Rings of Fire

This past weekend many people were fortunate to view the solar eclipse dubbed the Ring of Fire.  My husband's co-worker was in CA and took a great picture of this event and sent it to him.  Many pictures have appeared on TV and the internet.  There were so many pictures of this ring of fire that actually looked just like an engagement ring or a wedding ring.  It is amazing that this eclipse could produce such beautiful pictures.  I found a picture of the eclipse that appears to be heart shaped.  I imagine someone may have photoshopped this picture, but I love it just the same!  It certainly spoke to me as significant and beautiful at that moment.
When you read or hear accounts of this, people talking about it sound so happy and excited.  Many of them said it was "beautiful," "unique," "superb."  It is exciting just hearing about the affect it had on so many people.

Our family experienced a similar happy event this weekend.  Our daughter called us to say she was engaged to the love of her life.  Our family couldn't be happier and we view this as a beautiful, unique and superb union of two people who are most suited for each other.  Young love is infectious and our family felt this as soon as we heard.  We have had a rough year and were certainly feeling the need for something wonderful like this to happen.

Eric presented Madeline with a beautiful "ring of fire!"    Engagement rings are symbols of the love, devotion, and fidelity the couple shares.  The history of engagement rings dates back to 1477.  It is hard to imagine how many men have presented one of these symbolic rings to his beloved future bride. 
Engagement rings are ultimately circles of metal, and the circle is a part of very sacred, symbolic geometry. Circles have no beginning and no end and thus represent eternity, renewal, wholeness, and perfection. They are also symbolic of the sun, moon, and planets, bringing together all life just as an engagement ring brings together the lives of two people.

Someone once told me that there is no such thing as consequence.  Things happen for a reason and as part of a plan.  How lovely that God chose to present two such amazing events on the same weekend......a heavenly solar eclipse and a union made in heaven.

The ring that Madeline is wearing now that marks her as an engaged woman is a ring that was given to her on her 21st birthday by Mom.  We were shocked and surprised by this generous gift, but Mom felt like her only granddaughter would be the perfect recipient for this ring.  Mom didn't wear it any more, and like many of us as we grow older, our jewelry and possessions give us more joy by giving them away than by hanging onto them.  Of course Madeline was delighted and surprised! Mom told her that she understood that her choice of a husband was hers and hers alone, but that she hoped it would be Eric who gave the ring to her!  I am so happy that Mom got her wish.

Madeline put the ring on and stared at it many times during the next few weeks and she showed it to Eric.  She told Eric all about the ring and how it meant so much to her that her grandmother wanted her to have it.  Since he is just as sentimental as the rest of us, he totally "got it!"  We all agreed then that it needed to go in the safety deposit box to be forgotten about until the right time.  So, that is what we did and except for the few times I had to go to the bank and get something from my safety deposit box, I did sort of forget about the ring.

Eric called Jim and me to see if we were going to be available on a Saturday....he was coming to Clearwater for a visit and he wanted to come see us and 'talk to us.'  Somehow I guess I was on the same page as Eric and even though none of us actually spoke the words, I think we just knew what he was coming to talk to us about.
On Friday before our meeting with Eric I decided to go get the ring out of the safety deposit box.....just in case.  I am so glad I had the foresight to do that.  Eric was thrilled when Jim and I gave him not only our blessings but also this precious, sentimental, symbolic ring to give to Madeline.  I knew that it was what everyone wanted and I knew it symbolized happiness.

Mom comes by her generosity naturally.  Her older sister, Jessie, set the precedence for caring for your family, looking after them, and just being kind and generous towards them.  Many of my prized possessions have come from Jessie, her home or from Mom or her home.  I love this about our family.  We view our possessions as treasures and sentiments and we all love to share them.  It is nice to pass down these family heirlooms.  That is how our heritage is shared and discussed and understood.  Each time I get something from Mom or her home, I want to know the story behind it.  It is a great source of 'history in the making.'  It is one way of understanding our ancestry.  So many of these items hold a wealth of information and sentiment.  Giving and receiving of these heirlooms is priceless and it is so much more joyous than going into a store and simply buying something.

Mom and I talked about Madeline's engagement ring.  The best we can figure it is probably over 60 years old.  Jessie's husband gave it to her after they had been married for a while.  Jessie wore it as a symbol of her love and life with her husband.  Just recently, Mom told me how and when Jessie had given it to her.
Jessie's husband died when I was about 10 years old.  We were all sad, as he was such a dynamic man and his earthly presence was certainly missed when he passed away.  Jessie stayed with us for a while after her husband's death.  She shared my room during this time, and I am sure it is one reason Jessie and I became so close.  Mom told me that she could still remember and picture when Jessie gave this ring to her.  Mom says they were sitting on my sister's bed and in their grief, Jessie took the ring off and gave it to Mom.  She told her she wanted her to have it, and Mom's protests were in vain.  I guess Jessie figured that since she had lost her husband, the ring didn't mean as much to her as it would to Mom who was in the midst of a very happy marriage to my Dad.
I love it that both Mom and Jessie wore this ring as a symbol of their love for their husbands.  And now Madeline will get to wear it with the same sentiment.

Madeline has been a bit of a romantic all her life.  When she was little she loved to play dress up and pretend (or prend, as she called it).  Sometimes the pretended she had a sister and sometimes she pretended she was a bride!  I always loved the get-up she would put together to represent whatever she felt like pretending to be on a particular day.  Madeline has never left me feeling any sort or boredom or dullness in my life.  Her antics are most entertaining.

Madeline's favorite movie is "The Notebook."  She owns the DVD and I imagine she has watched it from start to finish over 20 times.  She could practically quote this whole movie, yet she gets teary eyed whenever she watches it.  Yes, she is a romantic.
One of Madeline's other favorite movies is "Romeo and Juliet."  Enough said.

I always tell people Madeline and I have been planning her wedding since she was three!  I am sure that is a bit of an exaggeration, but she has always loved to hear stories about weddings, love, and life.  For many years we have talked about her wedding.  I guess some girls always dream about that and I look forward to helping my little girl's dream come true.

I can't tease Madeline too much.  I am pretty much a sappy romantic myself.  I have melted and fallen in love with my husband more than once.  One of the most magical moments was at our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.  After dinner, during the toasts, Jim had me stand up as he took my hand and formally proposed to me in front of everyone.  He slipped an engagement ring on my finger.  He had bought it and surprised me.  I didn't originally want an engagement ring because I was being practical about money and our future.  Believe me, the romantic in me loved this whole thing.  I was certainly glad he decided to toss practicality aside.  It was definitely one of those moments when I melted and fell in love again.
There is a lot of truth in the symbolism of the sacred and symbolic geometry of the circle that is an engagement ring and its representation of renewal and perfection. There was nothing more perfect than that night.

The wedding band that I have worn for almost 36 years was the ring my Dad put on my Mom's finger on their wedding day.  When Jim and I were engaged, Mom told us she would like for us to have her ring.  It is a perfectly beautiful platinum ring encircled with diamonds.  Mom was now wearing the ring Jessie had given her and she had a wedding band made to go with that ring.
I guess in our family, these rings are truly circles of life and love.

These rings are not exactly the items from Mom's house that I have been writing about, but they are still family heirlooms and their stories have so much to tell about our lives and our loves.
And memories are made of this.

Ring of Fire
Solar Eclipse 2012

 Love is in the sky!

The Engagement Ring

 It's official

She said YES!

Madeline pretending to be a bride!

Daddy and Me

Collections, Curios and Cats

For as long as I can remember, I have collected things.  One of my first collections was cats.....small cats, medium sized cats, large cats, fuzzy cats, porcelain cats, ceramic cats, wooden cats, concrete cats, stuffed cats, cat ornaments, cat clothing, pictures of cats, real cats.....you name it.  Madeline likes to call me The Crazy Cat Lady.  I suppose she hit that one right on the mark!

Anything cat-like makes me smile.  I am a cat lover in every way.  One of my favorite parts of my cat collection when I was young was little ceramic cats that I often bought in gift shops when we traveled.  Daddy always gave us "spending money," (really, isn't most money SPENDING money?) to use on our vacation.  I was drawn to these cute little cats.  I had them displayed in my room.  George Newman made the coolest shelves for my cat collection.  They were wooden boards that we painted PINK (of course) and they were joined together by ropes.  We called them hanging shelves and they really were unique and fun.  I wish I had a picture of them. Hopefully a picture will turn up somewhere sometime.  Anyway, I had all my little cats proudly displayed on these shelves.  Below them was a chest (pink) that I used to store all my stuffed cats in and on top of.  It was truly the room of a cat lover!  I know that once I went off to college Mom had my cat collection all packed up in a box for safety.  Eventually she gave it to Madeline and I know it is around this house somewhere.  I'd love to find it and go through it.  I'm sure each little cat would bring back a memory.  I remember one that was a natural piece of oddly shaped wood that had three little blue-eyed Siamese cats glued to it.  I think that was always my favorite piece in the collection......that or the little cat with a real gold chain around his neck and hanging like a leash.  (A cat on a leash is a real oxymoron in my mind.)

My Aunt Myrtle lived in The Methodist Home in Charlotte when she got older.  She took ceramic classes there.  I have a few cats she made for me in her classes and they are cherished additions to my collection.  They are larger than the little cats I bought in the gift shops.  They looked so stately and elegant amongst the smaller cats.

I am pretty sure that the stuffed cats and fuzzy cats are long gone, but my memory of them will never be!  There was one little fuzzy white cat that I carried with me everywhere.  I slept with him and loved him like he was a real pet.  Madeline loves the stories I have told her about this cat....in particular the one in which I explained that I rubbed his little fuzzy head so much, it wore away and became very small.  It really made him quite funny looking, but I loved him all the same!
One time I was playing out in the backyard and it was cold and icy from a previous snowstorm.  I was all bundled up and couldn't move very well, but I still managed to carry my funny little furry cat with me!  I slipped and slid into the creek.  I was really scared and couldn't get out.  I remember our neighbor, Terry Tillman, saw me and ran over and got me out.  I was never so glad to see someone as I was her!  I will forever be indebted to her.  The worst part of that incident, once I was safely back in my yard, was the little cat who fell in the cold, dirty water when I slipped in.  I remember either Mom or Martha (or both) going back to the scene of the incident with me and found my cat and got it out.  When I saw how nasty and muddy and awful the cat was, I cried and threw it back in.  I was devastated.  They rescued the cat again and took it inside and tried to clean and dry it.  I guess I eventually accepted the cat back, but in the meantime I will never forget the surprise I found on my bed one day.....a pink basket with not one, but three, little fuzzy cats in it!  They were all different colors with little bows tied around their necks.  I guess Mom and Dad had gone out and bought that for me trying to give me some sort of comfort.  I played with those three kitties and petted them until they, too, had small flat heads!

It's no wonder that "Cats" is my favorite Broadway show.  I have seen more shows than I can recall, many of them several times.  I think I lost count at 9 for "Cats!"  I love the show...everything about it.  The cats and their movements in their costumes fascinate me.  I love the music and the set.  I love the comedy and the drama of it all.  I am a big Andrew Lloyd Weber fan and I am also a T.S. Eliot fan.  I have a copy of Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats."  It is the book that inspired the musical.  Carol Rose was my first 'victim' of accompanying me to see the show. We were in New York, and went to see the matinee on a whim.  I was hooked as soon as we sat down in our seats!  Jim, Mom, Madeline and some other friends have been 'victims' at other times.  I am not sure anyone, except maybe Madeline, loves the show like I do.  Perhaps you have to be a crazy cat lady to totally appreciate it!

In my lifetime I have collected Dreamsicles, dolls, Precious Moments figurines, Willow Trees, seashells, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, Pandora jewlery, minature boxes, coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments, angels, Playbills, ticket stubs, and many other things.  I doubt anything will ever top my cat collection.  In fact, anyone walking through my house today will find some sort of cat figurine, picture, or pillow in almost every room (and of course, my ever present Leo and Peabo!).  I just can't seem to let it go.

On Dec. 25, 1991, Mom started a collection for Madeline.  Fortunately for me, this collection has "lived" in my house, but I feel the day coming before too long when Madeline will take her collection to her own home.  Her collection is antique perfume bottles.  They are so beautiful.  I enjoy looking at them every day.  I have the letter that Mom gave Madeline with her first 2 perfume bottles she received for Christmas that year....she was 2 years old!  I keep the letter in the little drawer in the curio cabinet that houses most of her bottles.  It says:  "Sweetie Pie, Gramma is starting a collection of antique and unusual perfume bottles for you.  You may keep them in a "safe" place until you have your own place where you can display them.  Here is one for your first and second year.  Hope I can find a special one each year.  I love you--Gramma."  Not only did Mom find a special one for each year, she found many more than that!  We haven't gotten any new ones to add to the collection for awhile, but I feel like it is something I will always want to look for when I visit an antique shop. And for now, the bottles are In a 'safe' place.
The first time Mom and Martha came to visit me after I moved to Florida we decided to go to St. Pete and tour the Dali Museum, have lunch and sightsee.  We passed the Museum of Fine Arts and noticed a banner that said they had a display of Scent Bottles Through the Centuries.  If was from a collection of Joan Hermanowski.  We couldn't help but go see the display.  I remember how breathtaking some of the bottles were and how interesting their history was.  Mom enjoyed this exhibit as much as I can ever remember her enjoying anything!  I still have the booklet we received when we toured this exhibit. I actually came across it at Mom's hosue when I was packing her up to move to Florida.  In the booklet, there are pictures of some of the bottles with a description and their histories.  Madeline's collection has several bottles that are similar to the ones in the booklet.  It's nice to know the time period they might have come from and the use that they had.  I keep that booklet in the drawer with Grandma's letter to Madeline about the bottles.

For years we had the perfume bottles here and there, but we never had a great place to display them all.  As the collection grew, it became very frustrating.  One day I was playing bridge at my friend Dee's home.  She and her husband are antique dealers and she knows how much I love antiques.  When I walked in her house, I saw this unusual curio cabinet in the living room.  I knew it hadn't been there before.  I immediately started admiring it and saying how it would be perfect for the perfume bottle collection.  A lot of people didn't know about the collection since it has never been displayed in a great place for people to see and enjoy.  Dee told me they were going to "fix up" the cabinet a bit, such as mending a broken leg and replacing the light inside it.  She also told me it was for sale.  I told her I would buy it right then and there!  Nevermind that I didn't know where I was going to put it or how much it was going to cost. Of course Dee gave me a great deal and when she and her husband delivered it to my home, I immediately found the perfect place for it.  It only meant changing around a couple of pictures and knickknacks.  It is so beautiful and is now a conversation piece for anyone visiting.  I love the history and stories behind the piece of furniture and each perfume bottle inside it.  (And of course there is one bottle with cats on it!)
To date, Madeline has 36 bottles in a curio cabinet and 21 minature bottles which are on a little shelf in her bathroom.  Mom had a few of Madeline's bottles living at her house as well, so when we packed Mom's stuff up to move, we labeled the box of perfume bottles "for Madeline."  Who knows....we may need to buy another cabinet for the minature bottles and the hopefully growing collection.

Thinking of collections, cats and curio cabinets, I can't help but muse over the phrase "curiosity killed the cat."  I also believe the myth that cats must really have 9 lives since their curiostiy so often seems to get the best of them.  The proverb "curiosity killed the cat" is used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation.  Research showed me that a less frequently seen rejoinder to "curiosity killed the cat" is "but satifaction brought it back."  I am definitely a believer in that rejoinder and I think I must have to start adding that to the phrase as I use it.

I have had a few real live cats in my life, starting with my red Tabby cat Tiger, or more affectionately called Dinkle.  We got this cat when I was 8 years old when we first moved to Ridgeview Drive.  He was killed right before I went off to college, so I really enjoyed growing up with Dinkle.  Although Martha's friend across the street, Karen Hege, had the mother cat and the litter of kittens from which we chose Dinkle, I think he became more my cat that Martha's.  She loved him too, but the last 4 years of his life she was away in college and the 4 years before that she was a busy high-schooler.  So, I really had  Dinkle to myself a lot.  I remember coming home from school so anxious to see him that Mom would let me sneak him up to my room (he was an outdoor cat) with the exception that I would put him out before Daddy got home!  Moms are good about those sneaky kinds of things sometimes.

I now have Leo and Peabo.  Between Dinkle and Leo, I had Minnie and Oscar.  I also had a few dogs along the way.  Peabo is a precious and sweet cat, also a red Tabby (as was Oscar and so is Leo).  Peabo is 16 and 1/2 years old.  His hearing is bad and he's pretty lazy.  He sleeps a lot, but he proves he has a bit of spunk when one year old Leo annoys him.  He can pounce and hiss with the best of them!
Leo is my newest cat....a rescue cat and a birthday surprise last year.  I love him very much.  I think he came at a time in my life when I needed something new to love.  Funny thing is, Jim loves him as much as I do.  Leo has truly become a part of our family.  And I surely hope he has nine lives, because curiosity is bound to kill him....that is, unless satisfaction brings him back!

Leo has been in and on every possible place in this house.  I don't mind him sleeping on a chair or an occassional foot of the bed, but not on the dining room table, the countertops or anywhere else like that.  We have a trusty spray bottle of water that we use on him when we find him in or on an undesireable spot.  Sometimes he is just so darn cute it's hard to spray him, but he always knows he is being "bad" when we yell his name.  He quickly jumps off.

So far Leo hasn't gotten into the curio cabinet that houses the perfume bottle collection.  I suppose it is because the door is always shut.  I have noticed him admiring all those beautiful bottles, however, when the light is on inside the cabinet.
Keeping Leo out of this cabinet might be one of my biggest challenges. So far in his short life he has been inside my bathroom cabinet, my closet, the dryer, the linen closet, on top of the computer printer, the shelves in the laundry room, kitchen cabinets, any open suitcase, shopping bag, or purse....you name it!


As the wise Dr. Seuss wrote:  "Young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you would learn! The most wonderful stuff!"  I am pretty sure Leo and Peabo adhere to this advice.


I guess without curious cats or curio cabinets full of interesting collections, life could be pretty dull.  The stories that develop from those things are endless.....and memories are made of this.

Antique curio cabinet
full of perfume bottles

Some perfume bottles from collection
(notice the bottle with the cats on it!)

Perfume bottles
from Mom's powder room in Shelby

More of the perfume bottle collection

Minature perfume bottles

Maybe not as innocent as I look.

Curious Peabo and Leo
checking out Mom's suitcase

Madeline with Oscar and Peabo

Leo curious about discarded Christmas wrappings

Leo curious about the clothes in the dryer

Curious Peabo on chair on lanai

And Madeline even dressed as a cat one  Halloween!

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

When I hear the commercials about coffee like 'the best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup' and 'Maxwell House...good to the last drop,' I can really relate.  I do look forward to getting out of bed and having my coffee.  It is a great start to my day, and I honestly cannot imagine getting up and NOT having coffee! 

I am lucky.  Jim wakes up before me 90% of the time and he always makes the coffee.  I love walking into the kitchen and there it is....a pot of coffee waiting for me!  It is truly the best part of waking up.  Jim makes a large pot for just the two of us.  He is a creature of habit and has his 2 mugs of coffee (really one and a half because he usually pours out about half a cup).  I, on the other hand, will finish the pot no matter how much is in there.  I will also finish it even if it has been made for several hours.  I drink my coffee black and the stronger it is, the better.  Coffee that has been sitting in the pot for a long time doesn't scare me!  And I do always drink it to the last drop.

We have been through many coffee pots and coffee makers through 35 years of marriage.  I remember when we first got married we had a percolator.  This percolator wasn't electric, it was an old one that you put on the stove top. It served the purpose, but I remember when Jim's sister, Donna, visited us for the first time she bought us a drip pot. She was, and still is, very kind and thoughtful like that.  We thought we had really moved up in the world!  I remember it was sort of a rusty orange and white coffee maker.  The carafe was squatty and round.  After that coffee maker, we were hooked and we went through several Mr. Coffees, Black and Decker coffee makers, as well as Sunbeam and Melita ones.  Some we liked better than others, but one thing I know for sure...we were never without one!  If ours stopped working, we went to the store that day to get a replacement.

When we were packing Mom up to move to Florida, I got sort of tickled when I realized she had 3 coffee makers.  That is a lot of coffee options for one woman.  She had a traditional 12 cup Mr. Coffee that we had bought her several years ago when we realized it would be nice for her to have a new one.  

About a year ago, Madeline came to Shelby to pick me up.  I had flown in to visit Mom.  Madeline had spent the summer at Duke University for ADF (a dance program).  She had her car, Baxter, with her in Durham.  She drove to Shelby to visit with grandma and get me so that the two of us could drive back to Clearwater together.  She had her car full of all her things from the summer.  She had bought a small 4-cup Mr. Coffee to use in her dorm room at Duke (she has the same 'need' for morning coffee as her mother!)  She really didn't need the little pot any more.  She had a coffee maker at school in Philadelphia and I didn't need it in Clearwater.  Mom was happy to take it because she thought having a small pot made would be more practical for her since she lived alone.  That made pot number two.  

This past Christmas, Bob and Porter gave Mom a wonderful Keurig coffee maker.  This one makes the most sense of all since it makes just one cup at a time.  Mom loves it and it is the only pot she moved to Florida with her.  It is perfect in her kitchen at Stratford Court. I must say I have used it from time to time whenever I go visit Mom.  I love it and wouldn't mind to have one myself for those times when I crave JUST ONE cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon....long after I have had the last drop from my morning pot of coffee.  

Mom's other two coffee makers were donated to Goodwill.

Stratford Court has coffee available at all time for the residents and their guests.  Mom gets a cup from time to time when she goes down to the lobby.  I know she is thankful for her Keurig coffee maker, though, because there are those times when she doesn't feel like going out of her apartment in search of a cup of coffee.

I always associate coffee with my visits to see Mom in Shelby.  We both agreed that our favorite part of my visits were our morning chats and deep discussions over coffee at her breakfast room table.  We sat there for hours many days.  It was so relaxing for me and it was nice for her to have someone in the house when she woke up.  Mom says she loved waking up to a freshly brewed pot of coffee just waiting for her!  I usually got up before her so I would have the coffee all made.  Now that Mom lives in Florida in her own place, we don't get to have these morning coffee moments any more.......that is, unless we plan a sleepover.  We have one of those coming up very soon while Jim is out of town on a golf trip.  Mom and I have plans to put on our pjs nice and early, pop some popcorn, and watch a good movie...preferably a nice romance or some other "chick flick."  She will sleep over at my house and we will have a morning coffee session the next day!  I look forward to it.

During our coffee time in the mornings, Mom and I talked about anything and everything.  Sometimes we sat in silence for a little while as she read the paper or did a word search puzzle and I worked on a crossword puzzle or read my email on my iPad.  The silence never lasted long, however.  It was such a great time to talk....after a good night's sleep and feeling rested and refreshed.  We would talk about the night or day before.  We talked about our plans for the day.  We talked about friends....old and new.  I think Mom got to 'know' my friends just by all the things I told her about them!  We talked about the past and I know Mom was always amazed at the things I remembered.  I do love to reminisce.  I love remembering the people, places and events of my past.  I have had a good life and talking about it makes me realize it more and more.  Mom and I have laughed and told jokes over coffee at the breakfast room table.  We have also cried and shared our deep feelings of sadness, grief or sorrow.  We talked about Jessie and Martha and Daddy and Aunt Madeline.  I think it is healthy to remember those who are no longer with us on this earth.  Talking and sharing stories about these people is a wonderful way to remember and pay tribute.  Mom and I have talked about my children and what all they are doing or have done or hope to do.  We talked about Porter and remembered funny things about him like his performing country music songs with a make-believe microphone when he was little.  We also talked about what a fine young man he is turning out to be.  Martha and Bob did a good job.  Mom and I have talked about Shelby and Clearwater.  We have talked about our marriages.  We talked about the weather.  We talked about church, religion and the Bible.  It's nice to have someone to talk openly with who shares your feelings about faith.  We talked about politics.  Since it is just the two of us, there are no boundaries about what we can talk about or say.  We never argue or disagree.  Sometimes we feel like we have solved the world's problems.  Or sometimes after our discussions, it seems like there are more problems in the world than we had really cared to think about.  

One time for Valentine's Day I sent Mom a special coffee mug with some other 'goodies.'  She loves this mug and it, too, made it to Florida as one of the chosen ones!  The mug has hearts on it and of course it is pink.  It says:  Take time out of your busy day to take a break with me today!  When you think of me know I'm thinking of you!

I thought it was appropriate since we both have such strong feelings about our morning coffee discussions.  I thought the mug would help her think of me during the times I wasn't there.  Of course, she still had to get up and make her own coffee!

Coffee pots may have been through quite an evolution throughout time, but the bonding created by a good 'coffee session' is changeless.

Wake up and smell the coffee.  Memories are made of this.

                                                                  

A coffee pot for any occasion!

Special coffee mug for special coffee sessions

Seashells

She sells seashells by the seashore.  That is a familiar tongue-twister we all learn as kids.  Although I don't sell seashells by the seashore, I do love shells and the shore.  When Jim sees me working on my shells or making a craft out of them, he walks by and says 'Mary's Shell Shop.'  I guess selling seashells by the seashore isn't all that far-fetched!

I go to the beach as often as I can and when I am there I love to go shelling.  My sister-in-law loves to go shelling even more than I do.  Between us, we have a massive collection of shells.  We have both learned to clean, organize and store our shells by types.  I bought a bunch of plastic boxes and I have mine sorted by type in each of the boxes.  Linda has her containers labeled, and if I am not mistaken, has them stored in alphabetical order!  I haven't gone quite that far.....yet....but my brother-in-law did put a shelf and some cabinets in my garage which is now my "official" Shell Station! 

Shells are great to simply display, as they are really beautiful to look at.  And for those of us who love the beach, it is like bringing a little bit of the shore inside our homes.  Locating just the perfect jar to display a certain type of shell is always a great "find".....almost, but not quite, as thrilling as finding the perfect shells on the beach to put in the jars.  Nice bowls are also a great way to display the shells.

In addition to the sheer enjoyment of looking for the shells on the beach, Linda and I love to make crafts out of our wonderful collections.  We have made everything from Christmas trees, to frames, mirrors, ornaments, boxes, and even bridge tallies!  Crafting with shells has endless possibilities.

My son, Joseph, lives in Tennessee and has always been more fond of the mountains than the beach.  However, the last time he came to visit I took him shelling with me on Honeymoon Island.  I think he got bit by the bug and he realized that is was just like a treasure hunt!  It tickled me to hear him call me over to show me something he had found.  It felt like he was an excited little boy again....not a 32 year old man!  He, being an artist himself, noticed the perfect markings, spirals, and truly the sheer beauty of the shells. 
Not only are the shells beautiful, but I was marveling to Linda, as we were busy making crafts out of our shells, about how amazing it is to realize that all of these different creatures live in the shells out in the ocean.  It really is impressive and just one more reminder of the vastness of God's creations.

Mom never has been one to make arts and crafts, but she spent the day watching Linda and I create lovely refrigerator magnets out of coquina shells.  The magnets look like delicate water lilies and if I must say so myself, they turned out quite nicely.  Mom wasn't interested in making any as she felt she didn't have the patience nor the nimble fingers, but I did give her two to take home.  I think she kept one and gave one to her neighbor.  Mom was fascinated by what we were doing, and it seemed she was genuinely interested in seeing how we spend our "craft days."

This particular craft day brought a lot of laughter to us.  I got out my hot glue gun to make the magnets and I was asking Mom if she could imagine whatever happened to the glue gun I gave Martha for Christmas one year.  I can still see Martha's face as she opened the gift.  At first, I'm not sure she even knew what it was, and then she asked me what in the world made me get that for her!  Obviously, she was not excited about that gift.  I told her that she now had a child who was busy in school and that no mother could get by without a hot glue gun.  I was sure she'd need it to make something Porter might need for school, a party, a play or some other activity he might be involved in.  Again, she laughed and told me I was crazy! 
Porter called me several months later to ask about how to use the glue gun because his mother didn't know how.  There was something he wanted to use it for and so he had to ask me for instructions.  He admitted then that it had never been opened.
I am wondering if that hot glue gun in still in the package....?

I was thinking about the different shells and how Linda and I call them by name all the time and we talk about what we are going to make out of what kind of shell.  I know we use common names for them and not the real scientific names, but I love that we are able to not only distinguish the different shells, but we know how to communicate and call them by name.  We have some "nicknames" for certain shells.  For instance, we call auger shells 'drills,' and we easily throw around names like slippers, jingles, scallops, whelks, conchs, and turbans. 
Coquinas are not very common at Honeymoon Island where I normally go to shell.  However, I remember finding lots of them at Myrtle Beach with Martha.  Linda found the ones we used to make our magnets at her Mom's place in Bradenton.  It sparked an interest in me about the different shells, their names, and how they seem to be indigenous to certain areas. 
Wikipedia says that the Donax species has various common names in different parts of the world.  It is known in Florida under the Spanish word 'coquina.'  It is the common and colorful Donax species of the southern Atlantic and Gulf Shores from Virginia to the Caribbean.  This species in locally abundant on beaches with fine sand.
Even though they aren't terribly common on Honeymoon Island, I am sure I will be keeping my eye out for them now that I have a craft use for them!  They will become another treasure that I can look for.

As I was packing up Mom's house getting ready for the move to Florida, one thing I left behind was a big bowl of seashells that she kept on her kitchen counter.  I am going to get it next time I go back.  I didn't pack it because I didn't know if we really needed to transport a big bowl of shells when I have a garage full!  Had I not forgotten that Martha had collected those shells and put them in the bowl for Mom many years ago, I certainly would have never left them behind.  I want to put that bowl of shells next to a similar big bowl of shells I have in my den on the coffee table.  They can serve as a reminder of Martha.  Martha loved the beach and shells too.  That is one more thing we had in common. 

I have many memories of Martha and the beach.  One of the not-so-pleasant memories was from many, many years ago.  I find it funny now, but at the time I am sure I wasn't laughing!  Our family occasionally vacationed in the Myrtle Beach area in the summer.  One year we rented a place and it had two bedrooms.  Mom and Dad had one bedroom and Martha and I had the other.  Unfortunately, there was only one big bed in the room.  Martha made a huge stink about having to share the bed with me.  She said I wiggled around too much and hogged the covers and she didn't want to sleep with me.  Of course, it hurt my feelings terribly because I idolized my big sister and I did not like that she felt that way.  I would have gladly shared the bed with her.  Well, since we couldn't magically make another bed appear and Martha was intent on making her point, she chose to sleep on the floor instead of sharing the bed with me!  Talk about adding insult to injury.
I am sure we quickly made up, as we never argued or stayed mad at one another.  The next day we had a great time on the beach....probably looking for shells together!

As adults, some of our great late night talks were in Martha's condo at North Myrtle Beach.  We would get the kids to bed and sit out on her balcony and listen to the surf and talk for hours.  One particular time I remember the entire night we discussed the various Broadway plays we had seen....together or on trips we had taken separately.  Theater.  That's one more thing we both loved.  Of course, that could be a whole other long story!
Other late night balcony discussions were about books we had read or wanted to read, the trials and tribulations of raising children, childhood memories of our own, our parents, our friends, recipes and entertaining.  One thing is for sure, we never ran out of things to talk about.  There is something about talking to your sister that is so different than talking to anyone else.  No one shares the same commonality as sisters.  There are things you can talk to your sister about that no one else could possibly understand. 

Martha and I used to love to sit on the beach and read, talk, or sometimes even snooze.  Of course, one of us had to stay awake to keep an eye on the kids!  We loved to go out to eat and shop at Barefoot Landing.  I can remember quite a few meals at Hamburger Joe's.....world's greatest burgers and world's greatest wings!  Good times.  I am going to miss them.  I feel blessed with the memories, though.  I like to remember Martha and me enjoying our moments.  We always did have fun when we were together.

It's interesting that Mom has no interest in the shore, the water, the sun or any of those "beachy" things that Martha and I loved so much.  I was thinking about that as I packed up her house and realized that the bowl of shells was the only thing that even resembled anything coastal!  But it was special that she kept the bowl of shells in her kitchen all those years.  I guess she cherished anything that Martha gave her and liked having them there as a reminder of who gave her the gift.  Mom might like to keep them in her kitchen at Stratford Court for awhile. Not only does Mom have a new appreciation for shells, she would love to have them because they are from Martha.  I have plenty of shells in my house, but not ones that my dear sister collected.  I don't ever want to lose sight of that bowl of shells once it is back in our presence. 

We learn as kids to pick up a conch shell and put it up to our ear so that we can "hear the ocean."  It's hard not to do that now whenever I find one of these shells.  I guess we not only hear the ocean in the shells, but the shells can be so many things to us.  They can be the source of inspiration for a craft project.  They can catch the eye of an artist. They can be the reward for a day of 'treasure hunting' on the beach.  They can serve as decoration for our homes.  They can be a reminder of some really great times spent with special people.  And they can be a symbol for someone who is near and dear to our hearts.

A bowl of shells.  A craft day.  A walk on the beach.  Refrigerator magnets. Shelling with your son.  Showing your mom how to make a craft.
Who would think that so many memories are made of this?




Mom's bowl of shells from Martha



Magnets made from coquina shells



Bowl of shells on my coffee table





Every Moment Counts

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.  I remember reading that somewhere along the way and it makes me chuckle.  For some of us, being right twice a day might not be such a bad thing!

It is amazing how much our lives revolve around clocks.  We are forever checking our clocks, watches, the time on our smart phones and iPads.  Everything we do is based upon the time of day.  We have deadlines, schedules, appointments, and places to be.  We often base our eating, sleeping and waking upon a certain time of day.  We set alarms and schedule wake-up calls.  Some of our bodies have an amazing built-in alarm clock.  Some of us depend upon a pet who needs to go out or a hungry baby to serve as our alarm clock.

There are as many types of clocks as there are reasons for needing one.  Mom's house had a variety of clocks, but a few stand out as being special and unique for some reason or another.  I brought to my home a really unusual clock that Mom kept on her mantle.  It is an interesting clock and it has often been a conversation piece because of it's unique look.  I love the clock for reasons beyond its uniqueness and am still looking for a great "home" for it in my house.  I had thought of putting it on the center of my mantle like Mom had for so many years, but it just didn't work out logistically.  I am sure in time I will find a special place for this clock.

I asked Mom about this clock and she said it wasn't that old...at least not that old for her.  She had it about 30+ years.  She and Daddy purchased it at Bill Blanton's Jewelry Store on S. Lafayette Street in Shelby.  What I remember about the clock is that it did chime on the hour at one point in time.  It often quit chiming and it often lost time and it never did keep very good time.  More than once my Daddy took the clock in for repair.  I think he took it back to the place of purchase and when they failed to satisfy the repair, he took it to some 'special' clock repair person. It aggravated him to no end that something didn't work correctly. Not working correctly just wasn't part of his "vocabulary."  I can hear him mumbling something like "Dadburnit!  The clock's time isn't right."  I think the clock became a joke because it was simply just a decoration at this point and not a functional item.  I'm not sure Daddy ever accepted that, but as it goes....It is what it is!
The clock is still non-functional, but I don't care.  I could probably take it somewhere to be worked on, but I doubt I ever will.  If it worked perfectly, it might not have the same "feeling" for me.  I just want to be able to look at it and remember my Dad.

Another clock Mom has in her home is an electric wall clock.  It hangs in her laundry room.  It also serves as a real memory-jogger because it is the clock Jim and I bought to hang in the kitchen of our first apartment after we got married!  It was very inexpensive and it looks like an outdated, plastic "cheap" clock.....quite the contrast to the clock on the mantle.  The thing that is so interesting about this lessthantendollarclock is that it still works like a charm!  I guess Time doesn't care about price or beauty.  I left this clock in Mom's laundry room when she moved, but I feel I need to go back and get it.  I will be curious to see how many years this clock can endure....it has already been almost 36!  Perhaps it can be a symbol for things that endure.  It will forever be a reminder of my first home as Mrs. James Fitzpatrick.

Another clock Mom had in her house is now proudly in my living room (even though it doesn't 'match').  It is the ornate porcelain clock from Jessie (see 'Sisters Are Timeless' blog dated 10/25/11).  It, too, is a non-functional ornate clock!  Daddy didn't have to worry about it since it was still Jessie's when he lived on Lynhurst Lane.  The clock was given to me when Jessie sold her house on Peach Street and moved into Sterling House.  Sadly, my Dad had already passed away.  I guess it might be a good thing because two dadburn clocks might have been too much for Joe Porter.

William Faulkner is one of those authors I appreciate.  When I was at Elon I did my Freshman term paper on him and his works. Faulkner wrote:  "Clocks slay time....time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels;  only when the clock stops does time come to life."  I think a lot of us realize this when we get "lost" in a project or an activity with our friends or family.  Suddenly that clock isn't so important...rather we just savor the moments as they happen.  How often do we say "time flies when we are having fun?"  That really is the same principle.
Clocks are important, but perhaps their importance can simply be in their beauty rather than their functionality.

Clocks are symbolic of time.  Time is precious and what we need to remember about time is how we use it.  We do have a choice about our time and how it is spent.  It really does not matter if the clock is functioning properly.  What matters is that our brains are functioning properly enough to appreciate the time we are given and to use that time wisely.
Using time wisely doesn't necessarily mean that we have to be working or producing or "doing" something every minute.  Using time wisely means that we are not doing things that will cause harm or regret.  I have a wooden plaque hanging on the wall that says "Time you enjoyed wasting is not time wasted."  This quote is credited to T.S. Eliot and embraced by me!

Clocks really are just a unit of measure for us humans who live by statistics, measurements, deadlines and all things practical.  I feel that all we really need to remember about time is so poetically written in Ecclesiastes:  "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." 

I'll bet there aren't any clocks in heaven.

Dadburn Clock!

Still Ticking

Beautifully Non-Functional



Bunnies, Churches and Rebirth

Being a teenager in the late 60's and 70's makes me appreciate the phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."  I had a poster with that saying hanging in my room, and I am pretty sure all of my friends either had it scribbled on a notebook, had a sticker with the phrase, put it on a collage, or sent a greeting card that said that at one point or another.  It is a simplistic phrase, yet the meaning rings true and sometimes we need to stop and think about today as being the first day of the rest of our lives.  

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.  It is a time of rebirth and the feeling that today is the first day of the rest of our lives.  Jesus' Resurrection certainly gives hope for us as we live our lives. It is a chance to have a renewal in our lives; a rebirth.  Knowing that today is the first day of the rest of my life with that added hope for forgiveness and eternal life makes it a realization that life is indeed worth living.

I have had a year of challenges and changes.  I need to stop and remember to start my life again.  It is time to move forward.  It is time for a rebirth.  The dictionary says that rebirth is a noun meaning:  a renewed existence, activity, or growth.  This is not to say that the events of the year need to be forgotten, rather they need to be remembered and incorporated into the "me" who has to move forward and continue to live a life that is full of hope.  Someone once said "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  I guess I should be feeling like Hercules right about now!

The life challenges have led to the changes.  I am forever changed as a person.  My life will never be the same.  But today is the first day of the rest of my life.  A time of rebirth.  One of the most positive changes as a result of the challenges is having Mom live here in Florida now.  I thank God for her every day and I hope the rest of her life will be filled with blessings.  I am trying to find as many ways as I can to enjoy having her here.  I need those memory-building experiences.

I am trying to record a lot of memories by taking the things from Mom's home and considering the memories they evoke.  It has been a great journey and a great way to relive my life.  Every item I touch or see moves me in some way.  These past couple months have really been a journey full of remembrances.  I have looked at things, made decisions about things, packed and unpacked things, decorated Mom's home, my home, and set things aside for each of my children, and some things were given to Porter.  The things have been looked at, touched and talked about more than ever.  I view this as one of the good aspects of moving.  I have learned new things about my family, and I have relived and recalled things about my family. I am happy to be able to share these things. 
Today Mom and I did a lot of talking and sharing and we both agreed that we love our things and we love our homes and always have.  It is not in a materialistic way, rather it is in a sentimental and loving way.  We both have strong feelings about Home Sweet Home.  The things in our homes are there not only as decorative items, but they are there as memory inducers.  Although Mom's home is now much smaller and 700 miles away from the home she remembers, she still has a lot of her things and has made her new home feel like home because of these things. I have also enjoyed the transition of some of Mom's things into my home and soon into my children's homes.  All these changes can really be viewed as simply passing the memories around and giving them a rebirth.

Thinking about Easter, changes, challenges, and moving forward makes me think about my church in Shelby and it makes me think of bunnies.  It's hard to think about Easter without thinking of the cute little bunnies that represent one part of the holiday.  A lot of people see bunnies and rabbits and think of Mom.  She had a collection of rabbits in her home.  Through the years this collection grew and changed.  She had a counter in her kitchen where these rabbits were displayed.  A lot of people gave her more rabbits to add to her collection.  One time Jessie was at Mom's house and made mention that there were too many bunnies in this particular spot.  The next time I visited, I noticed the quickly multiplying rabbits had noticeably been divided!  I found a bunny here and a rabbit there.  Mom moved a few to other spots throughout the house and packed up a couple of boxes of others.

When I was in Shelby helping Mom move, several people wanted something to serve as a remembrance of Mom.  They got to choose a rabbit or two to take home!  That was the only time we were UN-packing boxes.  Now there are rabbits all over Cleveland County (and in Florida) that will forever be a memory for someone of my sweet Mom.

As I move forward remembering that today is the first day of the rest of my life, I remember all the great occasions and events that brought me to this point.  There are more than can be recalled that took place at Central United Methodist Church in Shelby.  Although I attend a wonderful church here in Clearwater, I suppose I will always consider Central the most important church in my life.  Not only is the church beautiful and historic, it is filled with some very wonderful people and some very wonderful memories.  I know Mom feels the same way.  She had  replicas of the church in her home.  Truly the church has served its purpose in helping shape me and my family into the people we are today.  I have said it many times and I said it to my sister on her deathbed, I am so very thankful that I had wonderful parents who took me to a church that taught me about the love and grace of God.  Without that, I am sure I would not have been able to handle the challenges of this past year nor the challenges I have faced throughout my lifetime.

Mom had a decorative plate with a drawing of the church hanging in her kitchen.  I am thinking that perhaps we didn't pack it when we moved her to Florida, but if that is the case, it is still hanging on the wall in her kitchen.  I hope one day I can go back and get it as it is something that I would like to have and display in my home.  It is a lovely reminder of some truly memorable times.

Mom also had a painted cut-out of the church displayed on an easel.  I have one just like it that has been proudly displayed on my counter.  Whoever painted it did a marvelous job.  It is a lovely piece of artwork.  I took the one from Mom's house and wrapped it and packed it in a box for Madeline, along with a few other things I knew she would love and appreciate.  It won't have quite the same impact on her that it has on me, but I know she will understand the importance that it represents. 

Central United Methodist Church is the place where I learned all the wonderful Bible stories that were shared to me as a child.  It is where my parents had me baptized and I in turn had all three of my children baptized there.  It is where I attended MYF (Youth Group) as a teenager.  Not only did we discuss Christian values, we ate hot dogs, made crafts, laughed and sang, went on trips and made friendships that have lasted a lifetime.  It was where I met Steve and Rosa Linda, our leaders, and where I departed on my first motorcycle ride.  Steve had a motorcycle and gave me a ride home from youth group one night on the back of it!  That church is where I made my confirmation, understood the meaning of communion, and sang in both the youth and adult choirs.  I got married in that church and taught Sunday School to Kindergartners with my cousin, Ellen, in that church.  I attended Vacation Bible School every summer as a child and when I lived in Shelby as an adult, I taught Vacation Bible School there.  I attended the funerals of my dear Aunt Madeline, my Daddy, my Uncle Paul, and my sister in that church.  I served as Martha's Matron of Honor when she married Bob in that church.  I was a happy bridesmaid in my cousin, Ellen's wedding at Central.  I led the children out of "big church" before the sermon started and taught them a lesson in the Porter Activity Center.  I sent my daughter to pre-school at Central and my son, Joseph, there to youth group.
The memories of that church, both sad and joyous, are too many to re-count but they will be forever  ingrained in my heart.

Whether it be a porcelain bunny or a painted cut-out of a church, it is important to have some tangible items in a home to spark a memory of a joy, a loss, or a time in life that you don't ever want to forget.  Most importantly, it is inevitable that these items at some point will spark in us a rebirth and an opportunity to realize that today truly is 'the first day of the rest of your life'.




Beautiful Bunnies

Big Bunny
making memories in Sandy's home

Counter of diminishing
rabbit collection

Central United Methodist Church

Remembrances















Things Change

Sitting in an airport waiting to board a plane always provokes interesting thoughts. There are so many people around you who are also traveling. And there are so many reasons for travel. You can often tell what a person's reason for travel is just by looking at them.

"People watching" is a great pastime and the airport is the perfect place for this.  The young girl in her jeans  and sweatshirt with earphones in her ears, eyes glued to smart phone, texting a mile a minute and conveniently avoiding eye contact with anyone is speculatively a student traveling home to visit her family or going back to school after a visit at home.
The neatly dressed, perfectly groomed man with a black carry-on suitcase and a laptop bag is probably on his way to a business meeting.  His nonchalance and lack of interest tell me he has done this countless times before.
The young couple frantically checking diaper bags, strollers, and pulling fruit snacks and juice boxes out of backpacks are all smiles in between the constant, seemingly stressful activity as they look after their young ones....probably on their way to Disney World or to see Grandma and Grandpa in some state far away, sure to delight them as they greet the little ones with big squeezes and tears of joy.

So many people are at the airport, each with a completely different story to tell and reason for their travel.  Yes, "people watching" can entertain and intrigue for the long time between arriving at the airport and actually boarding the plane.

I am sure as I sit here in this airport today no one could guess what my reason for travel is. I am sitting here having a bit of an out of body experience myself. I cannot believe I am on my way to Shelby to help Mom get ready to move to Florida. It is amazing what changes can occur in a person 's life. My whole world changed on June 23, 2011. I know Mom's did too.  We will never be the same.  As the saying goes:  Everything changes and nothing stays the same.  All I can say to this is Amen!

Mom's decision to move to Florida was such a bold and brave decision.  It is just another reason why I admire and look up to her so much.  Not only is mom brave, she is unselfish.  I know that one of her ultimate reasons for this decision was ME.  She did not want to burden me with constant trips to Shelby which resulted in long absences from my husband, my activities, and my responsibilities at home.  I know Mom felt that she would be helping me out in the long run by being so close by.
Whatever prompted her decision is irrelevant at this point.  What is important is that she will be within arm's reach and I plan to not only be there for her when she needs me, but I intend to fill our days with activities and togetherness.  I want to enjoy my time with her and add to my inventory of wonderful memories!

          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I began writing this at the airport on February 24th as I sat at the St. Pete/Clearwater Airport.  As I finish writing this tonight I am filled with so many thoughts.  Mom is here.  Her place is lovely.  She is settled in.  Her complaints are few and far between.  She is cooperative and pleasant, yet I know her heart aches for Shelby.  How could it not?  I hope I can be all things to her so that she is happy and relieved that she made this momentous decision.  I know that time will prove to us both that this was and is a wonderful thing!

I started this blog (at my friend Sally's prompting) several months ago talking about mom's home, her things and how weird it might be one day to dismantle her home.  It is very hard to believe that the dismantling has already taken place.  This happened much sooner than I ever would have expected.  It was hard work and lots of decisions had to be made, but I believe that Mom has to be smiling about the pleasure many people will have as they enjoy her things.  Not only is her new home lovely, but now my home has made some changes.....I have replaced some things of mine with some things of Mom's......and my things will be passed down to my children.  It's like the circle of life of possessions!  And possessions are not where the importance lies.  The importance is what these possessions represent.  As I see the Mom's coffee table sitting proudly in my den, I just sigh and remember how it looked in Mom's home and I remember when she and Daddy bought it in the Bahamas when I was 16.  I was so enamored with it that my parents promised me then that one day it would be mine.  Seeing the piano in my living room has my life flashing in front of my eyes.  I remember sitting at that very piano 50 years ago!  There is a lot of history in these pieces.

My blog can continue talking about the things in Mom's house and the memories they invoke.  It's just that the actual location of these things has changed.  Porter has Mom's Swarovski crystal proudly displayed in his home.  Madeline has a bedroom set stored in my garage for the time being.  She has often said she wants to re-create that bedroom in her own home one day.  And she'll be able to do that.....all the pictures and accessories, bed linens, etc. came to Clearwater from that bedroom.  Joseph has now proudly displayed the painting of the girl and the llama that Nancy Carter painted in 1963 after returning from Peru.  Joseph always admired that painting at Grandma's house....now it is hanging in his house.  The bronze frog-eating snake that Jimmy wanted is sitting right on top of his dresser!

I hope this generation of recipients will cherish and honor the importance of family heirlooms and what they represent.  The past few weeks have been bittersweet for me.  I have been through every single thing in Mom's home.  I literally left no stone unturned.  I handled each piece of paper and every picture.  My whole life was re-lived in these few weeks (no wonder I am so tired!).  I sorted things into groups for each of the 4 grandchildren.  Porter has all the photos of his mom when she was a cute  pony-tailed, buck-toothed girl.  Joseph, Jimmy and Madeline have a Ziploc bag of photos, old cards and letters they wrote to their grandparents awaiting them.  There will be plenty more stories to tell from all these things...perhaps now with different twists and perspectives.

Yes, everything changes and nothing stays the same.  And memories are made of this.



Looks like home to me!
(Mom's living room at Stratford Court)