RETRO FITTING or...



....babies got a brand new top.

Once upon a time, long, long ago in Grandma J's world...which is really just a Compound now, I showed you one of my favorite personal possessions on Vintage Thingie Thursday.


It was my Alf Lamp. Remember Alf? The Alien from the planet Velcro Melmac?



This is what my poor Alf lamp looked like when I posted it on Vintage Thingie Thursday. The lampshade was uh, borrowed from him.....



That's right it's Grandma J's mixing bowl Astro Bear's aka Phillip Johnny Bob, space helmet.


Recently, I tried to research Alf lamps, so I could get him a good replica topper.. but I found none anywhere...not eBay or Amazon. I did find an Alf phone, which was a stuffed animal with a phone attached it to for $85. Evidently Alf is still in demand by alien lovers. So I went in search of a replacement fitting a star.





So here is Alf....all spruced up and on my old abused antique dresser. Actually it's my craft supply dresser since I no longer have a guest room......be that as it may, it's now Alf's new home!




Say, "Welcome home, Alf"

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

Hello...remember me? I used to participate in VTT religiously, just like the Sistah's at Holy Crappers. Then I went on vacation. And I was gone for five VTTs. Now I'm back!

I have a special friend who wants to help me this week.....

That's right, it's my little astronaut from NASA....out of uniform.

This is an ivory carved bullfighter and bull, under glass, in a velvet frame. My husband bought this in the late 50's, when he was in the Navy, serving in the Mediterranean when it was a great tour of duty.

Like most of my hangable things, I haven't hung it yet. Maybe I'm not making sense...should I repeat that? Anyway, that's why my little friend was holding it upright for you to see.

The back is all sealed up, and I would like to take it somewhere to have it opened so I can clean the glass in the inside.




The carved ivory is very detailed. One day I will have a 40 pixel camera for all the detailed stuff, because 8 doesn't do it.


Now I have to go see all the other vintage goodies this Thursday.

If you have something to share, please visit Confessions of An Apron Queen and add you name and link to this week's list. It's a great way to intoduce your blog to others, and see some pretty nice vintage treasures.

And while I'm at it, please stop by Shell In Your Pocket and spend some time looking around. You will want to go back again. The icing on the cake is a give away she's having. Hop on over!

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

BIG BROTHER UPDATE...it's over! Dan is the winner! I think this is the only time my favorite houseguest won. I think it's the only time the final two remained best buddies..probably for life. Renny was amazing, and I hope some one nabs her for a sitcom because she's hilarious. Keesha will probably model for Playboy, and have a lucrative career. I can't wait for the next BB. Hopefully this Winter.

I'm still on vacation. As you read this, I should be in sunny Southern California, romping on the beach....drinking strawberry margaritas, and eating real honest to goodness Mexican food. But I didn't forget you.

It's time again for Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Head on over to Confessions of an Apron Queen and sign up to participate. If you like vintage stuff, you will find a whole plethora of amazing websites that are participating with great stuff. I love that word plethora...I love it so much I should have named my first born Plethora!




This is my paternal grandmother, Margaret Mary Spellman (maiden name), at the age of 89, in 1972. She departed from Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland on June 6,1900 aboard the Oceanic.

Just a teenager, from a large family, with very little...which was the norm at the turn of the century, she set out alone across the Atlantic to Ellis Island, New York. Her mother had passed away years before, but her aunt gave her a momento that belonged to her mother, Nora Daley (maiden name).




It was this simple cameo pin, which is over two inches in length. The details on the cameo are very fine. The onyx is chipped, and the pin on the back is very crude and rusty.



It wasn't "fine" jewelry, but it is truly vintage, and very heavy. Since I could never wear it due to the rust and weight, I had it professionaly framed, set on soft blue velvet.


The frame is deep and sealed in the back, so I can't show you the back of the pin without tearing the back off. I love that I can display this on a wall like a piece of art.

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

Once again I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday! If you would like to participate, visit Confessions of an Apron Queen! and join us. I love to see your vintage stuff!

I have some treasures I haven't had a chance to unpack since moving to Texas last year, but this week I'm mixing it up a bit with something that isn't an antique, but it's vintage to me. Others might think it's a bit goofy, but I love it. My middle daughter gave it to me for Christmas twenty years ago. She knew I would love it and I do.

That's right, it's Alf! or The Alfonator!

I apologize for the classy shade, which is a cheap plastic mixing bowl. It will have to do for the purpose of pictures...hopefully it doesn't take away from the perfect image of the character himself....The Alf. By the way if the bowl looks familiar, it's because my astronaut wore it too.

The lamp has markings like a real antique...sort of. It was made under copyright by Alien Productions, 1988.

Does anyone know if Alf ever caught that cat on the show? And why on earth was Alf cancelled? I was surprised and pleased to see Alf on the Fox New Network, being interviewed by Bill O'Reilly. It was nice to see Alf's intellectual side.

So there you have it....my vintage Alf Lamp.....Long live Alf!

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

It's time again for Vintage Thingie Thursday! Head on over to Confessions of an Apron Queen and sign up to participate. If you like vintage stuff, you will find a whole plethora of amazing websites that are participating with great stuff.

This week I want to share a pewter Christmas plate that my mother, Rita gave me.


It is stain glass with over 200 different colors. The photos don't do it justice. If I use the flash it looks like thin plastic.

If I don't the colors aren't very brilliant. In person the colors are very rich.


Now, this isn't vintage in the sense of being antique. It's the United States Historical Societies 1983 Christmas Plate replica from St. John's Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana. The border is very detailed, and it's numbered.

So, if you really, really want to see it in it's glory, you have to come here to the compound. I'll not only feed you, I'll let you use my noodle in the pool. Yes I will.

****************************************************
**Another BBAD excerpt....Renny knocks on the bathroom door (water closet), Jerry doesn't answer so she thinks it's empty. She comes laughing into the living room where Dan and Memphis are. Jerry comes out and she yells at him;

"Jerry, please answer when I knock on the bathroom door."

J: "You barely knocked, and I was getting ready to answer you when you opened the door."

R: laughing, "You guys wanna know what Jerry looks like when he pee's?"

J: "Never mind Renny."

D: "No, Renny, please, no."

R: "Look guys, he does this....she puts one hand on her hip and the other one holding on to an imaginary piece of equipment, rocking back and forth." LOLOLOL

J: "Renny, your full of s**t."

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

It's time again for Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Head on over to Confessions of an Apron Queen and sign up to participate. If you like vintage stuff, you will find a whole plethora of amazing websites that are participating with great stuff.

This week, I want to share with you my spools. They are from a textile mill in Massachusetts. Wool mills were established in New England before the Revolutionary War. Several of my Irish and French immigrant ancestors worked in the mills in Fall River Massachusetts and Pawtucket Rhode Island in the 1800s

I've used these spools for years as candle holders, and its' apparent that I have no problem burning them and dripping wax everywhere.

This picture is from a cotton mill in Fall River Massachusetts around the turn of the century. I stole it from a historical site.

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

Once again, I am participating in Confession of An Apron Queen's Vintage Thingie Thursday!

I have had this ashtray for over thirty years. My neighbor gave it to me, because she didn't like old things. Her mother-in-law had given it to her, and told her it was not only old but it was very old. But because she didn't like her mother-in-law, or have a love for old things, she gave it to me. For years, I used it as an ashtray until I moved to a new neighborhood right next door to a whacky lady from Belgium. I grew to love her to death, but she was very loud and nosey. She saw me using this ashtray and jumped up and grabbed it off the table. She looked at the bottom, and told me it was an original hand painted Delft.

I took it to a couple of antique dealers who concurred with my neighbor. According to the antique dealer, it was made between the 16th and 18th century. Besides the brand name, it also is numbered and bears the initials and location of the artist. Of course I quit using it as an ashtray, but I do have it out on display.

I have another ashtray that I bought after I quit smoking. I don't think it's vintage, but I love it! It's also hand painted and signed by a Parisian artist with my sir name.

It says Hermes - Paris on one side, and Made in France on the other and numbered 320. Santa, you do see why I need a new camera, right? I bought it new for about one fifth the original price. The details and colors on the horses are beautiful. It's a large ashtray, about 6x9 and reminds me of the wild mustangs on Pioneer Woman's ranch.

VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY

Today I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday, hosted by Confessions of an Apron Queen. Check out the other vintage thingies at her site, and join us by sharing something of your own.

My grandfather gave my grandmother this Bulova watch when my father was born in 1920. She wore it all the time until she died in 1974.

The band isn't the original. It was replaced with a Spiedel stretch band from the 60's. I had to take it off the watch to get a decent picture without all the glare. I love this watch. It still runs, but the stem came off, so I have to get it replaced and perhaps cleaned.

A friend sent me this picture...I think its a riot. This could never happen in my tub...EVER!