80th birthday – LILLIAN'S CUPBOARD

A Cincinnati Reds Shirt for the Playoffs

For my birthday, a friend gave me a Reds messenger bag and a great T-shirt.

The shirt is very special to me because on the back is “Applegate – 80” (my maiden name and my age). I haven’t used the Applegate name for over 60 years. The shirt is the right size but was cut in a way that it would even be snug on my skinny 9-year-old granddaughter. I really wanted to wear this shirt for the Reds’ playoff games and had to quickly come up with a way I could keep all of the key elements but have it in a comfortable size.

I had a new T-shirt that was about two sizes too big and used one of my tried and true patterns to trim the sides and to trim down the sleeves.

I cut the side seams of the Reds shirt ….

… then lay it on top of the white shirt and pinned at the shoulder, down the center and around the neckband.

I drew a chalk line, allowing for a ½ inch seam, from the shoulder to the bottom of the front and back on each side and trimmed along that line.

I turned under the ½ inch allowance and top stitched the red shirt to the white one. Then, I VERY carefully trimmed away the center white portion front and back.

I sewed the side seams, sewed in the sleeves, sewed the hem and the shirt was finished.

Now, I have my shirt ready to wear and watch the Reds win the playoffs (sorry, St. Louis granddaughters).

A Tea Set for my Doll Table

When I posted about finding this darling set in an antique mall awhile back, I said I needed to be on the lookout for some little dishes and a doll to fit the furniture. My blogger friend, Sarah, at Sarahdidit, suggested a “tiny table topper”. I hadn’t thought of that and made up one from two 3 inch log cabin blocks.

Then, on my birthday, I found my table decked out with a hand-crocheted table cloth …

and a little bitty tea set plus a birthday cake with a candle.

Now, I’m all ready for a casual lunch or high tea.

It Was a Very Good Year – 2003-2012 – The Finale

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day. The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way. This is what I received this week to wind up 80 days of special, unique, commemorative, handmade and nostalgic gifts.

2003 – 2003 was the year my youngest granddaughter was born. The gift is a wonderful fold-out picture book with photos of my granddaughter along with her handwritten notes of greetings and love. Precious.

2004 – My youngest daughter knitted a pair of socks for me from a 2004 pattern in the most beautiful fall colors.

2005 – A 2005 CD of Andy Griffith singing all of my favorite hymns. In addition to the music, there are personal notes and comments by Andy. This is perfect for me since I’ve been a fan of Andy Griffith since his early monologue days.

2006 – A 2006 edition of Keith Olbermann’s book, The Worst Person in the World.

2007 – A packet of 2007 5-inch Lynette Jensen’s Thimbleberries squares – Warm and Cozy

2008 – Three Topps’ trading cards to commemorate the election of Barack Obama.

2009 – A 2009 Philadelphia Mint collection commemorating the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Penny.

2010 – A pin commemorating the USA medals won in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

2011 – My youngest daughter knitted a Drachenschwanze (dragon’s tail) scarf from a 2011 pattern.

2012 – Two pins popular in 2012 – “Keep calm and quilt on”, a take on the WWII British slogan and a pin for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

All 80 years have been covered and it all ended with a Grand Finale gift. My oldest daughter made up a charm necklace for me that I call a “Meme Necklace” because it tells so much about my interests and in a way is a summary of the 80 gifts.

There are charms for Cincinnati, Ohio, and my Libra astrology sign; a small dog running with a paper in its mouth for all of the pets I’ve had; charms for some of my favorite things – a unicorn, forget-me-nots, vintage jewelry, a scotty, a Dutch shoe, a harness horse, the Cincinnati Reds, Abraham Lincoln; charms to commemorate cooking – a mixer, a slice of pie, a 1st place ribbon; needle and thread (quilting and sewing); charms for favorite vacation spots – St. Louis Arch (my youngest son’s home), an Amish buggy (Holmes County OH Amish country); a covered bridge (Vermont); Cincinnati’s Coney Island and river boat; a Hershey’s Kiss to represent chocolate and my mother’s homemade fudge; and a typewriter symbolizing a long secretarial career.

It has been an amazing 80 days with every day a reminder of 80 amazing years.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

My youngest daughter has links to all of her knitted projects here:

http://wardenslog.blogspot.com/2012/09/vintage-birthday-knitting-finale.html

The Birthday Angels Strike Again

When I got up early, I looked outside to see the tree in my front yard holding 80 balloons. My two daughters had gotten together at 11 PM last night after I went to bed and taking the dog with them so he wouldn’t bark, hung 80 balloons in my decorative pear tree.

They also put up a sign announcing my 80th birthday. Now, any of the neighbors who might have wondered about the age of the old woman who walks her dog 3 times a day up and down the street will know. The 80th birthday is off to a good start.

The Birthday Angels

It Was a Very Good Year – 1996 – 2002

1996 – Two 1996 note cards by one of my favorites – Tasha Tudor.

1997 – My youngest daughter knitted 3 beautiful washcloths from a 1997 pattern – too pretty to use for washcloths.

1998 – A 1998 cookbook by Florence Henderson – Short-Cut Cooking. This was intended as something of a gag gift from my youngest daughter who is still a huge fan of Mrs. Brady and The Brady Bunch (and I‘m not), but actually there are some good recipes in this book.

1999 – 1999 was an important year for all of us when my youngest daughter’s son was born. The gift is an amazing fold-out picture book of photos of my grandson accompanied by his notes and sketches – priceless.

2000 – A beautiful Lenox Holiday Silver Millennium Ball. It’s designed to hold a small gift, potpourri or small treasures.

2001 – A set of coasters knitted from a 2001 pattern.

2002 – Lynette Jensen’s 2002 edition of Cozy Cabin Quilts.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the
right.

It Was a Very Good Year – 1989 – 1995

1989 – A small spoon commemorating the 1989 “Breakup of the Berlin Wall”.

1990 – A 1990 edition of The “Late Night with David Letterman” Book of Top Ten Lists.

1991 – Two copies of 1991 Queen City Heritage magazines – The Journal of the Cincinnati Historical Society

1992 – A Helen Steiner Rice Daily Devotional Calendar. Helen Steiner Rice is famous for her verses for Gibson Greeting Cards in Cincinnati. In 1992, my oldest daughter was a writer for Gibson Greetings.

1993 – A 1993 Cat’s Meow rendition of Aglamesis Bros. ice cream parlor (est. 1908), Oakley Square, Cincinnati. My future mother-in-law introduced me to Aglamesis in 1951 and said they had the best ice cream and chocolates in town, and she was right. We still take the grandchildren to Aglamesis Bros. for sundaes.

1994 – A 1994 edition of Dave Barry’s Gift Guide to End All Gift Guides. Dave Barry was always a favorite of mine and this is one of his books I’ve never read.

1995 – A crocheted piece from a vintage pattern that includes a locket heart with a picture of my youngest daughter and me on her wedding day in 1995. The small heart is made from a scrap piece of velvet from my oldest daughter’s Maid of Honor dress.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

It Was a Very Good Year – 1982 – 1988

1982 – A 1982 tin featuring the cartoon character Cathy. This was one of my favorite newspaper cartoons in the 1980s. I related to her in several ways – certainly in her love for chocolate.

1983 – My youngest daughter knitted two beautiful place mats from a pattern in the July, 1983 issue of The Workbasket – in my favorite color.

1984 – A darling little maple syrup tin produced by the New England Container Co., Swanton, Vermont in 1984.

1985 – My oldest daughter used a 1985 Dale Burdett cross-stitch kit to make a Christmas ornament and added “1985” to it.

On the back is a picture she clipped from a home movie of my husband and me decorating the tree in 1985. She scanned it onto fabric and it became the backing for the ornament.

1986 – Two of the famous California Raisin figures. Who could forget their great commercials?

1987 – A September, 1987, edition of MAD magazine featuring articles on The Andy Griffith Show, Crocodile Dundee, Pee-Wee Herman and much more.

1988 – A 1988 Cincinnati Reds Media Guide with every fact about every Reds player and Reds team in history in a compact guide book. An added bonus – a postcard showing the Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial quilt – Cincinnati 1788-1988.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

It Was a Very Good Year – 1975 – 1981

1975 – A collage of pictures from an old area amusement park, Fantasy Farms, including vintage tickets. One sunny afternoon, my mother and I took my five-year-old daughter to the park. My mother had just made herself a dress of denim with red bandana trim and also made one for my daughter. I thought it was a cute idea but my daughter was indignant – not only that she went to an amusement park dressed like her grandma, but that all the other girls were wearing shorts and tee-shirts, not a pretty dress. My oldest daughter made up the collage that includes bits from a home movie I took that day and some photo-booth antics of my daughter. She also did a classic 1970s design on the back.

1976 – An RC soft drink bottle commemorating the Bicentennial 1776-1976. This is even more special because it pictures and lists the Presidents who came from Ohio.

1977– A vintage Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason jar and zinc lid with a 1977 Ohio State Fair blue ribbon and entry tag. This is amazing for me to receive because I remember so well seeing this woman’s food entries at the Ohio State Fair for many years – most of them with blue ribbons. The jar dates between 1896-1902. Somehow, the jar, ribbon and entry tag wound up in a Cincinnati antique store where my oldest daughter found it.

1978 – A 1978 Hallmark Date Book with calendar, gift guide and wedding anniversary gift list. Also, a First Day of Issue for the 13-cent square dance stamp, dated April 26, 1978. This is important to me because I had just graduated from square dance class in March of 1978 and continued to square and round dance for over 15 years.

1979 – The 1979 Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate – Choosing the Christmas Tree. I’ve always loved Christmas and this plate will be a nice addition to my decorations this year.

1980 – 1980 issue of Quilt World Omnibook. I hadn’t begun quilting yet in 1980 and I love seeing the patterns, stories and pictures from this era.

1981 – 1981 catalog – Gifts from Top Value Stamps. These were the stamps our neighborhood store handled and it was like a wonderful bonus to collect the stamps each week and finally have enough to exchange for something nice. I found a couple of items in this catalog that the girls remembered having in our 1981 kitchen.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

It Was a Very Good Year – 1968-1974

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day. The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way. This is what I received this week.

1968 – A double CD set of favorite songs from 1960s.

1969 – My oldest daughter put together a booklet of clippings from her 1969 scrapbook. There was quite a bit about Neil Armstrong and the moon landing.

1970 – This is something of a tongue-in-cheek gift – a David Cassidy/Partridge Family trading card. Although I was never much of a fan, my daughter who was born in 1970 is and was delighted to find this gift for me. The lyrics to the song are on the back of the card.

1971 – A Gordon Lightfoot songbook. This is perfect for me since Gordon Lightfoot is my all-time favorite singer.

1972 – A 1972 edition of Sport Story with Pete Rose on the cover. No one lived in Cincinnati in this era who didn’t know Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose.

1973 – The book Secretariat. Secretariat was the Triple Crown Winner in 1973.

1974 – My youngest daughter knitted a pair of mittens in the classic colors of the 1970s from a vintage pattern.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.