Hello my dear friends. I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. It was warm here on Thanksgiving day; we set a heat record! I'm so excited to share with you my latest find. . .
A vintage 1949 Christmas issue of The Illustrated London Times. I found it at our local library sale last week. I was so thrilled to find this. It's truly from a different time where I think things were more appreciated and classy than today.
As you can see, it was published for the US market at one dollar. It was a weekly publication up until 1971 and it ceased publication altogether in 2003.
You can see that the insert for the subscription card is still intact in the magazine.
I loved looking through the pages and seeing the advertisements from long ago. This was published before I was even born! (And, my children think I'm ancient...)
There were some beautiful illustrations in the magazine along with some wonderful stories that I have yet to read.
It was interesting to read about the Christmas customs of today.
Speaking of my favorite time of year, you won't find any bah humbug here on my blog. I too, don't like the commercialization of this blessed holiday but I ignore it. It's simple really. My shopping for Christmas is something that I look forward to do and I get it done early. We bought the fresh tree for the family room yesterday at Home Depot and as you can see, it's up and decorated with hot pink lights! It contains all the ornaments that mean so much to me. The living room tree, which is artificial, will go up in a week or so. Next up is wrapping presents to the sound of Christmas carols and baking my beloved Christmas cookies.
We have a family tradition that we always get our fresh tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving along with our dear daughter and her family. Supposedly, there's a shortage of Christmas trees this year due to the recession and drought from years past. Home Depot's tree lot was half full and many of those were already dry. This is my daughter's beautiful fresh tree which my dear son-in-law takes care of each and every year. And, looking at it in awe in the spirit of this upcoming blessed season are my little grandchildren.
Do you have fond memories of Christmas from years past? I do and I have always tried to pass that onto my children and grandchildren. Yes, we have gifts but it's not really about the gifts. It's about family, tradition, worship and all the other wonderful things that go along with this holiday that really has nothing to do with money.
On a side note, I'm a little sad tonight since my dear kitty, Lilly, is not feeling well. She has what I could call kitty stomach flu. I will be calling the vet in the morning. I cried earlier today as I'm so concerned about her. She 12 1/2 years old and we've had her as a part of our family for over 10 1/2 years. She is my child that I still have at home. Please say a little prayer for her if you wish.
Until next time, I wish you all the very best for the upcoming week.
With my best wishes,
Pat
I do hope Lilly is OK, I was the same earlier this year when Grace was unwell, a trip to the vets sorted her out. Christmas starts here in December 1st when I put our tree up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. It is great to hear from someone who still understands the true meaning and value of Christmas. Your book is a treasure. I was a toddler when it was published, and have many memories still of the family Christmasses we enjoyed then.
ReplyDeleteOut here in rural Spain we have much less of the commercialisation of the holiday. It is probably more evident in the cities. There are very few 'live' trees, as there are very few trees here anyway, due to the lack of rain. But I have had the same artificial one for thirty odd years, and every ornament I hang on it means something special to me. There is usually one new one each year to replace any that have gone, but some are as old as the tree, and I love them all. Mine will go up next weekend (first weekend in December) and stay up until Twelfth night - Epiphany, which is the big festival here known as Tres Reyes. My youngest son is visiting us for a week on 8th and he will love to see the old tree up again.
Praying that Lilly makes a full recovery very soon. Kate x
What an interesting read. So sorry to here Lilly is unwell, sending warm wishes. xx
ReplyDeleteHow gorgeous you little grandchildren look in front of their tree, Christmas is such an exciting time. I really hope Lilly gets better soon, it’s such a worry when one of our very loved pets become ill xx
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad to find someone who is also capable of ignoring too-early Christmas things! And who loves the holiday so much.
ReplyDeletePlease give Miss Lilly a kiss from me, and keep us posted. I hope she is just having a bout of stomach flu that will be gone soon. Take care.
I'm so sorry to hear that Lily is not feeling well, it breaks my heart when Miss Kitty is not well.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas and what makes it Christmas for us is that our daughter always comes home from wherever she's living. It wouldn't be Christmas without her.
Hello, dear Pat, I am so sorry to hear about Lily and hope that she is feeling better soon. It's always difficult when our fur-babies are not feeling well because they can't tell us what is wrong. I love the vintage magazine that you found - what a treasure. The photo of your little grandchildren in front of the tree is so precious. I love Christmas, too - the true meaning, and all the sweet traditions that each family has. It's such a special time of year, especially for little children - so magical. I'll be saying a little prayer for dear Lily. Hugs xo Karen
ReplyDeleteHi Pat, I popped on over after replying to your comment. I'm so sorry to hear about Lilly kitty. I hope she is feeling much better today. I have "lost" many kitties in my day, but it never gets easier. The last one a year ago was my favorite (even though I shouldn't have favorites), so extra sad; she was so very loving. I still miss her. I pray Lilly is with you for many years yet. That magazine is quite a find! It looks to be in good condition, too. Lovely Christmas trees and the photo with your grandchildren is priceless. Many blessings, Bess
ReplyDeleteDear Pat, I hope by now Lilly has recovered. Our pets mean so much to us. I haven't been able to think about getting a pet after Gino died because it was so upsetting. Precious photo of your grandchildren looking at the Christmas tree. It's a special time of blessings. We observe Advent season and stay quite quiet in the weeks before Christmas holidays, but I enjoy seeing the decorations in streets and homes of others. The magazine was a good find. I like reading those kind of magazines. Other glossy magazines are very expensive to buy off the newsagent's shelf. We have The Lady magazine and The People's Friend magazine over here and they have nice articles and are a good read. All the best, Linda.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you and Lily and I hope all will be well. The magazine was a great find and you will enjoy reading those stories and articles especially as it is a Christmas issue:)
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