Books, Paper, Money - Money and Coins

A series of old Indian Head pennies made into a brass belt buckle.

From coin collectors, to bankers, to working professionals, to stay-at-home moms ... we all have an interest in money. In fact, without some money, you're fairly limited in the things you can do and accomplish in life.  While I think we'd all love to live "off-the-grid" and make our way in life without need to work or have money to acquire the things we want ... most of us realize that you don't have to be rich to get, make, or acquire some things that make life easier, you do need a little bit to survive in today's world.

Historically there has always been some form of "coin" in use, from glass beads, to gold pieces, to minted money there has always been a way to exchange or barter for what we wanted. Bartering didn't use to involve the exchange of money or coin, but often goods for good, or work for goods so a medical man might offer herbs or tinctures to a patient in return for food or work.

For all anyone knows, there may come a time in our future where bartering for food or goods is the only way to acquire things we can't make, or grow ourselves. Nobody really knows what the future holds for humanity.

Books, Paper, Money Page 3 - Books and Papers

Country and Western Music Magazine

Books, magazines and newspapers have always been something that grabs my interest. I suppose that's because I love to read - I've been a voracious reader since I was first able to read, and that desire has only gotten stronger as I've aged. I still love to read. There is nothing quite like immersing yourself in a good book; when the story takes over and you forget that you aren't actually living through it, then you know you've found a great author.

Although magazines grab my interest a lot less than they used, sometimes you can still find good information and knowledge in some magazines. Oh, not those frilly foofoo types about celebrities or hairstyles or even fashion ... I'm talking about real knowledge ... National Geographic comes to mind, or even subject focused magazines like Photography Today, or Popular Mechanics.

Personal Items - Page 3

More time-keeping goodies, but this time it's watches. Most are worn on the wrist, but for years and years women have worn watches on neck-chains, or even on pins (older nurses watches were pinned to their bodices), and men have (and still do carry) pocket watches. Some watches look like bracelets, and some very tiny ones are even built into rings.

I can barely see an ordinary watch, let alone one with a small enough face to fit on a ring. I'm afraid a ring-watch would need to come with a magnifying glass for me.

Today, not only are many of the watches faces much more decorative, some are very large, and most smart-watches have very large faces. I have one (a Moto360), but because of it's size I find it awkward to wear on a daily basis. It's okay for when I need to track my exercise but it usually ends up getting in my way and the strap is so large (because they are made to fit men or women) that even doing it up on the last slot it slides around my wrist.

Silver Bracelet Watch with cover that opens over watch face.

Personal Items

Enamel and Faux Pearl Necklace

Personal items sounds so personal, doesn't it? I guess for some of us things like jewellery, belts, shoes and other similar things are considered accessories, but personal items can also include things like a shaving brush, hair combs, and even a cane.

All of these items are things that can be individual to each person; everyone has their own taste in shoes and jewellery, and in items used for personal care. Some like electric toothbrushes, while others prefer a normal everyday toothbrush. One person might like bar soap, while another will only use bodywash. Even the choices we make for shampoo or conditioner are personal - these our chosen based on our own personal tastes, or some might be chosen over others because of the need for specialty items or allergies.

So ... you'll find lots of different items here, and while they're all personal items, I'll try to keep them grouped in "like" items (for example jewellery on pages with other jewellery, shoes with shoes, etc.)

Personal Items - Page 2

Whether any of these bags, clutches, or wallets are of interest to others in terms of image use is something I don't know ... most aren't designer bags, or made by well-known companies. Some are vintage, or downright antique but for me, that's what makes them interesting.

Vintage black dress bag.

I don't think I'll ever understand why someone "needs" to have some designer's name on their purses. I just don't get it. If a purse is well made, and serves it's purpose, and you like it's style ... well, who cares what name is on it?  I mean really ... why? Why would I want to spend $4,000 on a handbag, when there are plenty of others out there that do the same job, and look just as nice? I'd rather put $3,900 in cash into my bag than spend it on another purse.

You know what they say right? "A fool and his (or her) money are soon parted."  People running after designer anything can spend a lot of money in the blink of an eye for things that don't often even look that special, and aren't made any better than other products without the name.

Explaining the PNG File

What is a .png file ... and what can I do with it? Ah, well that's a question that quite a few people wonder. A PNG file is a graphic file format that has similarities to both the popular .jpg format and the older .gif format. It can be the same as a .jpg and you can use the same way as you use a .jpg file. It has has the ability to save a file with transparency, like the .gif file, but PNG (or .png) handles photographs very well and allows a wider colour gamut than .gif does. That's the basic and simple explanation, but if you want to know more about the .png format you can find the technical stuff here.

I don't save straight forward photographs as .png files, because for web use, the .jpg is perfectly fine. But, if you do collages or image compilations (creating one image using many elements from others) then the PNG file can be very useful if saved on a transparent background. Here's one example. We've got this picture of a tree branch with leaves and green berries on it, but we want to add something to it. Like maybe a garden snail - a giant snail.