Halloween Toni Girls - Page 4

SloopJohnB · ‎04-25-2020

@Enufstuff wrote:
@EastCoastGal Tiny tears was my baby doll,too. My cousin and I both had one. One day we went to the the neighborhood store and bought the variety pack of small boxes of Gerber Baby Cereals.

We mixed some up with hot water and "fed" it to our dolls. I think that we were about 9 yrs. old.

@Enufstuff I loved my Tiny Tears doll, too. But I also loved the little Gerber boxes. So much so that when they did away with them I even wrote a letter (before email) to Gerber to get them back. For all the good it did me. They did answer and sent me a bunch of coupons. LOL

I would give everything I own just to have you back again.......David Gates of Bread

EastCoastGal · ‎03-09-2010

@Enufstuff ... Aww... That's too bad you ended up sick with the mumps and couldn't go out wearing your new black cat outfit !! ...but how sweet of your brother to take your bag with him and then you had your candy!

I'm sure we still went out on Halloween at age 11. We had one huge house we went to every year. This nice couple always invited all of us in for cider and donuts! The nicest couple! I don't think they had children so they especially loved Halloween! They asked our name and what grade we were in. We went there for a long time. I asked my Dad one time their last name and he told me. Now, of course, l wish l knew them better but we didn't think of that when we're younger!

We pretty much received the same kind of candy every Halloween... M&Ms was one of my favorites. Just had a treat size bag of M&Ms a little while ago tonight!

l was probably a ghost, a princess...the regular type of Halloween costumes. We made our own no-sew costumes at home. I'm 75 so l don't remember!!

l need a better light near me...like a standing lamp. My current lamp is too far away to be able to see really good !!

Desert Lily · ‎06-24-2011

Love your Toni posts!

- and you are talented!

Witchy Woman · ‎03-15-2010

@Enufstuff

You have had quite an interesting life!

I love the idea that there are those who collect Vintage fabric. I have had a long love affair with fabrics starting from childhood. We used to shop at a big department store in downtown St. Louis called Stix, Baer & Fuller (now Dillards), and one entire floor was devoted to fabric.

We would spend hours browsing and touching...looking at patterns...it was wonderful. All that fancy fabric...silks and brocades...glorious!

Dotted Swiss was another favorite of mine. I swear I think my Communion dress was dotted Swiss...I know I had dotted Swiss curtains long ago. Gosh, it's a pretty fabric. I used to have white organdy, but the upkeep was too much, so I moved on to something polyester

As I mentioned, my mother was a factory seamstress (miserable job, really), but she taught me a lot about fabrics, trims and such. She did sew a lot of my clothing, but never learned the finer points of tailoring. So, when I got older, I picked up where she left off. I was never expert, but considered myself pretty good when I mastered bound button holes and a few other things.

I loved hearing about all the twists and turns your life has taken you! So many careers and accomplishments...and then...Fabrics, sewing and antiques....what could be better? I love all those things. Not to mention miniatures...so fascinating!

But, I get it when you said:

"Now, in my 70's I just don't have the drive and ambition

to create, like I used to. I think that I'm just tired and don't have the energy that I once had."

Basically, I'm at the same place. We built our dream home in the early 80s...a large brick Victorian...and I used to decorate and entertain for Halloween and Christmas. It would take me days to set up and take down. Loved doing the smallest detail.

However, at 72 I cannot manage it anymore and don't really want to. Friends have died, divorced or moved away, so....anything I do, I do for a party of two now

I wanted to mention about donating books. I had the same dilemma and found a place that accepts all donations called Better World Books. They have drop off boxes around the country and, fortunately there were two near me.

My husband collected Readers Digest Condensed books and a ton of other books that were absolutely dust collectors.

Little by little I hauled them all to those bins and dropped them in. It was such a liberating feeling.

While I enjoy seeing full bookshelves, if you never touch them again, what's the point? They just become a headache...at least to me.

There may be a donation box in your area and that would help if you are willing to let them go without knowing their future home

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@Witchy Woman I would have been in Heaven, shopping in the fabric department of your St. Louis department store. It is sad that our beautiful fabric stores and department stores no longer exist.

You were so fortunate that your mother taught you about fabrics and sewing, so you have an appreciation of lovely fabrics. My aunt gave me some guidance when I started sewing for my little girls. She sewed all the time and got tired of things. In the 60's she gave me a few cotton dresses with full skirts, that were somewhat out of fashion. There was so much fabric in those full skirts, I could make two dresses for my girls, from one dress. I even re-used her lace trims.

Dotted Swiss, so pretty, was popular when we were young. My dotted Swiss First Communion dress was a hand me down from a cousin. I was so tiny, most of my clothes were passed on to me by three cousins, two of them the same age as me.

It sounds like you did some tailoring. Only twice did I make bound buttonholes. One time on a Easter coat that I made for myself and another time on a little jacket for my daughter.

In the 60's I made a navy blue Nehru jacket for my first husband. I don't remember making bound buttonholes on that.

He wore a turtleneck with it, but refused to wear a medallion

necklace.

How wonderful that you got to build your Victorian dream house. When we were collecting antiques, that was my dream house; a big Victorian with turrets and cupolas, porches, fireplaces in bedrooms and all those lovely Victorian features.

Our first house was a late Victorian (1898), with a Mansard roof, but no big porches or fireplace. I was 19 when we bought it. I married very young. It was fun decorating all the rooms. I did all the painting and wallpapering myself, made quilts for the girls and made some of the curtains. It was fun for my girls to pick the colors for their rooms. My husband painted the ceilings. After 12 years, we bought our second house. It was built in 1914 and I did get my wrap around porches and fireplace. Then I decorated all these rooms. The last room I wallpapered was 10 years ago. At 76, I don't dare climb

ladders anymore.

There are bins at the middle school in the neighborhood for books, but I have a feeling that they are probably just recylced

and not passed along for people to read.

I don't just have two filled bookcases, there are stacks on the floor too. I just need to get motivated to get rid of some. There are so many that I just can't part with.

Like you, I used to go all out for holidays, decorating, shopping, cooking and baking. I loved it.Now I just put seasonal wreaths on my doors and decorate my mantle.

Time, family growing and Covid, changed so much. I no longer do the holidays for the entire family. Five children have grown to 23 people, with spouses, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. Before Covid, my son started having Christmas at his house, since it is much larger than mine.

I would bake all my goodies and bring them to his house.

Since Covid each family has been doing their own thing. I still shop for Christmas all year and we visit each other, but family is too big now to all get together.

I Live north of Boston. It would be nice if we lived near each other. We seem to share a lot of the same interests.

You have a birthday coming up. Do you do anything special to celebrate? Next week I'll visit my daughter in law to give her gift to her. Years ago, I gave her a few Halloween themed gifts, but I really don't do that anymore. You probably got a lot of those in your lifetime.

Have a wonderful birthday.