"LEON," Antiques and Regret

"LEON"

Which spelled backwards is "Noel." Sit tight with me whilst I take you back to the early Amber years and get a little sentimental...

Picture it, Sicily 1942...

Heehee, just kidding. But go with me, Christmas, early to mid-eighties. You know, leg warmers, huge earrings and stir-up pants.

I was a kid. An excited kid...I LOVE Christmas time. The whole decor of the house changes. The air is filled with warm smells like cinnamon sticks and evergreen. And the fun Christmas decorations are brought down from the attic and sprinkled through the livingroom. And every year a little white train was placed on the wall unit. The cars, white with green holly painted on them, spelled out "NOEL" once they're linked together. I loved that little train. I remember that my brother and I would rearrange the cars to spell different things. Which really the only thing that made sense was LEON.

This picture (thanks to a google image search) shows you the exact train. Ahhh...sweet memories.

Now fast forward to Sat. June 19th. My mom and I went to visit my brother and sister-in-law, and on our way home we stopped at an antique store along Hwy 41.

Shining like a bright beacon from the shores in a storm, I saw it. Laying on a counter, still tucked in it's box, mint condition, the NOEL train. The little kid in me came squealing to the surface as I made my way to it, scooped it up in my hands and drew in air loudly in what I'm sure was not an indoor voice. But there it was!! Like Ralphie staring down his Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle! It was the Noel train!

And at this point kids is where the story should end happily with me making my purchase, gingerly carrying the precious little token from my past to my car and then setting it up in the livingroom upon my arrival despite it only being June. But no. I had to go and get all adult and responsible and practical on myself. I exercised self-control. I placed it back on the counter, and continued looking throughout the store, all the while weighing the purchase against my mental budget. "You need to be a good steward," I told myself. "You've already made two purchases this trip, that should be enough," I continued.

In the end, I passed the threshold of the door emptyhanded.

As soon as my four tires pulled onto the highway I was racked with regret. And yet, I continued on, southbound.

It is now day 2, post train discovery and I can't take it anymore. I must get the little train! In my desperation I managed to find one on Ebay mixed in with a cache of vintage ornaments, but it is tattered and a wheel is broken. Not like the one in Indiana. What is a girl to do?? What was the name of that store? Was it north or south of Vincennes? Why can I not be more observant?

Cue google. My little train is sitting on the counter of Colonial Antiques in Farmersburg, IN. The number is saved in my phone and I have already made my plans. I will call that sweet lady that works the register, have her hold it for me..no wait..not just hold it for me but write my name on it in big red letters! I'm working in Illinois on a photo shoot this week and as soon as I'm done, my little gray car will be headed northeast to Farmersburg! And yes, I realize how pathetic my life must seem to all of humanity right now, but I'm so close to having the exact train I did as a kid.

----------------------------------------- (intermission...go ahead, grab yourself a glass of lemonade..)
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Antiques parte dos.

Okay, so for pictures, since I didn't have any childhood pictures of our little train and all I had was a poor quality, teeney tiny little image of the train, I decided to share the items I did bring home with me from the antique stores in Indy.

First up: Every girl needs a steel trap, right?!? Hahhahaa! I'll explain.


In my adoration of all things outdoors/mountains/cabins/nature related, I decided to go with a "feminine log cabin" theme for my
bedroom. Don't laugh, as others have done, it can be accomplished! : )

I saw this little steel trap for four bucks and knew it had a place in my room. My mom joked that perhaps I'm sending a message that I'm not to be messed with. So we'll go with that. Yeah, don't mess with me, I have a steel trap on my nightstand! Ha.


Anywho, the trap, coupled with the rabbit fur I brought back from Alaska and the old wooden canoe paddle I found in Nashville, my room is slowly coming together. And one of these days, as soon as I decide on what kind of window treatments I'm going to do, I will post pics of my finished bedroom. It takes me a while to finish a decorating/remodeling project but that is the subject of another post that is in the pipes.

But finally, I found a book that presents fodder for blog posts to come. It is titled, The Housekeeper's Handy Book: Domestic Science Cyclopedia of Valuable Information. Copyright MDCCCCXV (1915 for us modern day readers.)





The inside cover details a list titled "Average time required for cooking and digestion of food." You read that right, digestion of food. Did you know it takes 10-15 minutes to boil or fry a quail and 2 1/2 hours to digest it? Fascinating!

Other "Household Departments" treated in this book include:

Successful Marketing, Good Housekeeping, Economic Home Cooking and Baking, Carving and Serving, First Aid Relief in Accidents, Injuries, Poisons and Sickness, Preserving, Canning and Pickling, Home Made and French Candies (Ooh la la!), Bills of fare for every day (Huh?), Housecleaning, paperhanging (NOT in this house!) and Calcimining (again, Huh?), Laundrying and Dyeing, Invalid Cookery (For those who have taken to the sick bed...keep healthy mom!) and finally....Health Hints and Toilet Preparations!

Oh! I can't wait to dive into this one!!!

So I will pass along any interesting tidbits of cookery or calcimining wisdom in future posts...yay rah! right!? : )