Tag: buttons

Button Sunday

Before this Thanksgiving weekend is over, I wanted to send out a message to some of my friends and family who’re going through some stuff right now. Some are ill. Lonely. Struggling with family problems and career challenges. Some are grieving the loss of family members, friends, and cherished companion animals.

In the midst of feeling gratitude and thanks for so many things these past few days, you’re all in my thoughts, too, even those of you who are very quiet as you deal with your lives. I always think about you and send love, strength, support, and hope to you. Many of you have done that for me in the past, and I remember.

I’m thankful for all we’ve shared through the years.

Button Sunday

For good or ill, below is a list of November 19 trivia.
Courtesy of The History Calendar.

Today in History – November 19th

1493 – Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico, on his second voyage.
1805 – Lewis & Clark reached the Pacific Ocean –first European Americans to cross continent.
1850 – Alfred Tennyson became British Poet Laureate, succeeding William Wordsworth.
1861 – Julia Ward Howe wrote “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
1863 – President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address.
1893 – The first newspaper color supplement was published in the Sunday New York World.
1916 – Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn, one of the most successful independent film makers of all time.
1928 – TIME magazine published its cover in color for the first time.
1969 – Apollo 12 made man’s second landing on the moon.
1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to set foot in Israel on an official visit.
1980 – CBS TV banned Calvin Klein’s jean ad featuring Brooke Shields.
1985 – President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time.
1997 – Septuplets were born to Bobbi McCaughey. It was only the second known case where all seven were born alive.
1998 – The impeachment inquiry of President Bill Clinton began.
1998 – Vincent van Gogh’s “Portrait of the Artist without Beard” sold at auction for more than $71 million.
2001 – President George W. Bush signed the most comprehensive air security bill in the country’s history.
2002 – The U.S. government completed its takeover of security at 424 airports nationwide.
2003 – Eight competing designs for a memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center were unveiled.

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENTS
1895 – The “paper pencil” was patented by Frederick E. Blaisdell.
1954 – Two automatic toll collectors were placed in service on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey.

MUSIC HISTORY
1968 – The Supremes performed at a Royal Variety Show with Queen Elizabeth in attendance.
1971 – B.B. King marked his 25th anniversary in music by opening a European tour in London.
1990 – Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy Award because other singers had lent their voices to the “Girl You Know It’s True” album.
1995 – Bruce Springsteen’s thirteenth album, “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” was released.
1996 – Prince released the 3-CD set “Emancipation.” The release was on his record label NPG Records.
1997 – The American premiere of Paul McCartney’s “Standing Stone” was played in Carnegie Hall by St. Luke’s Orchestra.
1998 -Motley Crue’s retail store, S’Crue, opened in Los Angeles.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS
James Garfield 1831
Tommy Dorsey 1905
Indira Gandhi 1917
Larry King 1933
Dick Cavett 1936
Ted Turner 1938
Calvin Klein 1942
Meg Ryan 1961
Jodie Foster 1962

Button Sunday

Today is National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day. I’m not sure I’ve ever known anyone who eats anchovies on pizza. They were part of an ex-boyfriend’s homemade Caesar salad dressing, and they didn’t bother me, so it wasn’t anchovies that broke us up. =)

What’s your favorite pizza AND do you feel passionate enough about no pineapple on pizza to wonder why there’s not a National Pizza with the Works Except Pineapple Day? (For all I know, there could be.)

Today is my nephew Daniel’s birthday, and if he were here, I’d make him any kind of pizza he wanted. EVEN if he wanted anchovies or pineapple. Happy birthday, Daniel!

Button Sunday

Today is National Chinese Takeout Day.


This button available on Redbubble.

Here are a few takeout/restaurant buttons (most from my personal collection).


Vintage Burger King button.


Vintage McDonald’s button.


Popcorn used to be my takeout snack from Target, but they don’t have machines anymore.


I don’t remember what restaurant advertised with this button or campaign. Maybe Lynne does. Same applies to this one. Maybe the Omelet Shoppe?


Vintage Arby’s button. Ironic, since I never ate their roast beef sandwiches.


Guessing somebody grabbed this button for me back when the peach shake was introduced by Chick-fil-A in 1995.


Vintage button from Morrison’s Cafeteria chain, which originated in Alabama, expanded throughout the Southeast, and now is closed down. Though I eventually overcame a childhood fear of cafeterias and ate at Morrison’s, Picadilly, and Luby’s, these days meals I don’t cook are only takeout, not dine-out, for me. And the single item that still comes home to me on a regular basis is liquid…

Do you have a favorite kind of takeout or a favorite Chinese takeout menu item? My default is cashew chicken, though I’ve been known to choose sweet and sour chicken, too.

Button Sunday


October 22 is National Nut Day, created to encourage healthier snack options.


My favorites are pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios. Other than in peanut butter, I like peanuts best when I can eat them roasted from the shell. My college roommate used to bring back bags of peanuts after a weekend working in her parents’ grocery store and roast them for us as a snack to eat throughout the week. As a kid, I liked boiled peanuts (a snack discovered by a Yankee character traveling through the South in the Neverending Saga). I probably still would like them, but since I no longer drive rural Southern roads, I don’t get opportunities to buy them.

Showing support for the home team in tonight’s game by eating a few of these later.

What are your favorites?

Button Sunday

Lynne arrived for a visit last Tuesday and stayed until today. I will miss her SO much. We had a lot of fun running errands and cooking and eating. One of our outings was to Jo-Ann’s for fabrics and things. While she did some hand sewing on a couple of quilts she’d brought with her, we talked and talked about the Neverending Saga, what’s left to tell of the stories, and whether I could get it all done in only two more novels, bringing the total number to eight. It remains to be seen, but we sure did laugh a lot–and maybe also teared up a time or two, because we do love these characters so much, and they go through some stuff before the series closes.

I’d mentioned a while back that I wanted to use a Vogue pattern to create about twenty shirts for my male Mattel dolls. (I shared a photo of the first one I sewed on September 23; the doll on the right in the photo below is wearing it.) I did another shirt while Lynne was here, and then between us, we cut out the patterns for eighteen more. She also gave me a ton of pointers and suggested some sewing products I could pick up to make my sewing a little easier.


I didn’t like the collar on that first shirt at all–too large. I tried making it smaller on the shirt on the left and thought it was much better. Lynne modified the pattern piece to make it easier for when we cut the fabric for the rest of the shirts. (I’m betting that first shirt will bother me so much that I’ll tear out the collar and replace it.) If you look closely, you may also see on the newer shirt the tiny blue buttons from the supply I ordered from an Etsy seller because I thought they’d be much better for doll clothes. They’re perfect!

Lynne also helped me go through all the Christmas bins that have been sitting in the office since May, when Lindsey and Tom purged and reorganized the Lean To (the storage space on our property). Since we don’t have a garage, in addition to storing stuff, it’s where all the yard equipment and supplies are, along with other random items helpful to homeowners. It also provides Tom workspace for fix-it projects. I’d wanted to reorganize and purge our Christmas decorations before we put the bins back in the Lean To.


As seen from outside, the Lean To is through those double doors and is about seven feet wide. I think I talked about the space but never showed the photo of it after they finished. Everything is so tidy and easy to find and manage, because Lindsey is an organizing wizard.


Looking in from the outside.


Some of the Christmas bins.


Writers’ stock of Timothy James Beck, Cochrane & Lambert, and Cochrane novels. Anyone need something to read?

Now all the Christmas stuff is back out there; Lynne took a few things she liked to add to her own holiday collection; I set aside some ornaments to donate to Goodwill; and my office space is back to normal.

Thank you Lynne and Minute for sharing a great mini-staycation with us! The Hall dogs have looked around for you both a few times today.

And now I sew. And write. A LOT of writing.

Tiny Tuesday!

Today’s post is about a different kind of button from Sunday’s posts. Here to demonstrate is one of my character dolls. Hi, Elle!

This is how the average human-sized shirt button fits in Elle’s palm.


This is how the average craft button I can buy locally fits in Elle’s palm. I’ve used these buttons for doll clothes, and they work great as coat buttons or buttons on purses and other accessories, but the scale is a bit large for shirts and dresses.


Last week, I found a US Etsy account (important because of how I pay and how they ship) that sells 4mm buttons in large quantities at a great price. While this isn’t exactly 1/6 scale (i.e., human to doll size), it’s much closer. I fear actual doll size is best left to the manufacturers of dolls and doll clothes and those companies’ machinery. I have old eyes and arthritic hands, therefore need larger needles to be able to do the job.

But all the colors!

I tried to find poems or songs that somehow use “button(s)” in titles or text, but I wasn’t impressed with my search results. I decided to go with common phrases using the word “button.”

  • Button up! (It’s cold out there.)
  • As easy as the push of a button! (Very easy.)
  • Bright as a button! (Either smart/clever or cheerful/happy.)
  • That’s a hot-button topic. (Don’t talk about religion, politics, money, or within family, anything that will ruin holidays, including flaws related to parenting, marrying/divorcing, keeping and feeding pets, cooking, or drinking.)
  • Button it! (Keep your mouth shut/opinions to yourself.)
  • You’re pushing all my buttons. (By doing or saying all the things I like or dislike. Tone matters.)
  • Cute as a button! (Very cute.)
  • On the button. (That statement or action is accurate.)
  • Press the panic button! (It’s time to take drastic action in response to a situation.)
  • S/he’s got a button nose. (An adorable little nose–like Elle’s!)
  • My boss is very buttoned down. (Stiff, serious, all business.)
  • My company’s culture is very buttoned down. (Conservative, no risks taken.)
  • Hit the button. (Send or start something; end or stop something.)

Can you think of others?