PAPA SMALL: Repairing a Leak Under the Sink

myoldbooks on Instagram

See post here

Papa Small fixes the kitchen sink. 

The small Smalls watch. 

"Papa Small" by Lois Lenski, 1951

Isn't this adorable? 

I need to know more about Papa Small.

You can borrow 2004 reprint from OPEN LIBRARY here.

Enjoy!

xo

I borrowed the book online and read it.

It is an absolutely charming story about a family who works together. This story tells what they do every day of the week. The children help with every chore cheerfully. I read this copy at the Internet Archive All you have to do to join is enter your email and think of a password. Here is the link to read the story and be thrilled with it. They allow you a little over one hour to read this book. You can arrow click through every page. You are never too old to enjoy a children's picture story book 

xo

Why the Bluebird is Blue

I found another 1920 storybook digitized by Guterberg.org

The illustrations are by Harrison Cady. The first story is about a brave little gray bird who was rewarded with a blue coat. Enjoy all the stories.

READ HERE  

I have been enjoying being back in the saddle again. My tractor was expertly repaired by a man and his son who repair mowers in their garage. They picked up my little John Deere riding mower on Tuesday and brought it back on Friday. I am thrilled. They live very close, only just down the road about two miles away. It's so nice to have someone I can call who is reasonable and fast and so nice. New best friends♡

Have a great Sunday tomorrow. xo

Beautiful Vintage Button

via

Can one old button deserve an entire blog post?

Yes, this one can.

Agreed?

xo

The Original Photographer of 1932 Lunchtime Skyscraper Photo

Charles C. Ebbets finally getting credit for the photo below. Look at those spectator shoes and fabulous outfit. He's a real daredevil too!

Lunchtime Atop a Skyscraper when Rockefeller was under construction during 1932- until completed. Photographer was listed as "unknown" until 2003.

The original glass negative discovered by the family of Charles C. Ebbets finally giving him credit for this photo in 2003 after 70 years of being unknown. Read the whole story HERE. Enjoy and have a great Sunday. I am doing a public open house today nearby. Wish me luck. xo

1928 Construction Work

This image takes my breath away. No helmets, no gloves, leather bottom shoes, no net, just a few wooden boards to walk on, bucket in the way so must step over it, such danger! I am hyperventilating just looking at this image. 

Workers installing a Greek Revival architectural column on the Civil Courts building in St. Louis, Missouri, 1928. (Photo by W.C. Runder) photo found here

Vintage Photos: People with Cats

Such a distinguished pair.

Growing up together.

I love this one. The young boy with the Buster Brown haircut and his happy cat both have smiling eyes.

Just in time for "Caturday" tomorrow, lots of photos of people holding cats. Don't even start looking until you have some time because it's hard to stop. I just finished my first mowing of the back yard and it was fun to scroll and look at these vintage photos. There are lots of famous people with cats too. https://vintagecatsandpeople.tumblr.com/ 

🐈‍⬛ Enjoy 🐈

♡Have a great weekend♡

xo

1938 Box of White Chalk: Clever Packaging🤡

Isn't this fantastic packaging? 

It made me smile when I saw it on Instagram a while back. @anonymousworksinc It's a wonder this 80+ year old box survived in such good condition to make us smile on the last day of January. xo

♡Old Christmas Illustration♡

♡How much do I love this?♡

Virgil Finlay (American illustrator 1914-1971) Winter Stars

found on Flickr

❤️Vintage Spools of Sewing Thread❤️

I have a huge stash of vintage sewing thread on old wooden spools and I am always rummaging in the containers trying to find the perfect color for a mending project and I am almost always successful. via

Hello November and A Cabin Kitchen

So much to study in this photo of an untouched vintage cabin kitchen. I love the little stove and the wooden drainboard. We have all heard you are not supposed to have water pipes on an outside wall so look where the faucet is located! If there's ever a problem here, no pipes or wires are covered or buried behind walls covering the studs and rafters. There isn't any insulation either so this is either in a location with no cold weather or a seasonal getaway. 

I have done a lot lately getting ready for winter with my house and my car. I still have outside work but only a little. I dug my dahlia tubers in my front garden on Saturday and filled three dumper carts with hand-pulled weeds and cuttings. I cut my peonies down to the ground. I usually do that when they stop blooming but the dahlias were in the way and seemed to need the peony bushes for support. I am usually playing catchup this time of year but a long fall with no really cold weather in October has been wonderful. I have only turned on my heat once and that was just to test all my radiators! Today is November first and my weather app says there will nights in the 30s this week so I am almost prepared. xo

UPDATE: I just saw this on my Nextdoor App. Here's a photo of how a lady in Madison NJ handled her leftover Halloween Treats the day after Halloween! Made me laugh. 

Don't you love her presentation?🎃👻 

Click photo to enlarge!

London Zoo 1927: Iconic Photo with Toy Elephant

The Authentic Photograph: A young visitor and her toy elephant find the Elephant House at the London Zoo closed for the winter holidays, January 1927. 

©Getty Images. Photo found on Flickr.

Popularized Version. Still adorable!

Vintage Sink Repurposed in A Laundry Room

This laundry room is small but mighty. I love the vintage sink finding new life here. I think it could be a bath room or powder room too. I love it! 

Photo found here.

Joan Didion's Kitchen

Vogue Magazine 1972

I never would have pictured this kitchen belonging to Joan Didion. It appears she's a real cook and this surprises me because she is so very thin  and I just never imagined her cooking. I love the wire baskets, the herb pots holding up the cookbooks, and her recipe cards in a real box!❤️

UPDATE: Thanks to PAM here is the article she posted in the comments. The 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time and Joan Didion is near the top of the list. Who knew? Thanks, Pam❤️

Hessian Soldier Cookie Mold from Williamsburg

I purchased this Virginia Metalcrafters item hanging on my wall long ago at an estate sale. It turned out to be the perfect size to hang in my pantry/office on a narrow space beside the front window. He is a Hessian Soldier made of Aluminum (called Silvertone) and was copied from an old mold used in the Bake Shop at Williamsburg. The impressed stamp shows the Virginia Metalcrafters’ familiar Betty Lamp hallmark.

I have never made a cookie with it but I would use a shortbread or maybe a gingerbread recipe if I ever tried.

I have seen a similar design on fireplace andirons too. There are wonderful items out there and it's up to people like you and me to find them, display them, brag about them, and love them again.

UPDATE: I FOUND A RECIPE TO USE WITH THIS MOLD HERE.

xo

Vintage House Plans - House with A Sleeping Porch

United States, 1929: Design for an Eight Room House A 1.5-story house with a library, washroom on the main floor, and sleeping porch For Home Lovers by National Lumber Manufacturers Association, 1929. (St. Paul, MN, USA)  Images found here.

Home is where the heart is.

Flower Basket Engraving

Victorian Flower Basket

Vintage Victorian style flowers in a vase engraving. Original from the British Library.

via

Cozy Corner for Reading

COZY READING CORNER

Isn't this delightful? I am mentally picturing a matching ottoman that is opposite the easy chair upholstered in stripped ticking. That would make this cozy corner perfect.❤

Organizing My Attic

This is a detail of an area in my attic office that I have been organizing off and on for days. I am doing everything properly, not just stashing things hurriedly. I have shredded, filed, and recycled all my papers and boxes. My kitchen is looking nice too and for the first time in a long time, there's nothing on my farm table that doesn't belong there. I posted this photo on Instagram several days ago and have gotten many comments about the old Dundee Marmalade crocks I use for pencils and markers. How many of these have I owned over the years? I really don't know but I wish I had more but now they are scarce. The first few weeks of the new year are perfect for getting things back in order and for donating the things we no longer want or need. I have been deleting files, old emails, text messages, and duplicate photos on my computer and phone too. Almost everybody I know has been purging too. How about you? xo

Gathering Wood and Walking a Pig on New Year's Eve

"MAY YE NIVER WANT AUGHT

NOR A FRIEND TO SHARE

IT WI YE"

This is an original artwork on a card in my collection that I framed and love. This is my sentiment to you for midnight tonight and beyond in the New Year and forever. xo

Vintage Christmas Postcard

Vintage Christmas Postcard by Zdenek Guth. Original from The New York Public Library. I love this illustration with the angels celebrating Christmas in the snowy woods. Tonight I am going to watch Call The Midwife 2020 Christmas Special on PBS.

xo