Inspiring Quote of the Day:
"To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best." -Margaret Thatcher
It is Thursday again and almost the end of another week....let alone nearly the end of another month! I missed Vintage Thingie Thursday last week but today I want to show you some Vintage thingies that have been in my family for a few years.
First up, (and this is one of my favorites) is a statue of "El Santo Nino de Atocha" that belonged to my grandmother, Tomasita. "Ma-Tita", as we called her, was my Mother's Mom. Ma Tita became a widow in her early 60's and lived with her youngest son, but she would make little 2-week trips to visit each of her children quite often. Ma Tita carried her prayer book with her at all times.....it was a little black prayer "missal" that had spanish prayers and other information that she read everyday. My mother gave me the Santo Nino a few years ago. I remember the little statue was always inside a little niche in the wall at MaTita's house.....
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the Santo Nino:
According to legend, in the 13th century, Spain was under the
Umayyad Muslim occupation. The town of
Atocha, a now-lost district nearby
Arganzuela,
Madrid was lost to the
Muslim invaders, and many Christians there were taken prisoners as spoils of war. The Christians were placed on strict punishments and prohibitions, and the devout prisoners were denied food by their captors. According to legend, only children under the age of 12 were permitted to bring them food. The women of Atocha knew that most of the people in the prison, mostly their relatives and friends could not truly survive under such harsh conditions. As a result, the women prayed before the statue of
Our Lady of Atocha at a nearby parish, a title under the
Blessed Virgin Mary to ask her son
Jesus Christ for aid and help.
Reports soon began among the people of Atocha that a child under the age of twelve had begun to bring food to childless prisoners. The child was dressed in pilgrim's clothing yet could not be identified as to the name of the child or its origins.
When the women of Atocha heard of the child, they returned to Our Lady of Atocha and thanked the Virgin for her intercession. Looking upon the image of the Virgin, they noticed that the shoes worn by the Infant Jesus statue held by Our Lady of Atocha were tattered and dusty. Customarily, the shoes of the child Jesus were constantly replaced but were soiled once again. The people of Atocha interpreted this as a sign that the infant Jesus went out every night to help those in need which later developed into a devotional
Roman Catholic practice.
Next I have a little plant pot that came from my MIL, Ruth's family.....it is a neat little piece of ceramic wear from McCoy ceramics, a double flower planter with two tulips and a white swallow with black head and wings. I think this is probably vintage 1950's. There is actually a connecting channel between the two flowers so that if you water one side, the water will run to the other side.
The last thing I have for you today....(and I only have three minutes to get this in before it is tomorrow!) is a little ceramic box my Mom gave me many years ago. I have always used it to house my sewing notions....pins, measuring tapes, needles.....etc. Underneath is stamped, "Johannes Brahm California USA 665" From what I researched on the web, this company stopped production in 1956 so this piece is at least that old....
Ok it is 12:07 AM and I missed posting this on Thursday but well.....in my defense, I did start it earlier but had to work tonight until 11:00 PM so am finishing up after getting home....I don't want to hold it back til next Thursday so I am just going for it now!
Hopefully I will still get some people dropping in so all I have to say now is:
In case you all haven't seen the May for Me celebration for 2012 I invite you to check it out at Marcia's Crafty Sewing and Quilting Blog. Click on the image below and join up.....you'll be glad you did!
