A True WWII Love Story

In 1945, Dad was a 22-year-old seaman in the US Navy aboard a PT boat in the Pacific during WWII, and Mom was a 17-year-old delivery girl living in Sydney, Australia with her mom, dad and 15-year-old sister, Ruthy. This is the story of their long and somewhat turbulent but very romantic courtship.

Sydney was one of the R&R ports for US troops and like many of his fellow sailors, Dad was in town to have some fun and hopefully meet some girls. He had an address of a girl he was going to meet and was having trouble finding the street when he spotted Ruthy and Mom. That’s his story anyway; I think it was just a good opening line.

Meanwhile my mom and my Aunt Ruthy had been out delivering advertising slides to the movie houses and were walking home. Using the pretense of needing help with the address my dad approached the girls. Both were very pretty but Ruthy with her white blond hair usually attracted more attention and such was the case on the walk home. Once they arrived home and Dad got a good look in some light he realized that Ruthy was much too young and switched his attention over to Mom. Not the most romantic start.

He asked her out and her father said NO but two days later let them go to an early movie. “Be home by 9” The date went well and Dad was on his way back to his ship that would be leaving in the morning when he was hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. Darn those Aussies driving on the wrong side of the road ;)! Mom says that’s when they really started to get to know each other.

to be continued….

Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow…

…can keep me from my appointed auction.

Ok, I admit that’s a stretch but I did go out to an auction yesterday despite it being in the boonies and during the worst snow storm this year. A thirty minute trip turned into an hour and a half crawl along snow covered roads with cars a-slippin and a-slidin all over the place!

It was worth the trip though because in addition to some beautiful glass, china, and a fabulous set of silver candleholders, I bought six Aston Drake Porcelain dolls. These two are my favorites.
This is Mary from Mary Has a Little Lamb, unfortunately her lamb is lost. I think the expression on her face is priceless, she looks like I often feel when my brain isn’t working right.




The redhead is Peaches and Cream, she has her little basket of peaches and her face is just beautiful!

Now I know that these are collectible dolls and if you play with them you decrease the value, but how can you not! All of their little outfits have real snaps so that they can be taken on and off and although I have resisted doing that it’s nice to know that it’s possible. Their heads rotate and tilt into different positions making their expressions even more adorable, plus the arms and hands can be repositioned to a certain extent. I did play with them a little, as you can see from the photographs. I couldn’t resist, they seem like they were made to play with!

Help me out and win a prize!

Like Noel Squirel I too have a hard time making up my mind. How sad is that!

Anyway, I need to choose a door prize for the blog party on Valentines day. Please visit any of my shops - see list at the very top of all the posts - and let me know what you would pick. I'm planning some other promotions with lots of prizes so I need lots of suggestions!

Leave a comment with your choice and you're automatically entered into a drawing to be held on Feburary 1st for one of the suggestions!

Thank you all for helping,
Karen

You're Invited to a Valentine's Day Party!

Preparations are in full swing for the Lollishops Progressive Blog "All Dolled Up" Valentine's Day Party.
Click here for details


In my next few blogs I will be introducing you to some of the guests at my party and you can follow the story by clicking on the top picture on the right. Today's featured guest is Noel, a very young squirrel known for her sweet tooth and her propensity to worry!

Lollishops – The Fru-Fru Friendly Marketplace

I just opened a new niche shop for my girlie girl items! You know, gloves, hats, shabby chic’, and those cute little figurines that I love but that my DH wants to use for target practice, lol!

I have been inspired by the many talented artist there to try my hand at some new crafts too, one of which is my line of Victorian lady magnets. They’re all one of a kind and come with a short background story. I’ve had fun painting them and making up the stories, now if I could only sell some…

In addition to my vintage shops, I do a lot of beading and decoupage cigar boxes to sell at craft shows during the holiday season. Yesterday was my third craft show of the season and I have no idea why, but sales were good for the first time this year! All of a sudden, people are ready to spend some money. I'm pretty sure that the economy hasn't suddenly recovered but the mood is certainly more optimistic. A result of the election outcome? Perhaps. Whatever the reason, hooray! I hope it lasts; I have another show this weekend so I had better go replenish my inventory, lol!

To Buy or Not to Buy...

...that is the question. In the midst of an economic downturn what is a collector/dealer to do? On the one hand, there are bargains to be had; on the other hand, sales are hard to come by!

I was at an antique show yesterday, my very first as a seller and although traffic was good, sales were not. I was talking with the dealer next to me and we agreed that even with rock bottom prices, sales were slow to say the least. Another dealer who stopped by my booth said that she had to decide if she wanted to hold on to her items or give them away. As for me, aside from one big jewelry sale
I didn't sell anything over $20. A few of the items I did sell were at or below cost just to get them out of my inventory! So, sales are tough. On the plus side I did have three people ask if I bought antiques which brings us back to the original question, is this the time to buy?
If you read my previous post, you know that I love a bargain :), and that I already have multiple rooms full of inventory :(. So maybe this is not the time for me to snatch up everything. However, if it was something really good... old Carnival or American Brilliant Period cut glass, pristine Depression or Elegant period glass? Oh yes! I would buy it and hold onto it until things stabilize and prices recover. But that's just me, I can't resist a gorgeous piece of glass.
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