Thank you for ALL the birthday wishes! I had a wonderful day! Cards and gifts from my sisters, and Rebecca and Linda! Then a sweet friend picked me up and we had a great lunch at a new Mexican buffet in the next town over from us. It was fabulous! Afterwards we went to this little thrift/junk store I know about, but she had never been there. We had a fun time searching for treasures!
When I got home, I told my hubby I thought I’d go to town for a little while… (you know “gift cards burning a hole in your pocket?”) I didn’t really find anything, but had fun just being out and about…
On my way home my hubby called and asked me to bring home a pizza and some ice cream… our pastor was coming over… He came with some more gifts and one of those “variety” cheesecakes! So we had pizza and a salad I made for us, along with our cheesecake and ice cream for dessert and just talked for about 2 hours I think! It was a very nice birthday! I had a really fun day!
I’m hoping my hand might be better by Monday so I can start back sewing. I know I’ve mostly missed the Back to School outfits, but I will get Ten Ping’s set done ASAP!
In the mean time, I have a few ladies with some “Who’s on my Sofa?” pictures and stories!
Today it’s Linda from Minnesota and you’re going to love her pictures too! Thanks so much Linda! Love your girls! :o)
Hi Jeanne,
Prayers for healing for you and your husband. Health is a precious gift.
Here are some photos to keep the Sofa Sisters occupied!
From Linda G in Minnesota:
This is my friend, my original Sweet Sue doll from American Character Doll Company. Iāve had her for 70 years! She came back out to play when we became empty nesters in the 1990ās. I decided she needed a poodle skirt like l had in 5th grade! That idea lead to the1950ās aluminum Christmas tree with the color wheel and pink, turquoise and lime green ornaments. Pink was a big deal for Christmas cards, and we hung them by clothes pins. The elf, Rudolph, Nativity and Christmas stockings are all original from my childhood.
I wanted to send my other āspecialā dolls to the sofa, but Iām cramped for time right now. So Iām raiding the old photo supply.
When I retired, I was given Kit, of the American Girl Doll series. Shortly after, pioneer Kirsten joined her. Then my niece’s Samantha came for an extended visit. I had a lot of fun setting up different scenes and playing with the granddaughters.
In this picture, the girls decided to have a 50ās Birthday Party (Iām not sure why because Sweet Sue wasnāt invited!) They pulled out the record player, cake and Coke, played āDrop the clothes pinā, “Pin the tail on the Donkeyā and other fun games. School was coming up and they were glad to have moved on from Dick and Jane books and could read chapter books like the American Girl stories.
Smiles to all the other Sofa Sisters. Looking forward to see āWhoās on your sofa!”
Thanks a bunch Linda!
Blessings, Jeanne
It sounds like you had a pretty good birthday, Jeanne, and you celebrated all day long! Good for you–you deserved some treats!
Linda, your Sweet Sue doll is just beautiful. I never had one growing up (I had/still have an Ideal “Princess Mary”, about 13-14″ tall–no wonder I love the RRFF and LD dolls!) but I thought Sweet Sue was so pretty. I remember those little triangular manger scenes–I think Sunday School teachers often gave them to their kids as little token gifts, usually after the Christmas program was over.
And your other picture….well, I remember getting Slinky when it was a Brand. New. Thing.!! Yes, I am that old!! Ours were aluminum, of course. I also remember paddle-ball (I was fairly good at it) and yoyos (dismal failure), and pop being a big deal to have for your birthday party and very rarely any other times! I have a picture of one of my birthdays where 7-Up bottles with straws in them feature predominantly on the dining room table!! š The Barrel of Monkeys game was my son’s generation–my mom had a set that he played with at there house, and I think she finally got him his own to play with, he enjoyed them so much.
Jeanne, I’m so happy that you had a really good day yesterday, and even the weather was pretty nice! Time spent with friends, opening cards, eating out and shopping, plus pizza, ice cream and cheesecake on top of all that! You did good!
Linda,(sounds like I am talking to myself!) I LOVE your Christmas set-up! I too had a Sweet Sue that looked almost exactly like yours, except mine had blonde hair. She has the prettiest face, and is in such good shape too! I love her poodle skirt, (I had one too) and wonder if you have a doll house or just set up scenes. I can’t get over that rotating light for the aluminium tree, which I remember so well too! Those two little figurines are so 50’s, plus the tiny manger scene! Christmas cards were on the wall here too! I love it all, and it was a trip down Memory Lane!
Oh my, your birthday scene is just so cute! I too, remember learning how to read from Dick and Jane, didn’t we all? The jump rope was probably my favorite thing in the picture because I jumped rope all the time! The paddle ball and yoyo were also a part of my childhood, but slinky was a bit after that. It is so fun checking out all the little things that made our childhood so enjoyable! Your dolls look so well kept and loved! Thank you for sending your pictures to Jeanne!
The rotating light on the aluminum tree is just a print out of a picture I found on the internet. It’s attached to a binder clip that provided the base and the “tilt.” No, I don’t have a doll house, even though I would enjoy it. I just set up scenes like you do, except mostly on the floor in the corner of the guest room.
Sorry I missed it yesterday. Happy Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday a day late! What a fun day! Out to lunch and shopping ā¦.didnāt have to make dinner and nice company. Awesome
Where did the day go? I started a greeting ā¦not sure it ever finishedš¤ Keeping track of my other person is getting to be more and more time consuming. He starts one thing, forgets what it was and does something else or someplace else. He has always been the āempty the dishwasher guyā but now it is an Easter egg hunt to find thingsš«£
Linda..just adorable pictures. I feel like you took a page out of my youth too. We sure had similar detailsā¦although no poodle skirtāŗļø Loved your SOFAš
Sounds like Jeanne, had a wonderful birthday. Shopping, food, and friends. š
Linda G. from the northland has some fun pics. Love all of the great props. Thanks so much for sharing. š
Heading to the dentist this morning. Just a cleaning, but will at least be cool inside. We’re supposed to have another hot one in the 90’s today.
Hope that hurricane doesn’t decide to follow any Sofa Sister’s path. Take care.
Just lost my whole comment!
Iāll condense my comments.
Jeanne, glad you had a nice birthday!
Linda, Sweet Sue and the 3 AMG doll pictures are great. Sweet Sue is a beautiful doll and the 3 AMG girls are certainly enjoying their party. I must get those Mouseketeer’s ears for my girls. So cute.
And Dorothy, thank you for answering my question about the name Sofa Sisters – I was pretty sure it was you!
Iām going to have tea or maybe coffee today? Hmmm. Oh, and a Cinnamon roll maybe!
Sofa Sisters – have a wonderful day!
Thanks, Linda, for sharing the pictures. Itās so much fun to see what other Sofa Sisters have and how they are set up. I, too, predate Slinky by quite some time, although I had to get one for my children. Your dolls are beautiful and so well cared for. My favorite thing under the tree is the Barrel of Monkeys. Thanks again and letās do it again.
Hi Linda,
It’s so wonderful to see the first picture with your original Sweet Sue doll, the Elf and Rudolph, the Nativity scene and the Christmas stockings. They look neat and so well kept.
I’m sure they bring you back sweet memories from your childhood.
Thank you Linda for sharing your precious doll scenes.
I’m glad you had such a wonderful birthday. It sounds like so much fun — and for the weather to cooperate as well was a giant blessing.
Now we need an update on your hand, and you are right, it’s time for a couple of pretty back-to-school outfits to get us in the mood for fall.
Dear Jeanne, I am so happy that you had a nice birthday celebration! I am glad it ended with sweet treats and good conversation.
I love Linda’s photographs. I remember poodle skirts. My older sister wore them. The AG girls are definitely having big fun.
Jeanne, you did have a wonderful birthday – with the emphasis on “day”. Will we be getting to see any of the gifts? I love those cheesecake variety packs and ice cream is one of my first loves but not something I eat often so I’m always happy for an excuse like a birthday to indulge. I know one of your best gifts was probably being able to get out and just enjoy time browsing or whatever took your fancy. George sounds like he is doing great to enable you to do this.
A funny story about being there for husbands who have had surgery. When David had his heart surgery and then two knee surgeries, I slept in my recliner next to him in the living room in case he needed something. One night it involved a trip to the emergency room but that’s another story. This sleeping arrangement probably went on for two or three weeks and I never thought much of it. But my husband is a Lark and I am a Nightingale so when he was feeling better he wanted to turn on the light and read or watch TV before I considered it my time to wake up. After a few mornings of me moaning when he turned on the light he told me he thought it would be okay for me to return to my own bed. He was kind enough not to mention that he was tired of hearing me moan and groan because he insisted on getting up before 8 o’clock in the morning.
What an amazing walk down memory lane in Linda’s pictures. Where I lived we did not read “Dick and Jane”. For us it was “Alice and Jerry”. And I still recall Jip their dog and May their friend and some others whose names I can’t recall. But there was one particular year I loved our reading book so much it has stayed on my mind over the years. I managed to find it on eBay. It was my 4th grade reader and it’s as great as I remember. Reading was always my favorite subject.
I never had a poodle skirt although I wanted one desperately. Things like that never seemed to be in the budget. I did not have a Sweet Sue but my sister and I had some of the first Toni dolls that came out. Sure do wish I still had that doll. I noticed the paddle with the ball (never was sure what to call them). That used to be something we acquired wherever there was a “fish pond” at a fund raiser, especially our school’s May Day celebration. But they broke so easily so we had a lot of paddles without the balls and we used the balls for playing jacks.
I never was fond of the aluminum trees but some of my friends did have one. Most of us back then still had live trees fresh from the Poconos. I always loved jumping rope. Does anyone remember “Double Dutch” where there were two ropes and you had to jump between them while two friends turned the ends? It’s no wonder we kids were in such good shape back then. We were pretty much never still. I was never much of a TV watcher but my sisters were. If my mother thought they were sitting around watching too much TV she would turn if off and make them go outside and “blow some of the dust off” as she would say. Once outside they joined in the activities with no complaints.
If the predictions are correct in about two weeks we should see a definite break in the weather here. I think it was 111 the other day so dropping to 90 will definitely be a plus. But following that it looks like we will be in the 80s for the rest of September and then things stay cooler after that. Well one can hope….
Dear Barbara, hello my PA friend. I was thinking that I read Alice and Jerry also but now I can’t remember. I could never jump double dutch. I think I was afraid I would get my legs caught up in the ropes and fall (laugh).
You could have been one of our “steady enders”. Those were the girls who were willing to turn the ropes but didn’t want to jump. Those of us who wanted to jump loved those people because we got to jump more.
Well, it’s 94, and going up and it’s 3:00. Way too hot for me. But, it looks like we will be cooling off in the next few days. Yay. 111 is way too hot for me although last year we had a day that was 116. That’s why we decided to put in an ac in the window. š Hope you will be enjoying the nice September weather. š
I want to comment to Barbara from yesterday first. The “Scenes for the Sofa” (or wherever you are setting them up are indeed ongoing. Dorothy’s marvelous idea was to give Jeanne a break whenever she needed one and give us all a chance to share.
Hi Linda, Your Sweet Sue doll doll is lovely. I really like the poodle skirt you made for her. How wonderful to have Christmas treasures from your childhood. She reminds my of my mom’s Madame Alexander Maggie doll that she still has, but she needs some work. She also learned to read from Dick and Jane.
Your party scene is adorable. Those three girls are special ones here as well. I certainly played with a Slinky and a yo-yo and I recall paddle ball as well.
Thank you for sharing your delightful scenes.
Should be “Scenes from the Sofa” and just thought of others… “Tales from the Table” “Pictures from the Porch/Patio”.
Oh yes, forgot to add jump rope. I was always jumping rope. We played Double Dutch and Chinese jump rope as well.
Barbara, yes, Double Dutch! We did that all the time and were pretty good at it. I sure canāt imagine keeping up with two ropes to jump over, much less one now!
I thought everyone read Dick and Jane, with baby Sally, Spot and Puff!
It appears most of the country read “Dick and Jane” but we in PA read “Alice and Jerry”. If you think about what it was like learning to jump rope that would be me today. Flip it over and step over it. Flip it over again and step over it. Jumping per se does not seem to be a doable deal these days.
Jeanne, So happy you had a wonderful Birthday! A husband on the mend, lunch out with a friend, wandering in a store and “no cooking” for supper hits all the high points in my book. May this new year be filled with joy and lots of time in the sewing room.
Thank you everyone for the kind comments on my dolls that didn’t quite make to the sofa. I’ve sort of figured a bunch of us are the front edge of the infamous, post WWII Baby Boom and would relate to the Birthday Party and poodle skirt. Good memories! I so enjoy this group of kindred spirits on the sofa!