Vintage Halloween Glassware

Image 1: Vintage Halloween Pumpkin and Ghost Tumbler

Haunting estate sales, rummage sales and resale shops allows me to find occasional fun items that become family legends.  I once found six of the pumpkin and ghost tumblers above.  They became family favorites, used  constantly year round.  Some of the glasses broke, and since I can't replace them, I eventually put them out of sight and only bring the remaining two out around Halloween.  I gave one of the glasses to my daughter when she got an apartment, to remind her of home and make her smile.  (She insists Halloween is her favorite holiday).

Image 2: Vintage Batty drinking glass

The batty glasses above became a favorite as well.  I only found two of them.  The glass is stronger, but the black bats don't hold up well in the dishwasher, and are now more of "charcoal" instead of black. I now think of the glasses as "ghost bats" - SPOOKY!   

Dishwashers can "etch" glassware and wear off images, and some glasses wear much more significantly.  I should have hand washed these, but the dishwasher damage has been done, and the kids still like them, so I will bring them out each year, but they will still go in the dishwasher.

Image 3: Dishwasher Damage to vintage glassware - Ghost Bats

Using vintage glassware regularly does take a toll on the glassware - Glasses break, and that's OK.  Vintage glassware frequently arrives at a resale shop rarely used or unused, and "using up" a glass is a green option I like.  It also teaches the kids to handle glass with more care - (maybe?).

When the kids were young, I was so happy to have matching glassware.  I gleefully ditched the children's plastic as soon as they were old enough, good-bye plastic sippy cups!  Then came the next battle.  Every time someone wanted a drink, a new glass would be out, and on a hot day you could fill the top of the dishwasher with dozens of glasses used that day.  I started trying to get the kids to use the same glass all day, which led to needing unique glasses so they could tell the glassware apart.  Does this happen in other families???  So much for matching glassware!

This post is a tribute to these favorite glasses, in case they don't survive the Halloween season.

Happy Halloween!

 Click on the images to see them enlarged.

 

"I love autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it." — Unknown

 

Leave a comment if you have the time, they brighten my day!

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Kaleidoscope Part 3

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A Great Museum for Halloween - in Paris!

Happy Halloween! 

Hall of Skeletons at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

A perfect Museum for Halloween is the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, or in English - the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.  This place is crawling with skeletons of all sorts!  

Snake skeleton at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

I see many museums when I travel, but France's premiere museum of natural history is unique in my experience.

Mounted elephant skeletons at the Museum

It features hundreds of mounted skeletons of mammals, big... (Elephant skeletons shown above)

Tiny Bird skeletons at the Museum in Paris

and small. (Bird skeletons about 3 inches tall above, baby gorilla below)

Juvenile (2 year old) Gorilla skeleton at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

The quantity and quality of the skeleton collection makes it fascinating to see and contemplate - and is reason why the famous Sorbonne University bases educational programs around the museum.

Rhino Skeleton at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

The atmosphere is both beautiful and thought provoking.

Dinosaurs and more at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

The museum includes some dinosaurs and extinct creatures as well.  

Emmanuel Fremiet Sculpture at the Museum of Natural History in Paris

Even before you enter the museum, the ticket line walks past this amazing and alarming sculpture by Emmanuel Fremiet featuring an Orangutan choking a native from Borneo, carved in Marble in 1896.

Detail of Emmanuel Fremiet sculpture

The sculpture gets you thinking of the power of nature, with humans not dominant, even before you enter the rooms beyond. 

Snake skeleton at the museum of natural history Paris

I've never contemplated a snake skeleton before, much less seen one, but after having seen the museum's many exhibits and skeletons, I can imagine this museum has inspired many to pursue medical and biological careers.   I also may have inspired a few nightmares as well, but I left enriched and wishing I would have had planned more time for this incredible museum.

I hope you enjoy the autumn season, Halloween and Thanksgiving!   



Click on the images to see them enlarged.
(Yes, you can see these images even larger!)  The best way to see the images in their largest format is to (on a windows system) right click on the image and select "open in new tab" from the option box that opens. This bypasses software that limits the size of the image opened.  On the newly opened image, click on the image again to see it zoomed maximum.

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

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Halloween Pumpkin Pour

Molten iron pours from pumpkin to pumpkin

Halloween inspires many unique activities across the United States, and one of my current favorites is the Pumpkin Pour at the University of Wisconsin Platteville.

Pumpkin Pour - Molten Iron from 5 pumpkins cascade into 5 pumpkins below

The University has an Industrial Studies program and an AFS (American Foundry Society) club, which runs the event as a fund raiser.

Pumpkin Pour - Molten Iron cascades through 4 pumpkins

The AFS club fires up a metal melting "cupola" that melts iron at over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and among other things, pours the molten metal into carved pumpkins for visual fireworks.

A 4 pumpkin cascade sparks like fireworks

Sparks fly as added water and other chemicals respond to the molten iron, effectively mixing pumpkins with fireworks.

Molten iron splashes as well!

I took these photos at Platteville's 5th annual pumpkin pour in October of 2017.

A Pumpkin drools molten iron

I hope to be at the pumpkin pour in 2018. 

Molten iron pours from pumpkin to pumpkin

After glow - and molten iron puddles

Glowing pumpkins seem to be the essence of contemporary American Halloween for me.  

Molten iron gives pumpkins an amazing glow

For the fundraising portion of the night, the club charges interested visitors $5 each for an iron pumpkin created while the visitors watch.  For $5 a visitor is given a sand cast pumpkin mold, which visitors then carve their unique designs into.

Molten iron pouring into pumpkin molds

AFS members then pour the molten iron into the pumpkin molds while the visitors wait.  Once the cast iron pumpkins cool down, the visitors collect their one-of-a-kind creation.

Iron Pumpkin creations from the event

Above are some of the resulting cast iron pumpkins my family went home with.  See the pumpkin pie?

UW Platteville Pumpkin Pour

The above photo shows the "cupola" from Waupaca Foundries that melts the molten iron in the background, and iron being poured into pumpkin molds in the foreground.

Iron pools while a pumpkin glares after a "Pumpkin Pour".

The photographer in me loves the visuals from this event.

The UW Platteville Pumpkin Pour is supported by Waupaca, logo on pumpkin above

The American midwest is the kind of place you can find colleges and manufacturing companies that support odd events like the Pumpkin Pour.  Thanks to Waupaca Foundry, Neenah Foundry, and of course the University of Wisconsin, Platteville.  Learning complicated manufacturing processes can be fun!  Apparently there are multiple foundry events around the country at different times, let me know in the comment section if you have ever been to one and where it was.

Here is a 38 second video from the 2017 Platteville Pumpkin Pour where I took the photos for this post. It's worth the 38 seconds it takes to watch it!  And here is another video.


Click on the images to see them enlarged.

 

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

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Autumn Art P4

Christmas Pins

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2020 Grammys Grid: All things Halloween (Entry x) 

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