Blue Book for Monday

Have you ever wondered about my profile photo? It is a little black & white photo of a 3 year old little girl, yours truly, charming in my little frilly dress and sweater. In this photo, I am at my Uncle's store. I always thought it funny that it isn't the jewelry that I am pointing at but rather the silver trays. Always thinking about entertaining my guests in style, apparently at age 3, I was well on my way to wanting to be the "Hostess with the Mostest".


The photo is a favorite of mine. Coming from a family of 4, all of us really close in age, I don't have many photos of just me. Besides, I stopped being photogenic a long time ago. The other photo on my sidebar is a recent shot of me clutching my Blue Goodwill Bag in front of my favorite place to shop, but it is from a distance. Hey, I just wanted to get the store sign in the background and not hide away from a close-up, honest.



I was born to shop, but allow me to make clear, I am not a shopaholic. I am a "Thriftique Shopper". (Please see my post "If it walks like a duck, confessions of a thriftique shopper", click here) In 1968, a much older cousin passed down a book to me, titled Sally Goes Shopping Alone, by Louise Eppenstein published in 1940. Little Sally is only 8 and she goes to the department store, 3 blocks away from her house, on a mission to buy a birthday present for her mommy. "Mummy looked at Sally. She looked at a little girl who was eight but wore size twelve, and who bathed herself without forgetting ears, and who made her own bed without a wrinkle and who knew her tables-of-tens." I was also 8, and the stores were about the same distance away, in the quiet little town of Gardiner, and I could make my bed, wash my ears and as for the tables-of-tens, well I have said it before, creativity and math do not go together, anyway I still couldn't walk downtown by myself until age 10.


Most children carry around a toy or two, I carried my little book collection. This book was a favorite, right along with Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, and went with me on visits to Aunt Eva's house, or on other long road trips. All I have from my childhood are my barbies and a few books. I suppose the book might be valuable, it is in great shape for being 70 years old; however, I would never part with it. As I hold it in my hands, lovingly turning each page, a flood of memories rush back to me of a much happier and simpler time, when even though I had to wait until I was 10, I could go shopping alone. I wouldn't let my own daughter go to the Mall with friends much less alone until she was 14. Yes, it was a simpler time.

Thank you for letting me share this childhood memory. Before I got ready to post, I was visiting some of my favorite blogs and found that my friend Melinda @ Alabaster Rose Designs is doing her first blog party "I'm So Blue Monday's" and through Diann @ The Thrifty Groove, I found Sally @ Smiling Sally for "Blue Monday". What a nice surprise, my post today was meant to be. My little Blue Book is joining these 2 little parties. I hope that you stop by and see what everyone else is showing.

I Got It At Goodwill
Sherrie