Toys for Christmas

This is another picture of my Mom in Singapore.

She is sitting with more of my doll collection and over her is a very nice print I loved

hanging in my living room.
The 8 immortals were rewarded with immortality for their good deeds.
The Taoists believe in ying and yang (opposites like male female)

The Eight were called the "roaming immortals" in Taoist legends. Their images appear in all sorts of arts and crafts, including furniture, porcelain, paintings and embroideries, often to convey the idea of a leisurely, carefree life.

The best known tale that involves all of them together is Ba Xian Guo Hai or The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea. It describes how, when crossing a sea in their wanderings, each of them used a different object (a walking cane, a fan, a scimitar, etc.) as a vessel. Thes has given rise to an everyday saying: when people try to accomplish the same task by different methods, they are said to be emulating the example of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.

(Text: pep.com.cn; Photo: baidu.com)

Taoists believe in harmony.

I didn't think anything of it at the time when this picture was taken cause we didn't have internet as such and Singapore practiced censorship, but today, putting my Mom on line with these roaming immortals, sorta immortalizes her as well.

See how life is?

Christmas was toy time and this is when I took out all the toys to display.
The rest of the year I had a spare room where I displayed all my dolls.
It was a lovely room I enjoyed sitting in. I am not sure if I have a picture of it.
Probably not.lol

Another shoulder warmer lol

This one went faster and the third one is almost done as well.

Have a great day!

Christmas Memories

This is my Mom sporting a designer dress I lent her.
She is standing in front of a Baroque Piano and my doll collection which I display on top of the piano.
The shawl was crocheted by my Motherinlaw. It was a big and hard job for her to do but she was very good at this kind of thing and I have to give her credit for teaching me and getting me to learn and take an interest in this hobby.
Now I do it all the time and think of her.

Time and life, all memories now, except for the things we leave behind.

It is dull outside and the Gray Cup is being played in Vancouver . So far the BC Lions are winning against Winnipeg.
Vancouver is not letting people watch the game on the street anymore because of the riots we had for hockey which they are still prosecuting people over.

Hope you have a great day.

:)

Little Cabwich

You know you are getting older when you pull something like this out of the closet.

I made this little gal way back when.

This was around the Cabbage Patch time when women were trying to sew dolls similar to Miss Cabbage Patch.

There were not enough to go around and people had mad fights in the store to obtain one while others bought them to resell at exhorbitant prices outside the store.

I see them today on store shelves and no one pays attention to them.

Well this was my first shot at doll making and I sewed her hair in before putting a little glue to make sure it couldn't be pulled out.

Today I am getting back into the mood to make these little girls but I would draw the face first before putting the doll together because its easier.

I called her Cabwich for Halloween because of the Cabbage Patch history and it being Halloween.

Otherwise I would have made her more like Raggedy Anne because she is really my favorite doll. I think every little girl misses out not having one Raggedy Anne.

That doll has history.

But for now I will be happy with my little gal here and she looks happy to be found.

Have a great day!

40 cm Porcelain Hobo Clown -Worker Who Wanders

I pulled this little guy out yesterday from a box to check out and he seems to still be in excellent condition. He came from Scottsdale Arizona from Heritage Mint. Ltd.
He's made from Bisque porcelain. I don't know if that's good or bad but I like him. He kinda grows on you lol.
I have his friend I still need to find. I should give him a name but can't think of one. The box says Wilbur.A group the Traveling Wilburys sing train songs so I guess Wilbur is famous name in the Hobo world.

Usually I collect dolls to display at certain times of the year. I have always wanted to make some dolls but the farthest I ever got was making Raggedy Anne.
I love Raggedy Anne dolls and maybe will go back to making her one day.

Right now I am in dire need of display cases so one day this will be my project. Once I take the dolls out to display I can put them away, easier with the display case. The only thing is It would have to have a place for the original box the doll came in as well.

I hope the weather coming your way is not too cold. Here in BC it is chilly but we have no snow.
I sure do not envy people having to go to work today. lol Most of the battle is to get there and to come back home.

Our stereotypes of the tramp as being lazy, stupid, alcoholic, freight train jumping bums has much to do with vaudeville, comedians, and clowns.

Yet there did develop a tramp or hobo culture in the late 1800's, and well into the tramps of the1900's. This culture had a lot to do about railroads & developed it's own sign and spoken language, music, poetry, customs and rough justice system. Americans were on the move, leaving farms, traveling north, south east and west.

The Great Depression saw many young people leaving home and hopping trains.

They wrote letters you could read:

How Americans Survived the Great Depression

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Father Delany was walking home after his sermon late one night when he came upon this intoxicated tramp on the sidewalk. Wanting to help, he asked the man, "Do you live here?"

"Yesh," the man slowly replied.

"Would you like me to help you upstairs?" the father asked.

"Yesh," the man slowly sputtered.

When they got up on the second floor he asked, "Is this your floor?"

"Yesh," again the man replied.

Then Father Delany got to thinking that maybe he didn't want to face the man's irate wife because she may think he was the one who got the man drunk. So, he opened the first door he came to
and shoved him through it, then went back downstairs.

But lo and behold when he went back outside, there was another tramp lying on the sidewalk. So he asked that man, "Do you live here?"

"Yesh."

"Would you like me to help you upstairs?"

"Yesh."

So he did and put him in the same door with the first tramp. Then went back downstairs, where, to his surprise, there was another tramp.

So he started over to him. But before he got to him, the tramp staggered over to a policeman and cried, "For God's sake, offisher, protect me from thish man. He'sh been doing nothing all night long but takin' me upstairsh and throwing me down the elevator shaft!"



Norman Rockwell - Hobo

And that's the long and short of it.:)

Lyalya

Lyalya, is short for Lyamara.

It's a name I gave the walking doll, my Aunt Eugenia gave me.(above)
I had another Lyalya which I loved but my Mom burned it when my puppy got rabies.
All the dogs in the neighborhood were afflicted at that time and cats were also disappearing.
The rumor was, someone was eating them.
Since my dog and I played in the basement, all my toys disappeared.

I don't remember how old I was. 8? 10?
When I got my second Lyalya, I thought, I was too old for dolls but then she was nice and she was used for decoration.

She has her original hair and dress but the shoes broke so I put my
sons' baby shoes on her.
I also put on a prettier dress over her old one and my Mothers' old wig.
She decorates my living room so it is never empty and she is great beside the
Christmas tree. She's seen many over the years.

I bet many people remember these dolls way back when.
I recently saw one like it on the Waltons series.
It is because of Lyalya, I bought the new version of her at Walmart. They were on special.
I gave one to our school for Bingo night and I saw the little girl who got her and her eyes were sparkling with joy.
This made me very happy.
:)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPg_xQhvwg4&feature=related
Zoltan Orosz accordianist Dark Eyes.

TREASURES AND DREAMS

I wake up as always and think to myself WHAT A GREAT DAY!.

I like to leave my window open a fraction at night to get the

fresh air but since I’ve been married I had a problem with this

because my pet sleeping next to me, doesn’t like it and keeps shutting it loll

But apart from all these changes and inconsistencies you adapt and life goes on.

I can’t complain much. I am living my life as every one does but sometimes wonder

if there is something wrong with not having dreams?

Every one I know has/had dreams of becoming something or doing something

And I have always been content with who and what I was.

If I had something, that was great.

If I didn’t that’s ok too but if I had something and I lost it

This was not good at all.

Maybe this makes me somewhat of a hoarder but I feel some things come to you

And no one has a right to them just because they can.

This has always applied to me as well as to other people.

If someone didn’t give me something of their own free will

I would never take it.

This feeling leaves me at a distinct disadvantage when family members become

So called Indian givers.

Well I gave it to you…..

Ya you did so now what… you gave me a penny and now you want a dime? lol

Or

Oh I needed it and you don’t. Hunh?

Or

So what’s it to you? Hunh?

Or

You’re too old for this. Say what?

Or

No one bends down to pick up a penny anymore but I do and I collect them trying to teach

My family that a penny saved is a penny earned.

Well I do the saving and the wrapping up of the pennies when they make a dollar

But then they see it, want it and the roll disappears.

Somehow the roll becomes more appealing than the penny on the street.lol

But it doesn’t end up in the pocket of the person who hoarded it loll

Its like the story about the hen who asked her chicks to help with the chores of making the bread

but the only help she got was when they came to eat the bread. lol

So one does the hoarding and another does the enjoying because your things are not as important to them as much as their value.

So I hoard, I paint, I knit, I sew, in the hopes that one day they will smarten up and recognize antiques,

get the rewards from the things I valued, made and cherished for them.

Or maybe they will value my feelings and memories and efforts and keep them for future generations, which I always hoped would be the case.

There is a Van Gogh somewhere in the things we all do, that our families do not appreciate and then lose out on.

One time I saw these interesting big dolls that walked if you led them by the hand. I have boys, so really do not need dolls but I buy them anyway lol

I thought this would be great to give as gifts because I got one when I was a kid and still have it along with the memories.

It is like the movie Caine who died uttering his last word ….. Rose bud.

And no one knew it was his old sled, which meant so much to him, that he died thinking about it.

Maybe riding it in the snow was his dream come true and now finally he would.

So I got 6 dolls and it cost plenty to send them to the kids but some of them did not like this gift.

I had two left

One I decided to keep and the other I thought well there is Bingo night at school and they are looking for prizes, so I will donate it.

And I did.

But it so happened that there was another function going on at school whereby I had to pick up my son .

Bingo finished and people were leaving.

I happened to see this little girl with my big walking doll. The doll was half her size but it was her expression looking at it, that brought tears to my eyes.

For her it was a treasure, something she could not stop looking at and admiring. She was beaming Her Mom was beaming. It was a great night for them.

I didn’t know this little girl but I was so happy that the doll ended up to live with her. I felt like Ol St Nick that night and it was the best feeling.

This doll came to her, as some things I have, came to me.

It will be her treasure and she will feel about it just as I feel about my things.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she still had it to give to her children to play with one day.

I felt so great coming home that night and still today when I think about it, it makes me very happy.

I learned, the act of gift giving, comes in many ways . I also learned that there is no point to give, if people

do not appreciate what you have gone out of your way to do.

I broke even.

Three dolls found happy homes and three didn’t

But maybe they were given to other people who really loved them and in the end, this is really the main thing.

The greatest treasures are not things but what you find in your heart when they are given and received.

Well these were my thoughts for today.

Enjoy yours!!!