Category Archives: Blog

199. CreARTive Sunday: Italy: Vintage & Antique Travel Bracelets (my work)

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After collecting charms for just a bit my consciousness was awakened to travel charms. I made most of my purchases through ebay where one can find sellers from all over the world. I joined a group of charm collectors on ebay who collect vintage charms. The group is run by the most knowledgable and brilliant woman, Joan Munkasci. (Joan is the daughter of the late Martin Munkasci, the world famous fashion photographer.) We would post our creations and “ooh and ahhh” over each other’s collections; Joan’s collections awakened me to travel charms. I have purchased a number of charms from … Continue reading →

542. Wish trapper Sans Souci good luck: Little Arnold update

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This morning I looked out the window and saw my Little Arnold padding around the backyard grass and eating some shmutz off a stone near my shed. I had just put food out for him on the front porch but Sorbet got there first; I now bring out a tray for two. I grabbed Arnold’s breakfast and rant to the back where I put it on the deck and let out my usual idiotic high pitched, “Little Arnold come!” And he did, and he ate, and then he sat in the grass and washed his face (grooming is a good … Continue reading →

211. CreARTive Sunday: Peruzzi Jewelry: Italy

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Peruzzi — Boston c.1930 — 1981 Mark: Peruzzi Boston Founded in Boston by Gino Peruzzi in the early 1930’s, Sold to Aldo Fioravanti in 1945. Went out of business in 1982. Info from “Amazing Gems”. As usual. please click on the photos. I used to shop in a little store that had the most wonderful vintage and antique pieces. I enjoyed the wonder of the place so much that I worked there part time for several years on Saturdays and sometimes after teaching. I loved being around all the cool stuff. While a customer I fell in love with a … Continue reading →

CreARTive Sunday: 4/13/08: What’s your creARTive passion?

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Start: Apr 12, ’08 8:00p End: Apr 14, ’08 Location: Leave a comment here.     Got a creARTive passion? What makes you, YOU? Want to share a project, hobby, collection, interest? This will be the sign in page should you wish to tour. Just leave a comment. Direct us to the blog post. 12 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded reply ppiccola wrote on Apr 12, ’08 books, I collect old books…the oldest the better…… editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Apr 12, ’08 Here’s a nice one the ladies will enjoy!http://lauritasita.multiply.com/journal/item/591/CreARTive_Sunday_041308_Antique_Perfume_Bottles reply ppiccola wrote on Apr 12, ’08 sorry i haven’t prepare a … Continue reading →

540. Worries about Little Anold Schwartz Katz

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Dear Friends of mine and of Arnold, I am in a tizzy with worry, consumed, actually, and guilt-ridden about my little friend who is not doing well health-wise. I feel responsible for his health and am mortified at myself for letting this situation languish. I fear Arnold may not come through this episode of an eye infection intact, if at all and I am sick over it. Somehow I thought it might resolve itself but I was wrong. I am taking action. Trapper John is not going to do the trapping but will teach me and my neighbor how to … Continue reading →

539. The Nine Lives Times: Little Arnold Update: CATastrophe?

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Dear friends and supporters of Little Arnold Schwartz Katz: It seems the little pet who adopted us has had a mishap. We don’t know if he caught something, was injured, or attacked by the orange guys, Sorbet and Sorbetto, but he appears to have an eye infection and is barely eating. He takes a few bites and hides. My neighbors saw his eye was red, and then the next day it was black and he couldn’t open it. I think the inner eyelid might have been covering the eye for protection. The following day it improved a bit and I … Continue reading →

216. CreARTive Sunday: 4/27/08: Vintage Italian Etruscan-style charms and Irma: Part 1

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It Started with a Bracelet dedicated to Irma S. Lewis, who taught me more than I’ll ever realize. Note: The jewelry discussed here is referred to as “Etruscan.” In the Victorian period there was a classic revival of ancient styles. This story is about the Etruscan-style jewelry produced in Italy in the 40’s possibly through the 60’s and may have been made by the Peruzzi company mentioned in the previous CreARTive Sunday blog. Years ago, when I lived in a co-op apartment building in Flushing, Queens, I had a neighbor who was old enough to be my grandmother. Irma was … Continue reading →

168. CreARTive Sunday: Vintage charms and charm bracelet: Bare Naked Ladies and Microphotography

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A microphotograph in a Stanhope charm might look like this. Stanhopes, or ‘peeps’, are miniature microphotographic lenses incorporated in many novelty collectables produced from the mid-19th century onwards.   Stanhopes can be found in a range of small collectables, and exist in several main collectors’ categories. To view the hidden image, look for a small glass “bead” in a knob or handle of the object, and hold this close to the eye, focused on a light source. Stanhopes are often found in antique novelties made of bone, but are more difficult to spot in dark-coloured objects e.g. carved wood, bog … Continue reading →

538. The Nine Lives Times: Little Arnold Update 11/5/10: 1+1=3

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Here’s the Kitty Litter Scoop Weekend Edition For quite a while Arnold has been hanging out with an orange buddy, Sorbet. I’ve noted a lot of kitty hollering outside probably due to territory issues. Little did I know… The cat that I had been calling “Sorbet” had a brother, uncle or cousin. It looks like there are two orange buddies visiting the feeding station now. Who knew?? I now refer to the smaller orange guy as Sorbet and the bigger guy as Sorbetto. Both are very sweet. Pretty soon I’ll have every feral cat in the borough eating at my … Continue reading →

224.CreARTive Sunday: 5/3/08: part 2 Etruscan-style Treasures

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Something so simple can bring people together…   This is the second CreARTive Sunday post in a series. As usual, you can click to enlarge.   The series begins here: Part 1.  Now you know the story of why I became impassioned with these charms, you know about my friend Irma. And now, I’ll tell you about my friend, Cynthia. I met her when I returned to work after I had my son. She was a teacher in one of the schools I was assigned to.  As I greeted her, I saw that she had an “Irma Bracelet.”  The universe … Continue reading →

232. CreARTive Sunday: 5/11/08: Part 3: Etruscan-style treasures

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This is the 3rd of a series. As usual you can click to enlarge. Previous posts are here: First Second     The bracelet above was purchased on ebay. It’s got a wonderful chain and some great stones. The view of underside with stones and details. Coral. citrine, chrysophrase, possibly onyx.              Handmade antique silver chain with Etruscan stations; I sometimes wear it with another necklace My “Irma” ring with a Tiger-eye Etruscan-style “poison” ring from Mexico. The lid opens to hold a secret.     A collection from ebay with the charms separate from the … Continue reading →

375. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: the wonky laptop

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The continuing saga of my wonky laptop that developed a language of its own… If you remember when I last let out a screech in a “note,” (that’s probably what those notes are designed for, a primal scream when computers go awry), I was typing and the keyboard would freeze and then resume, but place word parts on other lines, embedded in other words. I think this could possibly have been my computer’s attempt to speak in pigtech. It wasn’t cute. Oddly, it seemed to be resolved the next day, after a few reboots and clean outs. But I wasn’t … Continue reading →

373. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: No solutions, just bugs and a phone pal

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This from the “why me?” department of my life with computers. You might call it a rant. I am not a formally trained hack, but I am pretty darned good at troubleshooting and problem solving when it comes to technology. I love technology, I really do, but I hate frustration and in this anecdote you’ll see how technology and frustration often go hand in hand. I have 4 Dell computers in various states of functioning. My old Inspiron 8200 was purchased in 2002 and would work properly if I decided to wipe the hard drive clean and start over again. … Continue reading →

575. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Part 6: Ding Dong Dell, I think I’m in the well

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Dear friends- More than a week has gone by since I last wrote about my computer issues. Whenever I think things are fine, or will be, I am surprised by how much more can go wrong. Remember, I am talking about two NEW REPLACEMENT computers that had similar issues as their predecessors… Another technician came to the house on Monday the 20th to install a new pre-loaded hard drive but by this time neither computer was working and he took it upon himself to work on both. He had to reinstall the Operating System and drivers of the computer (Inspiron … Continue reading →

574. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Part 5: Ding Dong Dell, computer’s still in the well

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Dear Friends, It is Sunday night, the 19th of February, 2012. I am continuing to write about my ding-dong-Dell journey; I thought that by now my computer life would be in order, but alas, it seems to be stuck in a technology wasteland. Let me fill you in on what happened on Friday, the 17th. I received a call in the afternoon from a Dell technician. He had received the hard drive that was to replace the one in the 14″ computer. This is the first of two that I received to replace the previous duds and it was unclear … Continue reading →

573. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Part 4: Ding Dong Dell, computer’s still in the well

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Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 Today is not my day. I began this blog and hit a key and the whole thing disappeared. Here we go again. I am journaling my experience for several reasons: It is too unreal; It might be a great 20 hour bedtime story for my future grandchildren; If I ever decide to jump off a roof it will be the note I leave behind. So. Let me tell you. My story continues where it left off yesterday. I have had a run of Dell laptops with bad luck. Replacements and more replacements. I finally got the … Continue reading →

572. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Part 3: Ding Dong Dell, computer’s still in the well

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Dear friends, I last told you that the replacement computer that arrived two days ago has strange issues with the volume keys not working and making the screen jump. It is still not resolved after hours on the phone with a technician. That’s a total of four hours on the phone with tech support for a NEW computer. And more to come: now she wants to reinstall the operating system and the computer wasn’t shipped with an operating system restore disc. Now we play the waiting game and draw the saga out a bit more. The second of two replacement … Continue reading →

570. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Part 2: Ding Dong Dell, computer’s in the well

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Dear Friends who have been following my story, I offer you an update on my incomprehensible technological journey. Here is a link to the history of my tale of woe. You may sift through the gruesome details at your leisure. Then you can scratch your head in wonder along with me. Here is an email I just wrote to Dell: Dear Lorna, I received the replacement computer for the mini yesterday: svc tag xxxxx replacement – order # xxxxx Inspiron 14 Notebook I spent 3 hours last night installing my browser, AOL, and Trend Micro. And then I noticed the … Continue reading →

569. Tuesday Tech Tips 101: Ding Dong Dell, Computer’s in the Well…

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My story about Dell is so long, so complex, so unbelievable, it is stranger than fiction. That’s why this journey has to be followed. I am going to post the links to most of my story;I have linked to past posts and brought the story up-to-date. I am doing this for me, to get a record of events in order. I don’t expect you to read it, but one never knows who will and what might happen. I twittered these blogs before and got corporate intervention, let’s see what happens now. Somewhere in my posts it says I have six … Continue reading →

568. Technology 101: On Relationships: Should I divorce Dell and date Mac?

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Friends, since the beginning of computer time over at my house, there has been a PC. Or several PC’s. And since the beginning of time I can remember having one catastrophe after another. Dell and I have had our ups and downs. It’s been a relationship filled with passion, angst, hatred, loathing, making up, relief. We have, however, never separated. I got my first Dell, a laptop in 2002, then moved on to a desktop, my work horse, in 2007. I was the first kid on the block to spring for Vista and there were months of angst and the … Continue reading →