nostalgia

I dream about the past a lot, like how it would be living in different eras.  That’s one reason I love books, because they take me wherever and whenever I want to go.  Sometimes it doesn’t take a book to trigger dreamy, nostalgic feelings, though.  Sometimes it can be objects, smells, tastes, really anything.  Well today my senses were arrested by a few objects and smells, and I went back in time to when my grandma was still alive, and my parents and I would visit her in Arkansas.  (She had a house full of history and memories and lots of unusual country living kinds of things.)

Today I visited some antique stores in Pineville, NC, and I found a store that smelled kind of like my grandma’s house used to smell, so I was instantly reminded of her.  Then I found something that I just had to purchase because it was an object that she used to have multiples of all over her house.  It’s a glass electrical insulator:

If you don’t know what they are, they’re used to insulate electrical wires on the poles you see alongside of the road.  This style of insulator is very old but they still use glass, I believe.  My grandma had a few just sitting around her house, and I knew I had to get this for decoration.  It’s heavy enough it could function as a doorstop, but I might stick it on a shelf so that I can admire it.

I also purchased an old Fiestaware dish at the same store.  It reminds me of my mom, who collects the old Fiesta pieces.  In fact, I think she has this exact dish:

There it is with my electrical insulator and two of my Gibson cookie jars.  And did you know there’s a way to tell between old Fiesta and new?  The old Fiestaware has a lowercase “fiesta” logo on the back/bottom, but the newer Fiesta has an uppercase “Fiesta” instead.  The old pieces are collectible, so I’m very proud to have found my own first piece!  My grand total for both items today was $18, so I was very excited.

So I make it a policy not to make a post without some kind of yarny thing.  I just don’t think it would be good for business, so to speak, to have a blog about crochet but not be posting about it.  I even try to make sure my posts about knitting also have some crochet stuff, because this is, after all, mainly a crochet site and I want to keep the interest of my dear readers.  Therefore I have another nostalgic item to share with you, and this one’s crocheted!  My boyfriend got this from his grandma, but we believe it was actually made by her sister.  It’s still in great condition and we use it on the double bed or on the couch:

How totally retro!  I love it so much.  It’s huge and it’s very well done and it makes me so happy to look at and snuggle under!

I loved making these photos look even more retro-y by using Instagram on my boyfriend’s phone.  I don’t have a smartphone but I love the different vintage effects you can put on pictures, so I’m overtaking my man’s phone and ditching my lousy point-and-shoot camera that forces me to laboriously edit every picture I take in Photoshop.

Sorry I was so chatty today.  I really like thinking that people might enjoy reading about the little things that make me happy, so sometimes I just can’t keep from sharing with you!  I could actually go on and on — I enjoy writing and sharing happy things with others — but I do realize that I have my whole life to blog, so I can take it slowly.  With that, I’ll bid you a good evening!  See you soon!