Kewpie Dolls

Grandma loved Kewpie dolls. Many of the knick-knacks in her house were Kewpie dolls, or Kewpie "themed". My mom recently brought me one of those items.

It is a wooden paddle, which hung in Grandma's bedroom, and it has five Kewpie dolls painted on it. My husband used to teasingly question her--on a regular basis--about how often she used it to spank her grandchildren. "Oh, you ornery thing!" she'd usually say with laughter. This simple piece of wood, with a little paint on it, helped to build and deepen the relationship between my Grandma and my husband. So this simple piece of wood is now a precious possession on the wall in my kitchen.

Norman Rockwell

My grandmother was a fan of Norman Rockwell's art. She had several plate collections of his work. I learned some things about life, about humor, about my grandma, by looking at those plates. My favorites were the Christmas editions of the Saturday Evening Post. I love those Santa scenes.

Well, happy birthday Mr. Rockwell.