Bald Eagles on the MIssissippi

Snowflakes On My Jacket

#9 The Perfect Prescription

I think this is some kind of kitschy souvenir shot glass. It's old.

Bug Girl For Real

#8 The Foam Fyre Fyter

#7 Lea & Perrins Has Been Around A Long Time

#6 A Singer Sewing Machine

Coincidentally, my Grandparents live near the Singer Tract, which was once a forest with ancient long leaf pines where the Ivory Billed Woodpecker could be found. After logging and tree loss due to suppression of necessary fires, the woodpeckers are gone as are most of the old big trees. The long believed extinct Ivory Bill was re-discovered in the Pearl River Drainage in 2005.

#5 Old Cameras

The Invisible Mom

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response,
the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone
and ask to be taken to the store.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this?
Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a
clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer,
'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around
5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the
eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

I did not write this. It came in an email. Thanks Angela. This is exactly what I needed to hear.

Cat Spanking

#4 Some 45's Still Survive

Creedence Clearwater

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

Swiss Polka???? *scratches head*

The Human Beinz, It's Fun To Be Clean. I'm sure Ben will understand.

An eclectic mix of 45's I found in the 150+ stack I acquired.

Yes! I scored a monster cache of 45's. They belonged to my Uncle David when he was a teenager. Thanks Uncle David! He doesn't want them any more. That might have something to do with the fact that they're not in the greatest condition. I might have had something to do with that when I was a kid. If your name is Ben and you are a digital music wizard, you're in luck. This veritable treasure trove of musical majesty will soon be yours. If you're not Ben, never fear, he's digitizing them and they might just show up on a blog someday. Seriously though, Uncle David, you listened to Swiss Polka???


PS. I forgot to put up the very good condition Kid Galahad Elvis Presley. My bad.

PPS. If you want to read the labels, just click the picture. I made them clickable this time.

#3 My Family Has Old Money

The State of Louisiana Money ca.1863

.

Confederate States of American Money ca. 1864

.

WWI Era German Mark ca. 1922

.

Picture of the this has been removed. These two dollar bills are still in circulation. I'm not sure if posting a scanned image of US currency is legal or not. I believe that I've followed the Federal Code, and that it would be ok. Also the code doesn't seem to take into account blogging, as I see some gray areas. But just in case, I removed it. I don't need any governmental headaches.

Silver Certificate Two Dollar Bill ca. 1963

.

You thought I was kidding when I said we had old money. It may not be numerous or the blue-blooded east coast kind, but I assure it is very old. Who knew that Louisiana printed their own bills before the civil war. Either way, it's very cool. Why do I like old stuff?

*These are actual scans and not photos.

#2 Antique Bottles

My graddaddy collected antique bottles. He dug most of these bottles all over the south, but probably mostly in Louisiana. The glass is beautiful and when the light hits it, you couldn't ask for a better photography subject. You know what the real kicker is? I took these pics manually!

14 Days of Cool Stuff I found

I've just returned from a Thanksgiving trip that traversed at least 5 states and covered around 1200 miles. While there I made many discoveries and took tons of pictures of amazing and interesting old things that my grandfather collected over the years. Each day I'm going to post something new for your delight and entertainment.

Did you notice the green hat I'm wearing? Well that is our first item. What makes this hat so special? It is a WWII military hat. Stamped at the factory on May 29, 1953. The wool on the inside of the flip down ear cover has a few teeny moth holes, but other than that, the hat is pristine. How's that for cool?