Phones, pencil cups, and trinkets

That one word PENCILS said "SOLD" to me.

This flower frog belonged to my mother.

I use it to hold ink pens and not flowers.

An assortment of old keys inside this bud vase

This small desk I bought when I was single and living in an apartment.
Later my daughter used it as a study desk in her bedroom.
Now it is a writing table in the guest bedroom.


I use a small washstand as a bedside table. The phone and answering machine are not as pretty as the letter holder and vase.


One end of the kitchen counter is a message center. Blank index cards stay in the napkin holder for phone messages. The ABC pencil cup is a personal favorite. The digital frame sits nearby.

While I was sitting at the computer, my eyes fell upon the nearby pencil cup... started thinking about the other phones and the pencil cups near them...and this post you are reading started to develop. I must say I am not fond of today's phones. I miss my pink princess phone from high school days and a green and a gold one from the seventies.

Valentine Memories

From my grade school dance teacher Virginia Morgan

From my fifth grade teacher Mrs. Effie Peters

Hindsight. . . oh, if I had kept the valentines of the fifties. My older brother wishes for his long ago collection of baseball cards. Alas, we threw away many mementoes of those innocent days. Since my mom made a scrapbook of those grammar school days for me, I do have a few old valentines. In the wire basket I have a small collection of valentines from my teaching days. . .wish now I had saved even more. It's fun to look back and see what cartoon characters and pop stars were popular at different times. Also the sweet signatures of former students and occasional handwritten messages bring back days that went all too quickly.

Springlike Day

Strange to have such a mild day. . .72 degrees. . .in February, but I'm certainly not complaining. It was heavenly! I had to stop by the post office for a money order after bidding on Tracy Porter's book Dreams from Home. . . excited and eager to get my hands on it. Also purchased a few Valentine cards. . . must address them tonight 'cause special day is fast approaching. Once home I walked around outside. Oh, the flowerbeds looked pitiful. Soon I need to take away leaves that have piled up in spots. Thankfully in a few short months there will be lovely blooms. The decorative "stone" with the message was a gift from my mother who has loved gardening most of her adult life. I'm a rather late bloomer to gardening. . .understanding at last its rewarding joys. Hopefully she and I will be able to share another spring.

Friends

After a Thursday visit to the ER with my mother, it was wonderful to have two dear friends come and see me on Saturday. (Thankfully the injury to my mom's head was not deep and did not require stitches.) My friends and I shared hours of talking.We met in college and have shared our lives ever since. . . marriage celebrations, births of children, divorce heartaches, job moves, aging parents, ETC. I love that we have a long history together. Such friends are very, very special. But I am also happy that I can sit down at this computer and share with you. We may never get to meet face to face, but I know we have much in common.

Sentimental Hearts

I guess you can tell from recent posts that I'm fond of hearts. Some were given to me, and others were purchased at antique and gift shops. A particular caption in my senior high school yearbook started it all. A friend borrowed a line from Shakespeare and changed it to "Her heart is ever at your service." Since that time I have been a collector of hearts. . .brass, glass, porcelain, ceramic, wood, stone. It's a collection that has sentimental value.

Heart Narratives

friendship



vow


tender-hearted


comforting


Thanks, Misty, for the suggestion.

one photo + one word = a story






The heart hath its own memory,
like the mind,
And in it are enshrined
The precious keepsakes...
Longfellow

Hooray for Hearts

I'm happy that February, the month of hearts and Valentines, has made its entrance. The tag in the old flower frog was created by artist Colette Copeland(http://a-bird-in-the-hand.blogspot.com/).