Puzzling Puzzle Rings of the Past

Another blast from the past hit me by total accident today while innocently (!) browsing eBay. How is it possible that I completely forgot about this ubiquitous accessory of the early 1970's among the middle school and high school set, the Puzzle Ring? You just had to have one, if only to have something to do to pass the time while waiting for attendance to be called in P.E. As I recall, there were only a limited number of different designs, so once you figured out the puzzle of your own ring, you could pretty much do any of them. I guess these were the natural progression for those of us obsessed with Cat's Cradle in the third grade. At least we never had our rings confiscated!

On a more thoughtful note, it strikes me that this item from my youth, and the happy reminiscence that it evokes, should be revealed to me today, a day of poignant and painful memories. A message, perhaps? But from whom?

Completed

Wishing you blessings and peace, today and always.

Ice Box: Food for Thought

Yesterday I had a few extra minutes to slip into one of my favorite haunts:  a conveniently located furniture and household goods consignment shop.  I've gotten some beauties there before, both of the "ready to use" and "needs serious help" (See Marie-Louise ) varieties, so it's always fun to have a browse around.  One of the first things that I spotted upon entering the shop was an old fashioned ice box, which looked very much like Letter B pictured above.  It got me thinking about living life in a much simpler time. What would it have been like to have no refrigeration, and how would that have affected how one went about preparing meals, grocery shopping, caring for a family's nutrition?

A few weeks ago, during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, my family and I, as well as many others in this neck of the woods, got to experience what it's like in 21st century America to go without the comforts and benefits of electricity.  The power was out for only 26 hours, yet it was sorely obvious how much we all relied on it, especially for food preparation:  although we were able to cook on the propane grill (since the weather had turned for the favorable), the food needed to prepped and served by candlelight since the dwindling cloud cover made things very dark in the kitchen.  It made me wonder how folks managed it back in the day, and still do to this day in other parts of the world.  I've always had a fascination with social history (loved The 1900 House) and learning about the way ordinary people lived their daily lives.  Did I buy the ice box?  Not yet...