time experience for all of us. I have never skied myself, nor have the girls. So they were in the "Never Ever" group. (Me? I hung out in the lodge with my laptop and a book after I snapped a few pictures!)

Here the ski instructor shows them how to fasten the skis to their boots.
Then the group lined up to practice turning on a flat surface.
And then it was time to take the chair lift to the top of the "bunny hill" AKA Ego Flats.
According to my younger daughter, the hardest part is getting off the chair lift!
They had a lot of fun, and complained about being sore, but are looking forward to learning and practicing more next week.

I think it will be interesting to see what the weather on the mountain will be like from one week to the next.

Sweet 16

Has it really been 16 years since I first held her in my arms that snowy January evening? It seemed we had waited so long... we had been married 7 years. That was a long time? Then tell me how 16 years could possibly have gone by so fast?

When I was about 16 I discovered this poem that stuck with me through the years. I have tried to instill this truth into my children. As my daughter stands on the brink of womanhood, this is what I want for her:The Rose

It is only a tiny rosebud--
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I--
The flower God opens so sweetly
In my hands would fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I think I have wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?

So I'll trust Him for His leading
Each moment of every day,
And I'll look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.

For the pathway that lies before me
My Heavenly Father knows--
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments
Just as He unfolds the rose.

--Charlie Gilchrist

Chinook

We were almost getting used being dumped on with snow every day or two! I heard that we got about 100 inches in less than a month. I had always wanted to experience what that was like, and now I have. I'm satisfied. I don't need to have that experience again, thank you!

With all the snow and cold, I was surprised one morning last week to open the back door and feel a warm breeze (well... 40 feels warm when it's been in the teens mostly!) and hear the drip-drip-drip of snow melting. It's still the first week of January! And much as I might like it to be, it surely can't be spring yet! No, it's a Chinook! A Chinook is a warm winter wind. According to Wikipedia it's an Indian word that means "snow eater".

It did, too! The snow is gone from my bistro set...We can see the ground in some places.
It's not nearly as pretty as the huge piles of pristine snow. The slushy, sloppy mess of melting snow is almost as hard to deal with as the plowed berms and shoveled piles everywhere. This stage is just not much fun at all.

But, hey! The sunset was still pretty that day!

Mount Spokane

Last Saturday we drove up to the Mt. Spokane ski area to see what the roads were like, and to figure out how much time I needed to allow on the days I take the girls for their ski lessons. It was still very snowy at that time, so we took the 4-wheel-drive pickup. We were pleased to discover that the roads had been cleared and it was relatively easy to get to. I'll need to allow about an hour and 15 minutes for travel time each way.

The drive was beautiful, as are most drives of any distance around here. We started up the mountain just as the sun was beginning to set. (About 3:30pm! Yes, it gets dark really early this time of year.) The snow on the trees, and the light on the snow was breathtaking, so we stopped to take some pictures.

Winter in North Idaho

I hope you're not getting tired of snow pictures yet, because I have the feeling we have several more weeks of this... (No, I didn't say months. I'm thinking positively here!)

I like taking pictures of it because it is truly beautiful. All of the pictures in this post were taken in our yard or from our deck.

It is lovely to look at, but a major inconvenience when we need to go somewhere. The city streets are as rough as backwoods logging roads, and the piles of snow along the edges of the streets make them treacherously narrow.
I have lost track of how many "storms" we've had so far, but "they" say we are at 93 inches and counting, for the winter. I think that has broken all records. It is also a record for a calendar year... the amount of snow we got in January, February, and December of 2008 is the most ever in one year for our area. "They" say we should see a return to more "normal" weather by January 10th... but I'm not sure who "they" are and how "they" know!
Each time it snows the driveways and walkways have to be shoveled. Lyle is also very involved in the snow removal for the print shop parking lots, so he's been getting lots of fresh air and exercise lately! We've seen several crews up on roofs around town the last few days, as the accumulation threatens to be to heavy for the structure.
Get this! Wal*Mart even closed down on Thursday night to have the snow removed from the roof. They didn't know when they would re-open. As of last night, they were still closed! A snow plow had shoved piles of snow across every entrance to the parking lot, so we couldn't even drive through the parking lot. Isn't that wild?
Our little dog plows her own path through the snow in the backyard to "take care of business". She seems to enjoy romping through the white stuff, but is always happy to come back in the warm house after a few minutes.

Some days the sun shines. On those days it is usually bitterly cold, and the snow sparkles in the brilliant light. Then the clouds move back in and we have a lovely sunset!

Bright Hope for the New Year

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home, just our family. The kids played video games with their dad until about 9:30. Then we told them they could go up to the school room and watch DVDs until midnight. Our evening ended when the fireworks around the neighborhood went off at midnight. Our house is situated on a hill with a view of the subdivision in the valley below, so it was prime viewing for the fireworks going off in that neighborhood as well. The kids thought that was great!

After sleeping in this morning we gathered for brunch and a family meeting in the living room. We marked out our calendar for the rest of the school year and talked about activities that we would like to participate in, trips we have planned, and set goals for how to fit everything in.

The most exciting thing on our immediate schedule is the arrangements we have made for the girls to have weekly ski lessons for six weeks in January and February. None of us have ever been skiing before, even though we live in ski country. They are really looking forward to that! I am hopeful that it will help make the winter not seem so long!

As we begin the new year and set our goals and make our plans, the most important thing to remember is that ultimately God is in control of our lives and we are trusting Him for the future... whatever that may hold!

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9