What are rhinestones made of? Have you ever seen an ugly rhinestone?

Are these actually rhinestones? Don't know. But while researching found this interesting info to answer the above questions.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinestone

 On my  downsizing journeys over the last ten years I have listed MANY LOVELY BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF RHINESTONE JEWELRY belonging to different women. And  all of the pieces were/are beautiful! I have never seen an ugly rhinestone jewelry piece. Some stones might need cleaning or repair but to me rhinestones  are the royalty of jewelry! Who cares HOW MUCH or how many Ks of gold are in a jewelry piece! It all comes down to how it looks and how it makes the user feel using it! Look at the stones..faceted, pronged, sparkling and  making the whole piece even more beautiful than just the stone itself! Oh if only people could work together like rhinestones do!

This piece is looking for a new home. If interested check it out here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290440827731&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Oh! There is ONE thing I do not like about rhinestones! It is hard to capture their full beauty on digital camera pics. My old Sony Mavica has died and I am making friends with a new Panasonic digital camera. So far not as happy as I was with my old Sony!

Back on a Rowhouse Baltimore Porch Reading a Comic on Memorial Day

Holding and listing this comic book took me right back to Baltimore in the "before air conditioning days" when we sat lazily on the awninged front porch in a chair with  legs hanging comfortably over the sides drifting in and out of reading. In the background: Summer sounds ...cutting grass...friendly neighbors talking across porches...Eddie the huckster coming down the back alley with his horse pulling their wagon full of fresh food for sale...Eddie would call out what he had each time....Summer smells : kitchens' delicious smells drifting out from nearby homes...So back to the comic: I loved the advertisements as much as the comics! I must have ordered a million stamps "on approval" not having a clue what "on approval" involved! This book actually was years later than MY front porch days but its magic still worked and took me back!

Checkout this listing on Ebay if interested in adding to your collection of comic books!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290440059654&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

WWII Occupation by Japan Paper Money???

Ok fellow downsizers buckle up as we are ready to go back in time! Very appropriate for this holiday weekend. Memorial Day. Remembering the ones who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today... This trip takes us to WWII 1940's years when the Japanese Government occupied the Philippines and other countries  and the owner of this bill somehow got it and brought it back home. In pretty good shape! While cruising the internet gathering info I found this interesting info. Check it out!
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/japmoney.htm

If you like James Bond/US type of info..hmmm is this really Japanese paper money or not???
http://www.psywarrior.com/WWIIAlliedBanknotes.html

I have not found out what the P/AH stands for or what the two punched holes were for. Wonder how this owner got this bill? Wonder how the Japanese government got this money printed fast enough to use. Anyway, thank you previous owner and all the others  for going there and protecting our country's freedoms, ideals, dreams and opportunities!

If you are interested in becoming the next owner of this 65+ year old bill:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290439783529&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

"In a year that has been so Improbable the Impossible has happened!'

Picture this! 1988 World Series... LA Dodgers and the highly favored Oakland A's! Game 1...  Up comes Kirk Gibson showing discomfort with injuries from previous game. He pinch hits a two-run home run off Dennis Eckersley. This gave the LA Dodgers 5-4 win over Oakland A's and they went on to win the series too!

Vin Scully's famous call of this hit: "In a year that has been so improbable the impossible has happened!"

Check this guy out: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Kirk_Gibson

This is what America and baseball are all about!
 This card is available to buy at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290439126828&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Cajuns, Oilers & Politicians

The lack of solution FROM EVERYONE to this Gulf oil spill is appalling!!! I remember sitting watching the news casters desperate and being the first to take a stand and demand action in Katrina! This is far worse than Katrina! And yet the WORLD sits and sits and watches and watches and blames and blames everyone else in silence!



My heart aches for the Cajun shrimpers/boaters who are speaking their sorrow on tv news but who have the guts and strength to get their boats out there and work on getting oil out of the water while oilers and politicians are walking "sadly" along the coast but are continuing to use oil dispersers our government told them to cease using two days ago.

You go Cajuns! I nominate you for Time Mags "men and women of the year"!

91 Rhinestones Snowflake Pin Brooch

Ok fellow downsizers...we move back in time to the days of beautifully pronged rhinestones put together to create this beauty! Limited metal and other materials to use and yet look at this beauty! Lots of patience I imagine was needed to make these detailed pieces. Wonder how many different types of workers were involved  in just creating this one type of item??? Designers..stone miners/craters/shippers/sellers , ...metal backing miners/molders/ company putting it together/ boxing them...sales people and shippers getting it to the stores...and ahh the buyer! I remember aunts, grandmothers, and mothers dressing up to go out and having fun at the holidays in the houses on the streets of wintry windy rowhouses of Baltimore. I remember being snuggled in the cars between  them in their "cool" fur coats with their moth ball odors and the light sparkling off these beautiful pieces of jewelry as the ladies took off their wintry fur coats ready for a holiday getogether full of good food, companionship and laughter!

This piece is looking for a new owner at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290437624070

So Who Lives in the Painted Desert?

Ok...fire up your traveling seat...we are leaving North Carolina and heading west to northern Arizona's Painted Desert!   Where do those beautiful colors come from? For this answer we go to the great scientific minds at

 Wikipedia. Check out what  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Desert,_Arizona has to say. Ok got that memorized? Now on to who lives there and who owns it? Gets a little complicated here because it is in different states...but get this... a nation (The Navajo Nation)  owns a lot of it! And in that nation's area is an area owned by a smaller nation (The Hopi Nation). Would you like to live there? I would like the colors and fossils but it doesn't look it has a lot of Walmarts! Ahhh but if it has electricity I can always use Amazon!

And Wikipedia says "There is a flea market held every Friday just northeast of the Chapter House, off Peshlaki Ave. The flea market offers a variety of Navajo and Hopi arts and crafts, as well as local foods, such as mutton sandwiches, posole, and frybread"...and it has the ..."Tuba City Trading Post, a store selling Navajo hand-made crafts has a building dating from 1905. Now you are talking my language! I have added this area to my "Bucket List"!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290436434593&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT


 

OUR DOWNSIZING JOURNEY CONTINUES ..SO WHO WON THE BASEBALL ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN AWARD IN 1993?

Jeff Montgomery!
Check it out here online:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolaids_Relief_Man_Award
I didn't even have a clue there was such an award! Didn't have a clue relief pitchers fell into different categories!


And  as Jackson County Ohio points out online:
"There has possibly been no Jackson Countian who has enjoyed the athletic success achieved by Jeff Montgomery. His achievements are those that future generations can all strive for. "

http://www.jacksonohio.org/jmontgomery.htm
 
Here's my downsizing thought for the day;
We are passing on to the next generations "stuff" valued by their $$$$ values. But what about the knowledge of what these people accomplished???? With the instant online info available,  these people have come alive to me! As I  list on Ebay or Ecrater I will share the ones who made their towns, schools and families proud!
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290436334299&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Know what a Lisner is????

These are Lisner. 
As stated online at :
http://www.collectorsindex.com/lisner.htm
"The Lisner jewelry mark was first used in 1935, a mark of D. Lisner & Co in New York. They used their mark in block print and script and it is the mark of Lisner and Richelieu. The quality of the jewelry they made ranged from very good to above average. They made much of their jewelry in the 1950s and the quality was lacking in the lower end of their carded jewelry. They did make some well designed and above average costume jewelry. The Richelieu line of jewelry would rank with some of the best manufactures. "LISNER" in block was the mark first used in 1935. "Lisner"in script was first used in 1938, and then in 1959 the mark used most was "Lisner", in a block type letter with a L that had a long bottom base that underlined the rest of the letters. These marks may appear on jewelry made by Lisner over a period of 60 plus years and it is not possible to date a item by the mark alone. Molds and findings were kept and stamping dies were rarely disposed of and there fore they were used again and again at later dates."


Until 2002 I never noticed or appreciated the work that went into creating costume jewelry. Especially during the wars when metals were scarce. In my  opinion this company's pieces still give off the glamour and design quality that is lacking in so much jewelry today! You can feel the pride the people took in designing and creating these pieces and of those who enjoyed wearing them! They are like pieces of art to me. Starting in 2002 I found myself gradually becoming more involved in finding new homes for these quality/beautiful pieces online as their original owners downsize. Old owners feel happy and new owners love them for what they are! Renewing! Reusing! Love it!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290435711696&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

AND THE POSTCARD ROAD TRIP CONTINUES

Too weak, poor or lazy to travel in planes, trains or automobiles? The neat thing about postcard travel is that you are not limited in time or by time. Sit back and take this ride with us!

Today we head "forward to the past" and move east from Arizona mountains and travel to New Bern North Carolina and are at the high school (as it looked years ago) that Walt Bellamy former Baltimore Bullet (63-65) and  Basketball Hall of Famer (93) attended.:

New Bern High School

New Bern North Carolina

And check how it looks now online!

http://www.craven.k12.nc.us/NBH/

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290435391516&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Happy Mother's Weekend!

So How Did Storm Davis the Baseball Player Get his nickname STORM?

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:




"...Davis was the winning pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in Game Four of the 1983 World Series versus the Philadelphia Phillies. 


...According to his 1987 Topps baseball card, Davis' nickname was derived from a character in a book his mother was reading while she was pregnant. Another story traces his nickname to similarities with Jim Palmer, the Orioles' Cy Young Award-winning pitcher; he was a "Cy clone" or "Storm."[5]..."

WANT HIS BASEBALL CARD?
http://cornfieldcreekcollectibles.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=8053191

Pawpaws and Pawpaw Pies

OK.. Have you ever seen a pawpaw? Or tasted a pawpaw pie? Yep the recipe for the pie is in this book and if you ever wanted to know any more of pawpaws, check out this neat web site :

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/pawpaw-pie.aspx

and if you want this cookbook check out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290432827227

Where do some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world is located????

http://tinyurl.com/2wlb2cx




Here is the answer: As Wikipedia the free online encyclopedia states....."...The Superstition Mountains, popularly referred to as "The Superstitions" or "The Supes", are a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination for residents of the Phoenix, Arizona area.
The mountain range is in the federally-designated Superstition Wilderness Area, and includes a variety of natural features in addition to the mountain that is its namesake. Weaver's Needle, a prominent landmark and rock climbing destination set behind and to the east of Superstition Mountain, is a tall erosional remnant [1] that plays a significant role in the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. Peralta Canyon, on the northeast side of Superstition Mountain, contains a popular trail that leads up to Freemont Saddle, which provides a very picturesque view of Weaver's Needle. Miner's Needle is another prominent formation in the wilderness and a popular hiking destination.
As with most of the terrain surrounding the Phoenix metropolitan area, the Superstition Mountains have a desert climate, with high summer temperatures and a handful of perennial sources of water. The altitude in the more remote, eastern portion of the wilderness is higher than the western portion, which lowers temperatures slightly. Numerous hiking trails cross the mountains from multiple access points, including the Peralta Trailhead, the most popular.[2] The Lost Dutchman State Park, located on the west side of Superstition Mountain, includes several short walking trails.
The Superstition Mountains are bounded roughly by U.S. Route 60 on the south, State Route 88 on the northwest, and State Route 188 on the northeast.
Contents[hide]
1 Superstition legends
2 Nearby towns and cities
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit] Superstition legends

View from the Flat Iron hiking trail, February, 2008
The legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine centers around the Superstition Mountains. According to the legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Walzer (some sources offer other spellings of his last name, such as "Walz","Wolz","Walty","Waltz", and even "Miller"??) discovered a mother lode in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years. Several mines have been claimed to be the actual mine that Walzer discovered, but none of those claims have been verified.[1]
Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world is located in the Superstition Mountains. Winds blowing from the hole are supposed to be the cause of severe dust storms.[3]

Who caught more games than any other player in baseball history???

http://www.redsoxdiehard.com/players/fisk.html

http://cornfieldcreekcollectibles.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=8036025

Now Who Remembers Refrigerators That Looks Like This One???

I found this book downsizing a Maryland estate.




This booklet has zones (before zip codes were used) with cities and states so it has to be pre 1964. Cool recipes before we counted carbs and calories. You gain weight just reading them! Look at the mama looks like Mrs Cleaver! This refrigerator lasted a LONG TIME and was used by a lot of people! And GE is still around! Go GE!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290430886318&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

EVER HEARD OF OR BEEN TO CARROLL COLLEGE IN HELENA MONTANA?

This ol Easterner has never had the chance to see this beautiful state so I checked this place out as I listed this postcard on Ebay and it looks so nice! They have this webcam site: Brrr better take my long underwear! Even if it has been chilly down here in sunny Floriday this Spring!


http://www.carroll.edu/about/webcam/


If interested in buying this card click here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290441442430

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ALEX FERNANDEZ?

ACCORDING TO Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ONLINE IT STATES:

"Alexander Fernandez (born August 13, 1969 in Miami Beach, Florida) is a Cuban American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who pitched for the Chicago White Sox (1990-96) and Florida Marlins (1997, 1999-2000). Fernandez retired in 2001, citing shoulder problems that were incurred in the 1997 postseason,[1] where the Florida Marlins won their first World Series.
In 1990, Fernandez won the Dick Howser Trophy for National College Baseball player of the year while pitching at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC). He previously played at the University of Miami before transferring to MDCC to be eligible to enter the Baseball Major League Draft.
In Little League Baseball, Alex played for the Hialeah Athletic Association (HAA) where he fine-tuned his pitching skills. Alex's father was his team's coach.
Going on a different path, Alex is doing radio and becoming active in politics in his hometown of Miami Beach, where he campaigned and helped elect its mayor. He is now the director of baseball operations at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
Alex Fernandez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 13, 2008. The induction took place during a pregame ceremony before a Florida Marlins vs Washington Nationals game at Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida."


 If you want this card click here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290441366072&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123