Thursday, July 21, 2022

Bookmarks and a Late Start

 Hello All,

I'm getting a bit of a late start with blogs and email today.  It has been a busy work morning so far.  But, the good news is that I am taking tomorrow off!  My two conference calls were cancelled and we have friends coming for the weekend, so I can use the day to do some last minute cleaning and baking (basil-lime shortbread!!  YUM).  My friend Leslie (the amazing person I have known since I was 12) will arrive Saturday with her daughter Jaimie and granddaughter Emory.  They do a road trip each summer, driving from North Carolina to Rhode Island and always stop here.  I cannot wait to see them!!  But first, some blogging.

The other day, Kym showed a bunch of her bookmarks in a post and I thought what a neat idea.  I have TONS of bookmarks.  Often I end up using a scrap of paper or an index card...sometimes a paperclip or a piece of yarn...or a pretty note card or postcard that someone sent.  But, I thought I would share some of my bookmarks with you.  So here goes.  First up:


The two on the right came to me when I ordered the Goodhart Sampler books from Needleprint years ago.  They fold in the middle and have magnets on the underside so that when folded over a page they stay put.  The pink one on the bottom right was a gift (handmade!!) from Kim in Oregon and the cute fox reading past his/her bedtime Kym sent to me after one of the first "Read With Us" books.  Next to that is the beginning of a friendship bracelet that Colin made in camp one year.  The copper one was etched by my friend Carol (she even etched Vera at the bottom).  I forget where the other one came from, but I love Oriental art and the fabric is silk.  Lovely!  Next up:


On the left we have a beautifully stitched bookmark from Dee and the Hardanger one to the right is one that I made.  Under that we have a scrap of paper with a short grocery list in my Dad's printing (fruit, O.J., veg., bird seed).  That's in one of the poetry books on the bottom shelf of my nightstand.  To the right is a laminated one with pictures from Israel.  In the late 60's my Dad was giving a paper at a conference in Israel and my Mom tagged along for a little trip (fun facts:  they flew on El Al and were basically strip-searched before boarding...it was the late 60's!  Also, at the time flying from JFK to Tel Aviv was the longest non-stop flight!).  To the right of that is a bookmark from Colin when he was in Kindergarten.  The little mice are made from his thumbprint.  The last one on the right is a Danish design that I stitched for my Mom (her Dad was from Denmark).


One of my favorites given to me by my Dad (it says "The best man for the job is often a woman").

My Mom used to use flowers or pretty leaves to mark pages in either poetry books or cookbooks.


There are also cookbooks that were my Mom's that have pieces of paper towel marking pages, or coupons, etc.  It's fun to come across them when paging through the books.

Fletch and I usually use book darts for the books that we read together after dinner.  These are nice because it's so easy to mark exactly where you are.


I forgot to photograph some.  Leslie gave me a set of magnetic ones that fold over your page.  One side has a cat and the other an arrow pointing to your place.  And, in my nightstand drawer I keep a Bible from when I was a kid.  I found a bookmark in it listing all the books of the Bible - must have been something given to me in Sunday School.  And, there are many others in books around the house.  I don't like turning down page corners (or writing in books or underlining), so I'm forever and ever using bookmarks - sometimes multiple ones in the same book!

How about you? What do you use as a bookmark?

13 comments:

  1. I am envious of your book mark collection. I have a tendency to lose book marks, and never use them. Almost all my in-progress books are splayed open, upside down on the page I'm on, lol

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  2. You have a wonderful collection of bookmarks. I sometimes use playing cards or the small calendar cards. When I was teaching, I gave my students corners cut off of junk mail envelopes that they could slip over the corner of a page. They liked doodling or drawing on them to make them more personalized. I got the idea my Mom.

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  3. Such a great collection of bookmarks from so many people and places! I love your Dad's grocery list <3. Kym also inspired me to do a bookmark post, but I've spent all morning in the hot kitchen and I'm beat. Enjoy your long weekend and visit with Leslie!

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  4. You have some real treasures in your collection! I have to admit that the bookmarks I use aren't anything fancy. I have several that came in a mailing from Planned Parenthood, for example, and often I'll just use a spare piece of paper.

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  5. What a great collection. I love that you have ones from your parents.

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  6. I have a shelf on my bookshelves that has a collection of bookmarks on it at the moment. I had no idea I had so many until I started unpacking all the books. You've got some real beauties. I had to laugh when you described what your mom used in her cookbook. I've got a very old cookbook that has been passed down from my great grandmother and every generation added a recipe jotted down on a piece of whatever came in handy. I treasure that book though it is falling apart. I am probably the end of the line for it. I can't imagine any of my kids caring about such things.

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  7. This post made me all verklempt! Those bookmarks are all so incredible! (I have some from my kids, some from friends, and some from great purchases - Miss Babs always includes a bookmark as does Goulet Pens! Reading companies are the best!)

    Enjoy your long weekend!

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  8. What a great collection of bookmarks. I have bookmarks from bookstores I have visited and some other gems. I love that you have some from your parents. I have a couple that belonged to my Mom.

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  9. I have crocheted ones from my Gram, ones from my own making and I like the folded magnetic ones-they stay put! Nice collection; thanks for sharing!

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  10. What a fabulous collection of bookmarks, Vera! :-) As you know, I do use bookmarks, and have quite a collection myself. One of my favorite things . . . is finding a special bookmark I haven't seen in awhile when I open up a book of poetry or a cookbook!

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  11. I have one lovely cross-stitched bookmark--a friendly-faced cow--make by my friend. Beyond that, and since I read mostly hardbacks, I use the flaps of the book jacket. I was never one for bookmarks, oddly enough.

    The one you have from Colin's fingerprint is a true treasure. What a wonderful idea that was.

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  12. loved seeing your bookmarks! I use free ones mostly because I LOST a dear one (library book???) I have some favorites that were made for me and one that my mother in law gave me.

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