GOOD DAY….WORKING FULL OUT ON MY DECORATIONS NOW, ESPECIALLY SINCE A FRIEND HAS TO HAVE ME HELP HER WITH ERRANDS (car issues on her part)  ALL DAY TOMMORROW????!!!!!!!  So am hustling today.

#OUTLANDER MOMENT

where Jamie goes all dangerous on us:     JAMIE TO CAPT. RANDALL:  “AND I’ll thank you to take your hands off my wife.”

I thought it might be fun to look at Halloween traditions that we have today and see if we can find out where they come from.

COSTUMES:   Evolving from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, modern Halloween has become less about literal ghosts and ghouls and more about costumes and candy. The Celts used the day to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and also believed that this transition between the seasons was a bridge to the world of the dead.  Over the millennia the holiday transitioned from a somber pagan ritual to a day of merriment, costumes, parades and sweet treats for children and adults.   http://www.history.com/topics/Halloween

Celtic festival of Samhain…ancient, pre-Christian origins and was celebrated on 31 October–1 November in various Celtic nations. It was seen as a… time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, could more easily come into our world. After the Christianization of Ireland in the 5th century, some of these customs may have been retained in the Christian observance of All Hallows’ Evel… Samhain, blending the traditions…with Christian ones.  From at least the 16th century,  the festival included mumming and guising, which involved people going house-to-house in costume… reciting verses or songs in exchange for food… In 19th century Scotland, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed  In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod…Elsewhere in Europe, mumming and costumes were part of other yearly festivals…., in the Celtic regions they were “.. appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers”…the costumes were a means of imitating, or disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_costume

CARVING PUMPKINS:    A jack-o’-lantern is a carved pumpkin, or turnip, associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween, and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o’-the-wisp or jack-o’-lantern.  

According to historian Ronald Hutton, in the 19th century, Hallowe’en guisers in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands commonly used jack-o’-lanterns made from turnips and mangelwurzels,,,. Hutton says that they were also used at Hallowe’en in Somerset  during the 19th century. Christopher Hill also writes that “jack-o’-lanterns were carved out of turnips or squashes and were literally used as lanterns to guide guisers on All Hallows’ Eve.”  Some  claim that the Jack-o’-lanterns originated with All Saints’ Day and represented Christian souls in purgatory ^] Bettina Arnold writes that they were sometimes set on windowsills to keep the harmful spirits out of one’s home….despite the commonly held belief that the carving of the Jack-O’-Lantern was an ancient Irish custom, no scholarly research into Irish mythology and customs includes a contemporary reference to such a practice ….There is however evidence that turnips were used to carve what was called a “Hoberdy’s Lantern” in Worcestershire, England at the end of the 18th century.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o’-lantern

BOBBING FOR APPLES:  British author W. H. Davenport Adams, who saw connections between a popular belief in the prognosticative power of apples and what he called “old Celtic fairy lore,”…described the bobbing game as it existed around the turn of the 20th century in his 1902 book, Curiosities of Superstition:

[The apples] are thrown into a tub of water, and you endeavour to catch one in your mouth as they bob round and round in provoking fashion. When you have caught one, you peel it carefully, and pass the long strip of peel thrice, sunwise , round your head; after which you throw it over your shoulder, and it falls to the ground in the shape of the initial letter of your true love’s name    http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/a/Bobbing-For-Apples-On-Halloween.htm

LOOKING AT THESE HALLOWEEN COLLECTIBLES (CHECK OUT THE STORE ABOVE TOO)  I BET YOU WISH YOU’D SAVED A FEW THINGS:

 Halloween Jack O Lantern Paper Mache Candy Container 1940s   $105.00

Embossed Halloween Post Card 1912

$169.99

OTHER TRADITIONS INCLUDE:

1.  BLACK CATS:  Believed to be a familiar of witches

2.  SPIDERS:  If a spider falls into a lamp and is consumed it is believed that a witch is near by

3.  BATS:   Also a familiar of witches and an omen of death.

4.  CAULDRONS:  Long established in Celtic tradition as where all souls go at death.

5.  BROOMS:  Often used by the poor helpless women burned as witches, as a walking stick as they could not afford to ride.

“Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”
William Shakespeare

Each day brings the big day closer and I’m down to the line on getting my open house décor up for it.  HELP.   OK and can’t forget OUTLANDER Producer, author, Claire, hubby Frank (1945 – 1966), husband Jamie (1743 – ?)

I’m not one of those whiny people who insist that women never get what they deserve.  I am one of those women who go out and fight for what I want and don’t mind kneeing a few to get it….so I thought I’d point out the hot (or stone cold) woman (ladies is a term that doesn’t quite seem to go with Halloween babes) of the Feast.

TV: Lilly Munster from The Munsters

Lily was one of two of the creepy ladies from my younger days of TV

The other:  Morticia Addams from the Addams Family

These were two tongue in cheek “scary ” characters–Lily the domestic goddess and Morticia the femme fatal home body.  Fun but not really very scary.

VAMPIRE:

Copy of the lost 1585 original portrait of Erzsébet Báthory

Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed  Hungarian; 1560 – 1614)Hungary. She has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history, though the precise number of her victims is debated. Báthory and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls between 1585 and 1610. (up to 650),  Despite the evidence against Elizabeth, her family’s influence kept her from facing trial. She was imprisoned in December 1610 where she remained immured in a set of rooms until her death four years later. The stories of her serial murders and brutality are verified by the testimony of more than 300 witnesses and survivors as well as physical evidence and the presence of horribly mutilated dead, dying and imprisoned girls found at the time of her arrest.  Stories  ascribe to her vampire-like tendencies: most famously the tale that she bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth.  She is often compared with Vlad III the Impaler (whom the fictional Count Dracula is partly based).    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory

SCARY FEMALE ITEMS THAT YOU MIGHT CASH IN ON

Postcard TV The Munsters-yvonne De Carlo As Lily Munster 1964

$34.95

Angelica Huston Signed Autographed 8 X10 Photo W/Coa The Addams Family Morticia   $55.00

When the Owl Witch Together are Seen, There’s Mischief Brewing on Halloween Original  Postcard $74.95

Sexy Darkstalkers Girls/Vampire Elf Women Capcom Poster

$40.00

THE AUTHORITY FIGURE:

WICKED QUEEN I:  SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

 

WICKED QUEEN 2:  MALIFICIEN T

WICKED MOTHER 1:  GOONIES

WICKED MOTHER 2:  PSYCHO

WICKED NURSE 1:  ON FLEW OVER THE COOKOO NEST

WICKED NURSE II:  MISERY

So there you have it.  Scary women to frighten the Holiday away.  Maybe it will inspire you to dress the part

or maybe to just be a little scary yourself and have some real fun.

“A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad.  An optimist is one who hopes they are.”  Chauncey Depew

 

 

Good morning and are you ready for Halloween Fun????  Well get ready cause  HERE IT COMES.

BUT YOUK KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO DO FIRST:

I love a man who looks good in a hat

or without

THANK OUTLANDER for all the ahhhs for those of us who have no men even ugly ones in our lives.

Oh today we’re looking at the G’s of Halloween:

GHOSTS 

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost (sometimes known as a spectre (British English) or specter (American English), phantom, apparition or spook) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost

Since ancient times, ghost stories—tales of spirits who return from the dead to haunt the places they left behind—have figured prominently in the folklore of many cultures around the world. A rich subset of these tales involve historical figures ranging from queens and politicians to writers and gangsters, many of whom died early, violent or mysterious deaths.    So maybe inviting a few hot AND famous would be fun:  Jim Morrison maybe, so many rock stars to pick from….. http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/historical-ghost-stories

GHOULS: 

A ghoul is a folkloric monster or evil spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights.^[1] The term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford‘s Orientalist novel Vathek,^[2] which describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore… is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger or graverobber. A Ghoul can also refer to a human being who digs up and eats corpses   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoul

OK so not someone I want to invite to my Halloween party—-just to use for decorations.  Let’s get this straight:   a ghoul is a scary creature, similar to a ghost. But a ghoul is simply scary and has little character. Unlike ghosts, a ghoul wasn’t previously a human being. And, unlike some ghosts, a ghoul is never friendly.  http://www.pumpkinnook.com/halloween/halloweentradition.htm

COLLICTIBLES THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE AND THAT MIGHT SCARE UP SOME CASH FOR YOU

OK HAD PROBLEMS WITH COMPUTER AND LOST MY WHOLE BLOG….SO HERE GOES AGAIN:

OUTLANDER MOMENT:  THE KISS THAT NEVER WAS

Claire:  Tell me about your family

Jamie:  (after a quick “Huh” moment and then a laugh)  “How far back.”

TODAY LET’S LOOK AT A FEW TIPS FOR A HAPPIER HEALTHIER LIFE:

TAKE A DIFFERENT LOOK AT YOUR LIFE:  Instead of looking as things as chores and play try to find enjoyment in all the things you have to do.  Make chores more interesting by exploring different ways to do things or different ways to look at them.  May all your life an adventure in one way or another.

AVOID TOE CRAMPS:   By changing heel heights regularly.  Any heel no matter how high or low can cause pressure on the foot if worn for too long a time.  Give your feet a break and change the size.

PREPARE FOOD SAFELY:  Clean plastic cutting boards with a bleach solution between each use to avoid contamination.  Don’t use the sink to wash vegetables in–it’s usually filthy–use a colander instead.  Never touch seasonings or other food with the same hand you touch meat with without washing it.

LEARN A NEW WAY TO MEDITATE:  (from Prevention Magazines):  Pick a quiet place (i.e. bedroom or living room) where you can walk slowly back and forth and in circles.   Looking straight ahead, focus on one aspect of walking.  For example, home in on your feet:  Notice how the foot makes contact with the ground, weight shifts and the movement of the other foot as well do this for 10 minutes and when your mind wanders bring it back to the body part you’re concentrating on.  This is called Mindful Walking.

DRINK TO RELIEVE COLDS AND FLUS (from Herbal Antibiotics by James A. Duke, Ph.D.)

2 tsps. sage

Juice of one lemon (or 1 tsp lemon balm herb)

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tbsp (15 ml) wildflower honey

Pour 1 cup of boiling  water over sage and allow to steep for 10 minutes.  Strain out herbs, add  remaining ingredients and drink hot.

DO THINGS TOGETHER:  “ with your kid, even if you are doing them separately, is powerful glue.”  Joe Kita

SNACK HEALTY:   Apple with a dollop of peanut butter.

AVOID DEPRESSION: impulsiveness and hostility as well s reducing anxiety and symptoms of bipolar disorder by taking Omega-3s.     (Mood Foods by Jack Challem, July 1014)

AVOID VARICOSE AND SPIDER VEINS:  Consistent exercise and consuming a diet rich in vitamin C and flavonoids which support connective tissues.  (Citrus fruit and grape seed extract area particularly good according to the Healthy Edge  May 2014)

GET PLENTY OF SLEEP:  Try a nice soaking bath to relax your body and soothe any aches and pains prior to sleep.  Also be sure your bed and bedroom are comfortable—a cool, dark room helps a lot.

ITEMS THAT ONCE KEPT YOU SAFE BUT NOW COULD BRING YOU CASH:  (CHECK OUT MY STORE ABOVE JUST CLICK–YOU CAN DO IT)

Safety Last – Original Harold Lloyd Vintage Movie Poster

$580.00

BE SPONTANEOUS ONCE IN AWHILE (OR OFTENER):  i.e.: Leave the dirty dishes on the table or at least in the sink until the next day just because you can..

RESPOND TO HALLOWEEN (Christians) with cautionary wisdom. Some people fear the activity of Satanists or pagan witches, but the actual incidents of satanic-associated crime are very low. The real threat on Halloween is from the social problems that attend sinful behavior–drunk driving, pranksters and vandals, and unsupervised children.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.—Benjamin Franklin

Getting ready for Halloween and trying to keep up Blog and a hundred other things…HELP

Maybe I could take a trip through a stone circle and get a hot Scot to help me change my mood?  OUTLANDER  take me away

I thought it would be fun day to look at some origins of collectibles—these are antiques—want something a little more affordable–check out my STORE—just click on the word at top of page—and learn a bit more about them:

Steiff Teddy Girl 1905, 404306 New, Mint,

From the Steiff 1997 collection comes Teddy Girl 1905e. Teddy Girl is an authentic  replica for  $535,95                                                                (Real original:  $10,000-$12,000)

Steiff bears were given swivel limbs to make them easy to cuddle, a protruding black snout and leather or felt pads on their paws….Many had a humped back and some had stomachs fitted with a growler box…. In 1908, the Grand Duke of Russia bought a red Steiff bear for his daughter, Princess Xenia Georgievna, which she called Alfonzo in In 1989 it was sold at Christie’s for the then record figure of £12,100.   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7262/Steiff-bear-facts.html#ixzz3GynLCFiS

 

Antique Mahogany Queen Anne Mirrorback Sideboard Server Buffet  $1,023.00

The Queen Anne style of furniture design developed during, and after the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1702–1714). Queen Anne furniture is “somewhat smaller, lighter, and more comfortable than its predecessors,” and examples in common use include “curving shapes, the cabriole leg, cushioned seats, wing-back chairs, and practical secretary desk–bookcase pieces.”  Other elements characterizing the style include pad feet and “an emphasis on line and form rather than ornament.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne_style_furniture

1884 Russian Silver & Niello Caviar Dish and Spoon Estimated to be worth $12,500.

Niello is a black metallic substance, consisting of silver, copper, lead, and sulfur, with which an incised design or ground is filled to produce an ornamental effect on metal.  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niello

Contrary to popular belief, the term caviar does not originate from Russia. (If that is the case, we should be calling it ikra instead of caviar.)  The terms caviarie and caviare does have its etymological origin from a Turkish term havyar. This, in turn, came from an Iranian form khayah.  Good quality of fish roe for caviar can be found in the Caspian Sea, which is surrounded by Iran and Russia. The oldest Caviar fisheries, as much as 200 years old, are located in Astrakhan, Russia.  The earliest record about caviars can be traced from the 13th century from Batu Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson.  The industry originated in Eurasia and Mediterranean. To allow longer shelf life, the fish eggs were heavily salted. They were then placed in wooden barrels.  The French then started importing the delicacy from Russia.   http://www.caviar-guide.com/

 

 

Tiffany & Company Hardstone Cameo Parure ca 1864.  Estimted value A$25-35,000

 

In 1837 New York became the proving ground for 25-year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young, who opened a “stationery and fancy goods” store with a $1,000 advance from Tiffany’s father….At Tiffany & Co. they discovered a newly emerging “American style” that departed from the European design aesthetic, which was rooted in ceremonial patterns and the Victorian era’s mannered opulence. The young entrepreneurs were inspired by the natural world, which they interpreted in patterns of simplicity, harmony and clarity…Tiffany first achieved international recognition at the 1867 Paris World’s fair. The company was awarded the grand prize for silver craftsmanship, the first time that an American design house had been so honored by a foreign jury.   http://www.tiffany.com/WorldOfTiffany/TiffanyStory/Legacy/

Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It nearly always features a raised (positive) relief image; contrast with intaglio, which has a negative image. Originally, and still in discussing historical work, cameo only referred to works where the relief image was of a contrasting colour to the background; this was achieved by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colours met, removing all the first colour except for the image to leave a contrasting background.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameo_(carving)

Art Deco Charm Bracelet, ca. 1935  Estimated $18,000 – $22,000

Art Deco or  Deco, is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France after World War I and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before its popularity waned after World War II.^[1] It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.  Deco emerged from the interwar period when rapid industrialisation was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favoured by its predecessor Art Nouveau.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco

 

Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector’s passion borders on the chaos of memories.  — Walter Benjamin

 

 

 

 

.

 

GOOD MORNING Y’ALL FROM A ONCE-NORTHERN GIRL WHO IS TRYING TO COPE.

LOVE A NICE BIG HORSE….#OUTLANDER  FIX COMPLETE

Today we’re still wandering the inner recesses of Florida is  LACOOCHEE:

Lacoochee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,345 at the 2000 census.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacoochee,_Florida

A post office was established here early 1888 and by 1894 the Commercial Hotel was mentioned in the Tampa Tribune.   By 1919 (population 50) there was a general store and by 1922 Cummer Sons constructed a Cypress Mill which at one time was the largest in the state (Best Back Roads of Florida/Waitley).   By 1924 the town was growing again with two new “picture show” theaters going up.

By 1941 there were 800 laborers at the Cypress Mill and they closed the mill down in August with a strike starting on the 1st.  http://fivay.org/lacoochee.html

It is located on CR 575, east of I-75, about eight miles north of Dade City, west of the Green Swamp and just south of the county line. It appears to still be a viable community as it still has an active post office (33537), several churches, a school, fire station and hospital. One railroad line has been removed (along CR 575) and the main street is Pine Products Road.  http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/fl.htm

POINTS OF INTEREST:                                                                                      (Lumber Mill Helped Lacoochee To Prosper During Its Heyday (Tampa Tribune on June 7, 2003.)

Cummer Sons Cypress Co. Mill                                                                                  The 100-acre site is southeast of town along Bower Avenue. The complex consisted of a large cypress mill, a crate mill for making wire-bound vegetable boxes, a smaller sawmill for cutting timber and a large open-air lumberyard. The operation was self-contained and included an elevated water tank, along with the company store and housing for its employees.  Dilapidated sheds and abandoned portions of the mill remain today.

Cummer Sons Commissary                                                                                            at 20851 Bower Ave., was built about 1922 and also housed the company doctor. W.H. Walters was the last Cummer physician and kept his office there even after the mill closed. Walters continued to practice there until he died in 1982. The commissary building is now Winkler’s Custom Machining and Repairs.

 Pioneer Florida Museum and Village                                                          located in the vicinity of the Cummer mill

Includes:                                                                                                                              The one-room Lacoochee School –Although it was built in 1927, it is typical of one-room schoolhouses of much earlier times.

 C.C. Smith General Store once located northwest of County Road 575 and the railroad intersection.   Smith was the paymaster for Cummer Sons  at Cedar Key.  In 1927 he left the company and moved to Lacoochee, built the store and lived in the back. There were gasoline pumps outside, and inside he sold dry goods, hardware and notions. The C.C. Smith General Store was a fixture in the community for more than half a century, closing in 1980.

The Ranch , two buildings built in the 1930s by Cummer Sons Cypress Co.  the buildings include a guesthouse, dining room and kitchen. At the museum, they serve as a fiber arts building, where quilts are exhibited. They also house a pictorial display of Cummer sawmill days.

A 1913 13-ton steam locomotive once used by Cummer Sons to haul timber to its sawmill in Lacoochee

Lacoochee Cemetery                                                                                       according to Waitley this is a place to go to read the inscriptions for a nice muse.

AND A FEW COLLECTIBLES FROM FLORIDA’S PAST (DON’T FORGET MY STORE ABOVE) THAT MIGHT BE HIDING IN YOUR ATTICS AND CLOSETS

Massive Alligator Head – Vintage Taxidermy –   $210

Lake Conway Orlando, Florida British Polo & Cricket Clubs Photos  $375.00

Lacoochee it seems became an escape from a tragic event in Florida’s infamous history:    When Cummer and Sons approached the end of its timber supply [at Sumner] around 1920, company managers prepared to “get out” by establishing a second mill a hundred miles away in Lacoochee, Florida. Workers began to leave Rosewood as production slowed in Sumner, leaving a core of thirty black families and one white store owner by 1923. … Having turned a blind eye to the destruction of their employees’ property, Cummer and Sons managers arranged for a train to drive through the swamps, picking up survivors of the Rosewood massacre and offering them housing and employment in the brand new “colored quarters” in Lacoochee.  (The Tribe of Black Ulysses: African American Lumber Works in the Jim Crow South/William Powell Jones)

Florida isn’t so much a place where one goes to reinvent oneself, as it is a place where one goes if one no longer wished to be found.  Douglas Coupland

.

Good morning, it’s overcast here and a bit dreary but I’m busy with my Halloween décor and in a lovely mood

FIRST MY OUTLANER/FRASER MANIA MUST BE CATERED TO:

AT A dinner meeting the other day one of the participants who was hardly taller than me (5’4″) stated that the Viking myth is so untrue and that the average Viking raider was basically his height.  As usual I perceive that much of our legends are not exactly (ha) near the truth….so I decided I’d see if we could find some Viking truths and dispel some legends:

THE MEN THEMSELVES

The Vikings, or “Vikingr” in Old Norse, is the collective term used to describe the Scandinavian explorers, traders and warriors who raided, traded, explored and settled across large parts of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from around the eight to the mid-eleventh centuries.  http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/culture/vikings-facts-and-myths    So there were more than one category for this group of men that formed colonies all over Europe.  In fact according to Neil Oliver (historian/Coast) These men settled in Britain, Iceland and Greenland and transformed themselves from illiterate pagans into Christian farmers, statesmen and kings–all in less than 200 years!

HORNED HELMETS

From sports mascot (above for Minnesota football team) to movie images we have been taught to equate the Viking with a horned helmet.  In fact from my reading on the subject I found that the helmet is a 19th century addition and was based on Wager operas which included the horned helmet as a costume addition.    If you really think of it, the horns would have been very impractical in battle both in getting caught on items and allowing the foe to have something to clasp onto which doesn’t seem like it would be a great idea in hand to had combat.

REAL VIKING HELMET

THE VIKINGS WERE VISCIOUS SAVAGE THAT DESTROYED ALL

“The 793 raid on the monastery at Lindisfarne on the northeast coast of England was the first Viking attack that was written about… Alcuin, a great educator in Charlemagne’s court, was a particularly influential person who wrote about it…(and) spread the word that the Vikings were bloody and violent. In fact, they were violent, but no more than anyone else at the time. Compared to Charlemagne’s armies, the Vikings were amateurs. The Vikings were actually just looking for better places to live and preferred not to kill or be killed for it.  ”    Yale’s Anders Winroth, foremost authority on Vikings.

VIKINGS USED A “SUNSTONE”  TO NAVIGATE BEFORE THE COMPASS

This one may well be true:  A crystal found in the wreck of a British ship that sunk off the island of Alderney in 1592 could have been used as a sunstone, they say, according to the BBC.   The crystal, an oblong shape about the size of a pack of cigarettes, was found near the navigational equipment. And it’s an Icelandic spar, the type of crystal scientists say the Vikings used, because it can diffract light into two distinct rays. Scientists tested a similar crystal and found it was indeed possible to determine the direction of the sun by finding the point where the rays converge, even after the sun has set.  While this ship was long after the Vikings, it is felt that it was used to back up the compass and was similar if not the same as he Vikings used to navigate.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/07/vikings-sunstone-crystal-myth/1970277/

SOME REAL VIKING (HA) ITEMS THAT MIGHT ENRICH YOUR LIFE

1960’s Troll Denmark Teak Viking Furry As Shown 2.25″ High

$19.99

 Metal/ Tin/ Pewter Salt Bowl Viking Boat Ship And A Spoon

$99.99

brooch, silver Viking Ship brooch, marked “875” old European »

$117.00

VIKING SIZE

The Vikings were on average 8-10 cm (3.1 – 3.9 inches) shorter than we are today. The skeletons found by archaeologists reveal that the average height for men was around 172 cm (5′ 7″) and that for women was approximately 160 cm. (5’2″).  Wealthy men and women were taller than average due to their better standard of life.  The physical build of the Vikings was much like our own. But we can assume that they must have been more muscular than we are today, because of the hard physical work that they did.  http://natmus.dk/en/historisk-viden/danmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/the-people/appearance/

So that’s my spoiler for your Viking legend ideas—but they were strong, bold and adventuresome and I can  claim them on at least both sides of my family so that’s a good thing.  But no one said you can’t still do a little make believe.

MY FAVORITE VIKING FROM BANDERO’S 13TH WARRIOR

A tale is but half told when only one person tells it.
Jafnan er hálfsögð saga ef einn segir.

The Saga of Grettir the Strong, chapter 46

Computer still giving me issues which is making me late and crazy but I’m getting there.

Jamie’s alter-ego Sam   He’s cute with or without curls…OUTLANDER …see the first 8 episodes on Starz OnDemand

Today we’re just doing little things and facts that range from interesting to helpful and all points in between.

1.  DAMPNESS:      Use an exhaust fan to vent your laundry room.        Keep your kitchen window open and use   an exhaust fan when cooking or boiling water.                                                                                      Hang a dessicant (moisture-absorbent chemical) near damp areas in small spaces like closets .  (usually sold in area with pain and hardware)                                                                                                                                               Install a dehumidifier                                                                                                        If part of the exterior wall is damp get rid of nearby branches and shrubs to increase airflow and increase exposure to sunshine. (Rider Digest PRACTICAL PROBLEM SOLVER)

2.  SISSORS:  It is most likely that scissors were invented around 1500 BC in ancient Egypt.^[1] The earliest known scissors appeared in Mesopotamia 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. These were of the ‘spring scissor’ type comprising two bronze blades connected at the handles by a thin, flexible strip of curved bronze which served to hold the blades in alignment, to allow them to be squeezed together, and to pull them apart when released…. pivoted scissors of bronze or iron, in which the blades were pivoted at a point between the tips and the handles, the direct ancestor of modern scissors, were invented by the Romans around AD100.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissors

3.   Outdoor Safety:                                                                                                           If you are caught outdoors in a thunderstorm, follow these tips to stay safe until the storm passes:

• If you are in an open area, find a low place
• If you are in a forested area, find shelter in a low area under a thick growth of small trees, if possible.
• If you are on open water, get to land immediately and seek shelter.
• If you are in a car, keep the windows closed.
• If you are outdoors and feel your hair stand on end (an indication that lightning is about to strike),… squat low to the ground and place your hands over your ears and your head between your knees. … the smallest target possible and minimize contact with the ground.
• Stay away from anything made of metal ”“ bicycles, golf clubs, golf carts, motorcycles, tractors and farm equipment.
• Stay away from natural lightning rods, such as a tall tree in an open field, and avoid hilltops, the beach or boats on open water.

http://www.weather.com/life/safety/thunderstorm/article/thunderstorms-during-the-storm_2011-10-05

AND DO WE HAVE ANY COLLECTIBLES ALONG THESE LINES  (and check out the store above)

Vintage Industrial Speedy Moisture Tester – Circa 1950s –

$92.00

Vintage Trade Sign Tailor Sewing Advertising Metal Scissors Tin Lucite

$1,550.00

Vintage Navajo Weaving By Marisza Nez “thunderstorm” 46″ X

$999.99

 4.  HALLOWEEN

Spooky costumes: Halloween costumes have their origins in Sanhain. Celts would dress as evil spirits on October 31 in an attempt to blend in with wandering souls from the other side. They believed that meeting an evil spirit would be less dangerous if they were dressed to look alike

 

Trick or treating: This tradition seems to date from the Middle Ages, when the wealthy would share food with the poor during festivals. Paupers would knock on doors and beg for food in return for songs and prayers for the homeowner’s dead loved ones – a practice known as ‘souling’.

 

 

Carving pumpkins: Crafting Jack O’Lanterns stems from a time when Celts would carve large turnips, potatoes or beets, lighting them inside to ward off the wondering spirit of Stingy Jack. The tradition travelled to America with Irish immigrants, who discovered a better-suited vegetable: the pumpkin.   http://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/55594/halloween-strange-tales-behind-spooky-traditions#ixzz3GhXA2XMD

 

 

 

 

“I can bear pain, myself,” he said softly, “but I couldna bear yours. That would take more strength than I have.” – chapter 32   (Jamie Fraser to Claire in first book OUTLANDER)

 

 

First an another apology—I have a new computer now  but have spent a couple of days trying to get current with it….I have missed a few blogs but hopefully things are for the most part at least workable now.

OK now that we’ve got my addiction (OUTLANDER) mentioned it’s time to end this messed up week with small town/city Florida.

TARRYTOWN

The main roads through Tarrytown are State Road 50 and State Road 471. An abandoned railroad line formerly owned by the Orange Belt Railway spanning from Trilby in Pasco County to Sylvan Lake in Seminole County runs northeast and southwest in Tarrytown, and can be found on SR 471 just south of the intersection with SR 50.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrytown,_Florida

This is the area of the Green Swamp, a mixture of bogs and cypress intermingled with citrus groves where the land is higher.  It is from this area that  the Florida aquifer  –from which the state gets its water–is supplied.

Tarrytown is an unincorporated community in Central Sumter County, Florida. The ZIP Code for this community is 33597, which is shared by Webster four miles to the north.  The main roads are State Road 50 and State Road 471. An abandoned railroad line formerly owned by the Orange Belt Railway spanning from Trilby in Pasco County to Sylvan Lake in Seminole County runs northeast and southwest in Tarrytown, and can be found on SR 471 just south of the intersection with SR 50.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrytown,_Florida

It is near the Withlacoochee River which once confounded de Soto and his Avaricious Spanish Army.  (BEST BACKROADS OF FLORIA/Waitley)

Tarrytown was a small sawmill community in the late 1800’s, with most of its residents working for the mill or local citrus farms.  In 1886 the Railroad decided to move many of the mill-workers section houses, intact, to Linden, effectively ending the growth of Tarrytown. Today the mill still runs and a few families remain, but despite its name it is not a town, just a two-gasoline station crossroad out in the countryside.        http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/tarrytown.html          

POINTS OF INTEREST

1.  VAN FLEET TRAIL                                                                                        Once   a rail road route across the Green Swamp it’s now a bike/hike trail.

2.   WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER WETLANDS                                                The 157-mile-long Withlacoochee River originates in the Green Swamp in northern Polk County. From there, it meanders northwest and then west, discharging into the Withlacoochee Bay Estuary in the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river’s waters are tea colored from tannins, which are natural substances found in decaying organic material.        

DON’T FORGET MY STORE ABOVE

Nothing found from Tarrytown but we had better luck with Sumter Co.

Ceramic, Florida Ashtray
ORANGES & BLOSSOMS  PRICE; $5.95

File photo by George Skene/Orlando Sentinel

Tarry Town has a much darker episode though.  In March  2000 Bill Marquardt (who had spent time in a mental hospital for mutilating animals and was accused of murdering his own mother a couple of days before he drove to Florida) stopped at an apparently random cottage in this tiny town and shot and stabbed Margarita Ruiz and Esperanza Wells .  He was later convicted of murder in a bizarre trial; where Marquardt defended himself; and sentenced to death.  He remain on death row at last account with pleas pending.           http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/man-convicted-tarrytown-double-murder-handed-2-dea/nK7dM/

Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.  ~Bill Watterson

FLORIDA RAIN AND MORE AND MORE–THEY’RE PROMISING THE DRY SEASON STARTS TOMORROW—IF NOT I’M CALLING NOAH TO BE SURE MY RESERVATIONS ARE STILL VIABLE.

Life’s hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.”
― John Wayne

Ok today we’re doing collectibles and the history of the interest:  I picked Cowboys (movies and TV genre):

• According to ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW INSIDER (9/2014) these life-size ) were offered by Wheaties in the late 50’s for box tops.  In fact the two posters offered at Heritage Auctions in July showed tape stains, pin holes and tears ” but still sold for $450 and $390, respectively.

16  Lone Ranger Comics 10 Cent Roy Rogers Tonto Western Cowboy  $145.00

The most famous work of early movies, The Great Train Robbery is credited with establishing the movies as a commercial entertainment medium. It was notable for rapid shifts of location, including action on a moving train. Although there had previously been short films that referenced the Wild West or paid homage to it, The Great Train Robbery marked the birth of the genre.  ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Western_films}

Vintage Pin Buck Jones Rangers’ Club Of America

$53.00

Thomas Edwin “Tom” Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix  January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. Between 1909 and 1935, Mix appeared in 291 films all but nine of which were silent movies. He was Hollywood’s first Western megastar and is noted as having helped define the genre for all cowboy actors who followed.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mix

The Magnificent Seven 1961 Original Movie Still

$195.00

Orvon Grover Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as a singing cowboy on the radio, in movies, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s.    Autry was also one of the most important figures in the history of country music, considered the second major influential artist of the genre’s development after Jimmie Rodgers^] His singing cowboy movies were the first vehicle to carry country music to a national audience  In addition to his signature song, “Back in the Saddle Again“, Autry is still remembered for his Christmas holiday songs, “Here Comes Santa Claus“, which he wrote, “Frosty the Snowman“, and his biggest hit, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer“.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Autry

 

 

The Legend Of Custer Vtg Movie Poster 1968 Spanish Western

$8.99

The Saturday Afternoon Matinee on the radio were a pre-television phenomenon in the US which often featured western series. Film westerns turned Audie Murphy, Tom Mix, and Johnny Mack Brown into major idols of a young audience, plus “Singing cowboys” such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Rex Allen. Each cowboy had a co-starring horse such as Rogers’ Golden Palomino, Trigger, who became a star in his own right.

 

Toy Cisco Kids Gun Advertising Tip

$50.00

Other B-movie series were Lash LaRue and the Durango Kid. Herbert Jeffreys, as Bob Blake with his horse Stardust, appeared in a number of movies made for African American audiences in the days of segregated movie theaters.  Bill Pickett, an African American rodeo performer, also appeared in early western films for the same audience.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerns_on_television

Chuck Connors Cowboy In Africa Metal Thermos For Lunchbox Not Rifleman   $95.00

In June of 1949, Hopalong Cassidy aired on NBC. William Boyd had created the character of Hopalong Cassidy for “B” movie features and the first episodes were adaptations of those. Later the character of Red Connors was added (Edgar Buchanan) and from 1951 to 1952, Hopalong rode for another 52 episodes. That’s how popular the character had become.  http://www.oakdalecowboymuseum.org/Pages/MainPages/News-TVWesterns.html

1950s Hopalong Cassidy Flashlight with Siren

$130.00

The top grossing film since 1979 is Kevin Costner’s DANCES WITH WOLVES (not one of my faves) which grossed $184,208,848.

Leo “pancho” Carrillo – Inscribed Photograph

$2,229.00

Gunsmoke (CBS-TV, 1955-75):  Gunsmoke may well be one of the finest TV shows ever produced. The series began on radio in 1952, with William Conrad providing the voice of Marshal Matt Dillon. On September 10, 1955, Gunsmoke debuted as a half-hour series on CBS-TV, with big John Wayne introducing the first episode, “Matt Gets It.” In his introduction Wayne informed viewers that what they were about to see was a new kind of western. The Duke proved to be prophetic, as Gunsmoke – later expanded to an hour in the fall of 1961 – took TV land by storm. Big, strapping James Arness played the venerable Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon, with Amanda Blake (Kitty Russell), Milburn Stone (Doc Adams), Dennis Weaver (Chester Goode), Burt Reynolds (Quint Asper), Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen), Buck Taylor (Newly O’Brien) and Glenn Strange (Sam Noonan) all appearing as regulars at some point during the show’s glorious 20-year run.    https://tv-movie-reviews.knoji.com/ten-best-television-western-shows/

 

 

 

Roy Rogers / Dale Evans – The Lord’s Prayer / Ave Maria 6′ 78 RPM Colored Vinyl Record, $32.95 –

Westerns have come and gone…at the moment they’re out of style but I have faith they’ll return again…they are so apart of our national psyche.

“COWBOYS, just like the word says.”
― John Wayne