Tumblr Finds // Avengers Edition

        Even though I don't have a Tumblr account, I spend far too much time on other peoples' blogs looking at fandom stuffs. Here are some of my favorites (Avengers themed). Enjoy!

        Short post, I know, but I don't have time for anything more. We've had a lot of stuff going on here that has been taking up my whole day. I'll be doing a farm update (hopefully) soon when I have a few hours of free time. 

Blessings,

Reyna

Oldness

        I have a thing for almost anything old or vintage. Not just because that's just my style (although that's obviously a huge part of it), but because it's terribly fun to think about the people who used those things when they were new and what their lives were like. It's a happy thought that I get to use those same things now. Today I'm going to share with you some of my antiques and vintage items and do a great deal of speculating and fantasizing as well. :) What can I say, I am a bit whimsical. 

        First up, my 1899 copy of Heidi. I found this at a garage sale last year and just had to get it. It's not really REALLY old, but the oldest item I'm going to talk about today. First off, it's a gorgeous book. You know that type that they used to use in all books long ago? The one that just exudes oldness? I love it. Old books are my favorite.

        Now think about it - a little girl gets this book from her mother for her ninth birthday. She spends hours out in the garden poring over the delightful story and studying the lovely pictures. Her younger brother doesn't think much of it, but it is the sweetest story she ever heard. Or perhaps she lived out in the country and didn't have much access to books at all. She treasured it like a jewel, and would steal away to her secret hideaway in the barn to follow Heidi's adventures with Peter in the Swiss Alps.

        I found this metal ice cream scoop at a thrift store the other day and just had to have it. I'm not sure when it is from, but it looks old to me so that's why it's here.

        I'm saying this was from an ice cream parlor in the 50s when girls wore full-skirted dresses and men were just so polite. Like in this picture, which is one of my favorites.

        These are my hand-me down (from an aunt) Gunne Sax dresses from the 70s. Not very old - I suppose they're considered retro and not vintage - but still older than I am! They haven't fit me for several years, but I'm saving them for when I have kids; for dress-up, if nothing else.

          It goes without saying that you just have to picture a whole room full of girls in these dresses at a party. Curls and braids and ribbons and cake, and the brothers of the birthday girl hiding up in their room.

        Okay, this is what inspired me to do this post in the first place. I found a working treadle sewing machine on Craigslist for a reasonable price, and it all worked out so I could get it! Honestly, now that I have used it, I have no idea why anyone would prefer electric. This treadle is smooth and quiet, the stitches are uniform, and it is so easy to use! Also, I now have a good use for my antique piano stool, which matches the sewing machine nicely.

        I'm guessing this machine is from the 40s, which goes right along with my stack of sewing and knitting magazines from around that same era. Just think about it, people were using this during WWII, when there was a limit to how full you could make your skirts so as to reserve fabric for army uniforms! Maybe I'll have to sew a nice 40s dress soon. :)

        That's all for now, although I have a lot more vintage stuffs. How about you? Do you like old things? What sorts?

Blessings,

Reyna

Bookshelf Tag

        This lovely tag was floating around a few weeks back, and I got a nice surprise when dear Aspen tagged me for it a couple days ago. Hooray! Another opportunity to do a tag without stealing it! (Yes, I know it's the second tag-y post this week, but I'm getting ready to leave for seven days on Monday so I'm at a loss for time.)

(Yes, I made that picture because this tag was up until this point without one.)

Describe your bookshelf (or wherever it is you keep your books - it doesn't have to be a shelf) and where you got it from: Well, I have a small-ish bookshelf that I've had as long as I can remember (it's the one in the above picture), and then a much larger one that I made a couple summers back. You can see that one here, although I have since re-arranged some of the books on it. They are both painted white and the big one has no back, which is very handy for cleaning.

Do you have any special or different ways of organizing your books? More or less. I start out with an idea of how I want to organize them, but the shelves aren't completely suited to the exact number of each type of book so it doesn't end up being perfect.

What's the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf? Complete and unabridged Shakespeare.

What's the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf? A book about the history of the town I live in published by the Historical Society.

Is there a book you received as a birthday gift? Yes, the huge bird book published by National Geographic. It's my favorite bird book to date, and has the most amazing pictures.

What's the smallest (height and width-wise) book on your shelf? Blue Book of Birds. It's about two inches tall and four inches long.

What's the biggest (height and width-wise) book on your shelf? The Standard Dictionary of Facts from 1943. This book has everything you would ever need to know. If you can ever find one, no matter the publication date, get it. I read this for fun.

Is there a book from a friend on your shelf? Yes, Zalena by my friend J.T. Wolf. He gave a signed copy to me recently and my name is even in the acknowledgements!

Most expensive book? Probably my Barnes and Noble Classics, the books that are labeled as 'fancy-looking' in the picture. I used to buy those with gift cards I got for my birthday and Christmas, and I think some of those were $20.

The last book you read on your shelf? Zalena.

Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read? The Little House books? Charlotte's Web? The Secret of Nimh? I have no clue.

Do you have more than one copy of a book? Yes, LOTR.

Do you have the complete series of any book series? I have all of the Redwall books but one that I was having trouble ordering on Amazon, but I'm not sure I have all of another series. I don't read that many books in series.

What's the newest addition to your shelf? Zalena.

What book has been on your shelf FOREVER? The Little House books.

What's the most recently published book on your shelf? Zalena (again).

The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)? I have an 1899 copy of Heidi.

A book you won? I don't think I have won any books.

A book you'd hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you never let someone borrow)? My hardcover LOTR books. I let people borrow my paperbacks. Also all of my century-old books because you have to always handle those with a lot of care so they don't fall apart.

Most beat up book? The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. It's falling apart.

Most pristine book? I tend to take very good care of my books, so most of the ones I got new still look new.

A book from your childhood? I'm not going to do this because it would be most of my books and that would take too long.

A book that's not actually your book? The Complete Survival Manual. I 'borrowed' it from my grandma maybe five years ago and haven't given it back.

A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)? Well, I have a lot of leather-bound books, but I don't think I have anything else interesting.

A book that is your favorite color? Well, I don't really have a favorite color, so I'm not sure how to answer this question. I love books that are the natural color of leather.

Book that's been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven't read? A couple of Agatha Christie mysteries that I got at a book sale for cheap and haven't gotten around to reading.

Any signed books? Zalena (I think this is the last time :P).


        Thank you so much, Aspen! And since most of the people I know have already done this or I've nominated them for tags recently, I'm not going to nominate anyone in particular. If you are reading this and want to do it, feel free! Leav your answers is a comment or do a blog post and tell me the link!

Blessings,

Reyna  

Here are the questions:

Describe your bookshelf (or wherever it is you keep your books - it doesn't have to be a shelf) and where you got it from:

Do you have any special or different ways of organizing your books?

What's the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf?

What's the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf?

Is there a book you received as a birthday gift?

What's the smallest (height and width-wise) book on your shelf?

What's the biggest (height and width-wise) book on your shelf?

Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?

Most expensive book?

The last book you read on your shelf?

Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read?

Do you have more than one copy of a book?  

Do you have the complete series of any book series? 

What's the newest addition to your shelf? 

What book has been on your shelf FOREVER? 

What's the most recently published book on your shelf? 

The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)?

A book you won?  

A book you'd hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you never let someone borrow)?

Most beat up book? 

Most pristine book? 

A book from your childhood? 

A book that's not actually your book?

A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)?

A book that is your favorite color? 

Book that's been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven't read?

Any signed books? 

Sisterhood Award

        I've been awarded by dear Emma of A Lantern In Her Hand for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! See now why I shortened the post title?! ;)

Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.
• Put the award logo on your blog.
• Answer the ten questions sent to you.
• Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.
• Nominate ten blogs.

        Alrighty, here are my answers to Emma's wonderful questions:

Do you like country fairs? Yes, I do! I haven't had the chance to go to very many, but I thoroughly enjoy them, especially looking at all the animals and hand-made goods.

Were you ever in some sort of club as a kid? Well, I was in a club with my cousin (we called it the JAM Club), and I think that's it. Nothing fancy, but everything fun.

What's one of the first movies you remember seeing? Probably The Sound Of Music. That was the movie I had seen the most times in my life until LOTR came along.

Which would you rather do: hop in your old pickup truck and go for an unexpected adventure, or sit on the back porch with a good novel on a warm summer evening? These both sound splendid, so it would depend on what kind of mood I was in. The pickup truck adventure is probably more likely, but if I'm tired after a long day of putting in fences or delivering goat babies then sitting on the porch with a book would be my choice.

Do you enjoy live concerts? No, but I've only ever been to one and it was crazy and too loud. I'm sure there are live concerts I would really enjoy. 

Which do you read more of: historical fiction or contemporary fiction? Historical fiction all of the way!

Do you like country music? Short answer: yes. Long answer: I don't listen to it very often because I don't have an iPod or a phone that plays music so I just listen to CDs that I buy. The only time I listen to country music is with other people because I am not educated in that genre so don't know what to buy/look for for myself. Whenever I get to listen to country music, though, I absolutely love it! It's probably my favorite kind of music next to my movie soundtracks.

If you could play any role in a musical, who would you choose? Oh, this is hard. It's between Eponine, Meg Giry, and Emma (from Jekyll and Hyde).

Do you ever put your feet up on the dashboard when riding in the car? Well, my dad doesn't like me to do it while the car is going (he's paranoid about the airbag not working if we happen to crash), but if ever I'm waiting in the car for someone else I sit with my feet on the dash.

Can you tell us a funny story of something that happened to you in the last week/month/ever? Hmm... There are lots of funny things that happen to me, but now that you put me on the spot I can't think of any. Can I tell about some funny things I did to other people? Okay good. 1. When my brother was unhooking the trailer from the truck in the evening, I climbed over the wheel and into the bed and then crept along until I was at the tailgate and when he stood up I shouted BOO at him and he fell over. 2. We were at a park the other day and my mom was washing her hands outside the restroom. She asked me if this little knob on the wall was soap and I said yes and she pushed it and it was this really loud hand-dryer thingy that scared her. :) 

         See, I like scaring people. Muahahahahaha...

       I think those were the most entertaining questions I've answered for a tag in a while! Thank you so much, Emma! I hope mine are almost as good. :)

Questions for my nominees:

1. Do you prefer hot tea or iced tea (or are you not a fan of tea in general)?
2. What are your thoughts on fanfiction?
3. Do you play any musical instruments? If so, what is your favorite kind of music to play?
4. Have you seen any movies in theaters this year or plan to see one/some others?
5. What types of poetry do you enjoy, if any?
6. Have you ever thrown your mashed potatoes up against the wall?*
7. Do you like watching costume dramas?
8. Would you rather live in the city or the country?
9. What is one of the hardest things you have ever done? This can be physically, mentally, emotionally, all of those, etc.
10. Do you own a pocketknife? If so, how often do you have it with you?

        I don't have ten nominees because I don't know that many people who haven't already been nominated. So, here are my few:

Aspen 

Evie

Eowyn

Laura

        I hope y'all enjoy it! Although if you can't do it that's all right too; I know there have been a lot of tags going around lately. :)

Blessings,

Reyna

*Veggie Tales reference, obviously. I only ask because my brother and I have, in fact, done this. I took a scoop in my spoon and put the round part on the table with the handle sticking off, then hit the handle part so that it launched the mashed potatoes across the room (and yes, up against the wall).

My Favorite Videos // #2

        Time for another video post! I am going to do a lovely tag soon but as I don't have time right now I'll share another video with y'all. This one is from Blimey Cow, which many of you have probably heard of/seen.

        I love this one because it's so terribly accurate. ANTIBIOTICS!!!!! And the autobiography. This, friends, is why I haven't been to the doctor in four years. Even for years before that, I only went for broken bones.

Blessings,

Reyna