Tag Archives: Frances Lide

Box of things

A box of various items that I am relucent to dispose of has just resurfaced. I’ve written about some, but not all. Maybe more of these items will find homes.

I’ve already written about the gnomes, so I’ll leave them be for now.

I thought I’d written about the porcelain Wade figurines that came in boxes of Red Rose Tea back in the 1970s, but cannot find it in a search of my blog. I believe I had more at one time, but all I have is a rabbit, a hedgehog, and a leopard. I don’t know if I got them in England or when I returned to the States. Of course the hedgehog is my favorite.

Wait! I found another — a bird and this one says Wade on the bottom.

These two resin faces were made by Jeremy when he first visited the States. He crafted them in the art room at my high school. At least I think that’s were he made them. I had the clay mold he poured the resin into at one time, but that’s understandably long-gone.

This small compact was given to me by Frances Lide. Its needlepoint cover is in good shape, but the mirror inside is not. There’s still face powder inside! I think I know what I’m going to do with this. (Note that after I took the photo I cleaned up the mirror and it looks much better.)

Three black stones, two polished and one that might be some manufactured material. It looks like it has a seam and feels lighter than the other two. I think I will add these to the stones on our fireplace mantle. At least the polished ones.

Two tiny bottles. One is made to look like a Heinz ketchup bottle (it’s actually a pin for your lapel) and the other like a Coca Cola bottle. I don’t know where the Heinze ketchup bottle pin came from, but the Coca Cola bottle has been with me for decades. My Barbie doll used to drink from it. They are about 1.25 inches tall.

A very tiny toadstool. I should be using coins to compare the sizes of these miniatures, but the is about half an inch tall. It is possible that Clare made it for a terrarium she gave me. As you can see it is very detailed.

A Celtic cross that, I believe, was also part of the terrarium Clare made me.

A bird made out of plastic or bone (hopefully not ivory) — possibly some sort of pheasant. A gift from Frances Lide. It’s about 1.75 inches long and .75 inches high at the head. I remember exactly when Frances gave it to me and where I found it at her house. For some reason I was looking in a drawer of her sideboard in her dining room and it was among other items. She asked if I would like it since I liked birds.

A plastic vial containing bits of heather, including rare, lucky white heather and a tiny seashell. I picked these up on my first trip to Scotland with the Burgoynes.

And finally a piece from a crystal chandelier. I probably picked this up at an antique store, but I remember talking to Frieda, an elderly next-door neighbor when we lived in Alexandria, about how beautiful these were when they refracted the light and made sparkles on the walls and ceiling. This one doesn’t make rainbows, just sparkles.

Two Menus from the RMS Queen Elizabeth

My friend Frances Lide journeyed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1957. She gave me a dress she wore when dining with the captain of the ship. I wore it once, but it fell into disrepair. Clare has it now. She also gave me two menus from that voyage.

I think it would be fun to recreate the “Suggested Menu” someday. Maybe on the anniversaries of the luncheon and dinner.

Click the images below to enlarge them.

Typed Note from Frances

I’ve written about Frances a lot here. She was our next-door neighbor when we moved to the DC area in 1985. She and I became fast friends, even though she was forty-seven years older than I when we first met. We only lived next door to each other for a year while we rented a house in Alexandria, but we continued our friendship after that.

She sent me this typed post card in 1990. I guess I sent her a couple of photos of her back yard. I’ll have to find them someday. She mentions physical therapy and insurance. I think that was due to an accident we were in a few months before that — we were rear ended at a stop light. The truck behind us thought we were turning right on red but I knew that intersection and didn’t turn right. The driver got out and screamed at me. Frances ended up with whiplash — which at 81 wasn’t a good thing to have.

June 10 Dear Dona, I’ve been trying to write this card to you ever since you sent me the photos…I love the one of you and Dean — and even like mine a lot….And it’s nice to have a good shot of my azaleas! Thanks…you are a fine photographer.

I’m glad your school is practically over and I can expect to see you sometime…Am also eager to know if you have any definite plans for next year.

I’ve had an awful lot to do lately…Finished my physical therapy about 2 weeks ago and am hoping I won’t have to fool with many more papers for the insurance co…Lots of other types of business to take care of also.

Call me! Love, Frances