May 9th 1942 ...8:30 am.....

.....My grandparents were married.

St. Mary's Catholic church on Saturday morning was the scene of one of New Oxford's prettiest and most impressive wedding ceremonies, when Miss Mary Frances Weaver, daughter of Mrs. James R. Weaver Hanover street, New Oxford, and George Clifford DeVine, son of Mr. and Mrs. D.C. DeVine, York, were united in marriage at a nuptial mass by the Rev. Paul D. Weaver, Mount Carmel, an uncle of the bride. The bride was given in marriage by her brother, Fredrick, and she had as her bridesmaid her sister, Miss Marie J. Weaver. George G. Weaver, another brother, who is in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in New York, acted as best man. The Rev. H. J. Howarth, pastor of St. Rose's church, York, was present in the sanctuary. The church was filled with friends. The Bride was attired in a white lace-trimmed gown of sugar mist modeled on princess lines with train. She wore a fingertip veil and carried a nosegay of white roses and snapdragons. The bridesmaid's gown was a model with dusty rose sugar mist skirt and lace bodice with which she wore a matching lace bonnet. She carried a nosegay of mixed flowers. Miss Teresa Staub, a cousin of the bride, was at the oragn for the wedding march and postlude. During the ceramony, Arthur Ford, Mt. Carmel organist, played and also sang three solos.

The bride has been the courteous and highly efficient cheif operator of the New Oxford telephone exchange for a number of years, and she has the best wishes of a host of friends. Following a short wedding trip the couple will reside on East Berlin R.D. 1, in which section Mr. DeVine has been specializing in several farming enterprises for the past few years. A wedding breakfast and reception, held immediately after the ceramony at the home of the bride, was largely attended.

One of my most cherished possessions are all the letters that my grandfather wrote to my grandmother before they were married. They lived in different towns and were only able to see each other once or twice a week. In the letters, he talks a lot about his farm he was trying to start, closing down bars with my grandmother, and doing naughty things that he shouldn't be doing with her. (just because it's 1941 doesn't mean people didn't use to fool around!) He also broke up with her and then got back together with her! I also have the engagement ring that my grandfather gave my grandmother when he asked her to marry him. I hope someday that I too might have a daughter to pass these things along to like my mother did to me.



And 30 years later.....
Look at what a cute baby I was!!! And that's my dorky brother!! Sometime in the summer of 1972!

I've had a really tough week this week and I'm so happy to see Friday finally getting here. I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. Thinking about my life and what I want it to be. I have a really stressful job, I'm a HS art teacher for an urban school district.... 90% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches. 90% of students are ethnic minorities. We are also a failing school as determined by no child left behind. I have a tough job and I can tell some good stories. I get so emotionally drained at times from my job and these past two weeks have been extremely bad. I hope I can last till June. I just don't know how much longer I can take the abuse not only from the kids but also from the administrators. It's bad enough dealing with the type of cliental that we have but when you also have such low moral among the teachers and an unorganized administration, it really makes a person feel like the Walmart greeter probably has a more rewarding career then you do. Add to that some more verbal abuse thrown in by someone in my personal life and I can honestly say that I have had enough crap these past two weeks to last me for the rest of the year. So, from this day forward I am no longer taking any more crap....from anyone....my crap door is closed.... and please do not leave a flaming bag on my front porch, ring the doorbell and run away! This is an old trick that I know quite well.... there's nothing but flaming crap in your bag and I refuse to be the one to stamp it out.

Oh BTW, do you see how I tricked you all with my picture??? I bet you thought I was gonna tell some awesome story about my living room chair or something .....and really all you got was a rant about crap!

37 Things...

Every year around my Birthday, I make a list of things things that I want to try to accomplish in that year of my life. I have seriously delayed my list making this year.... I'm already 13 days into my 37th year and I still have no list... time to get started!

• Be more spontaneous.... I've been stuck in a little rut lately!
• Make at least one new friend this year.
• Do something that really scares me.... roller coaster, air plane....
• Purge the clutter from my life.
• Start my own business.... ideas???
• Go back to school and take some classes.
• Run a 5k....have I mentioned that I hate running!!!
• Visit the shore...play in the surf....swim with a dolphin!
• Take more dance classes...
• Run away for a weekend without a destination.
• Shower in a waterfall.
• Visit the Statue of Liberty
• Partake in a Japanese tea ceremony wearing a kimono.
• Stay in the best suite in a 5 star hotel.
• Learn to knit.

That's enough for now 12 more to go.....

A dollar or less... part 1

One of my favorite things to do is find vintage treasures for a buck or less! Here are a few things I have found at auctions or goodwill that I got for a $1.00 or less!





The 50's bedside lamps...50 cents... the pyrex dish and stand $1..... both at same auction...


My 1930's Bunting glider....$1.00...I was the last person at the auction ....it was the last thing they sold....it doesn't look this good anymore but it's on my list of things to redo this summer!





A late 30's 40's velvet and beaded dressing gown found in the bins at goodwill for 75 cents.

Twin Star

Sometimes at auctions they will sell one thing I really want and in order to get it, I have to buy everything on the table/tray/box. They call it "lot" auctions....meaning you get whatever is in the box, table, or tray as a lot and for one price. Anyway, I bought a table lot once and on it was some Oneida Twin Star silverware. Not a lot of pieces but enough to make me want more! So now began my quest for more Twin Star ware. The fun thing I think about collecting vintage items is the hunt. You have to have a lot of patience to be a collector of vintage items because it can take a while till you find the things you're looking for and at a good price. Sometimes it's really all about luck, being at the right place at the right time, and taking the time to look.

Last May, I was driving home from work and saw a sign for an estate auction. I decided to stop and have a look...these are the type of auctions I get most luck with it seems....the ones I never plan on going to in the first place! It was a tiny little run down house out in the middle of the country. Not a lot of people were there. The woman had passed away that winter and her 6 kids were auctioning off her things. I had a great time talking to her daughters about their mother's interesting life as a WAC during WWII. The mother had kept all of her WWII uniforms and some of her other clothing from the 40's WWII era. Everything was in amazing condition! As I was looking around in the kitchen before the auction started, I came across more Twin Star silverware. The one daughter saw me get excited at my find and pointed me in the direction of a cardboard box. She told me to open it up. In it was a wooden box.....



.....and inside of it was the rest of the set of unused Oneida Twin Star Flatware!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!! I quickly shoved it back in the cardboard box and looked around to make sure no one else had seen it! hahaha Sometimes I get a little paranoid at auctions. I looked around some more and decided to settle myself on the back lawn to wait for the auction to start. There were lots of old people there but in general the crowd was fairly small.

Before I continue, let me first explain how auctions/estate sales work around here. The first thing you do is register for a number with the auction company running the auction. Once I have a number to bid with, I like to go look around and see what kinds of things are there. If you go to an estate sale auction, it's usually held at the house of the person who is selling their things...including the house. I like these auctions the best, as I have always gotten better deals. There are also auctions...usually in winter...held at fire halls or large auction houses. No matter what type of auction you attend in my area, all bidding is done with a number and has nothing to do with first come first picks. It's much more fair this way, I think.

So, I waited for the auction to begin...eventually they began selling. Now, I'm the type of person who gets all the butterflies in the tummy when an item comes up I want to bid on. Yes, I'm a complete auction bidding junkie and totally get some weird sort of bidders high. My cardboard box of silverware comes up for bids...they don't even get it out of the card board box... they just say its a box of flatware! Bid starts at $2...I bid, some old woman bids...I bid...she bids..I hit the bid of $10 and she stops. That's right, I got that whole box set of twin star for $10 bucks....SCORE!!! I totally wet myself! hahahahaha

But wait, that's not all I got....I'm sure you all want to know what else MaryDeluxe got at this incredible estate sale! So, I'm gonna tell you....I got an amazing WWII era suit and a pair of 40's gabardine trousers...$12.00


A whole bunch of girl's dresses from the 50's....which came as a lot set... $20.00


WWII military souvenir pillows.... from Hawaii and Texas...$2.00


And I had to buy this table and two chairs because no one wanted it and they were going to trash it... $3.25! It's now cluttering up my studio space!



I also got to hear some great stories about the woman who owned these wonderful things! I wasn't able to snag any of her WAC uniforms as there were WWII military collectors in the crowd but I'm happy to have gotten her fab 40's suit and gab pants!

My Duck

Tonight I ran across some old pictures of my duck I found and raised in the summer of 2005. I had just recently been laid off from my job as a designer for an office design firm and was spending my time sitting around worrying! My ex and I were still together than and he was also unemployed....oh wait, he was unemployed or under employed the whole time we were together! Okay, that's another story for another day...back to my duck. I was driving through town and saw this little creature run across the busy street. I instantly stop my car and run into the street to save the little creature! Yup, I'm the dumb, idiot girl who goes running into traffic to save animals.... I have done this to many times to count.

I cornered the little duck by a building and scoped him up. He was so tiny he fit in the palm of my hand! I brought him home and he immediately became attached to my ex by jumping right up onto his lap..... He was so little.... of course at this point I was only guessing that he was a boy due to all the attitude he was giving me....I mean what the hell, after all I was the one to save him but NO, he's rather bond with the ex!


Being the good duck parent that I was... I went right out and bought him something to swim in! At first he was to little to swim well but eventually he got the hang of it and went crazy by swimming laps under water...round and round he went splashing all the water outside of the little tub!


I built him a little pen and gave him the cat carrier to live in.....the cats were fine with this as they hate the cat carrier! Notice the little ramp I had to build him to get into his pool!


My neighbors enjoyed seeing me walk my baby duck around the block. I had to walk really slow so he could keep up with me but he would follow right behind me. I liked to take him out after the rain storms to play in puddles! The neighbor kids loved him. He learned to fly off my back porch and I was so proud when he took his first flight even though he ended up on the garage roof and I had to send the ex up to get him down! Eventually he learned to fly and after taking off from the back yard he would fly circles over the house quaking the whole time as if he was saying, "look what I can do!" He had a problem making it back home though and I would always find him down the block walking along the side walk. Once he saw me he would run over to me and then follow me home. This is another reason why the neighbors think I'm weird! He grew really fast and no matter what I did he still favored my ex over me!



Once we thought maybe he was lonely for other ducks and decided to see if we could drop him off at the local pond with the other gazillion ducks there! He wanted nothing to do with it and came running after us. That's a picture of him below....running for his life away from his destiny as a duck!


Eventually he did realize he was a duck. He finally got his adult feathers and flew away. I thought that was it, I'd never see him again. He came back two weeks later and looked like he had been beat to hell by the other ducks! He ate, stayed for the night and then left again. I knew that time was it...he was gone for good! And he was....at least until spring came around again and my neighbor stopped me to tell me she saw a duck on my back porch pecking at my door! She said I know it was your duck and he had a girl duck with him! What a cad! I saw him a couple of times that spring hanging around the block....he comes back every spring like clock work! I think he does it just to say hello, look Mom I'm still okay! He's such a good boy! Spring will soon be here again and I can't wait to see my duck!


Yup, that's him.... he never once would hang out on my lap! He pooped on me a lot though!

Deluxe Freebies and Cheapo Things

As you all know from earlier posts, I am trying to de-clutter my life. I just have way to much stuff that I don't really have a need for. I also believe in order for me to keep my good vintage karma, it's important for me to send back into the universe the things that I have no use for! My agenda is simple....I need to unload my crap! So, I've decided that from time to time I will be posting things that I want to discard on my blog. These things will be ranging from vintage clothes, repro clothes, lamps, and in general vintage odds and ends.

Today's Deluxe Freebies and Cheapo Things

Vintage, Yellow, short sleeve......size small 34" bust 26" waist ....Free you pay shipping

Repro: 1) light blue & 1)pink.... Talbot's Brand sweaters with ribbed waist, boat neck, and 3/4 sleeve...... Size Med Petite.......bust 36" waist 30".......Both Free you pay shipping.

NWOT, Reproduction Red Pencil Skirt, low waist, .......Mode Merr Brand...... size Med .... waist 30" Hips 39" according to chart.... $25.00 plus shipping!

Needs ironed!!!

Vintage 50's Floral pleated Day dress with matching belt. Rayon type fabric. Size bust36" waist 29" hips free. Needs cleaned and ironed but in great condition..... $25.00 plus shipping

Vintage 40's, 50's Corset with 4 garters....Gossar-deb Gossard Brand .... Size small ....34B.....$8.00 you pay shipping

If you are interested please send me an email at my posted address or comment! Stay tuned, there will be more to come!

My Atomic Valentine

I 'm sad to report that there will be no jukebox in Mr. Riot's current future. After viewing the condition and seeing the numerous collectors at the auction we decided to cut outta there and head to Harrisburg, Pa to check out the sites! The first place I took Mr. Riot to was my favorite mecca Atomic Warehouse ! I was a little worried that it might have been to much "atomic" for Mr. but he really enjoyed himself and we found lots of tiki treasures! If you're ever in this area and you're into atomic 50's, kitsch and so forth...this is a must stop for you and I will gladly take you there myself!


This place has 2 floors of atomic goodness but please don't drool on anything unless you're planning on buying it! After shopping we got our grub on at The FireHouse for our Valentines meal. Lets just say that was a yummy experience and a place we will be visiting again. To top of our day we decided to not spend any more money and visit Zoo America in Hershey, Pa (yes, I said Hershey, PA the place where they make the Hershey Bar and if I must say the sweetest place on earth). The zoo was having a special free admission weekend and also giving away free hershey hot chocolate! What's more fun then walking around the zoo on a chilly day, drinking hot chocolate, looking at animals, and holding hands?? Nothing that I can think of!

A Deluxe ER night....

I just spent 3 hours in the emergency room for something that wasn't really an emergency. I woke up Monday morning and could barely hear out of my right ear. I knew something was obviously wrong. I called my Dr's office at noon and was given an appointment for after work with the physicians assistant. I have the worst ears you could ever imagine. If there is one thing I hate about myself it would definitely be my sorry excuse for ears, nose, throat, and sinuses. I have had ear problems since I was young and to many surgeries to count. Years ago I had a perforated right ear drum and when I woke up Monday morning, the first thing I thought was that it happened again. When I saw the PA I told her what I thought was wrong. After checking my ears she said I had an ear infection and gave me antibiotics. I asked her if she was sure I didn't have a hole in my ear drum...she said I didn't. To make a long story short it's been four days and I still can't hear so, I called the dr's office back and they told me to take sudafed! That's it take sudafed! I took sudafed...it didn't make a difference what so ever. Then I called my stepmom who's a RN and she said, "don't mess around with your ears ...go into to the ER or Urgent Care to get seen right away. Then I called Mr. Riot and he said go to the ER! So, off I went to the ER which was extremely busy....and I waited..... and I waited some more....and some more.....and Mr. Riot called to check on me....then finally I saw the Dr who said,"did someone hit you??? because you have had trama to your ear drum and it's perforated!" Apparently they see this often with domestic violence patients. Okay so this is how shitty my ear drums are....they naturally explode all on their own while I'm sleeping! I am so calling back my Dr's office and give them a few choice words tomorrow.

A night out

I am on a mini vacation to celebrate my 37th birthday. Last night I went to see the Puppini Sisters to kick off my celebrations!

I wore this dress. Not the most glamorous of dresses but very comfortable after working all day and still not feeling well from my ear infection. I got lots of nice compliments from older and younger people in the audience.

The show was great and my friend that attended with me had a good time too. I was a little worried that she might not as she is more into techno/dance music and not really retro. But she is open minded like me and that's probably why we have been friends all these years. ... she's a good person and I'm lucky she's my friend!

I do wish sometimes that I had a few good girlfriends who were my age and enjoyed vintage like I do. It's very rare to find like minded people around my area. I'm just looking for some nice gals that aren't catty and would enjoy shopping trips to the flea markets and estate sales.

A vintage clothing adventure part two

This is my part 2 from my vintage clothing adventure I had a few years back. Like I said previously, I got a ton of clothes at a cheap price. I have kept some, sold some, and still have some to go through yet. I tend to sell things when I need a little extra money or when summer is here and I'm not working.

This beautiful 50's prom gown needs a good dry cleaning but is absolutely stunning. I will probably get this up on ebay this spring. I mean really, what am I gonna do with a dress like this?? Plus it's to big on me!

A pair of late 40's 50's dungarees!

A very cute 50's peasant top and 50's green corduroy skirt with front pockets.


Lots of coats!


Did I say lots of coats??? There were lots of coats and jackets. A very cool 50's High School Jacket that I sometimes wear...rain coats...a guys gab jacket.. and more dresses...boleros...sweaters...shirts.... lots of belts for someone with a tiny waist....my back studio space looked like this for a while.