Candy Wrapper Bookmark?

I do this ALL the time. It's a wonder I am not as big as a house all the sweets I consume. And having a little snack is so very easy to do when you are reading a book. And so bad to do! The same concept of eating when you watch TV, you don't pay attention to the amount of food, candy, junk, you actually consume, and next thing you know we are all having high blood pressure, diabetes, and our rotund bodies are no longer fitting properly in the seats at Disneyland! Whew, wow I got off on a tangent on that one, didn't I?

Needless to say, I often find myself reading and then the phone rings, or the doorbell, or I have to actually work or take care of the kids, so I look around and grab any piece of anything that will save my spot. Coupons, pencils, my phone, pretty much anything I can find. And, of course, candy wrappers.

Volumes of Good Wishes

Oh, these are the coolest things ever! Postcards in English and sent to and from somewhere in the US. They were both mailed in 1909, one in July and one in November. And they appear to be identical, but if you look at the back of them, they aren't exact.

First, the July card. "In town this forenoon, think I saw your brother, down St. What did you think of the festival sbt? eve. I enjoyed myself very much, was with such a lively crowd." Have you ever seen the word forenoon before? It  means the morning. I mean that makes sense, it's before noon, but why not say in the morning? Have we replaced that word with mid-morning? I wish there were more details about whatever festival he/she is referencing. Whom ever they were, they were in a hurry to get this thing off. No capitalization at the beginning, and those abbreviations. They even put the stamp on upside down.

The postcard mailed in November starts out "Dear Friend, why don't you send me a card. I sent you one a long time ago. I thought maybe you had changed your address and didn't get it." That's it. A scrawled name towards the top, Hannah, perhaps? If you look at the addresses to which these were mailed, wow, how did anyone find these people? Ida and Loyd, of course we know where they live, everyone knows Ida and Loyd.  I bet people at the post office could go back and explain these seemingly absent addresses.

The times have changed, very much in fact. But we are ultimately the same. Hey, I saw your brother. I enjoyed myself at the festival. Where are you and why haven't you written back? Although now, we would see you having a great time at the festival via Facebook or Instagram. And we can track old friends down far easier than ever before. Or start stalking them, haha.

 Every once in a while I find something that takes my breath away. These go into that category. Love, love, love them.

Leather and the Red

More bookmarks!! The leather one says Menette Regions Conference and the year 1983.  Menette translates into French as lever...after that, I am at a loss. The conference was held in Aalborg, Denmark. So, a French lever conference in Denmark?  Hahaha, for some reason I think I might be just a tad off here.

The red one looks a little older, I can't quite make out the words, but the flower design and words look like they were laid out with a glitter pen. How long have glitter pens been around? Do glitter pens actually exist? I am so not the crafty person. I'm always impressed to see people walk into a craft store, grab things I have no idea what are called, and turn all of those random things into a, a... whatever it is all you crafty people make.

Abide With Me

Abide With Me, what a beautiful song. There's no date, going on the condition of the paper, I would guess somewhere around the 1930's or 40's. The words above the verses say "the immortal anthem original with the original 8 verses." The man who wrote Abide With Me was Henry Francis Lyte. He was born in Scotland in 1793 and studied at Trinity College in Dublin. He took Anglican holy orders in 1815. He was also a hymn writer and a poet.

Abide With Me is his best known hymn, and according to a traditional story, Lyte wrote it a few hours after conducting the final service at his church, which was probably September 5, 1847. More likely the hymn was written in July or August of that year.  Lyte himself created for the hymn what his biographer has disparaged as "a dull tune." When Hymns Ancient and Modern was published in 1861, the editor, William H. Monk—whose three-year-old daughter had just died, composed his own tune, "Eventide," for Lyte's Poem.

A couple cool things about the song, it was said to be on the lips of Edith Cavell when she faced a German firing squad. It also has been sung at the The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup, finals since 1927. Pretty cool. 

This is one of my favorite hymns. It doesn't matter what you believe, or what you think about religion, this is a beautiful song.