Halloween Time - Postcard Friendship Friday #83

Forgive me for getting PFF up so late today.  I have been feeling a bit under the weather.  

I love this whimsical postcard--the poetry and artwork is just delightful!  

I have always loved fairytales and fairies--however, in my research I discovered a scary tradition about fairies and goblins on  Hallows Eve!  It is whispered that in the hours between dusk and midnight, fairies and goblins go out to collect as many souls as they can.  

To rescue an imprisoned soul, a person could collect the dust from beneath the feet of fairies and goblins, then throw it at these creatures--who would then would be obliged to release all the souls they held captive.  Have you ever wondered what fairy dust was made of?  Me too!  Now  we know! 

* Our dear Friend Heather is having a contest, to win a very unusual postcard.  To get the details on how to win, visit Send a Postcard a Week.

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them.    

 
* Don't forget to visit Gemma at Greyscale Territory for Weekend Mailbox.


REMINDER: Comments and links which contain advertising and do not refer to any of the following; Postcard Friendship Friday, mailboxes, the Post office, postcards or the love of postcards, will be deleted.

Best Friends - Guest Heart Thursday

I post this in honor of my darling Sister Clytie, Queen of Hearts--and one of my very best Friends.  I think she is AMAZING.  

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday!

Sissy Clytie is Home!

I am posting this lovely picture of a girl with flowers, in celebration of my darling Sister Clytie's release from the hospital.  God was protecting her. 

As so many prayers and thoughts were being sent up on Clytie's behalf, the emergency room doctor got a bee in his bonnet.  Though the heart tests came back as normal and just a little high, he was still convinced there was a blockage in her heart and he would not give up looking.  He even asked for two-year old data from another hospital in order to find the problem.  Thank God!  Because of this doctor's persistence, Sissy is going to be fine.

Clytie had an angiogram yesterday morning, during which the actual blockage was discovered.  They cleared the vein and put in a stent.  I spent yesterday afternoon with Clytie in the hospital and had the wonderful privilege of picking her up and bringing her home today.

THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  I am convinced there was an angel hanging over that doctor's shoulder, telling him to look further, when the tests said something completely different than the truth.

You can visit Clytie to welcome her home, at Random Hearts.  She tells me she can hardly wait to go walking!!!  She looks so PINK!  lol

Sissy Clytie is in the Hospital

This morning I awoke with a start.  My eyes flew open and I sat straight up in bed.  I should call Sissy, I thought.  I was sure it was a bit too early, so I waited.

Not too long after that Mumsie called to let me know Sissy had been taken to the hospital.  She had been rushed to emergency in horrible pain.  She'd been having trouble with bad acid reflux--had gone into local emergency a week or so ago.  Tests came back inconclusive, so they sent her home with some meds for heartburn. 

Turns out she has a blockage in her heart.  Tomorrow she goes in for an angiogram to find out where the blockage is, then they will put in a stint.  This is so frightening.  Sissy--darling Queen of Hearts--is beloved to so many people.  Clytie is heart of my heart.  I don't know what the world would be like without her in it. 

I would appreciate your prayers for her complete and rapid recovery.  Please drop by and leave her a note on her found hearts blog, Random Hearts.  I know she will be so encouraged to hear your messages of encouragement.

 I will keep you updated on how she is doing.

A Merry Halloween - Postcard Friendship Friday #82

I have always loved  black cats.  It is unfortunate they get so much bad press here in America.  Their reputation is not so bad in other places.  In Scotland, a strange black cat on a porch is said to bring prosperity to the owner.  In other lore, if a white hair is found on a black cat, it is considered to be good luck, but woe to the one who plucks it out!  In Asia and the UK, the black cat carries good tidings, and to dream of a black cat foretells good fortune.

My family's history with black cats started with my Dad, who as a boy companied with a cat named Snow.  When I was a little girl, we had a little black cat, with a swatch of white under her chin--who's name was Snow.  When my children were young we miraculously rescued a tiny black kitten from between the walls of the old Carriage House.  She was named Snow, too.  You can read about the daring rescue of our dear Snow "Bunny" in Angel Stories.

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them. 
 
* Don't forget to visit Gemma at Greyscale Territory for Weekend Mailbox.

REMINDER: Comments and links which contain advertising and do not refer to any of the following; Postcard Friendship Friday, mailboxes, the Post office, postcards or the love of postcards, will be deleted.

Halloween Heart - Guest Heart Thursday

I have never seen a postcard quite like this one before!  Just perfect for Guest Heart Thursday!  What a whimsical tradition--I'd never heard of this poem before.  

If you blow out the light, 'ere the apple is bit,

By the girl that you love best,

Her heart's yours forever - She'll think it clever.

And your marriage will be blessed.

Happy Halloween everyone!

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday!

Faery Curiosity

I found this amazing picture at Fantasy Faeries.  What a wonderful place to visit, if you love fairies!  I loved the wings and the way this piece glows.  I find myself wondering what they're so interested in watching through that faery window.

Have a lovely week everyone!

Fairy Secrets - Postcard Friendship Friday #81

I apologize for getting PFF up so late.  I was gone for a speaking engagement over the past three days and got a very late start this morning!  

We were located in the mountains just out of Lebanon, Ore.  There was a small lake where the mist maidens danced in the early mornings.  There was a stand of fir trees gracing the grounds--one could walk beneath them upon paths carpeted with fir needles, where forest leaves, flowers and mosses grew in delicate profusion.  I even found an amazing castle stump glowing in a clearing amidst some young firs.  And then I saw a little doorway at the top of a broken tree which looked for all the world like a faery condo.  (grin)

I love fairies--they're God's littlest angels, you know.  I imagine many of the secrets of faeries keep, would have to do with the seasons--how to coax flowers from their sleep in Spring, what the sunflower sings as it follows the sun, and how to splash color on Fall leaves.  I am sure they know the secret of how to spread the fragile ice feathers I find etched across  my windshield on cold winter mornings.  I would love to sit down and talk with a faery about these things someday.  (grin)  As often as they visit my garden, I am sure that day will come.

I know, I know--I have a GREAT imagination!

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them.

* Don't forget to visit Gemma at Greyscale Territory for Weekend Mailbox.

REMINDER: Comments and links which contain advertising and do not refer to any of the following; Postcard Friendship Friday, mailboxes, the Post office, postcards or the love of postcards, will be deleted.

The Twin Towers - Postcard Friendship Friday #80

Sunday is the ten year anniversary of September 11.  That date was a defining moment in the history of the United States. And in the lives of myself and my family. 

I remember that spring, just days before  the last bodies of those who had died were discovered, and the recovery effort was declared finished, my family and I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero.  That great scar in the earth had left another one in my heart. 

I will never forget standing on the viewing platform that cold cloudy day.  Hundreds of people gathered there, were silent as they walked up the ramps and stood together.   The air was eerily quiet.  It was as though the bare wood on the ramp was covered with a thick layer of dust.  As you know New York City never rests--it is like the ceaseless roar of a great ocean.  But in that place, sound was somehow dampened.

My husband and son stood close, as my daughters and I closed our eyes and began to sing Amazing Grace in three-part harmony.  Some of the people in the crowd joined in.  

Then as we sang the words, "bright shining as the sun..."  Something incredible happened.  There was a sudden instantaneous break in those cold, dark clouds--a brilliant beam of sunlight burst through, beaming down, sweeping over the huge American Flag, covering Ground Zero where so many lost their lives.  Then a gasp from the crowd as brightness was touching our faces, embracing the hundreds on the viewing platform with dazzling warmth. 

As we finished the song, our little family wrapped our arms around each other, heads bowed and we wept. I don't know how long we stood  there, tears slipping down our faces--but when we lifted our heads, we were alone.  The hundreds of people standing with us had moved away so softly we hadn't realized they had gone.

Though each group was only allowed 15 minutes, the guards told us to stay as long as we wished.  And we did--praying for all the families who's loved ones had died there, for our nation and for the world.

That day touched me and my family in a way I cannot even put into words.  What a blessing it was to feel--literally--the warmth of God's grace.  Suffice it to say none of us will ever forget 9/11, or the people who died that day in the World Trade Center.
 

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them.

* Don't forget to visit Gemma at Greyscale Territory for Weekend Mailbox.

REMINDER: Comments and links which contain advertising and do not refer to any of the following; Postcard Friendship Friday, mailboxes, the Post office, postcards or the love of postcards, will be deleted.

Crazy 'Boutcha - Guest Heart Thursday

Here is another Valentine's Day card from my collection.  I've been told this card was probably produced in the 1940's in the USA.  I adore this little pig-tailed cutie--her canoe is darling, too.  Would a canoe with hearts be just the thing?  With all this warm weather, a canoe trip also seems just fine to me.  A wonderful way to beat the heat.

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday!

She's on the Telephone - Postcard Friendship Friday #79

In January 1878, the Boston Telephone Dispatch company hired only boys as operators.  However, as the saying goes, "boy will be boys."  People began to complain when the youngsters showed their impatience with extremely rude behavior.  This included pranks and cursing.  As a result the company decided to hire women instead.  

On September 1, 1878, Emma was hired as the very first women telephone operator in history.  She worked as a telephone operator for 37 years, retiring in 1915.  Everyone loved Emma's soothing, cultured voice.  Because of people's overwhelmingly positive response to her intelligence, gentle manner and great patience, those rambunctious boys were soon exclusively replaced by all women operators.

The rules to be a telephone operator were stringent.  A woman had to be unmarried, between the ages of seventeen and twenty-six. She had to look prim and proper and her arms had to be long enough to reach the top of the tall telephone switchboard! I was not able to discover how long a woman's arms had to be--the idea of a group of extremely long-armed women put a really funny picture in my mind...

At some point in her career, Emma was hired by Alexander Graham Bell who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. She was paid a salary of $10 per month for a 54 hour week.  Incredibly she is said to be able to remember every number in the telephone directory of the New England Telephone Company.  

Apparently Emma had a great sense of humor.  It was said she was always grateful her parents did not give her the name "Imma."  Can you imagine a telephone operator answering the line saying, "Hello, Imma Nut, may I help you?"

I wonder what Emma would think of today's wireless smart phones.  My own precious Grandfather, born in the late 1800's would rarely answer a telephone.  He could not understand how voices could be transmitted over wire and was quite skeptical of them. 

Have a lovely day, everyone!

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them! Have fun everyone!

* Don't forget to visit Gemma at Greyscale Territory for Weekend Mailbox!

REMINDER: Comments and links which contain advertising and do not refer to Postcard Friendship Friday, mailboxes, the Post office, postcards or the love of postcards, will be deleted.

I'll Chews YOU Every Time - Guest Heart Thursday

Made in the USA, this Valentine's Day Card was made to stand, by folding down one side.  This card was probably printed in the 1940's.  Notice the gum in her bag and how much she is enjoying stretching the gum from mouth to fingers.  What kid wouldn't?!  I also love her shoes, hat, dress--and that little duck is just adorable.

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday!