Loosing my mind........

Denial of the things that take place with oneself as we get older is futile.  I just as well laugh at it and how my mind is going and move on.

I make the coffee every morning.  Normally I make toast and have to wait for the coffee to finish before I pour it.          

Once the toast popped up this morning,  I went to pour coffee.  Oh my, the coffee pot was half full.  I looked into the water compartment and the water was all gone.  My coffee maker must be broken, as they do break easily, but what happened to all the water.  How is it possible for the full pot of water make only a half pot of coffee?

Somehow, I mysteriously poured coffee and took it to the table before I even had put the bread in the toaster.  I was out of sequence.  What amazed me most was that I had to start from the very beginning to figure out what had happened.

Then, to add to more  insult,  I asked my wife if we needed to go get her meds in Perry after school.  No, been there, done that..........we just did that last evening to be exact.

Anyway it is good that I am in a peaceful English room today directing students around telling them to read things and just leave me alone.

I think this would be a good day to share my triple sectioned glass dish.  I am again not sure which person gave it to me.  I think it might have come from my mom's dish cabinet and she may have received as a hand me down from her mom.

When I blogged about glass in the past few years I remember seeing in antique catalogues that glass pieces like this were included in boxes that had the sugar and creamer, salt and pepper sets, fruit bowls, and a large serving bowl.  Sometimes there were glasses and bowls only in the set. They sold this type of thing at dry goods stores as a boxed set for very little money early in the 20's and 30's.  I remember my mom buying the glass serving trays and small cups at the Coast to Coast hardware store in the 60's.

I guess we all know that heated sand is the main ingredient of glass.  Glass really isn't expensive for the making of the items and a good mold lets them make them continuously with few flaws.  The real value of any of these things is the family history, the age of the piece, and the designs that are placed in their creation.

The flower pattern is a traditional design used on a lot on glasses as well as other everyday items.   The base of this one is really decorated well with the detailed geometric pattern which makes the dish stand out as a good design. I have a lot of different glass items with that particular pattern. The patterns many times were repeated in many items which allows people to identify the location of the glass plant.

I thank you for stopping by today.  I hope your day goes well and I will be back tomorrow if all goes well.

Wednesday's Stuff........

I posted on facebook a photo, sharing my addiction to gummi bears.  I can't buy them or I will scarf them down instantly.  It doesn't take much to come off the wagon so to speak as my wife regifted them to me from a friends Christmas package.  I did make them last three days which was a record for me.   I actually have a first cousin that makes these in a factory in Creston, Iowa.  I should have her send me a case of them, that is if I weren't in AA because of them.

Top view of all my train pieces.  I promise that this will be the last that I share of them for the year.  I took front and side views of them and put them on my Photo a Day blog today.  I just as well clear the file and show them and be done with it.  I have two cars that have Montgomery Wards on the side of them and I am not sure that they really had rail cars or if that is what store in which my brother bought the trains.  I have the boxes, that my mom saved, that each of the cars came in when my dad received them.  I wonder if collectors would want them as part of their collecting practices or if I can just throw them away. I bet I shouldn't throw them away.  Somedays my sons can fight over them and they can have the boxes for resale if that is what they want to do with them.

Hey it is still growing.  I missed a day in taking its photo but I will get back to it again.  The dresser you see behind it is one that my late wife's family had and I restored it.  It has a mirror with it that hangs on the wall and it works well being used in the dining room.  It had an original finish that was dark black brown stain. I removed the wood back piece that held the mirror so it looks less like a bedroom piece of furniture. It just had happened that I bought at auction 30 years ago a chest of drawers that matches it.  I bought it at Riverton, Iowa for six dollars in the backyard of a rundown house.  Those were the good old days when you could go to an auction in southern Iowa and buy things of $10 or less.  Now the antique shops are all out there dominating the markets and the auctions.

I ended up being a high school science teacher yesterday and today I am Larrion the Librarian. It has been a quiet morning so far but I am bracing myself for the two large groups that come in durning the afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by today.

New Blooms......

The Thanksgiving cactus was in a plastic pot of dirt with five different sprigs of it randomly stuck into the soil.  I am sure it was a factory like process that created it on a conveyer belt with people poking them in to fill each pot from all the cuttings.

It was in bloom a year ago when I bought it.  It bloomed again on it's own about three months ago and now it has two sprigs that are blooming again.  I still have not replanted it into the clay pot as it seems to always be in bloom.  I don't want to repot while it is blooming.

It really is an unusual plant but I have enjoyed it's inconsistently blooming for me. It would never survive our outside temperatures and I really don't know where it grows naturally.  I guess I need to google that sometime.

On my Photo a Day blog I posted two other shots of the little ornaments in their boxes being readied to take back to the basement.  I have three medium boxes of them and used great restraint not to buy more this year.  I saw a set that were pretty cheap looking so it was easy to walk away.  I really didn't see many of that style of ornament in the market any more.  I do look everywhere I go and I don't see them selling them.

Another day at school today.  It has warmed up a little compared to Monday.  The air was so cold and it is about ten degrees warmer today.  We will warm up to below freezing but that seems warm when the windchill is below 0 degrees F.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Seeing Green..........

I bought this as one plant and now look at it.  I have another start of it in a flatter bonsai like pot.  I repotted this last summer and it really did spread.

I ran out of pots so I put the five into a container of their own to share space.  I lay plastic over them loosely as I think the soil could dry out faster in this kind of container.

The amaryllis seems to be growing right in front of you while you view it.  I let it get a little dry so the past weekend I gave it a good drenching.

It was around 6 degrees F. this morning. That is almost-15 degrees C.  The clothing one is wearing seems to freeze because of the cold. My pants felt stiff as I walked from the car to the building.  I am an associate today for special needs students today. It is harder to scrape frost of the car window when it is frozen on that hard.  I like warmer frosty days.

Thanks for stopping by today.

It is cold again!!!!!!!

Snowmen penguins just don't care how cold it is.  It was a busy day. One that wasn't suppose to be so busy.  The air is cold and we are getting a dusting of snow right now.  It is best to just stay inside and we did just that.  I did put some fresh seed in the outside bird feeders.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Archive Digging.........

Nala was her name and she loved life.  

We didn't have her for very long but it was fun to watch her enjoy the life that she had.

Even at a young age she was hoping to be a great hunter as she stares up at the birdcage full of finches. She had Manx syndrome but lived much longer than the experts said that she would.

We are warmer and foggy today.  I am finishing my day in the high school math room.  I basically am watching and checking behaviors while they complete math worksheets.

My wife made pumpkin pie yesterday and that is a good thing.  We are planning to take off for a while this afternoon and hit a bookstore.  Friday is finally here and I am tired.  It will be good to have a couple of days off.  Thanks for stopping by.

Santa Fe and the A.T.F.S.

A.T.S.F - Atchinson, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railway

I really had not read the signs on the sides before but that is what is on the caboose.  I have heard the name of this railway before but I never thought to look for just the abbreviations. I am assuming 1951 means the year, but maybe I am wrong.

I will be boxing them up soon and will see them again next Christmas.  We will be to the middle of January soon as the days go by quickly. 

I am in the special education room today working with some great kids.  I feel like the week has lasted a long time but Friday is coming.  We are warmer outside and some melting of snow is taking place in the daytime.  We still have lots of snow so it will still be around before the next snow. Thanks for stopping by today.