BOMBARDMENT

I had two choices for this blog today:

1. Bombard you with problems and complaints that you don't want to hear
or
2. Bombard you with photos that you don't want to see.

I'm opting with the photos, mainly because it's the easiest thing for me to do. 

I've been living here in the Tennessee wilderness for three and a half years now, and one major issue still hasn't been resolved:
This shack is much smaller than my previous home and I have absolutely nowhere to put anything. The closets are jammed, the garage is full, and most of my art collection, knick-knacks, and framed photographs are still packed.

Perhaps it's a good thing that the movers lost (or stole) a large amount of my possessions (I'm still losing sleep over that debacle....).

Anyway,
I was going through some of my stuff last night - - lamenting over the things that were lost, and agonizing over the things that I no longer have room for. 

These photos don't have much to do with my laments or agony, but I'll post them anyway.

This bedroom lamp belonged to my maternal grandmother. She gave it to my Mom loooong ago, when I was about four years old (we still lived in New Jersey at that time). Soon after my mother got the lamp, I accidentally knocked it over and broke the top globe (the original one was round).
It wasn't until years later, when we were living in California, that Mom finally found a replacement for it. It is a different shape than the original, but was still a good match.

Incidentally, that ancient lamp still works (I tried it last night). 
How ironic that nowadays you can buy a lamp at Walmart and it will stop working in six months.

 I found my very first pair of shoes!! I won't reveal how old these yellow baby booties are, it would be too painful.
I now wear  size 10 1/2 cowboy boots.

 This pair of (heavy) antique statues was made in the 1880's - The Prince and the Pauper, inspired by Mark Twain's novel.
I am astounded that the movers didn't "lose" them or break them en route. I now keep them on a high shelf away from the cats.



I originally had four boxes filled with framed antique photos and also photos of famous people that I had met. I still have three of them, but one box was lost when I moved.

These are two boxes that I was looking through last night.

I love the hand-painted box on the right.

I had over 200 antique photos (originals, not prints) in my collection.
I sold some of them (including two of the Hindenburg). Others were lost when I moved. Here a few samples of favorites that I still have:

A 1910 photo of the Lusitania in New York.

A rare carta de viste of Napoleon Bonaparte

 The Grand Duchess Olga Nikolanevna Romanov (daughter of Tsar Nicholas II). She was executed in 1918 at the age of 22.

I have several photos of England's Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) in my collection. In this photo she appears to be wearing a mourning outfit - perhaps after the death of her son Prince Albert Victor (his photo is on the left). Albert died when he was 28. He was Queen Victoria's grandson.

Alexandra was married to Queen Victoria's eldest son Edward. She became queen when Victoria died.

One of my real treasures - - King Ludwig II of Bavaria (the supposed "mad" king). I have three original photos of Ludwig, but this is the only one that's framed (it's also the most faded of the three).

Another photo of the Russian Grand Duchess Olga, with her sister Tatiana (right) and their father Tsar Nicholas II on horseback (left).

This is probably getting tedious, but - what the heck - it's better than hearing my complaints. I think.

 The French composer Jules Massenet (1843-1912). I got this from an estate sale. It's from one of his personal photo albums.

Hungarian composer Franz Liszt at the piano.

An original White House portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy and her two kids.

I'll be merciful and end here - but I'm not nearly finished. There are a lot more to go....
A sequel??