...in my fifties begins today! Although, based on the letter I got in the mail yesterday (mixed in with birthday cards from friends and family), you may think it begins my final year ever! Yes, I received a letter from a local funeral home wanting to introduce me to their new "funeral preplanning program." Now, if that didn't make me feel old, I don't know what will... But, it's true, my friends--today is my 59th birthday. It's made me quite nostalgic, especially when I found this old photo of me dancing with my dear father on my very first birthday, Raggedy Ann doll in his hand. My first birthday: January 16, 1956 The Raggedy Ann doll made me recall other old memories of growing up in the fifties and sixties and I found myself lost (for hours!) on Pinterest boards amidst some wonderful old images that I hadn't seen in years. I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you. This post probably won't mean much to any of you who aren't in your forties, fifties, or sixties, but for all my younger readers, you'll glimpse a little part of how many of us "older" stitchers grew up... DO YOU REMEMBER... Learning to read with Dick and Jane. Boring, but effective! Pledging allegiance to the United States of America... remember when it was your turn to hold the flag? Putting our heads down on desks for rest periods after lunch or to quiet a noisy classroom. I remember this so well when the news of JFK's assassination reached us on 11/22/63. Vintage Barbie dolls... my sisters sold mine at a garage sale! Does anyone remember playing this Barbie board game? My biggest fear was that I would end up with "Poindexter!" I preferred the more brainy guy, "Tom." The Easy-Bake Oven--one of my best Christmas gifts ever! I think my love of baking may have started with this... 45 rpm records--I wore many of these right out I listened to them so much! Old wooden Bingo tokens--loved that game! We had one just like this. Vintage roller skates with a key to resize them. Remember wearing your key around your neck on an old shoelace or piece of string so you wouldn't lose it? Metal loom to make potholders--perhaps my first foray into being creative! Yikes! I still remember screaming when I ended up with the "Old Maid" at the end of the game. OK--who can ever forget that smell? Didn't we all want hair like "The Breck Girl?" This is Cybill Shepherd in 1969! Another scent that brings back very, very fond memories! Smocked dresses on little girls--my grandmother stitched the most beautiful ones! Doctor Scholl's Original Exercise Sandals--I lived in these things in my teen years. We had this exact cookie jar! I was so excited when I saw it appear in an episode of "Mad Men." How many of you used to buy, wear, and then eat these colorful candy necklaces? Remember putting these Christmas stencils on your windows each December? "The Wonderful World of Disney" had kids across the country glued to their TV sets each Sunday night. And when color television appeared, it really became magical! And who didn't love Annette the most on "The Mickey Mouse Club?" Ahhh... "My Three Sons"--one of my favorite TV shows. Little did I know that 20 years later I could have starred in my own version of it! I still remember how excited we all were the day my dad brought home this "Meet the Beatles!" album. The entire family was dancing around the living room! But, along came "The Monkees" and Davy Jones stole my heart. How about you? And another sixties heartthrob of mine--Leonard Whiting in the 1968 version of "Romeo and Juliet." Who didn't want to be that lucky Olivia Hussey?! At least I had her same "long straight hair parted-in-the-middle!" Yes, life in 1955, the year I was born, was very different! I hope you've enjoyed my walk through my childhood and teen years. What other memories pop out in your mind from that era? I think it was a great time to grow up--a time of rapid change, not all good, not all bad. But, those years made me what I am today. So, I enter my last year in my fifties with hope and thankfulness. I'm not sure how I'll feel when I turn 60 next year, but as my husband always says when I complain about getting older, "It's better than the alternative!" I was so lucky to receive some lovely birthday gifts from my stitching friends which I'd like to share with you. My first gift arrived from dear June all the way from England. She sent me a pretty Jardin Prive chart with the threads, a peony and jasmine fragrant scent, and some cheery blue and white checked ribbon. Thank you so much, my friend--I look forward to using all of your wonderful gifts. Birthday gifts from June I also received a wonderful package of fabrics and trims from my sweet friend, Robin, in Virginia. She was so kind to include two hand-dyed packages of Monaco (because she knows how much I enjoy stitching "over one" on that particular fabric) and some lovely champagne colored chenille as well as a supply of navy ric-rak. I love receiving finishing supplies, Robin--thank you so much! I know I'll enjoy using these on some future finishes. Birthday gifts from Robin From my lovely friend, Valerie, out in San Francisco, I received a generous gift certificate to my favorite on-line stitching shop, 123 Stitch. I know I'm going to have a grand time perusing the site to choose some new charts or finishing materials. Thank you so very much, Valerie! Who doesn't love getting a gift certificate?! 123 Stitch gift certificate from Valerie From, my sweet friend, Cindy, in Tennessee, I received the most beautiful snowman ornament for my snowman tree that I have in my kitchen (I keep it up until the end of January). She mounted him in a pocket watch case, a technique that the talented Vonna shared with us in this post. I just love him, Cindy... the blue fabric you used is perfect for a winter scene. I know I'll be trying this type of finish myself in the future (along with most of you, I'll bet!). Birthday gift snowman ornament from Cindy In addition to the snowman, Cindy sent me a cute felted piece of birthday cake and not one, not, two, not three, but TEN fabric pieces for me to use in my finishing! I was so thrilled as we have very few places around here to get unusual fabrics... Aren't these wonderful? Thank you, dear Cindy--I know you'll be seeing these pop up on some of my future ornaments and pillows. Birthday gifts from Cindy And finally, from my dear friend, Myra, came a box load of goodies! Just look at this little handmade coin purse she made! I'm in awe--I have no idea how she comes up with these creative ideas, but her work just keeps getting better and better. On the end there are two small charms--a "C" for Carol and a small heart engraved with the words "Made With Love." As you can see she used three different fabrics in shades of blue: two on the outer part and one inside--just perfect for me! Handmade purse from Myra for my birthday Myra showed some of these mugs that she had printed at Staples from some of her samplers on her blog last month and little did I know that she would send one of them to me as a gift. My photos aren't the best due to the glare (we actually had a bit of sunshine yesterday--gasp!!) when I took them, but I think you get the idea of how wonderful the mug is. Birthday mug from Myra But, that's not all! Myra also sent me a bar of chocolate, some cozy stitching socks, two ribbon spools in blue, a bar of juicy peach shea butter soap, a darling vintage themed needle card, and some greenery that will be perfect for finishing Christmas ornaments. Whew!! Thank you, you generous soul--I love each and every gift, Myra! Birthday gifts from Myra And, while not a birthday gift, I did receive one more special delivery from England. Christine sent me this tiny bottle filled with bits of sea glass... How did that come about? Well, I admired her big collection of it on her blog and commented that I had never seen it in real life before. The next thing you know, Christine offered to send me some. I was so excited to get some real Cornish sea glass and will add it to my seaside display in my bathroom. She explained that the dark blue is quite hard to find and is often a piece of an old poison bottle. It's fascinating to imagine how old these pieces of glass are and how they found their way into the sea. Thank you so, so much, Christine for sharing a piece of your world with me--I love it! Cornish sea glass from Christine Wow! I was thoroughly spoiled and a couple of you have told me there are more gifts on the way. How blessed I feel to have so many thoughtful blogging friends from around the world--you are so very special and I hope you know how you've touched my life... Thank you all and thank you to those of you who sent cards and emails my way--I appreciate each and every "Happy Birthday" message. I had planned on showing you a couple of my recent finishes, but, honestly, I'm worn out--I've been working on this post for a few hours and I will just have to save them for next time. I'm so looking forward to Sunday as my two oldest sons have invited us to their apartment for my birthday dinner--only the second time we've been there for dinner in the five years they've lived there (hint, hint--boys!!). The middle son's girlfriend is helping with the cooking so my worries about food poisoning are gone (just kidding, guys!). I'm behind on blog visiting and commenting, but will be around to say "hello" to you all soon. I also want to wish a warm welcome to my new followers--so happy you've decided to visit. Thank you again for making my birthday such a special one and happy stitching, everyone! Bye for now...