Honoring Our Heroes

Memorial Day was was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868

 by General John Logan, national commander

 of the Grand Army of the Republic.

 The holiday was first observed on May 30, 1868,

when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day

and was a holiday to honor

those who died fighting in the Civil War.

Today the holiday honors Americans

who died fighting in any war.

Let us take a moment

to honor and remember

those who have made the ultimate sacrifice

to keep the United States free and safe.

Decoration Day

by Evaleen Stein

See the soldiers, little ones!

Hark the drummers' beat!

See them with their flags and guns

Marching down the street!

Tattered flags from out the wars,

Let us follow these

To the little stripes and stars

Twinkling through the trees.

Watch them waving through the grass

Where the heroes sleep!

Thither gently let us pass

On this day we keep.

Let us bring our blossoms, too,

All our gardens grow;

Lilacs honey-sweet with dew,

And the lilies' snow.

Every posy of the May,

Every bloomy stem,

Every bud that breaks today

Gather now for them.

Lay the lilies o'er them thus,

Lovingly, for so

Down they laid their lives for us,

Long and long ago.

Heap above them bud and bough;

Softly, ere we cease,

God, we pray Thee, gently now

Fold them in Thy peace!

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright by International Art Publishing Company, 1909
Artwork by Ellen H. Clapsaddle

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright by International Art Publishing Company, 1909
Artwork by Ellen H. Clapsaddle

Until next time, live and love well.

Linking with

Bunny Hop at Bunny Jean's Decor and More

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Spring Garden Splendor

The weather has been glorious in Midland this week.
Perfect opportunity for a stroll through the garden.


A trio of rhododendron plants accent the front of our home.  I anxiously await their colorful blooms

to burst open each Spring and
was rewarded again this year with quite a show.    

The bumblebees enjoy the nectar 

deep within the colorful flowers.   

I am surprised that the Bridal Veil Spirea has blooms

after the major pruning I did last fall.

The branches had become so heavy

they were spilling into the lawn.

The plants look much better now

but many of the cascades of white flowers

were sacrificed for this season.

A few weeks ago I shared photos of the white trillium

blooming in the wooded area of our yard.

These are some of the same flowers from the earlier post.

The white blooms have become marbled with pink as they age.

Another variety of trillium has now bloomed.
The plant in the center is much taller and has huge leaves.
This plant has a maroon flower. 

This photo has a better image of the maroon color

of this variety of trillium.

I also have a few trillium that are pink.

I don't know the names of the maroon or pink

varieties because I didn't order them from the nursery.

I had ordered only the white flowering plants.

An unexpected but pleasant surprise. 

Thanks for joining me for this garden stroll.

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining these fun parties:

Bunny Hop Party at Bunny Jean's Decor and More

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

In Honor of Mothers

Wishing everyone a blessed Mother's Day!

To honor our Mothers or a special 

Mother-figure in our lives,

I'd like to share a well-known story

written by Erma Bombeck and published 

in her column on Mother's Day 1974.

Mother and Child Artwork by Ellen H. Clapsaddle,
Wolf Publishing

from an Antique Postcard in my Personal Collection

When God Created Mothers

by Erma Bombeck
When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”


And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?

• She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;
• Have 180 movable parts... all replaceable;
• Run on black coffee and leftovers;
• Have a lap that disappears when she stands up;
• A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;
• And six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands... no way.”


“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”


“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.


The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ’What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, ’I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”


“Lord,” said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, “Go to bed. Tomorrow...”


“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.”


The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.


“But she’s tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure.”


“Can it think?”


“Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.


Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You You were trying to push too much into this model.”


“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.”


“What’s it for?”


“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”


“You are a genius,” said the angel.


The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” He said.

Until next time, live and love well.

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Supermoon Consolation

On May 6, Supermoon 2012 had sky watchers and photographers anxiously waiting to see the largest full moon of the year

 as the moon orbited the earth at it's closest point.

Unfortunately it was cloudy in Midland.

And while the night sky was certainly brighter Saturday evening, we did not experience the spectacular show

that many were privileged to see.

But, I did receive a consolation prize.

I was able to attend the Midwest Postcard Show

in Michigan on Sunday and discovered another

romantic man-in-the-moon postcard.

This newly-acquired card is part of the series 

shared with you during the Valentine holiday.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection

PFB Publishers, Series 6809, Circa 1908-1909

Printed in Germany

I shared the following photograph 

as part of my post titled Spooning Under the Moon.

To read this earlier post 

and see close-ups of the individual postcards,

you can click here.

Antique Postcards from my Personal Collection

PFB Publishers, Series 6809, Circa 1908-1909

Printed in Germany

I don't know how many postcards 

were originally published as part of this series,

but now I have located six variations of couples

 sharing a romantic gesture under the silvery moon.

Since Mother Nature didn't co-operate

with weather conditions favorable to viewing the Supermoon,

I will be satisfied with this vintage paper moon.

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining these lovely parties: 

Share Your Cup at Have a Daily Cup from Mrs. Olson

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Crazy About Blue

Crazy About Blue is the name of the quilt

that is hanging in my family room for the Spring season.

This style of quilting became popular during

the Victorian era and these were 

considered "Crazy Quilts". 

To the Victorians, the word crazy

meant crazed or broken into splinters.

The word crazy is actually a description

of the triangles and irregular shapes

found in these quilts.

Crazy Quilts are typically embellished

with a variety of laces, beads, buttons and ribbons.

A large focal point of my quilt

is a lace doily accented with a vintage-style button

and a remnant of fringe.

A hand-embroidered fan is also featured.

Brass charms are incorporated into this quilt.

Here an ornate key is secured

with a silk ribbon floral bouquet.

A trio of fabric yo-yos are centered

with decorative buttons.

And an organza-winged butterfly takes flight.

The deep-blue lace was crocheted years ago

by my grandmother and was discovered

in a box of her cotton threads. 

Traditionally crazy quilts have included

a spider web as an embellishment.

The Victorian era quilter thought

including a spider web brought good luck

to the quilter so they became a necessary accent

on each crazy quilt.

Here is a close of my version of the spider web

-- complete with a dangling spider!

This quilt was inspired by

Paula Vaughan's book "Romance with Quilts".

The author's inspiration quilt was also named 

Crazy About Blue.

Until next time, live and love well.

Sharing with 

Bunny Hop Party at Bunny Jean's Decor and More

Made with Love Link Up at Sew Chatty
Share Your Cup at Have a Daily Cup from Mrs. Olson

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!