retro Christmas

Because Christmas mania shifts into high gear today (and in some places, like my local dollar store, as early as July) here's some more vintage Christmas stuff.

You probably saw these before, too, but they're so gosh darn precious I think you should see them again.  

They're so exceptionally adorable, I'm very tempted to keep them.

Problem is that my cats would also be fond of them, and they express their fondness in a way that would mean little bits and pieces of the elves would end up everywhere.

Angkor What?

What is an enamel atomic ashtray,  

which shows us Angkor Wat.

As atomic and Mid-Century Modern as you could possibly desire!

History's cutest...

needlepoint!

The framing is new, but the needlepoint is from the 1930s.

new old stickpins

These were VERY popular in the late 1970s, and what few turn up usually don't have the bottom part.  But here we have the main part, the bottom part AND the original store thingie:

I recently got an entire box of these, mostly in the above designs, but also a few more.

1000 !!!

Yep, one THOUSAND illustrations in this book:

A treasure trove of mid-to-late Victorian fashion of every description: dresses, evening gowns, lingerie, hats and hair stuff, etc. etc. etc.

A very sad story

 Yesterday, my hubs, my sister-in-law and I took a trip to Fortescue, NJ.  Fortescue is a small fishing community.  It's also the sea glass capital of the world.  Literally, nothing goes on there other than fishing and combing the beach looking for sea glass.  

It was a very cold and windy day, plus the tide was very high, so the walkable part of the beach was not more than three or four feet wide. We found a little sea glass, then decided to go elsewhere.  Bear in mind this is a very small community, and the main drag is a narrow two-lane street.  I was driving in the direction from where we came, to see a light grey cat in the middle of the street.

It was not quite standing and not quite lying.  I stopped the car, and we got out to see that it had not been hit, but it was quite obviously suffering.  It was nothing but skin and bones, and its eyes were shut tight.  It was still breathing, so I went back to the car, got a jacket from the trunk, and wrapped the cat in it.  

Our first thought was getting it something to eat, and of the two restaurants in Fortescue, only one was open.  My hubs went in and 15 minutes later came out with a rather smelly cheeseburger, which we attempted to feed to the cat.  It wouldn't open its mouth.  So I had the idea just to leave the burger alongside where the cat was lying wrapped in my jacket.  Maybe it would lick the burger.

My sister-in-law opined that the cat had to have been dehydrated, so maybe if we found a vet, we could get some help, at least with that issue.  Fortunately, she has a smart phone (I have a very dumb, almost useless Tracfone), and was able to get the number of a 24-hour vet in Ocean View, NJ, about 20 miles from where we were.  

She got a bit of a grilling on the phone: 'Is this your cat?  If not, do you intend to keep it?  Do you know that there's an exam fee that must be paid?...'  

This wasn't our cat -- or anybody's cat, it would appear, but I was not going to allow it to be thrown out, so I guess it could be considered our cat.

I was a little anxious what our reception might be once we got there.  Would it be 'Ugh, get that awful thing out of here.  We can't help.'  Or would the vet's eyes light up, with the thought 'kaCHING!!'

To say that the people at the Ocean View Veterinary Hospital are kind and caring is a huge understatement.  I have never encountered a vet who was so very kind and so determined to help, and who appeared to have no interest in picking our pockets.  

We had to fill out some paper work, including the cat's name.  My husband's idea was to name it 'Fortescue.'  Fortescue the cat turned out to be a little girl.

The exam showed that she was ridden with fleas, which had caused her to be very anemic.  She was very much congested, which may have led to some eye ooze which served to glue her eyes shut.  Her heartbeat was strong, but that was the only positive sign.  She weighed only 1.8 pounds.  Reluctantly, the vet, Dr. Jared Pitt, concluded that she was really too far gone to save.

It was also apparent that in her condition it would have been impossible for her to walk into the street, where she was found.  When we got out of the car to look at her, my husband noticed a man giving him the stink-eye.  It's my husband's opinion it was that man who put her in the street.

I know that little Fortescue is now resting safely in the arms of her Creator, and that she's happy.  

And even though the story doesn't end the way we'd hoped, I was an honor and a blessing to be entrusted to ensure that when she left this world, it wouldn't be alone out in the cold, but surrounded by people who loved and cared for her, even for that short time.  

If you'd like to help some cats not suffer like Fortescue did, you might like to send a donation to Ally Cat Allies.  The organization does wonderful things for homeless cats: 

http://www.alleycat.org/ 

the Tuesday Song of the Week

I saw Van Morrison and Linda Gayle Lewis (Jerry Lee's baby sister) do this live on The Tonight Show.  The recording is equally awesome.

'Real Gone Lover'