The Audrey Hepburn Treasures by Ellen Erwin and Jessica Z. Diamond.

It’s a totally different kind of book than I’d ever seen before. Not just prose. Not merely prose + photographs.

Each chapter has a glassine envelope with reprints ranging from contracts to letters to the program from one of her early shows to greeting cards she sent. And lots, lots more.

Such an interesting format.

And here is the reprint of an early fan letter she received. I think it’s touching that she kept it.

Here’s the lovely lady playing a cigarette girl in the 1950 film “Laughter in Paradise”.

Can you imagine writing a letter that’s as long as the book of Galatians in the New Testament? What a rarity to receive even a 3 page hand-written letter, much less pages and pages.

But, of course the letters in the New Testament were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that puts them in a whole different category from casual missives relating recent activities.

Some modern translations or versions of the Bible don’t include the term Epistle or even Letter, but that’s what the following books literally are – letters to the churches in those places:

Paul wrote:

Romans (to the believers in Rome)
I & II Corinthians (to the believers in Corinth)
Galatians (to the believers in Galatia)
Ephesians (to the believers in Ephesus)
Philippians (to the believers in Philippi)
Colossians (to the believers in Colosse)
I & II Thessalonians (to the believers in Thessalonica)
I & II Timothy (to Timothy)
Titus (to Titus)
Philemon (to Philemon)

Unknown Author
Hebrews (to the Hebrews)

James
James (to the 12 tribes scattered abroad)

Peter
I & II Peter (to the believers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia)

John
I, II and III John (only III John is addressed to a specific person or place: Gaius)

Jude
Jude (to the sanctified)

Many Christians have a favorite Bible verse; I would be hard pressed to name a specific verse, although there several passages which are particularly special to me.

But I do have a favorite book in the Bible: the Epistle of James.

James writes in such a clear and straightforward way. Unlike with Paul (sometimes), I don’t have to guess at his meaning.

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 1:3

(An unpleasant truth, but true nevertheless.)

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12

Once Joe and I had an odd little conversation with a stranger while we were shopping. She joyfully related that she’d heard a Christian speaker teach that God allows us each one vice. That was a rather stunning statement and utterly false.

Our Heavenly Father is holy and sent his perfect Son as the sacrifice for our sins. No where in scripture is there an excuse for sin. Even one.

James says that we are blessed when we endure temptation, not winked at when we indulge.

Oh, how things have changed.

Consulting my 1937 copy of The New Ettiquette by Margery Wilson, I learned that one never refers to the paper used in letter writing as “stationery”. The correct terms are “letter-paper, note-paper or writing-paper.”

Nowadays folks would just be happy to be on the receiving end – regardless of what it’s called.

(I apologize for the fuzzy quality of these scans. The book is 75 years old, fragile and slightly warped. It becomes a little clearer when clicked on and enlarged. When I find my camera, I’ll try photographing the pages and see if that improves the appearance.)

I hope for it every time, but the actual occurrence is rare now that my mother is in heaven.

For many years, my mother wrote me a letter every Monday. At least that’s the day she mailed it; it always arrived here on Wednesday.

Mama was a letter writer. She stayed in contact with her lifelong friends and relatives chiefly by correspondence. Long distance phone calls were usually reserved for my siblings and me. For most of her life, long distance phone calls were a rarity, and were charged to one’s bill in 3 minute increments; veritable luxuries.

Until I was an adult, all calls except local ones were placed through an operator; either person-to-person (the most expensive type but the only way you were guaranteed that you wouldn’t be charged if your intended recipient wasn’t home) or station-to-station. The only times long distance calls were placed or received from our house was when there was important news (usually a death) or an impending visit. I remember one costing $2.47. Converting 1963 dollars to current values, that would be somewhere around $15.00. Even in these freewheeling days, I don’t make $15 phone calls.

We lived in the same city as my parents during the first year of our marriage, so of course, she didn’t send letters then, but I received many in the ensuing years, when we were farther apart.

I don’t know at what point I began saving them, but I’m glad I did, because just seeing one of those familiar envelopes in her handwriting makes me feel good. She had lovely penmanship and wrote chatty, friendly little missives even after macular degeneration made it difficult to write on the unlined paper she preferred.

My mother had many, many admirable qualities. One was taking the time to give of herself and making sure that a loved one had something personal in with their delivered mail.

Because isn’t that what a letter is?

A gift of our time.

This cute little reprint is a postcard that I bought years ago in Window of Dreams, a wonderful shop in Keller, Texas which was owned by our friends, Buzz and Geneva.

May you all have a blessed 2012!

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Today I hope to make Christmas cookies and get the house tidied for some of the family to come for our traditional Christmas gathering tomorrow. (I say ‘some of the family’ because we won’t all be here. Sadly, I misread the visitation schedule and we had to return our grandsons to our ex-daughter-in-law on Monday. Never mind that she had them last Christmas and the last 2 Thanksgivings.)

These are taken from the Reminisce Magazine December/January 2007 issue.

Reminisce is a great company which publishes books, magazines and DVDs of personal remembrances of bygone eras. I have several of their books and enjoy them every time I read them.

As with yesterday’s post, this design seems better suited as an embroidery pattern. It was originally designed to be made from piped sugar icing, which seems like it would be such an extremely fragile display for all that work.

Designed by Clare McCanna.

[Taken from McCall's Christmas Make-It Ideas magazine,vol. VI, 1963]

The directions are to make these ornaments from the craft-weight aluminum foil, but I think they might actually be more nicely done as embroidery on felt or muslin.

Design by Margreet Akkerman.

[Taken from McCalls's Christmas Make-It Ideas magazine, vol. VI, 1963]