50 inspirational friendship quotes that you can share with your besties. These quotes capture the essence of friendship, reminding us...

Was your friend or family member born in 1975? This listing is for a fun, light-hearted, Australian Edition, printable file of random facts from the year 1975. It makes for a great gift, framed or even emailed to the birthday bloke/sheila. Need a different year? Just ask! Note: This listing is a digital file only. The file will be email automatically, once payment is received, to your email address associated with your Etsy account. Nothing will be mailed. You can print it at home or at a local print shop.

Well, fortunately I located the camera's battery charger. Unfortunately, not before Ken had ordered another one. Oh well, having a spare can't be a bad thing, especially considering how we misplace things around here! Hopefully yesterday and today's pictures are better than the couple of days before. This is our last vintage Stacey doll of Stacey Week. (But the week's not over yet!) She's a 'copper penny' Twist and Turn Stacey. This is, I think, the first Stacey I owned. I actually bought her at a McMaster's auction a bit over 20 years ago. She is the the most I expensive Stacey I ever bought: for $35! (Which seems a VERY good deal now, considering how nice this particular doll is.) That was more than I would normally have spent for a doll for myself in those days. But...well, originally she was for someone else, so I justified it. After having her in my possession for a while, and loving her so much, I ended up keeping her. I'm really glad I did now, because she's one of my very favourite dolls. Solo in the Spotlight? Pshaw!Stacey looks great as a nightclub singer too, in Enchanted Evening. This really cool real metal microphone was found at a yard sale. It's actually too short for a Barbie doll, but you'd never have known if I hadn't told... This version of Twist and Turn Stacey came wearing a red one piece bathing suit with a belly cutout.Unlike Short Flip or Talking Stacey, this girl has three 'spit curls'. Even though she's a Mod Era doll, I love her in this early Barbie fashion, Enchanted Evening. Enchanted Evening is from 1960-63. It was so popular with collectors that it has been reproduced twice: The first time in 1987,on a porcelain ponytail Barbie reproduction, and the second time in 1996 on a vinyl ponytail Barbie reproduction. Enchanted Evening includes the satin dress, with either a rose or a rhinestone decoration on the hip... This is obviously the rose version. ...the white rabbit fur stole, lined in pink satin... . ...a triple strand 'pearl' necklace with dangly bits at the back,and clear mules with glitter. I actually have all the pieces, but the shoes and necklace were in a different box, and I was a bit busy today. So Stacey went jewelry free and is wearing vintage white Barbie mules. The story of how I got the Enchanted Evening is a good one. A long time ago, probably over 20 years ago, when we used to do toy and doll shows, we were at a train and miniature show. Now that's a weird combination. One side of the room was ladies and their miniatures, and some dolls. The other side of the room was trains, train stuff, and some toy dealers. Since we were the only people there with Barbie dolls, one of the toy dealers approached us about selling some Barbie stuff he had recently come into. He'd gone to someone's house to check out a bunch of GI Joe stuff they were selling, since that was mainly what he dealt in. While he was there they also asked him if he was interested in buying a shoebox of Barbie stuff they had. He didn't know much about Barbie, except he knew the stuff was worth something. So he bought it, but now he was sort of stuck, because he didn't know anything about values, (This was the days before you could find out just about anything online, and even before Ebay.), and also because he had no outlet for selling it. He only did toy shows, and dolls, especially then, were just not sellers at toy shows. We looked it over. I was pretty excited. Ken, as usual, was super cautious. He didn't want to pay more than he could get back,and we didn't know much about vintage stuff, which was what was in the box. He hemmed and hawed. I managed to convince him he could make his money back, and then he had to haggle with the toy guy. Finally, the guy took $75 and an American Gladiators Zap figure, (He wanted it for himself.), in exchange for the treasure chest of a shoe box. Does anybody remember this show? Grown muscle bound people hitting each other with giant Q-Tips. The contents of the box were something out of a dream. Inside was a collection of mint and complete vintage Barbie outfits, an ash blonde bubble cut Barbie with smokey eye shadow----the most beautiful bubble cut I have ever seen----, and a titian Midge. Down in the bottom of the box, amongst the shoes and jewelry, was Midge's wrist tag. Everything was so mint. It was like the kid who owned the stuff had maybe played with it a little on Christmas morning, scooped everything into the shoebox at the end of play, and never looked at it again. Included were: Solo in the Spotlight Enchanted Evening Black Magic Busy Morning Nighty Negligee Satin 'n Rose Undergarments, (in pale blue),missing the bra and girdle and one shoe. And maybe some others I can't remember. Everything ,except for the Undergarments lingerie set,was complete too, including the shoes and jewelry! I kept my favourites, Enchanted Evening, and Satin 'N Rose, plus I still have Nighty Negligee and the Undergarments pieces too. Curiously,although Midge's bathing suit was included, Barbie's was missing. Tomorrow, for the conclusion of Stacey Week, we'll look at the reproduction Stacey. Til then...

1980's

Exhibition dates: 13th June – 31st August 2014 Artists: Micky Allan, Virginia Coventry, Gerrit Fokkema, John Gollings, Tim Handfield, Ian North, Robert Rooney, Wes Stacey Virgin…

There is nothing like the bond between a Mother and Daughter. The bond can never be broken. Here are some quotes dealing with that special bond.

Merlin was a handheld electronic game made by Parker Brothers in 1978. Merlin is notable as one of the earliest and most popular handheld games, selling over 5 million units during its initial run. It even remained popular throughout the 80s. A version of the game was re-released by the Milton Bradley Company.

This week on Fisher Price Friday I'd love to show you the Play Family Sesame Street #938. This set was made between 1975-1978 and has quite a few pieces including 8 Sesame Street little people! It was also the very first Fisher Price Little People (FPLP) set to be made entirely of plastic. Sometimes referred to as the Sesame Street Apartments, this set has 4 interior rooms. It has a living room, bedroom, kitchen and store. Each side has it's own entrance and the buildings are connected by a chalk board center. That way kids can play and learn, very Sesame Street. The top of the set has a white handle that connects with the other side when closed for easy carrying. Well, as easy as can be considering it's a big set that's on the heavy side. This isn't one for the littlest kids to carry around. Each side has a different styled roof. The "brownstone" has a flat top with brick edge and the other a slanted smooth top. The lithographs on this set are quite impressive. There are stickers everywhere and they are so detailed with familiar views of the "real" Sesame Street. I have so many photos to show you! :) This first one is of the right side of the playset when it is closed. You can see kids peeking out from the second story window. Below them is a man looking out of a Fix-It shop window. The other side has Big Bird's mailbox and familiar doors. The left side when closed has the tire swing, back entrance, fire escape and exposed brick. Even a bit of brick showing through the facade. This area is covered when the set is closed and it has a colorful and vivid "painting" on the brick wall of a sun, bird and a blue doorway covered in ivy. Bert is hanging out on one of the little pegs that stick out of the base. I'm assuming they are for characters to sit on, but I don't know for sure. The opposite side has Bert & Ernie's open bathroom window which shows his ducky sitting on top of the bathtub. The brick peeking through and the basement window are nice touches. The fire hydrant corner piece is exclusive to this set and is designed to fit in the corner when the set is open. You can also see the newsstand, Oscar and Bert. The newstand is another exclusive (and movable) piece, it has a lithograph of magazines and newspapers. There is also a blue mailbox (seen in the first photo on the right) that says "Mail" across the front. That makes it different from the other plain (sticker free) blue mailboxes in different FPLP sets. The light post can stand anywhere and is an exclusive item. It says "Sesame Street" on the other side. Now lets go inside. This is Bert and Ernie's bedroom/apartment. It has a lithograph of their bathroom complete with claw tub and yellow ducky of course. Also the scrub brush hanging on the door knob. Adorable! There is a painting of a pigeon for Bert as well as his and his towels hanging on a towel rack. The set came with two personalized twin beds that could be yellow, orange or brown (same for all of the furniture in the house). The other wall in Bert and Ernie's bedroom has a whimsical fish mobile (not the only FPLP set to have this mobile, the nursery school #929 had one like it too), toy chest and Bert's bottle cap collection. Also a helmet, brown bear and a lovely photo of Bert and Ernie. The CTW stands for "Children's Television Workshop". Finally, the "linoleum" colored floor has two records on it "C is for Cookie" and "Grover Sings the Blues". So detailed! The first floor has Bert and Ernie's kitchen. There are lithographs of a wood floor and one wall has a full kitchen. There is a plant on the refrigerator, pot holders hanging below the sink, a pie in the oven and a coffee pot on the stove. The set came with a round table and two captain's chairs. However, this isn't the original table. The table should have a lithograph of two place settings and a pork chop platter. The kitchen furniture should be the same color as the living room furniture (which should be a different color than the bedroom). The opposite side of the kitchen has the front door and a step into the room. The wall has a clock, painting of the Count, potted plants, and a bookshelf complete with record player and books. Now to the other side of the set, the living room and Mr. Hooper's store. The living room is upstairs and it belongs to Mr Hooper. It has wood floors and a big area rug. The wall shows a desk with wastebasket, flowers and pencil cup. There is a coat hanger that's full with his straw hats, shop apron and an umbrella. There is a painting on the wall of Big Bird that's signed "To my good friend Mr Hooper". Mr Hooper can relax in his two seater couch while watching Sesame Street on his television. He should also have a coffee table. The furniture could be brown, gold or orange. This is the view of Mr Hooper's bedroom. It has a brass bed, night stand with books, alarm clock and green carpet. The wall in the living room has a floor lamp and "Home Sweet Home" painting. Too bad there wasn't a Mrs. Hooper. On the first floor is Mr Hooper's store. The set came with this lunch counter. It has two blue seats on one side and a flat area for Mr. Hooper to stand on the other. The top has a lithograph of two meal place settings. Here is a better view of the wall behind the counter. I love how creepy Big Bird looks peeking through the window. :) The wall has lots of items including a cake, ice-cream cones and cups a cash register and a sign advertising key rings. The floor is a square and diagonal linoleum pattern. The opposite side of the store has a wall with books, balls, boats and other toys to sell. There is also a pay phone and a open phone book. Now to the outside. The brownstone has the address "123" over the door. There are lithographs on the base showing a grate. The side of the building is detailed with trim over the windows, edges on the hand rails of the stoop and decorative touches on the roof. Does it feel like Sesame Street to you? Mr. Hooper's store has a brown door and no steps. He has a window where he can serve customers out the front. The lithographs include a blue and white store canopy, two tone brick upstairs, door with leaded glass windows next door and of course a Hooper's Store sign. Isn't it impressive? So much architectural detail on this one. I doubt kids could appreciate it as much as us grownups. Last but not least are the people. From left to right we have: Grover, Ernie, Bert, Gordon, Susan, Mr. Hooper, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar. The original set came with all of these figures except Grover. He came in a separate Sesame Street figures pack (and there are more of them, did you see Roosevelt Franklin looking out of one of the windows in a prior photo?). All of these pieces are plastic. Big Bird should have a brown nest to sit in but I don't have one. The Oscar pictured here is the newer version (1976+) because his trash can does not have a lid. The Oscar pictured here has a lid, so he was made before 1976. I'm getting these people ready to sell in my Etsy store. Now that you've seen it all let me tell you what is missing (besides what I mentioned before). The green garbage truck that says "Sesame Street Sanitation" on the side. I used to have one, it is pictured here with the Clubhouse #927 photos. Also the white 6 rung ladder. Not to be confused with the 5 run ladder that goes with the A-Frame (although they look very similar). The set also came with a box of white chalk and a yellow eraser. Whew, that was a lot of photos. I think I showed you every inch of that set! I hope you enjoyed your visit to Sesame Street. Is anyone else humming the Sesame Street theme song right now? I know I am.

Oh, I love the holidays. Ever since I was a little kid, the September – December time of year has been my favorite. Why September? Well, the long Labor Day weekend is always nice, but that…

Apps Assist Habitat for Humanity

And swooning over the Coreys.