500th Post Give-a-way

It's that time again, time for another raggedy give-a-way! I've shied away from the dolls and pillows (it was hard), and decided to finish a vintage block in the raggedy Ann and Andy style, together with the lollipop holders it makes a perfect gift!


This is what you have to do:

1. Post a comment---that enters you once,

2. Link my give-a-way on your blog----that enters you twice (right click on photo, click save as.....publish from you "add a picture" gadget, don't forget to link to this post!)
3. Become a follower---this enters you a third time! My existing followers are already entered.

Madame will draw the winner on Wednesday, October 21st. My actual 500th post is Sunday October 18th but I'm keeping with my postings of Raggedy Wednesday.



Enjoy! C&G Design

The Teddy Bear

Do we all know the story behind the teddy bear? I didn't until recent years, it's a interesting and semi cute tale of the 26th president who went to Mississippi, in 1902, to settle a boundary dispute between that state and Louisiana.

There are two versions of this tale and my favorite is the one with the cub. Story goes the hunter (Teddy Roosevelt), was frustrated at not being able to find a single bear until a single cub was found and tied to a tree for the president to shoot. This angered the president who promptly demanded the cub taken away, saying, "I draw the line. If I shot that little fellow I couldn't look my own boys in the face again."

The second version is much gruesome with a adult bear being chased to exhaustion and Teddy Roosevelt ordering for it to be put out of it's misery. Either way, there was a publication in The Washington Post depicting a cartoon drawing a line in the Mississippi. Thus the Teddy bear was born by Morris Michtom and his wife Rose. Together they ran a small toy shop in New York of which Rose created many of the toys herself, placing the newly "teddy bear' in the front window while the cartoon depicted the gentleness of the president, it became a best seller. Mr.Michtom wrote the President requesting to name the cub after him. Mr Michtom was also in the early throws of the Ideal Toy Company, a company that rivals Matel, manufacturers of Barbie.

The same year a German toy maker created a humpback bear at the request of her nephew, her name was Margarete Steiff. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines:

teddy bear 'ted-e-,ted-e-' n {Teddy;

nickname of Theodore Roosevelt *1919

26th president:fr. a cartoon depicting

the president sparing the life of a bear

cub while hunting}; a stuffed toy bear

What a way to be remembered. C&G Design

My Mother's Diningroom Chairs, P-1

I'm more than happy to do these for my mother, I love to upholster and I don't get enough of it year to year, so far I'm sticking to my new goal for this year....to refurbish more furniture. My mother's dining room chairs needed to be done a long time ago, but better now than not ever!


Much to my surprise the edge of seat frame is tapered, plan B....instead of placing a piece of board on the seat....it will have to fit perfectly to the taper and slant towards the edge, easily done if you know what you are doing. Interesting to me..., the seat covers are original to the chairs, how do I know that? A, you could not remove the brads by simply popping the leather as the material desecrated at a touch, removing the brads became a individual pulling of each. Then we became smart and cut the edge of the material,

using a screwdriver under the nailed strip of leather, we pounded the screwdriver's end with a hammer and slide along the row, the removal went a lot easier. B, I researched the company that manufactured these chairs, it's just something I do when working with ancient things, sort of a hobby I guess.

I hate to say it but 2 out of the 6 chairs are going to give me a problem with the label because as you can see from the photo above they are attached to the leather, I'll have to figure something out.

Anyway, the label clearly shows, Established 1867....S. Bent & Brothers....manufacturer of chairs and settees...Station A, Gardner, Mass....dovetail joints used on all wooden seat chairs.....and in the highlighted square and faint, very faint number. Many people think "S Bent" stands for steam bent, a procedure used to make some wood pliable. S. Bent stands for Samuel Bent who established the company in 1867 thus the number, used in a stock recording. The logo was first branded on the wood and continued this way into the early 1900's. For the first years of the company they made spindle chairs in the colonial flair.

Do you see my template rubbing around the tapered edge of the seat? Easy, peasy, I did it with the side of a pencil, choosing and pencil with blue as the color. I must say...I found the information on this company very interesting, it's the first time I became educated in a antique and got no answer about it....at least to my memory.

A perfect template! Time for hubby to work his magic!

While researching, I first came upon a forum which included a furniture businessman that stated "good news" and "bad news". The good news is...he had never repaired a S Bent piece of furniture due to defect or poor workmanship, it was always owner abuse. The bad news is...the furniture was massed produced so it's not that high in price as antiques go. He went on to say the company closed in 2000. Wow! That is an old company!!

The skill saw....which I still think looks like a fisher price toy.

The scroll saw...which is a personal favorite of mine. You can tell it was raining on this day, look at "Jack of all trades" shirt, he became dripped on when he went to his truck to get another battery for his skill saw, good day for a joint project!

Finally, the ever handy sander, couldn't live without one!

Wa-la! We have perfect seating! I had to replace the hideous strapped webbing that serves no useful purpose in furniture anymore. I'm sure, in a time when the wood industry didn't make a good quality thin veneer, the strapping came in handy. With a framed seat made from hardwood the straps rotted and gave way quicker than anything else, sturdy wood is better planned for such a small area. I'm pretty sure the stuffing is some mixture of horsehair and fibers, needing a updated replacement will be a good thing.

Getting back to the company though, the information I found clearly reads the S. Bent and Brothers inc was known for their use of leather in their seating.
Cool. I can remember these, being they were my grandparents, as very uncomfortable to sit in even when I was a kid, but, unique chairs. The company started with colonial type pieces of furniture and by 1870's they were making children's chairs, rockers and stools. From 1920 to the 1950's they made breakfast settees and institutional furniture. The 1960's brought a speciality in college and university chairs. What does that leave for 6 chairs of the same kind? I have no clue, I'm assuming since the label has settee in the contents, these chairs would be from a breakfast design and dated before 1960.

On a personal note, I was a little melancholy to see someone had written "lucky chair"
on one of the frames, could it be my grandmother? Or my mother? Either way, I'd removed it from the chair itself, now it will have to be a"lucky seat." I think my mother as a kid, looks like her writing.

These are going to be so nice, stay tuned. C&G Design

Oh no, another quilt!

Yet, but this one is very pretty (they all are). I picked them up at a flea market for a minimal price, $3.00. It's done with Tri-chem or Artec and there are twelve, 12 x 12 inch blocks, I love them all but especially the lily.

Now I need to find the right fabric for the sashing, oay vey. C&G Design

Pink Depression

For this Pink Saturday I'm electing to show you this beautiful pink depression dish my grandmother gave me. Since she is gone, I often look at the things she left and I think of her. This is a beautiful platter and even though it has a chip, it means alot to me.

Join Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for many more pink posts. C&G Design

My Star of the Ballet

This is a re-post from November 30, 2008. I've decided to use this particular summary to announce that Madame has recieved the part of a soldier again. I've reasurred her she will be in the marching line since she has height on her side this year. Two other friends have also got word they are to be soldiers too, AND they have the same show weekend, for all three preformances. Tis the season!

Oh, I forgot to mention but since I have a few local commentors I'd also like to say, Madame had her make-up applied by Kim Block, our news 13 anchorwoman, her daughter was a soldier also! Believe it or not I have the video! Can't see it's her though. Next time....

Today....it will be all over til next year. Then, again, I'll drive a hour and a half more than 10 x's in a month, I'll worry and fret that my ballerina might not know how much of a big deal this is....and still, some way, I'll support the preforming arts, just because she likes it.
Here is a backstage pass to dress rehearsal conducted two days ago, Madame gets her hat.....check out the ears




I realized I missed the top of her hat so here is another candid, check out the ears again, too cute.
The station line for make-up......

I'm not sure I care for the lipstick, Revlon "Love that red," that I and every other parent had to buy for their soldier.

The Nutcracker, preformed by the Maine State Ballet ,WHICH included my daughter, for 3 shows, has been worth it.

I thought I'd end with a video, unfortunately I did not know my camera doesn't have audio to the video aspect, so we have a silent film. I think you can see how slightly (ever so slightly) anxious Madame is to be going, in fact she said she "feels awkward", and "well, yah, she does," and "is the video over yet?"

Enjoy. C & G Design.

R&B Angel Face

I so need to stay away from the thrift stores! Here's a little beauty I found this week. She is Arranbee, and she is called Angel Face. The first 3 photos are from a seller on EBay who lists this doll as Rare 1950's Vintage Arranbee Doll, R&B Angel Face. Reading the description one gathers it's rare because the EBay market has been watched for this doll for several years by this seller and to no avail has this little lady ever been sol.. Her doll is 21'' whilst mine is 16'', her doll has separate rubber arms whilst mine is all one piece, all rubber.

She appears to be stuffed with rags and is very heavy. The Ebayer writes: "Page 202 of the Arranbee identification and value guide has a photo of a blond doll just like this one, only this one is brunette. Doll has molded mouth with tongue but no teeth, all vinyl with jointed head and shoulders, legs are part of the torso. Marked R&B and 19BBS" She states it wouldn't be fair to disclose the valve because as we all know, by the time the guide is released, the valves are up.

You have no idea how long I've wanted a R&B doll, They are the makers of Nanette a beautiful, very popular composition doll. The company was started in 1922 and had head designers such as Armand Marseille, he is known for the french bisque dolls, the Bru, the Tete's and the Jumeaus, all the dolls that price out at $3000.00 or more, the one's on a collectors wish list, especially mine and I known of no one who can spent that amount of money on a doll. Arranbee was sold to Vogue Company in 1959, they used the R&B marking until 1961. There I was, in the thrift store, looking at this ole' blanket bag full of this doll and some home made clothing. I took her out to look at the markings on her neck but I could only see the 16BBS, even still, this is another doll that called my name. Imagine my excitement when I saw R&B after I got her home and unpacked.

She was $6.99 with all her clothing and her shoes, she is in remarkable shape for being at least 48 years old, gosh! That's older than me!
She has a bob hairstyle that has retained most of it's shape, her eyes are clear and there are no rips in the rubber, no foul odor, no stains.

I washed her little dress and placed socks on her feet, she is perfect.

I love it when I purchase a remarkable find! Feels so good! C&G Design

Raggedy Ann's Trip on the River

When Marcella had a tea party out in the orchard, of course all of the dolls were invited. Raggedy Ann, the tin soldier, the Indian doll and all the others--even the four little penny dolls in the spool box. After a lovely tea party with ginger cookies and milk, of course the dolls were very sleepy, at least Marcella thought so, so she took all except for Raggedy Ann in the house and put them in bed for the afternoon nap. Then Marcella told Raggedy Ann to stay there and watch the things.

As there was nothing else to do, Raggedy Ann waited for Marcella to return. And as she watched the little ants eating cookie crumbs Marcella had thrown to them, she heard all of a sudden the patter of puppy feet behind her. It was Fido

The puppy dog ran up to Raggedy Ann and twisted his head about as he looked at her. Then he put his front feet out and barked in Raggedy Ann's face. Raggedy Ann tried to look very stern, but she could not hide the broad smile painted on her face.

"Oh, you want to play, do you?" the puppy barked, as he jumped at Raggedy Ann and then jumped back again.

The more Raggedy Ann smiled, the livelier Fido's antics became, until finally he caught the end of her dress and dragged her about.

This was great fun for the puppy dog, but Raggedy Ann did not enjoy it. She kicked and twisted as much as she could, but the puppy dog thought Raggedy Ann was playing.

He ran out the garden gate and down the path across the meadow. Every once and a while Fido would give Raggedy Ann a great shaking, making her yarn head hit the ground "ratty-tat-tat." Then he would give his head a toss and send Raggedy Ann high in the air.

By this time she lost her apron and now some of her hair yarn was coming loose. As Fido neared the brook, another puppy dog came running across the foot bridge to meet him. "What have you there Fido?" said the new puppy dog as he bounced up to Raggedy Ann.

"This is Raggedy Ann," answered Fido. "She and I are having a lovely time playing."

You see, Fido really thought Raggedy enjoyed being tossed around and whirled high up in the air. But of course she didn't. However, the game didn't last much longer. As Raggedy hit the ground the new puppy caught her dress and ran with her across the bridge, Fido barking close behind him.

In the center of the bridge, Fido caught up with the new puppy dog and they had a lively tug-of-way with Raggedy Ann stretched between them. As they pulled and tugged and flopped Raggedy Ann about, somehow she fell over the side of the bridge into the water.

The puppy dogs were surprised, and Fido was very sorry indeed, for he remembered how good Raggedy Ann had been to him and how she had rescued him from the dog pound. But the current carried Raggedy Ann along and all Fido could do was run along the bank and bark.

Now you would of thought Raggedy Ann would sink, but no, she floated nicely, for she was stuffed with clean white cotton and the water didn't soak through very quickly.

After a while the strange puppy grew tired of running along the bank and the strange puppy scampered home over the meadow, as if he had nothing to be ashamed of. But Fido walked home very sorry indeed. His little heart was broken to think he had caused Raggedy Ann be drowned.

But Raggedy Ann didn't drown-not a bit of it. In fact, she even went to sleep on the brook, for the motion of the current was very soothing as it carried her along-just like being rocked by Marcella.

So, sleeping peacefully, Raggedy Ann drifted along until she lodged against a large stone'

Raggedy Ann tried to climb upon the stone, but by this time the water had thoroughly soaked through Raggedy Ann's nice clean white cotton stuffing and she was so heavy she could not climb.

So there she had to stay until Marcella and Daddy came along and found her.

You see, they had been looking for her. They had found pieces of her apron all along the path where Fido and the strange puppy dog had shaken them from Raggedy Ann. So they followed the brook until they found her.

When Daddy fished Raggedy Ann from the water, Marcella hugged her so tightly to her breast the water ran from Raggedy Ann and dripped all over Marcella apron. But Marcella was so glad to find Raggedy Ann again she didn't mind it a bit. She hurried home and took off all of Raggedy Ann's wet clothes and placed her on the little red chair in front of the oven door, then brought all the other dolls in and read a fairy tale to them while Raggedy Ann steamed and dried. When Raggedy Ann was thoroughly dry, Mamma said she thought the cake must be finished and she took from the oven a lovely chocolate cake and gave Marcella a large piece to have another tea party with.

That night when all the house was asleep, Raggedy Ann raised up in bed and said to the dolls who were still awake, "I'm so happy I do not feel a bit sleepy. Do you know, I believe the water soaked me so thoroughly my candy heart must of melted and filled my whole body, and I do not feel the least bit angry with Fido for playing with me so roughly!"

So all the other dolls were happy, too, for happiness is very easy to catch when we love one another and are sweet all through.

Special thanks to The Project Gutenberg. C&G Design

A Quick Note

I've been held up with a bad fall cold, nice of hubby, son and whomever else, too share huh? It doesn't really help I've sat in 40 degree weather to watch football for the varsity. Tonight was good though, JV...did I mention my son is captain?! Junior varsity won, for the first time in 3 years we had a win! And me and my tissue was there!S So, now to go onto a short note, no crafts, just napping. How do you like Madames fiber optic butterfly? She put the kit together tonight (before she removed the live mouse from her Siamese cat! Ahhh!)

I had one of these when I was her age, amazing how far we have come. Thanks to this technology, I'm writing to you compliments of better fiber optics, and I'm still trying to figure out how a fax machine works! C&G Design

Peace For One Day

Today is National Peace For One Day, a day set aside for peace. September 21 is an idea of a film maker who had a vision for just one day and September 21 st has been recognized for this event ever since 1999. I'm Happy to take part in the tenth year. Madame is on the Peace committee at her school, all the elected are to make a poster, a snack (she chose a cake, all the others made sugar cookies, but not Madame, nooo!), and a shirt. Guess I'll be driving her to school today, which she HATES!

And since the boys undershirts come in multiple numbers, we have made other shirts for people in her chosen group, the 6th graders. Each person on the committee has a grade, of course Madame has 6th, of course...!

Madame made them with a few of her girlfriends from down the road, our neighbors, they are home schooled and were delighted to help.

I'm hoping there are a few smaller students like her, otherwise I'm stuck with 6 "Peace for one day" t-shirts. C&G Design.

Veggie garden update, September

It's been busy in the garden this past month, we enjoyed the veggies of our labor, some good and some not so good.

We have had our share of tomatoes, soooo lucky we are, I have yet to hear of anyone else in my area having any. Late blight killed alot of tomatoe crops this year and I can guarantee these will be expensive in the food stores come this winter.

We canned 4 more quarts of beans and on this day we were alittle anxious to test the other veggies, see the small carrots and onion?

And come time for the corn harvest.....

the raccoons beat me to it, somewhere is a well corn fed family of coons, they ate every one all the way around the cobs, well, they overlooked one 3 inch corn. Drats!

They even harassed my onions, trashing the one and only flower they had. I guess they didn't care for the flavor because all were intact, same with the zucchini which had a few claw marks in them.

We kept getting the devil tomatoes off one particular plant!? Try slicing the spawns of Satan or better yet, how do you peel this cuke? Very carefully.

The lettuce was constantly giving and even regrowing, they are a keeper.

More tomatoes.....

And since we were worried about the coons coming back, we pulled the carrots and onions. Both were somewhat smaller than normal but still tasty and there is enough carrots to can!

What to do...what to do...

Okay, we did fine with the zucchini but this is what we got for summer squash and maybe 3 winter squash, so they didn't do well.

Here's the plan, we kept these and canned the others.

It was interesting.

At the last minute we included fresh basil and oregano.

And 10 pints of carrots, which with my family, will last a good 8 months!

Everything looks delicious, matter a fact we used the carrots in a roast meal we had just last weekend. The green beans were to die for also!

The potatoes....ah...er, didn't do so well.

This is a bout 2 thirds of our harvest, out of 3 tires, 3 high. One meal. Say, la, vie.

More tomatoes, I hope it's not appearing as if I'm bragging because that's not the spirit of showing my harvest but really, we are eating tomatoes like apples. I think I might can again.

I clipped most of what was left of the herbs. If I leave these available maybe people will snack and run...!

This is about what my garden has left, half dead, half alive tomato plants with more tomatoes. No gourds //**\\ though.

Three quarter sized peppers and a few tiny cukes and we will be done.

Join my sister at In the Garden for more garden updates, it's on her sidebar.

Unless we do major winter prep for the soil, this maybe my last update until next year. C&G Design