A Bag o' Nuns and Other Strange Tales From My Inspiration Board

Hello, Blogland Friends!~~~This is the second of two posts I'm doing today. And, no, that's not the strange tale :)

My inspiration board hangs on the wall to my immediate left. It is a crusty layer of the minutiae of things that I have found and want to keep out in the open to glance at from time to time. Perhaps you, too, have an inspiration board. Does is resemble this glorious mess?...

Let's take a little tour, shall we? Remember there is no smoking and no flash photography on the tour...

Ahh, Manny Acta, the manager of our hapless Washington Nationals baseball team. I think Manny is quite good-looking. When I met him, with hubby standing next to me, I thought I would faint at Manny's sexy Antonio Banderas diction. But my heart lies with Desi Arnaz, my favorite Latino, who is on display here with his Lucy--and you KNOW I love Lucy! The dog photos to the left are of "Bud". Bud the dog rode with Horatio Jackson in his car. Jackson drove across America with Bud. Of course that was back in 1903 when there were hardly any roads other than dirt tracks! I love little Bud and his special riding goggles which are here in the Smithsonian American History Museum as is Jackson's car.

And continuing on...

This is a photo of my son when he was in kindergarten (he's 14 now!). The photo of hubby is one I took of his as he lounged in the movie theatre in the White House. THE White House. The corsage is the very first one I ever made, a prototype. The faux topaz brooch was owned by my dear grandmother Edna. No touching, please. Let's move on...

A real hodge-podge here. A postcard of a group of famous little people from the 1940's. A cute button card. A birdhouse--I own one made from this pattern long ago. A Domo key topper my son gave me. A "pansy" brooch made from painted shells. OK, let's continue...

I purchased this cross icon in the tiny Mexican border town of Palomas. We were in southern New Mexico, and thought, hey Mexico is only a few miles away, let's go there! We parked in the USA and walked into Mexico. We visited La Tienda Rosa, the pink house, for cool souvenirs (including lots of Mexican oil cloth for me!) and a tasty lunch! Below the cross is, as promised, the highlight of our tour: a bag o' nuns! I picked up these petite sisters at my local fave thrift shop for 25 cents. I have NO idea what to do with them. I just like them! Now, we're walking and we're walking...you in back...keep up with the tour group please!...

Here is a photo of me, my friend Barbara, and Scotland's Proclaimers. What a fun night that was! in the upper right corner is my kindergarten diploma--You know it is true that everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten! Pressing on...

Back in 1972 when I was twelve, I bought this pack of Kochia seeds thinking that my Mom would let me plant this bush, which I thought was an orange Afro, in the yard. The pack, alas, remains unopened to this day. The baby shoes were my Dad's, and the cute papier mache doll is a birthday gift from Suzy. Let's move on...

My mother plays a monthly game of bridge with her pals, and I like to supply her with vintage tallies and vintage bridge tablecloths. These wiener dog tallies, however, remain in my house. The Lakota Native American dream pouch is one of my favorite purchases I made in 2004 when we drove cross country. I bought it in Rapid City, South Dakota at a Native American crafts co-op.

 And the final stop on our inspiration board tour, is the top of the board. From left to right: a stack of two tape measures, a "Darling Baby" postcard, a "Love" booklet from Tucks, Lost in Space Robot, goldfish bookmark from my childhood (the inscription reads: "Take a minute to enjoy the little things." How appropriate!), naked baby, wooden German kid, Spanish fan, and weird red elf.

That concludes our tour. Please gather your belongings, take small children by the hand, and exit the inspiration board in a orderly manner by way of the gift shop. If you have any questions, I will be glad to take them at this time...~~~~~XXOO, Beth