Another Favorite: Globes

It was over 10 years ago that I brought home my first vintage metal globe bank. Dub Ingram had the cutest little junk store in an old house on Main Street in Holdenville, and that's where I spotted three globes in a grouping. They were marked $12 each. I took one home that day, then eventually collected the whole trio.

What I love about these metal banks is that they were so common. Most of mine are advertisement pieces, so they were probably given free to customers back in the day (1960s-70s?).

Another thing I love about globes...I'm a peacemaker. I love our earth and all the people on it. Seeing them just reminds me we're all in this thing together.

These days, I collect globes of all sizes, not just banks, but mostly the smaller globes appeal to me. (In other words, I'm running out of room.)

I ordered one from eBay and was especially pleased to find that it was WAY smaller than my smallest globe. I figure it's pretty rare. See him, right there in the middle on the bottom shelf?

Prices on these shabby little globes have steadily gone up since I started collecting them. My rule is $20 or less, and now that I have quite a few,  I have to be sure I don't have the exact globe.

One year I grouped all of them above our mantel in order to make room for the Christmas decor. Vaughn was aggravated when I split them all up again in the spring because he loved the way they looked up there. They DID look awesome as a "club".

Not long ago, I was in Joplin, MO, visiting with friends. Here we are in some funny hats at a super cool antique mall we all loved.

All this to say...this happened to be right after I did Marie Kondo's "tidying up" in my house. I told my friends I would love to go junking with them that day, but wouldn't be bringing anything home because I had just done all this organizing and clearing out of the excess at my house. Well, who was first to claim something for purchase that day? It was me! When a globe is available at a decent price, I just can't resist.

I even use two globe banks in my fourth grade classroom as my bathroom passes. No, they don't take my precious globes to the bathroom with them. If there's a globe on the shelf, students know they can put one on their desk as a sign to me that they're currently away from their desks for personal reasons. Works like a charm.

I got this awesome globe from Kirk at Gatsby's in Wewoka. Not a bank at all, but certainly worthy of my collection. Wonder how many people have a shabby globe with John Glenn's orbit around the earth on it? Very neat!

Collecting Toy Trucks Together

A few years ago, Vaughn and I decided we wanted to start a collection of something. We wanted to collect something we would gather together, which is quite different than it had been before. (He had not been all that interested in my tiny oil cans, plastic reindeer and globes.) Well, that year we opted to collect old toy trucks together, realizing sometimes they're pretty pricey, and sometimes our junking expeditions would be about the thrill of the hunt, and not the number of toy trucks we'd gather.

Off to the junk store I went that Christmas to get Vaughn a truck for under the tree. I was especially hunting a red one. Well, I don't know about you, but when I'm looking for something that's antique, I'm not always able to find it right off. And that's what happened. Instead, right in the place Vaughn's red truck should have been, there sat a PINK pickup truck with a camper. It was Christmas, it was time to get Vaughn his first truck from me, and there I was, WANTING that pink camper, BAD. So, I did what any junker wife would surely do...I bought that pink camper and wrapped it up and hid it under the tree, with a tag that read, "To Tracey, From Vaughn." (I later got on eBay and found a red truck for Vaughn for that Christmas.) But boy, was he surprised when he saw me opening a pink camper from him. 

This pink Tonka with a camper is still a favorite of mine.

We love Buddy L's too.

Wyandotte trucks have such a neat look.

This one is amazing, color-wise. 

This little dump truck was Vaughn's when he was little. 

We've chosen the office to display most of our trucks. So far we have Jeeps, Tonkas, 

Wyandottes, Buddy L's and a few other brands. 

Not sure how many more we'll collect, because we're running out of space. 

Most don't have a purpose, but once in awhile, I put one of these cuties to work, carrying a Christmas tree or ornaments or our remote controls. 

These toy trucks tickle me. They remind me of a time gone-by, when life was simpler. 

Birthdays

I remember as a child looking forward to my birthday like no other day of the year.

It could be a regular day of going to school or running errands or kicking around at home, but in the back of my mind, in the corner of my giddy heart, I knew it was MY day. 

I knew there was something special to come that day.

Presents!

My favorite meal!

Cake!

Besides all that, it was about the extra bit of attention I could anticipate on that day.

Oh, the year my parents had a Barbie cake made just for me. I was on top of the world!

This year, my 49th year for feeling giddy and special and important, Mom and Dad gathered as many of our local family together at their house (a little early this year...we celebrated on Mother's Day), prepared some of my favorite food, plus the richest banana pudding I love...

The candles wouldn't stand up in the larger bowl of pudding, so Mom made me my very own.

Look at my cute vintage cherry hat I was given for a birthday gift.

I received so many special gifts, carefully chosen for me. A cherry hat, lovely hankies, two small vintage prints of the cutest people, money for Tybee, a Kelly Rae Roberts wall plaque, a vintage girl with bird print.

And this morning, on my actual birthday, the day after school was out at Moss Elementary, two days before our 30th anniversary trip to Tybee Island, I'm feeling exactly as I did as a child.

Special. I'm feeling special because I'm not rushing to get ready for a regular day of school or just running, like normal.

Special. Because of the piles of cards in the mailbox yesterday.

And for so many special Facebook messages, texts and sing-songy birthday phone calls. 

Special food planned by Mom and Dad for lunch (new potatoes are a regular item for my birthday meal but they weren't ready on Mother's Day, so I invited myself out to their house today).

Another special meal planned by Vaughn for this evening.

And he's agreed to my request for a fire in the backyard bathtub this evening (weather permitting). One of my favorite, most special, activities in the world.

Thanksgiving Blessings

The class and I created Thanksgiving "Blessings Mix" at school on the last day before the Thanksgiving break. Get a VAT of some kind to put it in, because these are the ingredients necessary to make the mix.

Each ingredient represents something about Thanksgiving.

Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

Candy corn: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.

Nuts or seeds: Promise of a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried fruits: Harvest gifts from our bountiful land.

M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.

Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

What a yummy mix of salty and sweet with a wonderful message included. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

 

I Almost Never Feel Young Anymore

We had planned the roller skating excursion for weeks. I had long anticipated the feeling of being on skates again.

I was a good skater when I was a kid, going to the local rink in Independence, Missouri nearly every week for some of those elementary/junior high years. (Not relevant to the story, but I DID have a slight concussion and spend an entire night in the hospital after a skating fall years ago.)

Vaughn had never been a skater as a kid, so I was quite surprised when he ordered his size 10s at the skate counter.

Putting the skates on didn't frighten me one bit. In fact, it seemed very familiar in a weird way, since it had been about 20 years since I'd been on a pair last.

I have to admit when I first stood up on them and started trying to roll around on the carpet, before entering the rink, I wondered if I could do this thing anymore. I mean, I'm 48 these days. It seemed like I needed more effort to make the wheels go than I had remembered as a youngster.

Fast forward about a minute, the time it took me to get to the entry of the coolest rink ever (Norman Star Skate).

Instantaneously, I transformed into this young girl again, feeling free and fun, giddy and girlish, my hair blowing as I traveled faster than I had even anticipated. I went around the rink once, twice, several more times, then went back to the short wall to see Vaughn and check to see if the grandgirls had arrived. Sure enough, there they came. I kissed Magnolia and helped Cora get her skates on and assisted her on her first ring around the rosy, I mean the rink. Brie came along and we made it around again with Cora in tow. I had found my skating legs again and was loving every minute.

This is where something went bad wrong. I was standing, not moving, along a short wall, visiting mostly. Some friends and I had all stopped to rest/visit while some kind of Hokey Pokey or something like that was going on. Maybe it was the Limbo. (Oh, I used to be good at that too.) I was talking with some friends about the good ol' days of skating and was dragging my skate sideways to show how I used to stop myself. Next thing I know I'm falling, for like forever. I reached out for the short wall and my skates took my legs and bottom half the other direction, pulling my arm really hard. I felt the pain in my arm instantly and couldn't put any weight on it to get myself up. I recovered in a few seconds and was able to stand. For a little while I tried to tell myself I was okay. I swung my arms around and everything seemed okay. I ate some Hot Tamales and drank a root beer while the grandgirls ate their snacks.

As I began to feel more pain when raising my arm, I realized it would be a good idea to get it x-rayed while in a larger town. Vaughn talked me into leaving the skating party then and going on over to Immediate Care to let them check me out. As we drove away I cried a few tears. That feeling of being young again, that fleeting feeling, was gone, gone, gone. That YES feeling was quickly replaced with a NO feeling of humiliation and even stupidity for thinking I could still do an activity from my childhood. I was so sad to leave the party. Magnolia, in Offey's lap, my sons skating and talking, Brie making rounds with Cora, friends laughing and enjoying time together...the time I had so looked forward to.

The results from that day's x-rays came back as no breaks, just a sprain. I got a sling to keep my arm still and took my prescriptions on home. I managed Monday at school with very few problems, although it was quickly apparent I should keep my right elbow stuck to my waist. By no means was I to try to lift my arm up to write on the board or pull or push anything. Late in the day on Monday I got a call from Immediate Care, advising me a second-opinion radiologist had looked over my x-rays and thought something looked suspicious on my shoulder. I have a CT scan set up for Wed. afternoon.

When people at work have asked me what I did to myself (the sling catches a lot of attention), I admit "roller skating". Almost everyone laughs. I figure they're thinking I shouldn't have been on skates at my age. Most everyone has a comment about skating and how dangerous it is.

But me, I secretly dream of the day I can do it again, maybe to a song like "S-A-T-U-R, D-A-Y NIGHT" or "The Locomotion".  I'm thinking it might be worth falling to get that feeling of joy I had before my fall. I mean, I almost never feel young anymore.

My Third Grade Classroom

All set? You BET! (At least I hope the kids say this tomorrow when school starts.)

Third Grade Classroom at Open House.

JUNK is still the theme for my class. The kids really get into creating things from other things.

The famous closet Mr. Johnson built for me.

I'm tickled to be teaching Saxon Math again this year. It's perfect for 3rd graders.

New Social Studies standards this year, so I'll be teaching all about Oklahoma to my third graders, starting tomorrow!

Bulletin board out in the hallway created from packaging.

Our theme for the building is Art Gallery. We framed laminated, lovely prints of paintings, drawings and sculptures with all kinds of duct tape. We plan to use the art for writing prompts or teaching moments.

Because we are using the Art Gallery theme, we thought the Italian Artists should show up. Heroes on the Half Shell! These guys are guarding the 5th and 6th grade classrooms.

More art framed in duct tape.

Raphael and Leonardo are hanging around above the 3rd and 4th grade doorways.

Coffee filters were stained and reused for a bunting/greeting outside my classroom. The frame will be filled with a collage of the students photographs.

Day 3: Amsterdam to Basel on the SS Antoinette

Another interesting thing about Amsterdam. It gets dark around 10:15 p.m. AFTER I hit the hay on Day 2 for sure. Thank goodness for heavy drapes to block the sunlight.

No sunlight on Day 3. It was raining and maybe 60 degrees. We decided it was a good thing we both had rain jackets and Sue had an umbrella. 

Sue and I got up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet the Movenpick Hotel is famous for. Food was so beautifully presented. All kinds of breads and pastries, eggs to your liking, a whole spread of fresh fruits and veggies (raw), a large area with cheeses and deli-type meats, dried fruits and nuts galore, yogurts of all kinds and flavors, granolas and cereals, juices, sausage and bacon, even fish, and I can't even remember what else. It was the best variety I had ever seen, maybe due to the variety of nationalities and diets that visit Amsterdam. I ate toast, fruit, yogurt and granola, then Sue and I shared an omelet made especially for us.

All of our friends we had met at the Uniworld meeting the night before gathered at 9:00 a.m. for our first tour of Amsterdam. We loaded a bus and took a rainy tour through the streets of Amsterdam. What a charming, bustling city we were in! Narrow brick roads and cobblestone walks, right beside modern buildings and freeways. Passenger trains buzzing. Bicycles everywhere.

From the bus and through the rain, an old windmill was enchanting.

Life in Amsterdam on a rainy Saturday morning.

The bus took us to the location where our first tour, a canal cruise, would begin. Luckily the boat was glassed in on the top and sides, so we were out of the weather. It was a little difficult to see everything with all the condensation everywhere, but we got a fairly good glimpse of life in Amsterdam from the canal's point of view, which was neat. Roland met us after our canal ride and continued our tour by bus. He was really beginning to grow on us, this Roland. He was so knowledgeable about his city and the history of the area. I began to challenge myself to be more like Roland and ask myself questions about my home town and my country from time to time that a tour guide might get asked (and should know).

John and Sameera

This trip was going to change my life, I knew that, but who knew I would come back wanting to know so much more about my own neck of the woods? 

It was so wet and cool, we decided to eat soup and sandwiches for lunch at the hotel restaurant. Sue went with John and Sameera to the Van Gogh museum and I went with a Uniworld group on a walking tour of the secret gardens and other interesting sites. It's hard to explain how it is to see such ancient architecture in one place and what that means to someone who is from Oklahoma, where we might have a few 100 year old buildings, not 500-600 years old like we saw all day in Amsterdam. Roland took us through Jewish neighborhoods, religious areas, the flower market, then we were treated to Dutch Apple Pie at a local place. Yum on a cold and wet day!

A secret garden behind a private home/turned museum.

Bicycles have the right-of-way, no matter what.

Lovely, lush hydrangeas.

Flower Market

Some buildings lean due to foundation troubles.

Here's that pie I was talking about.

Pam and our tour guide, Roland. We had a sunshiny moment once or twice that day.

It was time for our tour to end, but we decided to visit the Anne Frank museum while downtown. Roland explained to us how to get back to the hotel and went home for the day.

What an experience at the Anne Frank museum. Stepping up and over a wall, through a swinging bookcase, up a skinny, dark stairway to the place where Anne's family was hiding for such a long time, the diary seemed to come to life. It was a self-driven, quiet tour. I really appreciated the respect all the visitors had for the story of Anne's life. I loved seeing what I thought was the real diary, but later was told the one in the special case was an exact replica and the original is in another location for safekeeping.

No cameras were allowed in the museum, but I found this photo online.

Read more about the museum at http://www.annefrank.org/.

About five of us ended the museum tour at the same time, so we decided to walk back toward the hotel and possibly get something to eat, maybe buzz through the Red Light District on the way. No sooner had Pam mentioned how she'd like to try Dutch Pancakes, did we see a sign and an inviting, local restaurant that was full. We took it as a sign that full meant good, and we weren't wrong. Dutch Pancakes are like thin pizzas or crepes. We ordered two for the group of us and split them. One was bacon and apple, the other was more like an omelet but I can't think of the exact ingredients. They were so delicious. Good company too. We had already met Jaap and Minnie, from South Africa, at the meeting the night before, but to sit and enjoy a meal with them was a real treat. Come to find out, Jaap retired from the military, but now has a cabinet shop. Minnie loves to JUNK. Hmm. Soul mates! We ended our meal with poffergies, tiny donut-like pancakes, with strawberries and chocolate. Wo.

Our new friends, Jaap and Minnie Steyn

We made our way back with the help of Jaap and a map, but first we snuck through the Red Light District of Amsterdam. I'll just say, you have to see it to believe it. That's all.

The clean version of the Red Light District.

We had left the hotel around 1:00 p.m. and didn't make it back until after dark, so you know how late that is in Amsterdam. (Well, the Red Light District isn't the same in the daytime, probably.) Sue said she was giving me till 11:00 to get back, then she was calling 911. She was already worrying about how mad Vaughn was going to be because she lost me.