Clear and Cold

Hello Friends! Here we are in a new year. Have things fallen back in the normal pattern? All the Christmas decorations cleared away? Here too. We are mostly just trying to stay cozy and warm and not leave the house unless absolutely necessary. January isn't usually a bad month, sometimes we have a lot of snow, sometimes it is just cold. Either way there isn't much motivation (or reason) to go outside. So we all turn to cozy indoor activities. (Above is the view from my bedroom window, ice and all!)

Of course, the knitting needles are very busy this time of year. I finished off a new hat (Rikke Hat), a crochet cowl (Pearl Stitch Cowl) and am now working on a sweater for myself. Kerri is modeling a new sweater (Four Cable Dog Sweater) Mandy knit for a class at our local knitting shop. 

After all the "warm fuzzy" Christmas movies in December, I am always ready for a change of pace. Mandy and I have started re-watching the Lord Peter Whimsy mysteries. 

The same goes for reading. After the cozy lightweight romances of Betty Neels for most of November and December I am ready for a change. Last week I dug out our beloved copies of the Mrs. Polifax books and started on the first one; The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax. It was so fun to read it again! 

January in my mind always means clear cold sunny days and cozy nights. And dirty salty floors.... everywhere dirty salty footprints! The floors aren't even dry before another pair of feet track across it! Ahh well, January doesn't last forever.......

What about you? What do you do watch or read to stay cozy in January?

January

I have enjoyed getting back into the regular routine and getting the house back in order. As much as I enjoy the celebration of December it is nice to be back to normal.

In our after Christmas tidying up, we also decided to do a little rearranging or rather leaving of the chairs. To accommodate the Christmas tree in front of the windows, one of the side chairs is moved to the other end of the sofa. This year we decided to leave the chairs where they were and add a footstool. I was a bit worried people would be prone to trip over the footstool as we are all use to plenty of space in front of the couch, but so far it has been fine and the footstool has been a comfy addition.

With the weather so gray and chilly, it is hard to be motivated to do much of anything. Lots of books have been read!

Mandy and I are taking turns reading aloud to each other, one reads and one knits. At least knitting is being accomplished! Our favorites have been Grace Livingston Hill books. I was fascinated to read the detailed description of Jane's apartment in Exit Betty (copyright 1920). And The Mystery of Mary (copyright 1912) is always a fun read with it's descriptions of the lady's costumes. Right now we are about halfway through The Street of the City(1942) with Duskin(1929) next on the list.

I have been re-reading old favorites; Here Comes the Sun, I Hear Adventure Calling and With This Ring by Emilie Loring; The Corner Shop and The Golden Collar by Elizabeth Cadell. Next on my list is White Orchids and The Strange Proposal by Grace Livingston Hill.

Of course my knitting needles are keep busy in the evenings! Little socks for the niece and nephew and now a sweater for myself. The Georgetown by Hannah Fettig, a comfy cozy cardigan in thick wool.

This is the view, around the frost, from my bedroom window this morning. It is lovely to see blue skies again!

So what has your January looked like?

A Cheerful Print Frock and Emilie Loring

I am so excited to have been asked to do a guest post over at the Emilie Loring blog!

While I read, I love envisioning what it would have been like to live during the time a book was written. I recently finished reading Fair Tomorrow and when I came across a brightly patterned cotton dress in an antique store I thought of Pamela, "The sun brought out curious red-gold glints in Pamela's black hair, roughed the magnolia tints of her face and arms. A green rubber apron protected the front of her gay, sleeveless print frock as she vigorously applied a brush to the lavishly lathered dog who shivered violently in the galvanized iron tub set on a lawn, freshly, velvety, springily green." 
 The complete post is Here. And a more up close, detailed look at the dress later this week!

Vintage Reading - Emilie Loring

 You all know I love old things and books are certainly on the list! I love picking up a book with a copyright of 1923 and being transported back in time. The first thing I do before starting a book is check the copyright date so I can imagine the right setting! Whether it is 1919, 1932 or 1957, I conjure up all the little day to day details; shiny toasters, colorful linoleum floors and sparkling automobiles. My favorite details to imagine is fashion! And I must say, vintage books usually do a good job describing all the fashionable details. Evening dresses, traveling ensembles and everyday dresses spring to mind easily.

Currently I have been re-reading a favorite vintage author, Emilie Loring. My sister recently found two of her books I hadn't read and now that I have finished those I am re-reading several others! (Gay Courage is the only one I have with a beautiful vintage dust cover.)

Emilie Loring is always a fun read! From the very first sentence her heroines are on the go. Known for her strong female characters and story lines with a touch of mystery, the heroines always have a problem to solve and a difficulty to overcome. (All with gay courage, of course!)

(The rest of my collection is not so vintage paperback additions.)

I also just discovered a wonderful blog (HERE) all about Emilie Loring written by her biographer, Patti Bender. I could get lost there every day! I love all the little things she shares; background information on each book, Emilie Loring's favorite locations, recipes and quotes. It is like stepping into Emilie Loring's world! And stepping into the world of her books.......

What is your favorite "vintage" read? Have you tried Emilie Loring?

Summer + Books

 What can you say about August? We have been experiencing our usual weather, 90+ degrees and 98% humidity. It certainly doesn't make me want to go outside and work on any projects! 

I just want to lay in bed and read. Is anything nicer then a cool room and a good book on a hot day? (maybe a warm room and a good book on a cold day!?!)

 Several weeks ago my sister discovered Summer at Tiffany. It has been our summer favorite! The author, Marjorie Hart writes about the adventures she and her best friend have working at Tiffany's in the summer of 1945. It is a lovely story of friendship, life adventures and an exciting place at an exciting time. Woven through it is not only the awe and excitement two small town collage girls have for New York City, but the excitement of witnessing historical moments like VJ Day in Times Square.

After Summer at Tiffany, I was ready for more memoirs and found Our Hearts Were Young and Gay by Cordelia Otis Skinner, which I am about half way through. It is a romping tale of a European tour the summer of 1923. 

Next on the list is Here Come the Brides by Geraldine Napier. Though listed under fiction, it is told in memoir style and I am sure must be based on a true story. It is the hilarious accounts of the bridal salon in a large department store. 

More Favorite Memoirs; 

Living In State ~ Beatrice Russell

When We Went First Class ~ Ellen Williamson

Dearest Ones ~ Rosemary Norwalk

Cheaper By the Dozen ~ Frank Gilbreth

Bells on Their Toes ~ Frank Gilbreth

So what have you been reading lately?

Book Review: The Gentle Arts of Domesticity

 "The Gentle Arts of Domesticity" has been one of our favorite books for several years now. The author, Jane Brocket, is an extremely intelligent, educated lady who advocates domesticity. And not the perfect magazine kind of domesticity, but the get messy in the kitchen, decorate because it makes you happy kind of domesticity. The British have such a deep appreciation for the everyday comforts and things of life and Jane Brocket is a master at it.

"There is a world of difference between domesticity and domestication. This book is about domesticity and the pleasures and joys of the gentle domestic arts of knitting, crochet, baking, stitching, quilting, gardening and homemaking. It is emphatically not about the repetitive, endless rounds of cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping and house maintenance that come with domestication. Domesticity rises above the business of cleaning products and media exhortations to keep our houses pristine and hygienic, and focuses instead on the creativity within the domestic space."

"The gentle arts are all about comfort. They are the soothing, relaxing, consoling, and caring. They benefit both the maker and the those around her with the creation of a comfortable, creative, tactile environment in which individuals can feel secure, at ease, happy- even if it is only a temporary respite from more pressing cares."

"For domestic comfort lies in the knowledge that things do not have to be perfect. .........Many women in the past had no option but to be good enough because they couldn't afford perfection and had to make do with what they themselves could create."

Jane Brocket has several other books on quilting, baking, embroidery and children's activities. She also blogs at Yarnstorm Press.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite books and my favorite Christmas inspiration, Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas by Susan Waggoner.
 Every year when I start thinking about Christmas decorations, I pull out this book and read through it. She does a fabulous job of pinpointing the feel of each decade from the 20s to the 60s. In each chapter she gives you crafts, decorating tips, the decades most memorable decorations and innovations, and a brief history of the era and how it effected the way people celebrated.

 From Dickens to Deco: the 1920s.

"For sheer change, it would be hard to find another decade quite like the '20s. It started with the ring of a cash register and raced along like quicksilver. American cities glowed with electric lights, women flaunted short hair and shorter skirts, the air filled with voices that anyone with a radio set could hear for free, and people born in Minsk or Naples or ten thousand other places landed in Brooklyn and rooted for the Dodgers like their lives depended on it. Nothing was as it had been. Except for Christmas."

 Home and Away--and Home Again: The 1940s

"There's nothing like a war to put the depression into perspective. No matter how hard the times had been during the '30s, people took it for granted that Christmas would be spent with friends and family. That changed on the morning of December 7, 1941. All of America was suddenly on the move. And when it was time to go home for Christmas, transportation was all but impossible to find. Yet the separation and uncertainty added a heartfelt longing that made Christmas all the more treasured. Peace, when it came, had much the same effect. Everyone who'd come through those years had sworn privately, a thousand times, they'd never take the holiday for granted again. For the most part, they kept their pledge."

Table top trees, cascade of bells, bottle brush trees, Shiny-Brites, banded ornaments, mercury glass ornaments and garlands, bubbler lights, .....

(I am not sure why, but the '40s have been my favorite this year. I am loving bells, vintage cards and Shiny-Brites!)

 Midcentury Modern: The 1950s

"The irony of war is that even if you win, the country you've just fought to save is almost unrecognizable by the time you get back to it. World War II catapulted America from the lingering Depression of the '30s to the hyper-modernism of the '50s and '60s. Nothing was as it had been before, but no one seemed to care. The world had been made safe, the Axis had been defeated, and everything was new."

Poinsettias, outdoor lights and molded plastic figures, heavenly blue, ceiling to floor decorations, Christmas themed accessories, reflector balls.....

Also included in the back of the book are vintage illustrations for decorating and craft projects.