~ Christening Gown Heirloom ~

***Visit Marie’s Heirloom Party to see what everyone else has to show us today.

This exquisite christening gown was created by my grandmother Maggie Carty Neu in 1910 prior to my Mother’s birth, her first born child, in 1911. All 3 of G’ma Maggie’s children wore this gown at their baptisms at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Napavine, WA.

I wish you could see the intricate details of the stitching on this delicate soft sweet fabric. The neckline & sleeve cuffs have this tiny, fine & intricate lace trim. The yoke has cutout embroidery work … the little flowers are connected with this rope chain stitching. The layered pleating on the gown skirt has the same delicate sweet lace adorning the top. The undergown is trimmed in a scalloped eyelet type design at the skirt bottom. The third underskirt is like a heavy flannel to keep the baby warm & is very plain. The fourth gown is a half gown so that when they changed the baby it would keep the other gowns clean from soiling.

As a young girl this gown became very precious to me. I used to love to just hold it & feel it. As a teenager I made it very clear that this was the only thing I ever wanted in my life … nothing else ever mattered to me. I loved my G’ma Maggie so much. I can remember her warmth, hugs & Irish jigs on the kitchen floor entertaining us kids … her black tea freshly brewed aroma filtering thru the house. This gown is a part of her, she created it with her own hands, I loved it with all my heart.

When my first child, Emery, was born I was given the privilege by my Mother, Mary Caroline, to have my son baptized in this precious gown, then my Michael Erin, Caroline Leighanne & Sean Ean. None of Mother’s other grandchildren were baptized in it. I asked Mother if I could have this gown since I was the only one who had a deep love & sentiment for it. When Mother & I closed down her brother Bill’s estate & the family home, Mother gave me the gown as permanent caretaker. All I could do was sit & hold it & cry from such great joy & love.

It has been my privilege to have all 3 of our grandchildren baptized in this exquisite gown, which I am retiring as it has become so terribly fragile. I couldn’t bear anything to happen to it.

Thank you, Mother & G'ma Maggie, for treasured memories.

Picture order ~
Joshua Ryan Carty Ford b. 4-11-1991 St. Peter Catholic Church, Libertytown, MD
Ansel Emery Ford b. 4-16-2001 Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Kensington, MD (his Mother Cathelene holding him)
Tatiana Isabelle Ford b. 12-29-2003 Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Kensington, MD

~ ASAP ~

Cell phone vs. Bible

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, & one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop & think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Trust in the Lord & *ASAP (Always Say A Prayer)

(TY Judy for sharing this, it is wonderful!)

~ GIVE AWAY ~ A Gathering Of Thoughts

Pop over to Rebecca's for another of her gorgeous creations for a giveaway.
http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com

*** Please pray for Stellan mentioned in yesterday's post ... pop over to read about his need in prayers & for his family. ***

~~ Prayers & Support Needed ~~

Life is like a flower, it will blossom when given love ... (this is our rhodie)

Pop by & visit these wonderful sites that do great things for those that need a lift ~ Stellan is very ill ...

mycharmingkids.net

enchantedmakeovers.org

protect.org

THANK YOU & have a beautiful week. TTFN~ Marydon

** THE WINNER IS ..... **

Lynn from ~~~ Her Creative Spirit ~~~

Thank you ladies, for your entries. We will have many more giveaways forthcoming.
Have a beautiful day.

TTFN ~Marydon

~ House On A Rock ~

Some people will do anything to live in isolation. Might be nice in the summer, but must be tough in a North Eastern storm.
Clingstone, an unusual, 103-year-old mansion in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay, survives through the love and hard work of family and friends.
Henry Wood, the owner, runs the house like a camp: all skilled workers welcome. The Jamestown Boatyard hauls the family's boats and floating dock and stores them each winter in return for a week's use of the house in the summer.
Mr. Wood, a 79-year-old Boston architect, bought the house with his ex-wife, Joan, in 1961 for $3,600. It had been empty for two decades.

Clingstone had been built by a distant cousin, J.S. Lovering Wharton. Mr. Wharton worked with an artist, William Trost Richards, to create a house of picture windows with 23 rooms on three stories radiating off a vast central hall.

The total cost of the construction, which was completed in 1905, was $36,982.99

An early sketch of the house. Mr. Wood is as proud as any parent of his house, and keeps a fat scrapbook of photographs and newspaper clippings that document its best moments. Many of the historic photos he has were provided by the company that insured the house for its original owners.

The Newport Bridge is visible from the windows of the Ping-Pong room, to the left of the fireplace.

The house is maintained by an ingenious method: the Clingstone work weekend. Held every year around Memorial Day, it brings 70 or so friends and Clingstone lovers together to tackle jobs like washing all 65 of the windows. Anne Tait, who is married to Mr. Wood's son Dan, refinished the kitchen floor on one of her first work weekends.

There are 10 bedrooms at Clingstone, all with indecently beautiful views

The dining room table seats 14. Refinishing the chairs is a task on the list for a future work weekend.

Sign by the ladder that leads to the roof reads: No entry after three drinks or 86 years of age. "It used to say 80 but we had a guy on a work weekend who was 84, so I changed it," said Mr. Wood, ever the realist. It would have been a shame to curtail the activities of a willing volunteer.

No lawn, no neighbors, no solicitors, no busy streets/autos!!!

~ FORGET OXY & BIZ FOR LINENS ~

Ladies ~
This product beats Oxy & Biz hands down!, as I've posted before.

We are antique dealers of vintage linens & feedsack fabrics. This product will remove 99% of the stains/dirties the first 'soak' (it is not a wash) in 24 hours. Sometimes you may have to do more than one 'soak' but rarely.

http://vintagetextilesoak.com/
1-888-451-1414

My friend took an old christening gown that was yellowed horribly, soaked half of it one night ... the next day she had a half crisp white & half dirty yellow christening gown ... it is that dramatic. It is great for quilts, too.

I've even used it on stained T-shirts of kid-lings & DH ... not always as great a results but it has lifted what other products didn't touch.

Please try this product. TY TTFN ~Marydon

~~ Enter Giveaway Below, Drawing 7.25.09 ~~

~Tablescape Thursday ~ ... So NOT!!

... the rose napkin holder was a close to 'frilly & fluffy' as I was EVER going to get with these 'big puppies'. Joshua even took my plant arrangement OFF the table. Chuckle!! They finished off the bbq ribs & sausages, nothing left to lick! We all had a great time, their sharing tales of their escapades, enjoying a nice, simple, leisurely outdoor dinner on the terrace. Joshua is on the right, Harold center & friends Chris & Steve on the left.

~~~ Remember the giveaway below ~~~

~ Memories In Mother's Bedroom ~

Come in, won't you ... may I offer you a spot of tea & cookie?

You would like to visit Mother's room? Please follow me ... I love the peaceful memories .......

When we moved Mother out to the east coast to be with us, we lost her shortly thereafter. I kept her bed & dresser. Above the dresser is some of her crochet work that I had museum framed to preserve. On the dresser is her Mother Maggie Carty Neu's picture album from Ireland w/ancestors photos, on top is G'ma Maggie's book of poetry & glass case. My children's picture when they were ae 2, 3, & 4. Mother's pincushion & hat pins are in the center.

The bed is draped in an Irish crochet coverlet accented by the quilt at the foot of the bed G'ma Maggie made . This bed was one of G'ma Maggie's when Mother was a child. I did not repaint the bed, leaving the 'beauty marks' just as it was when Mother had it.

The teacup chandelier was made by Brass & Copper in Maryland, specifically for this bedroom. The teacups have touches of blues & soft pinks, picking up the colors of the bedroom decor. Gail, shabby*cottage*shoppe on ebay, makes the colored light bulbs, I used blue in this chandelier.

Harold's family photos adorn the one wall. The antique rabbits beneath were a gift from our cleaning lady, years ago.

Our plate ensemble on the wall has (2) of Mother's dried flower pictures that dressed her walls in her home for as long as I can remember.

Above the bed are vintage nursery rhyme silhouettes, a part of my vast collections. I don't recall where we got the wash stand nor the rocker (draped with Mother's apron) but they fit so well in this room.

Thank you for dropping by. I hope you enjoyed our visit.

~~~ Don't forget our giveaway below ~~~

~ Around the House & Garden ~

Just a wee peek ~
Found that little teapot diddy at TJ Maxx & invited it to come home with me ... it loves its new pedestal on the front porch.

Look what blew in ... what is this uninvited floral beauty? ... they are popping up all over the gardens. They get a huge dandelion type puff of fuzzy stuff when done blooming. Pretty tho.

Our terrace is where we eat every meal during the spring, summer & fall when the weather permits. I love the old wood barrow filled with my flowers adding just a touch of pazazz to the lower terrace. Last pic shows one of two of DHs hanging tomato plants on the right just above the cucs. To the left the little garden has our tomato plants in the garden & another hanging tomato above it. Behind our table is a lot of bird feeders & the bird bath. This is our entertainment at eating time.

The flowers are coming out of the 'overwatered weather funk' we had so I'll show them soon.

I am so in tears ... my son wrote a note on our birthday/anniversary post about him. What a gem he is!

~~ Enter our GIVEAWAY below this post ~~

~WWII Photos ~ Enjoy!! ( Story correction)

Correction ~~~~~ My cousin's sister sent me these pictures ... with the information that they were taken by a Brownie camera, etc., & they are not... as I had written. I have been hence informed the following ... an Oopsie! & apology for the mistaken information but enjoy them as they are so historically an important part of our history to view.

The pictures are real and but have been collected from public sources such as the U.S. Naval Historical Center

~~~ ( ... they are spectacular. During the WWII I have the movie film footage my Dad took flying over the shipyard in Washington State which was highly unethical at that time, but that was my Dad (Marydon) ~

Please say a prayer for these brave men who fought valiantly for our FREEDOMS.

Pearl Harbor On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port.. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States .) In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu , he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which st ruck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets. At 075 3 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack. When it was over, the U.S. Losses were: Casualties US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA. US Navy: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA. US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA. Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA. TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA. ------------------------------------------------- Battleships USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her magazine. USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor. USS California (BB-4 4) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired. USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage. USS Maryland (BB-46) - Light damage. USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage. USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - Sunk. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cruisers USS New Orleans (CA-32) - Light Damage.. USS San Francisco (CA-38) - Light Damage. USS Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage. USS Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired. USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage. USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage.. -------------------------- -- ---------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Cassin - (DD -3 7 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Shaw (DD-373) - Very heavy damage. USS Helm (DD-388) - Light Damage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minelayer USS Ogala (CM-4) - Sunk but later raised and repaired. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seaplane Tender USS Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Repair Ship USS Vestal (AR-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Harbor Tug USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aircraft 188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)

I THINK THEY'RE SPECTACULAR!

PEARL HARBOR

December 7th, 1941