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Three Mousy Thoughts for Thursday

Three Mousy Thoughts for Thursday

With the field crops harvested and the temperatures falling, I should have anticipated the Great Mouse Invasion of 2012. But ever the optimist, I assumed we would disarm Mickey and Minnie with our preemptive garage mouse trap maneuvers. Those efforts were a failure of epic proportions, but all was not lost since the experience led to these three mousy thoughts for Thursday.

  1. The good news is that, thanks to the early plethora of traps in the garage, no mice have invaded my car…yet.
  2. The bad news is that, with the garage full of miniscule landmines, Mickey, Minnie, the mouse with the peg leg, the one driving a pony cart, and a cast of thousands relocated to our house. They like it so much, they party all night, every night, though their ranks are thinning, thanks to our newly established trap line.
  3. Maybe Disney will celebrate their purchase of the Star Wars franchise with an intergalactic foray starring Micky and Minnie movie. So maybe we can capitalize the Great Mouse Invasion of 2012, live trap our cast of thousands and send them–for a hefty finders fee–to California to become stars.

What do you do when the wildlife moves in? How do you keep that from happening? Leave a comment.

Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

Three Stormy Thoughts for Thursday

Three Stormy Thoughts for Thursday

Three-thoughts-for-Thursday

Tornado season has arrived in Iowa. Between the stormy weather debut and our garage apartment renters, these three windy thoughts blew in.

  1. The good news is that Hiram and I slept very soundly Tuesday night. The bad news is that we slept through the tornado sirens and the tornado that hit the north side of town.
  2. The good news is that we live on the south side of town and sustained no damage. The bad news is that the mice who rent apartments in our garage used my car as their storm cellar.
  3. The good news is that Hiram and I are buying a weather radio for our bedroom. The bad news for Mickey and Minnie is that we are upping their rent and not using the extra cash to buy them a weather radio.

Have you got a tornado story or a terrible tenant? Leave a comment!

Does this 1930’s Suitcase Qualify for Disneyana Status?

Does this 1930’s Suitcase Qualify for Disneyana Status?

One of the items unearthed during this winter’s sorting and purging binge was this Walt Disney child’s suitcase. It was given to Hiram’s mom, Elsie, in the 1930s. Her eyes shone as she told about receiving it from her parents during the Great Depression. The case was shabby and well-used, but to her it was still the treasure it had been she was just a child.

She gave us the case in 2003, a few months before she died. It’s been in the attic for years, and I don’t know what to do with it. For the past few months, I’ve been visiting every Disneyana (That’s the special name for Disney memorabilia. Kind of like calling the Disneyland employees “cast members” instead of employees, I guess.) trying to find out something about the suitcase.

Thus far, the search has revealed nothing. So, I’m going public with the case, hoping some expert will see this blog post and point me in the right direction. Or fill in the gaps. Or value the case at several thousand dollars even though the case is scruffy, the paper is peeling, and the bottom falls off.

The picture above shows the case from the top. The handle is leather. The clasp and all the hinges are metal and in good shape. The clasp has a keyhole, but the key is long gone.

Here’s a view of the bottom of the case:

The little luggage tag to the right of Donald has lines for name, street, city, and state. None have been filled in.

Here’s the inside of the case:

Here’s a close up of the interior. The “Having a Wonderful Time?” and “Forget Something?” pictures are repeated across the interior, as is the copyright which says “Walt Disney Productions.”

The top and bottom of this 1930’s Disney child’s suitcase are pressboard covered with paper. The sides are thin plywood covered with the same paper. Any information or resources would be appreciated! Otherwise, back in the attic it goes until Antiques Road Show comes this way again!