Thursday, December 31, 2015

New Year 2016

This New Year's postcard describes
the weather we've been having here in 
Missouri!  
 E. J Andrews-1904
I WISH Y'ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From our back porch the Swan Creek has turned into a
raging river and sounds like a freight train rollin' by.
Thankfully we live high on the bluff side! 







Monday, December 21, 2015

Merry Christmas 2015

I love this sweet little Raphael Tuck postcard from 1906.
In case your wondering where I've been......
The hubs has been suffering with neck pain for about a
year.  The past couple months have been rough.  To his
 delight he finally had surgery! (I was a basket case).   
 He is home and doing very well, but full recovery 
will take several months. We are fairly confident he
will set off the alarm bells next time he walks through the
 body scanner at the airport or gets near a metal detector!
 My bachelor brother, ( I have referred to him 
as my "eccentric" next door neighbor in a couple 
of posts!) had a stroke.  As far as strokes go, he is in
 fairly good shape.  Issues with his right side and some
 vision loss.  He is also home and fingers crossed, 
 will have improvement.  I'm his "wheels"and his 
"meals on wheels".  Needless to say, I am concentrating 
on the important things in life.....family.
  Frankly, we all feel very lucky around here, things
 could certainly be a lot worse.  I don't know about you,
but I am very good at imagining the worst!!!
 
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas 
& a Happy New Year!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Thanksgiving 1015


 These Raphael Tuck postcards were 
sold here in America in 1916.
 Attributed to Samuel L. Schmucker
 Adorable children in sweet outfits.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

Sunday, November 8, 2015

National Toy & Miniature Museum- Architectural Dollhouses

By the time I visited the architectural dollhouse
section I was very short on time, so I stopped by
three of my favorites This large half timber 
English country home is a delight, inside and 
out.  So much to see......
 
No interior lighting, so these are a 
little blurry, (hard to keep my hand steady)
 but, I hope you will enjoy the peek anyway.
William Robertson spent 5 years of full time work
building the double sided Twin Manors, a Georgian
 Colonial circa 1790 The attention to authenticity
and detail is absolutely jaw dropping, right down
to the microscopic door latches that can be locked
with a tiny key.
A few of the 13 spectacular rooms.
 
If you would like to learn more about
Twin Manors, click these links from
 the Toy & Miniature Blog....it's amazing.
Twin Manors-Seeing Double 
Furnishings Fit For A Georgian Colonial 
Dining In A Manor 
The Devil's In The Details
Moving Twin Manors-A View Of The Front 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The House That Abe Built is an authentic
 replica of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home.
I admit, this is my favorite.  Even though it 
appears simple, the attention to detail
 is perfection. 
Again, no lighting, impossible to get an 
interior photo.  Here are a few from the 
Toy & Miniature Museum's blog with links.
Furnishing The House That Abe Built

Oh, if only I could touch and play.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
We had our first frost today, winter's on it's way. 

Friday, October 30, 2015

National Toy & Miniature Museum Kansas City--Miniatures

The miniature section at the National Toy &
Miniature museum is so much fun, it's like
 playing a game of  "I spy with my little eye".
Most of the miniatures are one inch to one
foot or 1/12 scale, some are smaller.  The
quality of the craftsmanship is mind boggling!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a dimly lit section you meander 
through, that has window after window of 
the most surprising things to see. 
A little antique shop.
Intricate iron work, wicker and upholstery
 on these sleighs & the dapple gray was gorgeous.
Painted wood carvings so tiny I 
could barely see them.
 
A cabinet dollhouse for a dollhouse.

Large display cases of silver, glass, pottery
instruments, furniture, paintings, carvings, 
basketry, wicker, metal work, tools, needlework
 etc....it's endless.

Beautiful painting on this cabinet.
Baroque Baby House.  Larger cabinet is 1/12
dollhouse scale, the smaller is 1/44 scale.

The Native American section has village dioramas of
 life on the plains, baskets, pottery & the tiniest bead work.
All 1/12 scale.

Odette from Swan Lake, her costume
was so intricate and delicate.
Remember, this is dollhouse
 size and smaller!
Such teeny weeny stitches!


 How small were the knitting needles
& crochet hooks that stitched these?

 Last, but not least & just in 
time to wish you....
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I hope you've enjoyed a little peek into
the extrodinary miniatures section.  I had
several of my followers in mind when I took
the photos......sure wish you all could have 
been there to enjoy them with me!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Final post from the T&M Museum 
will be the amazing architectural dollhouses.