The Rest of the Collection...

Did you know that the first thimbles in England were called "thumb bells" because they were worn on the thumb and shaped like a bell?  The shape eventually changed, but the name softened into "thimble."  And did you know that a person who collects thimbles is known as a digitabulist?  No??  Me neither.  :)

Computer search engines are turning me into a real-life Cliff Clavin.  :-D  Remember "Cheers"?  Such a funny show, and good old Cliff was a storehouse of trivia.  There was one episode where Cliff was selected to be a contestant on "Jeopardy"; it was just hilarious.  My husband and I still laugh about it all these years later.

I thought I would show you the rest of my little treasures from yesterday's post.

 This is the other thimble house my mom bought for me years ago.  I like the little Victorian "architectural" features, such as the gingerbread trim.  It holds the rest of my thimbles, but it contains some other things too...

...small blown-glass pigs with little curly tails; a tiny orange, glass hen (or rooster) bought for me by my son at the Dixie Classic Fair when he was a little boy; a miniature beer stein from the German gift shop at Epcot on our trip to Disneyworld; and a porcelain china teacup and saucer from our local tea shop.  There are a few mementos from across The Pond -- an English windmill, two English cottages, and an Irish house.

 The thimble on the top right row has always reminded me of Princess Diana.  Her hair color and cut, her style of clothing and hat are like something Diana would have worn, especially in the early years of her marriage.  What do you think?  The blue and white windmill is also a thimble.

There's a Lenox swan salt cellar received when we got married; it reminds me of our trip to England.  A black Scottie with a red bow sits in the bottom right corner -- no explanation needed there.  :)  There aren't as many thimbles in this thimble house, but all were gifts from my mom.  I LOVE the four Christmas thimbles especially.

So that's it, folks.  A friend of mine once remarked that everything in my house has a history.  I think she was right up to a point; we do have some new things, and ideally I prefer a mix of the old and the new.  How about you?  Do you like all new things, all old, or a combination of the two?

Thanks so much for visiting House at Forest Manor.  It is so boring here today; I don't know how much more of this gloomy weather I can stand.  Hoping for sunshine soon!

Denise