The grand ol' Hymns

Another catagory of sheet music would be Christian hymns. These would have been older songs, newly written out for expanded play on the piano. What great old songs...but very difficult music to play!

Political Music

Another piece of before-the-turn-of-the-century sheet music...this one a march written for the presidential campaign of William Jennings Bryan. He ran and lost to William McKinley in the election of 1896. Can't you just imagine the stirring strains of this very political music?

Sheet Music Continued...

This group of old sheet music features the sentimental favorites...overly romantic perhaps...but with such beautiful covers and colors. The music mainly featured waltzes and songs popularly sung in the parlors of America.
Then as now, romance and a pretty face is used to sell copies!

Notice how many of them feature roses too. Surely a way to get to many a heart.

In an era of no TV or radio, music was a large piece of their entertainment, whether played or sung. I long sometimes for that innocence and get lost in a reverie of simpler times.

Old Sheet Music

One of the things my Aunt Minnie left me was a treasure trove of old music. Minnie, along with her second husband George, both played piano and taught lessons at various times. I not only have their piano, but a wealth of music from former days in America. I recently looked through the sheet music, and found it to be a snapshot of American culture. The oldest single piece is from 1876 and the 'newest' is 1941. Most of it falls between 1900-1920. The covers are wonderful, and I have tried to photograph some of them. I found in looking through it what Americans were busy writing about in those years. They wrote music for political reasons, patriotic reasons, military reasons, songs of the sea and far-away shores, celebrating the diverse cultures here i.e. Black culture or Irish, religious reasons, songs for children and for entertainment as in dances, popular or parlor songs. I will feature a few of these in the coming week, but start with the military songs for the sake of my grandsons that I know will be interested. Eleven years after the Civil War ended many songs were still being written to commemorate the Great Battles and lives given in the cause. The piece I have is on the left above, and is entitled 'Sherman's March to the Sea'. Next to that is the great Stars and Stripes by John Philip Sousa.

A number of songs were written and made popular during WW I. 'Over There' by George Cohan is probably the best known and loved of these. In the photo at right is a lesser known song, one of probably hundreds. Note that after 1900 color was added to the covers.

Another lesser known song of WW I, but definitely not a lesser known composer! On the cover you can see the ladies waiting at home while the soldiers in the background march off to war.

There is a marvelous collection of military songs, bound together with a cloth binding from the 1800's in my collection. It features some terrific lithographs of military figures and scenes. This first one was a popular song from 1840, and is a 'Quick-Step March' featuring Leut. James Hewitt, New York Light Guard.

This one is again from 1840 and is entitled 'National Lancers on Parade'. The National Lancers have a long and distinguished history as a volunteer troop of the Militia Cavalry.

"There's a sound of hoofs in the city street;

The musical click of the steel-shod feet;

Of bugles shrill with silvery blare

and floating free on the summer air;

From each bright lance is a pennon red,

Held high aloft o'er each plumed head;

As the National Lancers Ride."

Whereas the two-step is a march, the quick-step is a ballroom type dance. This piece was originally written for a brass band, but most of these pieces of music were re-written for the newly popular 'piano-forte' or 'cabinet organ'. Isn't the lithograph wonderful here? so descriptive, and made to sell copies I'm sure.

Truly a snapshot in time, of an era long gone.

My Beautiful Day, Part II

I'd thought I'd show you some pictures from the rest of my beautiful day.Some beautifully wrapped chocolates from my dear husband.

My favorite white dresses on my girls.

I like the shadowy effect of them standing by the window.

But I love being able to see their sweet faces too.

An afternoon tea party. Cranberry nut bread and vanilla tea.

Baby even attended.

A dinner prepared by the dear husband again, (he's amazing!) Salmon, potatoes with butter and dill and fresh sugar snap peas. I guess it was actually Steelhead Trout, but I couldn't tell it wasn't Salmon.

Store-bought cheesecake.

Some lovely gifts. This a table runner from my sweet sister, JoAnn. I love it.

Can a kitchen appliance be beautiful? Yes. Absolutely. I'm so excited about my new food processor!

I had a such an undeservedly nice day. I'm spoiled.

Our wonderful world

31 Simple Pleasures

1. The smell of bacon frying or coffee perking when waking up
2. Sitting down for a chat with a good friend
3. Reading a really good book
4. Opening a beautifully wrapped gift
5. The smell and feel of new-mown grass
6. A hot bath
7. A climbing rose fresh with new blooms
8. A new dress or skirt
9. A storm out the window at the Oregon Coast
10. Wildflowers along the hiking trail
11. Fresh homemade cookies
12. Wood smoke in the air
13. Jet streams in the summer sky
14. Clean clothes blowing on the clothes line
15. The first snowfall
16. Watching a grandchild be born
17. The smell of roasting turkey at Thanksgiving
18. Having someones hand to grab and hold
19. Worship on a Sunday morning
20. A nap in the shade in the hammock
21. Seeing the sky from one end to the other
22. A flower in a single bud vase
23. A group of family playing a game together
24. The sounds of the ocean lulling to sleep
25. Learning something new
26. Listening to a sad song or watching a sad movie
27. Floating on your back and watching the clouds
28. Working hard and achieving a goal
29. Writing a good story
30. The lap of water at lake's edge and a toddler splashing
31. Watching a friend succeed

My Beautiful Day

Today is my birthday. I'm 34 years old. Originally, when we started this blog, we intended it to be a place to share beautiful things as we experienced them in our daily lives. Looking for beauty can help make sure that you find it! Also, we want to cultivate beauty in our homes for ourselves and our families to enjoy to the glory of God and sharing with each other gives us new inspiration. Over time, it has morphed into something a bit different, as blogs will do. I, Julie, rarely have time to add much here as I am busy with homeschooling my young children and mom, Jennie, has been able to use the blog for multiple purposes, including keeping me and the rest of the family updated with pictures of her travels, etc. But for today, I thought I'd make it my birthday indulgence to post some pictures of the beauty I am enjoying and receiving from my beloved family. We have nothing even remotely close to popping out of the earth in my part of the country, but my husband happened to see some hearty-looking tulips when he was shopping on Saturday and grabbed them for me. They are opening up just in time for my birthday today!

One tulip came in a vase on the tray that brought me breakfast in bed this morning.


Not for my birthday, but just because, Mom sent me a couple of lovely things to put in my room that she found at a favorite antique store. After my special breakfast, I enjoyed getting them out and putting them to use. Above is the dresser scarf she found. A lovely antique dresser looks so nice with an accompanying scarf.

Pale blue embroidery embelishes the edges.

This picture is a hint at the other item from mom and shows what I was doing this morning while waiting for my breakfast. A friend from church lent me the book to read with a high recommendation and of course, my Bible.

Pillowcases. With the same pale blue embroidery.

So pretty. A special thing for me to enjoy today.

Last, but not least, I opened one gift from mom that was for my birthday. I spent some time after breakfast browsing through it and I LOVE it! One of the things that I enjoy most is browsing new recipes that are good. This cookbook looks excellent with a simple and earthy emphasis with whole food ingredients. Right up my alley. What a beautiful day I'm having!