While in there I absolutely fell in love with their Peter Rabbit collection. There seems to be a bigger selection in store than online and my favourites include an adorable 7 day baby grow set which is beautifully packaged, and a cute knitted button up sweater with hood which has ears attached.

If there’s a baby in your life you probably wont be able to resist!

1.I love this one! Have you ever sat on the subway or a bus and seen two teens sitting next to one another, each with one ear plug listening to one iPod.  This is the answer.  A Branch Earphone Splitter.  You can plug in 4 sets of earphones.  Available at MOMA Item #91785.  Priced at $10.00
2. Palette Tissue Box:  A SUPER gift for your office mate or anyone with a home office.  Space is always a premium and this is a great space saver.  Available at MOMA Item #96731.  Priced at $15.00

Super Space Saver

3.  Etch A Sketch:A perennial favorite.  A gift that encourages your child’s creativity as well as coordination and keeps them busy.  Good for car trips.  Recent renewed popularity due to the past presidential election. Available through MOMA or Amazon or ToysRUs. Priced around $15.00

4. Note Cards:  Tired of receiving birthday greetings and well wishes from your kids or best friend.  A thoughtful gift which might give the recipient some thought. Every museum has an assortment of note cards and stationery, many with reproduction art from the museum.  Prices vary.

5. Flash Drive: On the other hand, if you have a techie on your list, this gift will be appreciated. One can always use another flash drive and why not one with personality?  The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers some very unique flash drives priced at $29.95.  You can get an Egyptian mummy, William, the blue hippopotamus or a guitar. I wanted to keep these gift ideas under $25.oo so for a flash drive you might want to go to your local Staples.  Look what I found!  Priced at $14.99

Let’s play Angry Birds

6. Picasso Poster Art:  Picasso Exhibition Poster from The Guggenheim Museum.  Sure to please any art lover on your list, this black and white poster #14550 is available for $25.00.  Suitable for framing.

7. P-51 Mustang EZBuild Model:   A hands-on gift.  The Museum of The City of New York has several model kits available.  They snap together, no glue needed.  What young person on your list would love this project?

8. Free Form Magnet Board:  This is a gift that will bring out the artist in your child.  It’s a wonderful take-along toy for a long car ride.  No mess, no fuss.  No pens, paper, crayons or pencils. Use a stylus to draw and erase with your finger. Fun along the way. Available at The Whitney Museum Item# 70487. Priced at $24.00

Free Form Magnet Board

9. 1939 New York World’s Fair Umbrella: You can always use another umbrella!  This item is available at The New York Historical Society, Item # 29468.  It is a pretty sky blue with illustrations of many of the exhibitions from that fair.  Priced at $19.95

10. Beatrix Potter plush Jemima Puddle-Duck:  Beatrix Potter has given several generations stories and tales of Peter Rabbit and his friends. Jemima Puddle-Duck is available at The Morgan Library,  # x6061.  Priced at $16.95.  Isn’t there someone on your list who would like to cuddle with one of these soft and cuddly characters.  Also available:  Mr. Jeremy Fishter and Peter Rabbit, priced at $12.95/$13.95

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

There have been many posts recently, that I have come across, these posts tell of mythical creatures we all once believed in or the cartoons. Now, when you’re a child, nothing is impossible. My father once thought he was superman at the age of 5, when my Grandmother bought him a superman outfit. He proceeded to head to the nearest tree, climb it and jump off and “fly”. Only to realize he fell down and not the “up”. But no broken bones!

We all grow up believing in things. This sparks our imagination. Sooner or later we forget it, and then one day we remember the little fire of inspiration that sat on our tiny shoulder. I was one of these children. I was graced with lots of beautiful and wonderful fairytale books and mythical dictionaries. As well as coloring books and beading kits.

I always found it amazing how Peter Rabbit got away almost every time in Mister McGregor’s garden. How Peter Pan stayed a child forever. I believed all these things when I was a child. I believed little glittering fairies strolled in my garden in the dead of night, played and slept in the middle of the flowers. The tooth fairy was real and the Jack climbed the beanstalk with superb flexibility.

I imagined a world where all these creatures and wondrous worlds lived in one.. How the Gnomes helped the animals and aided them when they were sick. And if, just maybe I was quiet enough one night I would see a gnome or a fairy. Now granted this has never come true, but if I didn’t believe these things, how would I have turned out otherwise? How would my creativity have bloomed if not for these stories of the Floppsy bunnies and Missus Tittle-Mouse? How would I have thought if I didn’t think Peter Rabbit would ever get his Blue jacket back? And Jemima Puddle Duck running hastily in the rain as not to get wet with her cap on her head.

What would I have believed in when I ran through gardens and saw the little roses growing and the birds flying to their nests? How the sound of the rivers was a magical event of its own. All these things make up for a life time of imagination. They are the essence of the magic when you are a child. Magic is what makes everything possible, it makes the tooth fairy possible. When you think of it Magic is in its essence your imagination, you make these things possible. Magic is in you when you are little and when you grow up that magic teaches you to find the fun and the glitter in even the rainiest days! If you have left yours behind somewhere it is never lost, it is always with you. The child you were is always in you. He/She comes out every now and again….

But magic always lives on. It lives on in our minds, our imagination. It is what makes everything possible. How else can you explain the eclipses of the moon? Or the lightning? How else do you explain the tooth fairy? Or the note the tooth fairy leaves you? There are logical explanations but really, are you going to believe them? It sounds better to believe that a creäture visits you in  the dead of night, a tiny little insignificant fairy and picks your tooth up and leaves you a “reward” for it. Then to believe anything else really…

How else can you explain the princess and the pea? or Ariel? or any other beautiful story – Magic! It is the same magic writers write with, artists paint with, it’s the same magic your children will believe in! My magic is the same as your magic. It can make anything happen, even when you have nothing! How else can you sit and day-dream? You need Magic!

 1. “One must find out for oneself, and make sure beyond doubt, who one is, what one is, why one is …Being thus conscious of the proper course to pursue, the next thing is to understand the conditions necessary to following it out. After that, one must eliminate from oneself every element alien or hostile to success, and develop those parts of oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid conditions.” (Crowley, Magick, Book 4 p.134)

2. im·ag·i·na·tion/iˌmajəˈnāSHən/
Noun:    

    The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses: “a vivid imagination”.
    The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.

Synonyms:    
fancy – fantasy – phantasy – idea – vision

Sources :

Wikipedia
Google

If you would like to read about any of the Beatrix Potter characters or stories – http://www.peterrabbit.com

Biro on paper
Copy Right Rebecca Meilak July 2012

I wonder if she hid her eggs under a squash leaf?  I found this under one such leaf – but no duck eggs!!!

There is something so English and so nostalgic about the Beatrix Potter books. One of my best thrifty charity shop finds in a long time was all 23 of her Books. I have to say I didn’t know there were that many in the collection and there are some titles here that I haven’t even heard of.

The book that is the most familiar to me is The Tale of Tom kitten. It was a present from my Grandma and at the same time my sister was given The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.

The illustrations have become iconic and present a romantic image of the English country side and village life.

And I love the covers under the jackets more than the jackets themselves. The lettering is beautiful and I love how it is indented, like the titles have all been hand printed. Such a lovely use of colour on the covers and the text. When you see all of the books together without their jackets it sure is a treat for the eyes.

Actually I am missing book number 13 but this gives me something to hunt for when I am out and about.

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck is a children’s book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter.

Jemima is a domestic duck whose eggs are routinely confiscated by the farmer’s wife because she believes Jemima a poor sitter.  Jemima searches for a place away from the farm where she can hatch her eggs without human interference, and naively confides her woes to a suave fox who invites her to nest in a shed at his home.  Jemima accepts his invitation, little realizing her danger: the fox plans to kill and roast her.  Kep, a collie on the farm, discovers Jemima’s whereabouts and rescues her just in time.

This is an enhanced eBook (Read, Listen, and Play).

The one I started with is a simple heart shape (traced from the pattern found in Cath Kidston’s book) in an ADORABLE Jemima Puddle Duck fabric I found at my local material shop, and took me about 2 minutes to sew all the way around the edge. I often struggle with rounded edges, and get pointy bits in the wrong places, but my new sewing machine took it in it’s stride and produced something quite wonderful.

I attached a ribbon to hang it up with using a little white and gold button (adding extra cuteness). I then turned it right way round, stuffed it half with toy stuffing and half with dried lavender, and then slip-stitched the opening at the bottom.

On a side note – who knew it’d be so difficult to get hold of dry lavender? No where in town seems to stock it, or have any idea where I could find it. In the end I ordered it from a seller on eBay (and am surprisingly pleased with the result!). I now have enough lavender to make at least another 8… bring on those summer birthdays!

First up is a new Literary Lady, this one’s dress is made from the pages of a cookbook.

An Easter bunny…er penguin:

An Easter bunny pendant – a brand new thing for me, making wearable art!

A set of Brambly Hedge Mice:

Jemima Puddle-Duck:

And a Dracula Penguin!

http://www.cksinfo.com/.../ piggybanks/piggy-bank.png

I had four errands to run; take my change to the bank, stop at Borders, pick up dishwasher detergent, and get some digital photos developed. It should have only taken an hour. It took three.

Kezzie’s pictures were last . While they were printing, I bought the detergent. No big deal. I needed a no big deal by then (Besides, I got to look at Kezzie in a new pose. Do you have any idea how wrinkled a photo gets when you hug it too much?)

Border’s was easy. I was returning a book purchased for a present that I decided not to use. I had a 33% off coupon and ended up getting almost $2 back. Not bad.

The bank, well, that was another story. I have a basket that I toss loose change in. Pennies, quarters, whatever falls on the bottom of my purse, gets quickly slipped into my coat pockets, or fills my wallet.

The bank has a coin counting machine, free to bank patrons. The gals at the bank know me and always greet me. As I got out of my car, a man in a suit got out of his. He got to the door before me. It was locked. He wasn’t happy. I told him to ring the doorbell. This branch, in an affluent suburb, was recently robbed. They keep it locked. The bell was rung and the door was opened by an official looking employee in a vested suit. One suit looked at the other suit, then looked at me – Jemima Puddle-Duck. I don’t suppose either suit has encountered many women in yellow rain slickers and flapping sandals waddling in with a Longaberger basket filled with loose change. I glanced at the machine.

Jemima Puddle-Duck and a "suit" off to do some banking. Beatrix Potter

Out of Order!

The bank suit directed me to the next closest branch, which wasn’t far but took me out of my way. Out I waddled, my container getting heavier by the minute, change sloshing around, intent on getting to the next installment.

This facility is on the corner of a road less traveled. It in a residential area of large lots, big houses and lots of trees. Landscapers were mowing the lawn and trimming the bushes. I parked my car and passed a large garage door, strange for a bank, and rounded the corner past a woman employing an ATM. I waddled into the lobby, saw three women in line, one teller, and the coin counting machine.

In went my coins, on went the counter, tick, tick, ticking as it kept a computerized tally of all the money it was digesting. Bam! It stopped. Overfed? A bell started chiming, a screen started flashing, and heads started turning. The teller looked over, but couldn’t find whatever she needed for patron number 1. Number 2 and 3 were alternately checking their watches and looking over at me, my empty basket, yellow rain slicker and the annoying bell. After about 10 minutes, the bank cleared out.

My first moment of discomfort was when the bell went off and I realized there were five women alone in a bank in a somewhat remote area. My second moment of discomfort was when the women left and there was just the frazzled teller and me alone in a bank.

I now know how to open a change counter. I know that there are lots of bags underneath filled with coins. The bags are heavy. I know this because the teller, on bended knees, finally figured out which one was filled (the last bag, of course). She pulled it out just as another teller finally appeared. They both had trouble carrying it. It was bigger than a sack of potatoes. I would guess there was at least $500 in the one bag. There was no security guard visible.

The coin sorting machine once again started tick, tick, ticking, my receipt emerged, I gathered my crisp bills and left, holding my empty basket with trembling hands, realizing that if someone was wicked or desperate or daring, there was a perfect storm of larceny to be had at this little branch of a very big chain of banks.

I was relieved as I drove down our little road, errands finally done. I drove past the pond, now overflowing from the rains. There, waddling around, much like my earlier self, was the mother mallard, her mate – and eight little ducklings, out for an afternoon swim.

With so many titles to choose from it won’t be hard to find twenty-five dollars worth. The classic Tale of Peter Rabbit and Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck are in adorable minature hardback for just $12.95 (pictured). There’s sticker story books for both Peter and Jemima at $9.95. Other titles include The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit (HB, $24.95) and The Peter Rabbit Baby Book: My First Year (HB, $19.95). Peter’s story has also been simplified for board book ($12.95) and a touch and feel board book (19.95).

It doesn’t stop there, so come in store to check out our display of all the available titles perfect for the little ones. And don’t forget your puppet!

Miss Potter

This is a perfect biopic.  It gives you a sense of why she was important and how she approached her work and still included the human element.  I don’t think I’ve liked Renée  Zellweger better in any other movie.

Potter’s illustrations are animated in the movie to give a sense of how real they were to her.  The animation also adds humor and whimsy to the story. It makes sense that she should feel so close to her creations since she and her family have rather cold relations.

She attempts to publish her tales but gets little encourage from publishers or her family. One publishing house agrees to publish Peter Rabbit and fortunately, she is put into the care of  untried editor, Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor).  He does all he can to make her vision for the book come to pass. He likes Potter but he also believes in her work which I enjoyed.

I found out that she was an admirable woman in many ways, and the world is better for her living in it.

The movie is simply a delight to watch, for the Lake District scenery, the costumes, the charming actors, and the sweet story.

P.S.  My favorite of the Potter tales was Jemima Puddle-Duck.

History in the Movies goes over what is historically accurate and what is not.

Wikipedia lists a few more.

Interesting how life comes at you. This week was obviously brought to us by the Number Two at the Crosby household. In retrospect, I’m wondering if there is a pattern that rotates week by week through the numbers zero to nine, and I just never noticed???

What is she talking about? you ask yourself. Let me briefly explain the twos of this week.

Two flat tires on two different cars two days apart…. weird, I know. Rick called me one evening and shouted in a half-frantic voice over a very loud vibrating noise, “I think my tire is going flat,” BLAM! “Yep, my tire just blew. I’ll call you later.” I never said a word to him, I just listened to the story as it occurred in real time. Two days later Rick woke me up at 5:00 a.m. (two and a half hours TOO early) to tell me that my van had a flat tire and he had to go to work. Of course, it was one of the days I had to drive somewhere….

Emails have arrived this week from two different ladies, both introducing themselves as our new adoption case worker at our new agency, Gladney Center for Adoption. I still haven’t figured that one out. I’m simply glad for double man-power aimed at Zaza’s file in Texas.

We have two extra kids for the next two days.

And my all time favorite TWO of the week,  the two Beatrix Potter Collection books.  I was digging through the books at Goodwill and came across said BP book FULL of her original illustrations of bunnies in jackets with brass buttons.  Slowly I paged my way through Benjamin, Jemima Puddle Duck, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and all the others. They were all there in full glory.  Already piled in my cart were important and pertinent books that corresponded to our current and upcoming homeschool units.  So with a sigh, knowing we did not NEED it, I put Beatrix and her friends back on the shelf. (Did I fail to mention that Miss. Potter is my all time favorite movie?)  The next day I received a wrapped gift from my friend Darla.  She smiled and told me it was for Zaza’s birthday, because we don’t know when her birthday is yet and we’ve known and loved her for a year and a half, so we obviously missed her birthday.  Yes, it was the exact same hardcover Beatrix Potter Collection book that I longingly drooled over.  Inside her garage sale find Darla wrote, “For Zaza!  It’s your mama’s favorite book!”   :o)

If next week is brought to us by the number nine, I’m hoping for nine days under 85 degrees, nine coupon books in Sunday’s paper, nine phone calls from long distant friends and gas for 99 cents.

There are other books too. Ones I never owned, but remember reading during silent reading at school. Things like Ace (who was the sheep-pig’s great, great grandson) and The Way to Satin Shore. And books I borrowed from the library. I remember gradually taking out the entire Ramona Quimby series from our local library – the first one was chosen mainly because of the authors name. Beverly like me, except I have an extra e.

I’m slowly, slowly making a list of all the books I remember reading and adoring back then. Then once I’m earning a proper wage, I’ll start buying back my childhood. I just hope the world doesn’t go and end on us tomorrow as some people are predicting. I’d hate to be sucked into a black hole without having a chance to read When Marnie was there one last time…

Peter-Rabbit-of-Westbrook

Beatrix Potter

your enchanting paintings and tales
of Peter Rabbit going lipity lipity lipity

carrying our imaginations in flight
on the wings of Jemima puddle-duck

opening our eyes, to your special world
saving the child in all of us

so many thanks i send to you

e