Creating Memories

Vogue Ginnette My first memory of a doll was of the doll that stayed with me until...well I still have her actually after 50 something years!  My doll was a cheaper "knock off" of the Vogue Ginnette Dolls from 1957-1958.  There is just something so sweet and innocent in their eyes and cherub like face but still perhaps I am drawn to these dolls because of the many years of comfort my Sally gave me.  Sally was my name for my Ginnette look alike. Yet today...I just won't settle for a "look alike"!  I want the real thing.  Not only do I want the real thing but I want the ones whose eyes really open and close, who have the squeaker in their back, and have the Vogue name sprawled across their back. When my friends played with Barbies, Sally remained my little girl that I made clothes for out of socks.  She sits in a miniature little red wagon in my living room even now.  From her spot she watches me grow old and yet she hardly changes.  Her skin ...

   ROYAL RUBY... LIKE THE DEEP RED TASTE OF WINE There is something so rich about the deep red of Royal Ruby Glass.  Perfect at Christmas, Valentines Day, all Winter and Summer Long Anchor Hocking introduced the Royal Ruby line in the 1930's...well before my time...but when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's many homes we visited had lighted china cabinets or display cases where special glassware, figurines, or china was kept safely from little hands like mine.  Maybe its because I wasn't allowed to touch it then that now I collect it...or maybe its just simply because the glassware brings the warm memories of  Mama and her friends chattering around me while I stared longingly into the lighted cabinets at a color as rich as the garnet ring my mother wore. www.rubylane.com/item/168085-AHRRVS/Hocking-Royal-Ruby-Pineapple-Vase?search=1 https://www.rubylane.com/item/168085-AHRRBBBL4/SET-4-Royal-Ruby-Boopie-Bubble?search=1 ...

The Best Thing About Memo ries is.... CREATING THEM When we find that unhappy memories and thoughts crowd our mind what do we do?  ...well I mean what do we do other than become weighed down with sadness, anxiety, and depression?   We can change our focus for awhile and meditate on the good things ...the things we should be grateful for...there really is something about having a grateful heart and a spirit of thanksgiving that can turn our hearts from sadness to joy. Though its not always possible, add NEW LIFE to your environment   and create new Memories.  What makes you smile more than the playfulness of a new kitten? or a puppy? or the laughter of a baby or child in your house. (You can always offer to babysit, cat sit, or doggie sit for a friend.) Freshen up and change your environment ...rearrange your furniture , paint, get rid of excess stuff or donate old stuff and get something new (new for you).   Seek out and make new ...

P ink Roses...Moss Rose...Calarose... Homer Laughlin Swing My daughter loved pink roses.  Her wedding flowers were of course pink roses, her wine glasses had pink roses, her dishes...guess what...pink roses.... While she was alive, we had not found these dishes but oh how she would have loved them...and so do I.  I try to surround myself with things she loved...but of course I can't keep it all so I happily offer them in my shop https://www.rubylane.com/item/168085-HLCSWNGMR3PCS/Four-Piece-Place-Setting-Homer-Laughlin?search=1  

"ITS TIME TO CREATE NEW MEMORIES"  MY DAUGHTER TOLD ME ONE DAY...  This was her astute advice because she knew that not only were we sharing the grief of losing her sister, but that I was also struggling with the coupled grief of nearly losing her as well.  I still can't erase the horror of hearing a doctor say "we are losing her and you need to tell her goodbye."  But, my daughter has done a lot to try to help me to remember newer things and better times.  Sometimes it is more effective than others!  The loss of her sister still weighs heavily on us both.  I do find that the things--the stuff--that she held dear brings me warmth.  A sudden memory of her face delighted by something simple...like these Cups & Saucers with Carousel Horses... During one of her many hospitalizations a thoughtful friend sent her a gift of flowers arr anged in a cup and saucer set like these.  B ecause we shared a love for Merry Go R ounds, when the flower...

https://www.rubylane.com/shop/ruthsredemptions   Almost St. Patty's Day...time to think of GREEN, time to REMEMBER GREEN Erin!  So I was wondering who Erin was anyway...I love the rich Emerald Green on this Vintage St. Patrick's Day Post Card but kept wondering if Erin  was supposed to come back for his green hat and gloves... I love Google and the fact that you can google anything and Wikipedia with a world of answers of coarse had the answer.  Who knew that Erin was not a guy missing his green top hat? Okay so now I know! Do you? Other than hearing about a Lucky Leprechaun finding a pot of gold  somewhere.... and about a Saint named Patrick, I never gave the day much thought. I think somewhere in my blood line there is Irish and therefore I had reddish hair and freckles before the hair started turning gray that is.  I've heard that Ireland is a beautiful country  and that if ever I had the money it is a wonderful place to visit....

A red phone just like this one was one of my very favorite toys of the 1950's!  I would set up my little desk with my phone, paper, and pencils.  I thought I wanted to be a secretary when I grew up.  so I practiced and practiced! http://www.rubylane.com/item/168085-TYRDPHN/Vintage-1950x27s-Red-Metal-Toy-Rotary

Still Stuck on Valentine's Day!   Many of us have warm and perhaps hidden memories of  previous Valentine's Days with a very special someone.  This is another example of a neat collectible Valentine Hankie with a hidden message.  Vintage Hidden Message Valentine Hankies are fun like a not too hard Jig Saw puzzle with a special loving message....

Stuck on Valentine's Day.... So while we reminisce about previous Valentine's Days and add a touch of child hood (or otherwise) nostalgia to our current ones, what about Creating New Memories? We create new memories for ourselves and others everyday.  We can specifically choose to create new memories for Ourselves, for our Children, Grandchildren , other Family and Friends.  Of course our goal is to create happy ones :)  New Memories don't have to be built from nostalgia but the things I chose to build mine from are tid-bits of history.  Ever the romantic, I revel in the idea of who has handled this before me what did it mean to them and then what feelings does this "new to me thing" spark in me.  So I choose to collect old things. Currently one of my newly found  Valentine's are hankies...I like most that still appear as new... from the dainty to the vibrant and bright. http://www.rubylane.com/item/168085-LFTNRBTS8/Rays-Hearts-Vint...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Celebrate those you love with simple treats. Imagine the light in your young daughter or granddaughter's eyes when she eats lunch (or has tea and delicacies) at a Festive Valentine's Day Table.  It need not be expensive either!  *These Pink Princess House Plates are in my shop.  If anyone is interested in the Bakelite Utensils or any of the other items pictured they can also be made available.

This Pink Bunny Mug & Dish recently sold in my shop and the customer has given me permission to share her story regarding her memories that prompted her purchase.  You will find her comments below: I was ecstatic to find the Pink bunny set.  It has a very long history in my family.  The original was purchased in 1960.  Although it was first used as a baby dish for my younger sister and brother.....it soon became a sight of comfort with a mashed buttered boiled egg and cinnamon toast soldiers on sick days.  My mother kept and treasured it and it has now been retired to the family cottage that we go to each summer 1000 miles away.  It has been used by all six grandchildren who are now adults too. So to find a "new" old set right now is thrilling for me as in 13 weeks I will become a grandmother for the first time.....  Stories like these shared by customers warm me from my heart to my toes!

Ahhhhh...Christmas memories!  Many of us harken back to our favorite Christmas from childhood when the scents of Christmas surround us.  Finding a special something from a shared childhood memory can be the perfect Christmas gift for a brother, sister, cousin, Aunt, Mom, Dad...or most anyone!  http://www.rubylane.com/shop/ruthsredemptions

http://www.rubylane.com/item/168085-CCW/Vintage-Chalkware-Cherry-Plaque Vintage Chalkware Cherry Speaking of Memories.... Mom had a Cherry Canister Set with a matching Enamel tray in our kitchen when I was little...now I have them, along with many other kitchen items; vintage and new, along that Cherry theme.

Some Memories are stimulated visually ... some by touch and many by scents... I found an old perfume bottle this week that was just like one I purchased at my very first auction.  I was  about 8 years old when I went to the estate auction with my mother.  It was in the 1960's.  Mom gave me a little bit of change to spend and I came away very happy with an antique book and the perfume bottle with a faint rosey scent.  I didn't have many "pretty" things sitting around in my room and to me there was something so enchanting about the bottle that my personal genie could have popped out and I probably wouldn't have been surprised. So elated this week to have found this treasure, like the one from my childhood, that I began an online search to see what I could find about it's history.  The milk white glass perfume bottle decorated with a pink floral pattern I now know held Charles of the Ritz Moss Rose Cologne from the 1940's...

I've read that our sense of smell can often bring back good and bad memories and though I am certain there is truth in that, I have found that it is often "thing s " that bring good memories back to me.  I was already a devoted antique shop visitor when I lost my mother but I wasn't really an avid collector until after she was gone. I was browsing an antique shop one day when a simple plate with a cheerful pattern of  yellow poppies and black roses brought such a warm rush of memories, it nearly took my breath.  The cost of the plate was prohibitive so I jotted down the information on the back of the plate and started a long internet search through thousands of  Homer Laughlin pieces.  It wasn't the plate that I wanted anyway...it was an oval bowl in that pattern....a bowl like Mom used to serve scambled eggs. We had no other pieces in that pattern and I have no idea where Mom acquired that one random bowl.  Who would have guessed that just a plate, in ...