Hats are tricky. Especially tall ones. Lamb is sometimes subjected to the indignity of a hat gone awry. Whether it’s unbalanced and cocked way too much to the side or, horror or horrors, has fallen completely off Lamb’s head, an adjustment needs to be made.
This very thing occurred the other day as I swept through the upstairs hallway with my camera in hand. A quick glance to the left revealed a missing hat and a missing flower. Everything came to a halt as I apologized to Lamb and quickly rectified the situation.
Lamb is once more The Lamb with the Party Hat. As penance, I promised to take a picture to show you that dignity has been restored.
Whew.
A big thank you to reader Margaret who informed me that our Ukelele Girl is a clothes brush. They were made in the days when women had vanities and/or a place for all their perfumes and and rings and things of a toilette nature. Mystery solved! I, of course, went immediately to eBay and saw some similar items – but not Ukelele Girl herself. The body is made of porcelain, by the way. Things of this nature were so much more stylish then, don’t you think? Now I’m reduced to using one of those lint brushes – plastic, of course.
I had an edition of Heidi on my bookshelf as a young girl, part of a group of books my mom had as a child. Somehow all of those books ended up with my middle sister, and so I find myself drawn to titles I used to see and no longer have: Daddy Long Legs, Heidi, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables (the whole series) and more. If I could find them in the same editions, I’d be over the moon. But for now, I buy them when I see them, as long as they are vintage and in good condition. I don’t want new editions. I want vintage. I love vintage books, of course, but in this case I want vintage because they remind me of my mom. The mom who instilled a love of reading in me, for which I am forever grateful.
Do you remember the post where I asked you what your Five Favorite Movies were? I edited the text later that day and added Cinema Paradiso to my list. You know what? I would have to say that Cinema Paradiso and To Kill a Mockingbird are locked in a happy tie for My Favorite Movie. We watched it on Monday night (it’s on Netflix). Then we watched it again last night. I’ve seen it many times, as has Don. We are both reduced to tears at the end. Every time. It’s simply beautiful. A gem through and through. It was released in 1990 and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film – deservedly so.
Have you ever seen it? If you haven’t, I think you’d love it.
I’m off to write a little post for Just Let Me Finish This Page.
Happy Wednesday.
I haven’t seen Cinema Paradiso Claudia but I just grabbed an index card and made a note of it. I might try and watch it tonight. We have been raking leaves the past few days and they are still falling. I have started making out a weekly menu for the past month and it’s working out so well for me. Trying to make things as simple as possible since we are helping out with my aunt. Never know what the day will bring. Hope you have a lovely day!
I applaud you, Janie! We’re never that organized about our meal planning. We should be!
So great to find that Ukelele Girl has a purpose!! And, she is so pretty, too.
I have to share……….. I had windows in the house opened yesterday afternoon!! It was absolutely glorious. It was 56* on our thermometer, but in the sunshine it felt warmer ~ or, perhaps it is because a week ago it was still in the 0 to 10* range? Supposed to be near and a bit above 60* for a couple of days. The only bad thing will be when it plunges back (and we know it will) to the 20’s and 30’s again for days on end. Also, as I look out the window this morning I don’t see any snow except for one dirty pile near a corner where the plows pile it up. I am thinking by the weekend that may also be a distant memory!
Hope you have a great day and that open windows will be in your (near)future as well!!! :-)
It’s warmer here, but we have SO much snow on the ground that it will be a long time until we see it melted.
Well I loved ukulele girl even when you didn’t know her purpose. It’s all in the details…function used to be more beautiful don’t you think? Now, I use a lint roller, and while is functions well…I hide it rather than leave it on display.
We drove around yesterday with the car windows open….what a treat! I hear it’s gonna be warmer out East as well….enjoy! ;)
We had our windows open – so nice to get some fresh air into the cottage!
Well, I love a history mystery, Claudia, so I did a little research on your clothes brush. Thanks to Margaret for pointing me in the right direction.
After careful consideration, I decided that she might be holding a guitar, rather than a ukulele (the “grass skirt” was misleading), and searched accordingly. Lo and behold, I found your gal and will send you the links.
Look at her headscarf again. Perhaps she’s supposed to be gypsy, rather than a hula girl?
At any rate, I learned that the collecting of “half dolls,” as they are called, is a thing. They can be clothes brushes, whisk brooms, pincushions, powder puffs, lamps, etc.
Try searching ebay and etsy with the term “half doll” in quotation marks; you will see a delightful array of examples. Some are politically incorrect; some are racy; all are interesting.
Our mothers would have identified your object in a heartbeat. Dressing tables and their accoutrements were all the rage in the first half of the twentieth century.
I have learned so much from your blog, Claudia.
We didn’t necessarily think of her as a hula girl – precisely because of the head scarf. But Don dubbed it a ukelele and since he’s the string player in the family, that’s probably what will stay. But yes, I thought maybe gypsy-ish, though that seems rather small for a guitar…could she be plucking a violin (a very-gypsy instrument?)
Yes, it could be a violin, or any of a number of stringed instruments. The neck is too short for a guitar, isn’t it? Of course, there is artistic license, as well as the fact that this was made in Japan, probably by a Japanese artist, and probably for export to the American marketplace.
Yes, let’s give the resident musician the honor of naming her. “Ukulele Girl” has a nice ring to it.
It does, doesn’t it? But maybe….”Gypsy Ukelele Girl” I realize that doesn’t go together, but that’s how I’ll think of her!
Love the doll clothes brush. How interesting. One of the reasons I love blogland is all the new things I see and learn! I’ll add that movie to my list to watch. I have Netflix and love the ability to watch movies with it. The sun is shining today and I have a play date with Tiger!
hugs,
Linda
Have a wonderful time with Tiger, Linda! You should check yesterday’s post to see the little mini pitcher I found for my mini pottery collection!
I’m glad I could help. All my years of working in house museums with 150 years or so worth of peoples “stuff” have led to a fairly broad knowledge of objects of daily life as well as objets d’art. And yes, I think Nancy’s right and we’ll have to change her name to Guitar Girl.
Even though it may be a guitar, Margaret, I think Don is hooked on “Ukelele Girl” though he loved hearing she was a clothes brush! She’ll probably stay Ukelele, since he was the one who found her….
I thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!
Margaret, I would love to know more about your museum background, if you’d care to share it with us.
Good idea, Nancy!
If you’re following this thread, Margaret’s answer is below.
cinema paradiso me fez chorar muito,amo esse filme.
Eu chorei muito, Edis!
Thank goodness Lamb has been restored to her happy party state..how upset she must have been..lol..I have not seen that movie but I am curious about it now..I hope the sun is shining for you as it is here..
I truly love that movie – one of the best ever, IMHO.
Yes, Nancy – Lamb is very happy now!
Yes, I agree that Cinema Paradiso is a beautiful film. Another that has made me cry whenever I watch it is The Lion in Winter. Does anyone else feel the same?
I love that film, also – anything with Peter O’Toole is on my list.
Cinema Paradiso? Who does not love this movie. It’s Italian. :-)
Yes, it is! But I don’t like every Italian movie, Regula – however, I sure love most of them. But this one….bellissimo!
Haven’t seen the movie, but I LOVE Josh Groban’s version of “Cinema Paradiso.” Just beautiful. Although now that I think about it, that might not even BE from the movie. Guess I’ll have to see the film to find out – thanks for the recommendation. Enjoy your day!
PS – have begun watching “House of Cards” on Netflix. Happy to say I was sucked in from the very first scene with the dog. This is the definition of “gripping” TV. Thanks for this recommendation too…
It’s very addicting, Janet. I’m glad you like it!
All right, you asked for it. If there had been Museum Studies programs when I was in school, that’s what I would have studied; instead, I was an English major because I liked to read. Then followed some years of little, piddly jobs until our girls were born. When I went back to work, the 1839 house of one of the city’s founders was reopening after a thorough renovation/restoration, and was being operated on a professional rather than volunteer basis. I applied for a part time docent job, but was hired as the full time assistant director and was the director within a year. I had to learn on the spot how to catalog and care for collections with tremendous help from a docent who was a curator turned writer. A few years later I left to spend more time with the kids, but still worked part time in another museum, this one a mansion built just before the Civil War. Then back to full time work in the archives of a late Victorian mansion that was being opened as a museum. I was the archivist working with family papers that dated back to the late 18th century, papers from a family that saved everything. That was also true of the artifact collection; everything was saved from furniture to toiletries and everything in between. Eventually I became Curator of Collections, encompassing both document and artifact collections. Lots of fun. In retirement, I have done freelance research, designed and installed exhibits and organized a museum committee for the local historical foundation. I have also been involved with yet another historic house (the city was once very rich, now it’s just rich in big old houses) that has been reorganized, inventorying the collection, working on the interpretative and furnishing plans and putting together the docent training materials. Just Monday, the museum committee voted to accept several pieces of original furniture from the family that built the house in the 1890s. I now work very part time for a friend whose shop carries antiques as well as more tourist-oriented gifts, and have fun being her picker.
There. Probably more than you wanted to know.
Not at all! Fascinating how we sometimes end up with a career that we didn’t expect. It sounds wonderful, Margaret, and I’m sure you’re very good at what you do!
Very interesting, Margaret. Thank you for explaining.
Often, hands-on experience is as good or better than what one might learn in a classroom setting. It sounds as though you soaked up a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise.
I was at Costco today and the plastic lint rollers were appropriately by all the pet food and supplies. Wouldn’t it be much classier if there were porcelain lint brushes in place of the plastic rollers?
Infinitely classier, Wendy!