tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238088737908665222024-03-18T23:39:32.201-04:00the simple adventures of everyday lifeTossing and turning, creative unrest. . .
‘the simple adventures of everyday life'is a collection of creative thoughts and ideas that have kept me up at night. Included, are Original Hand-Made Wedding Invitations, cards, photographs, poetry and short stories.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-57190856652217163562016-05-27T14:50:00.004-04:002020-04-25T14:01:58.941-04:00<span style="color: cyan; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>Alvin. . .</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Growing up we always knew about our Uncle Alvin. We had heard the story of his death many times, and it made us feel as though we actually met him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During WWII, both my Dad and my Uncle Chet were in the military. . .my Dad, Leo, was in the Army in Europe, and my Uncle Chet was a Marine in the Pacific battle and eventually in Korea. Alvin was the youngest Brother and he so wanted to be a part of the war. Being that my Grandfather was sickly, he was not required to go, but he begged my Grandmother to let him join, to a point that she finally gave in and signed the papers for him.</span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Alvin joined the Marines and ended up in the Battle of Peleliu, in the Pacific Island of Palau in 1944. He was missing in action. We never really knew what had actually happened. . .there were stories, but we didn’t know what was actually true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Years later, when I worked at a dealership, I got an email one morning from a man who said that he had information from his Father about my Uncle Alvin. . .I was ecstatic to say the least!! I replied to him and he told me a story. . .his Father was Alvin’s commanding officer. Alvin’s platoon was sent to the beach to fight, but Alvin was to stay back and wait for them to return. He wasn’t happy with that and begged his commanding officer to let him go. . .again, Alvin was relentless, until the Commander agreed to let him go. He was sent with another Marine to the beach. . .they barely got there when they were hit by fire and blown up. . .his remains were never recovered.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His Commanding Officer eventually sent me a letter. . .he felt guilty for all those years. I told him it wasn’t his fault, Alvin did the same thing to my Grandmother, begging relentlessly. I hoped that would give him some closure, as his story did for us.</span><span style="font-family: techno;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><b>PFC. Alvin Alton Bielat</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><b>PFC. Leon Joseph Bielat</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: small;"><b>Sgt. Chester Francis Bielat</b></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-87114586694701355582014-07-12T14:26:00.000-04:002017-01-21T03:19:45.516-05:00Shorts. . .<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One day, our little 3 year old Grandson, Henrik, asks my husband, “you like the back of Gramma’s hair?”.</span><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="color: #f4cccc; text-align: center;"> Wishful Thinking.</b><span style="color: #f4cccc; text-align: center;"> . .</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are days when I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror. . .and wish I had a burqa!</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was working, I often had the opportunity to be out and about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one such occasion, I decided to stop for a quick lunch, and since I was right near a Tim Horton’s, that was as good a place as any.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The place was empty, and I thought this will be a nice quiet lunch, so I got my food and sat down facing the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few minutes, a tall, well dressed, middle aged man walked in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked up briefly as he was at the counter ordering his food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He proceeded to find his seat, but he had to pass me in the process. . .as he did, I did a quick double take, slowly leaning to the right,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and almost falling off my chair. . .this tall, well dressed man was wearing PINK HIGH HEELS!!. . .’OMG! He’s got pink high heels on!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s right, HOT PINK to be exact!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I didn’t want to stare, BUT, I really needed to look again, so I put my head down, my hand on my forehead, as if I was reading, and just had to take another peak as I moved my eyes in his direction, hoping that he didn’t notice me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, all these thoughts started filling my head. . .what else was he wearing that was pink under his nicely pressed slacks and classic jacket???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he go to work like this???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">I wanted to stay and wait for him to leave so that he would pass me again and I could get another look, but I had to be back at work, so I had to leave. . .but, all in all, I had a very interesting lunch. . .how often do you get to see a man in pink high heels?</span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-weight: bold; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">One morning, a few weeks ago, as my Grandson, Henrik, and I sat in the front window watching our day start, my Mom came downstairs and said that she hadn't slept all night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her why, and she just shrugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her again, and she reluctantly said that she was just thinking of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked, “What things?”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked at me and said, “I’m just wondering how it will all end for me”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Mom is 92 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That statement hit me like a punch in the heart, and I felt so sad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">Those words also took me back to when I was 27 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were living in our first house, and my Son, Todd, was just 3 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">For over 6 or 7 months, I was obsessed with death and dying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much so that every waking moment, the thought of it was there in my brain overshadowing everything that I did. . .absolutely everything. . .in my daily routine, watching TV, shopping, I couldn't keep from thinking about it, I was convinced that my demise was near.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These thoughts even crept into my subconscious sleeping mind, where as I was having dreams about seeing dirt being thrown down on me. . .it was terrifying too, <span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">I couldn't shake it.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">Then, on a snowy evening, in February of that year, where the snowflakes were the size of quarters, we got a phone call from my uncle that changed my life. . .my Dad had died, collapsing on a street corner as he waited for his driver to take him to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was surreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the days went by and we made funeral plans, those thoughts of my own death seemed to vanish. . .my Dad was my concern now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, could it be possible that what I was going through for those months prior to his death was in fact a premonition?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it be that I was foreseeing a death, thinking it would be my own, when in fact it was my Father’s?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><em><strong>I wrote this for my Mom when she celebrated her 90th Birthday, </strong></em></span></span></span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><em><strong>she will now be 96 in September.</strong></em></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="color: #f4cccc;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><b>A Very Special Birthday Tale. . .</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="color: #f4cccc; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<span style="font-weight: bold; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"> (The Abridged Version)</span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">. . .</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><!--[endif]--></span><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">Once Upon a Time. . .there was a beautiful young girl named, Irene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Irene had many brothers and sisters, and they all lived in a small house in the little village of Kaisertown.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">There, Irene fell in love with a handsome young man named, Leon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leon was an artist and loved Irene very much, he loved her green eyes and </span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">lovingly called her ‘Renee’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Leon had to go to war, so Irene waited very patiently for him to come home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">Finally, the day came when the war was over and Irene and Leon were </span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">together again. . . . .So on a cold day in January, Leon and Irene were married.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"></span><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BeKkXz_912HBfcCv31hZreklVSMk5EbCcDnLYgKQZfXVlEmvQADvjbEUtwSUyCkg5Jy7E5cPbzLrrWyZecU21Dw3lLmj23oyKVkfczxtqj3RGWYQqkw1GWpzCM7ny4mWkyrP25bWsGo/s1600/LR+-+Leo+and+Irene+Bielat+-+Wedding+Day,+leaving+St.+Casimer's+Church++-+January+18,+1947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BeKkXz_912HBfcCv31hZreklVSMk5EbCcDnLYgKQZfXVlEmvQADvjbEUtwSUyCkg5Jy7E5cPbzLrrWyZecU21Dw3lLmj23oyKVkfczxtqj3RGWYQqkw1GWpzCM7ny4mWkyrP25bWsGo/s1600/LR+-+Leo+and+Irene+Bielat+-+Wedding+Day,+leaving+St.+Casimer's+Church++-+January+18,+1947.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><!--[endif]--></span><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And a few months later, they had a daughter that they named Carole.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "the great escape"; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Irene worked for many years at the village ‘5 & dime’ store. . .And everyone in the neighborhood knew her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The years went by, and Carole fell in love with a young man named, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gerald, but the war came again and Gerald had to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carole waited until his return, and they were married on a blustery day in October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few months later, their first son was born and they named him Todd Christopher.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The years went by. . .and then one day, God called.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He needed an artist in Heaven and he asked Leon to come and help Him. . .so Leon left this earth, and everyone missed him so very much.<br />
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The years went on. . .and Carole and Gerald welcomed another son. . .his name was Eric Scott. <br />
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Now, Irene had two wonderful Grandsons, and they loved to visit her, she was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. They would go on adventures riding in a little box. . .it was a car; sometimes it was a plane; it was even a boat; it was whatever they imagined! </span></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaqtEn3RzQJRe4_ul865_ytODpUhuaAzSIQNoy0A0N0LOG34Rc_AeDCaS2yOHjiR71TvvLShcCT0_m5xYNXnn2zi8nhFwUtu-er1GpBpL_QRsRGmxK0j5LH1BOExkXBhBLiwCr07qWuA/s1600/Todd,+Gram,+&+Eric+LR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaqtEn3RzQJRe4_ul865_ytODpUhuaAzSIQNoy0A0N0LOG34Rc_AeDCaS2yOHjiR71TvvLShcCT0_m5xYNXnn2zi8nhFwUtu-er1GpBpL_QRsRGmxK0j5LH1BOExkXBhBLiwCr07qWuA/s1600/Todd,+Gram,+&+Eric+LR.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><o:p>Grandma Irene, Todd, and Eric laughed, and laughed, and were always so silly!!! They liked to call her 'Grandma with the Big Hair'!</o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: small;">The years went by. . . Todd and Eric were now all grown up.</span> </span>
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";">
</span></span><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">One day Eric brought someone very Special to meet Irene. . .his name was Traveler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Irene and Traveler became the best of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some say that Traveler is actually Leon, sent back to earth by God to watch over Irene.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="language: EN; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-armenian-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-ascii-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-currency-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-default-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-eudc-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-greek-font-family: AdineKirnberg-Script; mso-hebrew-font-family: "a Theme for murder"; mso-latin-font-family: "The Great Escape"; mso-latinext-font-family: "The Great Escape";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Todd and Jenna now live in New York City, and Eric and Sarah live on a beautiful farm in a small village called East Aurora. . .Carole and Gerald will be married 40 years. . .and today we Celebrate Irene's 90th Birthday. . .the years went by. . .and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Irene Lived Happily Ever After. .</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-67526010144144485522012-05-11T23:23:00.002-04:002012-05-12T13:25:32.270-04:00Settling in to "Old". . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fTA4gRW93-No7GE5rlR4a03kRl-zEn73FMDyxeuja657zvJMCUTJdV6UBx-1cWhaCtQq9u2yfWZ3EaCurSLu06HF3updn7pPWItpKoQTw62rBGBqWk5mmrPZBu9zkyLe7A9nH2J4W4c/s1600/Clocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fTA4gRW93-No7GE5rlR4a03kRl-zEn73FMDyxeuja657zvJMCUTJdV6UBx-1cWhaCtQq9u2yfWZ3EaCurSLu06HF3updn7pPWItpKoQTw62rBGBqWk5mmrPZBu9zkyLe7A9nH2J4W4c/s320/Clocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">As I listen to my joints creek, and my bones crack </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">(when I walk up stairs, I have a knee that sounds like a soaking wet sponge when it hits the ground), </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">I can’t help but wonder when I crossed the line to ‘old’!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Was it when I reached menopause?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not hardly, menopause was great. . .not a single hot flash!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a transition that brought me joy. . .JOY I tell you. . .PERIOD!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps it was when I retired?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think that was it either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was rather worried about my husband and I retiring together. . .I figured that being together all the time with those everyday annoyances would get the best of us, and at some point we’d kill each other, but that was a worry for nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had a terrific retirement so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerry does his thing, fishing, his </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">‘Wednesday Breakfast Club’ </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">with the guys, helping at our son Eric’s farm, and even my at our son Todd’s apartment in New York city. . .I have mine, beach hunting <em>(mostly for fossils now),</em> my Blogs. . . and together we enjoy antiquing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">My favorite part of retirement is being able to sleep in. . .I LOVE it!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have always hated getting up in the morning, especially to an alarm clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was usually up before it would go off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being an early riser was never my thing. . .not in grade school, or high school, or even for work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It got to a point that I even hated to get up early to go somewhere that I really enjoyed going, like<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the flea market, or for the October Fest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, yeah, I know that there are those people who get up at 5am everyday, no matter what. . . Well, blah, blah, blah. . .I say to you, why??????<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t think of anything that there is to do that’s worthwhile at 5am!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stay up late, sometimes 2 or 3am, and I sleep until at least 10am </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">(this is slowly becoming 10:30 or 11am).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">It took me so long to admit that out loud. . .there seems to be a stigma of some sort if you like to sleep in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a major problem falling asleep sometimes because I’m thinking way too much. . .all sorts of things run through my mind, one right after another.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">All those creeks and cracks in my joints I blame on bending for hours at the beach, and cheerleading </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">(could possibly be all the falls that I have taken over the years without breaking a single bone).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">I was a cheerleader in high school for three years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were required to bounce in a crouched position, then jump as high as we could spreading our extremities and arching our backs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we landed, it was hard and the only protection for our feet were plain old 1960’s style sneakers, with no support whatsoever!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course at the time, we thought nothing of it. . .but now, all that bouncing and arching has caught up with me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Maybe it’s watching my face slowly slough down past my chin, creating some lovely jowls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have often thought that we should be born with a knob on the top of our heads, that could be tightened as we get older, pulling up all the excess skin that we seem to accumulate as the years go by. . .God, let’s talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No fuss, no muss, no surgery!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Perhaps it’s the fact that Jerry and I have been having dinner rather early. . .so we eat at 3:30, who says dinner has to be at 5 or 6pm, or even later?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmm?. . .seems to me that the other day we ate at 2:30. . .OK, moving on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now, let’s talk business. . .it must be that Jerry and I recently became Grandparents for the first time,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our Grandson, Henrik Finn was born last October. . .UH! What a SWEETIE PIE!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">We’re grandparents now, we </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">MUST BE OLD!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">I think back to how my grandparents always looked, old. . .in the eyes of a child you know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But grandma’s and grandpa’s are different now, they get right in there with the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grandchildren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even considered being called something other than “Grandma”, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I actually love being called “Grandma”. . .and I wear it proudly!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">They say that </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">“you’re only as old as you feel”, </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">well, that doesn’t work for me because I usually feel like crap. . .if I feel this way now, what will I feel like when I get older. . .warm crap?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Oh well, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no set line. . .we move on in life, accept the things that happen to us, and be very thankful that we’ve gotten this far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, even with the aches and pains and creaky joints, the gray hair, the wrinkles, and everything else that goes along with our mature years, if we’re here to worry about it, then we count our blessings.</span></span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-30439572654337658302012-05-11T16:08:00.001-04:002012-05-11T16:08:57.621-04:00if only. . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCToKkTeIiaek-ntSxnMjanuxRNYPqnhuBa6ELZ4PKXTXfuaKWOnjnrrNbHVXT9BeARid4jbfQFD08vgHMYSD3A23KWaNPHeKRty8KZ4FJkCAm3RKkgdMODSt-kIbKxaJ3TCIicwcPFzI/s1600/Kite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCToKkTeIiaek-ntSxnMjanuxRNYPqnhuBa6ELZ4PKXTXfuaKWOnjnrrNbHVXT9BeARid4jbfQFD08vgHMYSD3A23KWaNPHeKRty8KZ4FJkCAm3RKkgdMODSt-kIbKxaJ3TCIicwcPFzI/s320/Kite.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3;">If only there was time,<br />to catch a firefly. . .<br />to smell the summer grass,<br />and fly a kite so high.<br /><br />If only there was time,<br />to paint the autumn sky. . .<br />to throw the leaves into the air,<br />and ponder reasons why.<br /><br />If only there was time,<br />to dance on pastures green. . .<br />to splash my face with cooling waves,<br />to drift off in a dream.<br /><br />But now it’s time to reminisce,<br />through summer, winter, fall. . .<br />I cherish all the spring times,<br />and wait for heaven’s call.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-79234535046549385372011-12-18T14:06:00.002-05:002012-01-13T13:14:29.005-05:00wake me when it's over!. . .<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: small;">My usual thoughts at this time of year are, ‘I wish that I could stay in a closet until February!’. . . like a bear, I want to hibernate and forget about all the hoopla that goes along with this season. . .just wake me when it’s over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty much a ‘Bah Humbug’ kind of person, and yet, I just finished 72 handmade Christmas cards, go figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I come into the holidays kicking, screaming, and complaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then I think, who do we have to blame for all of it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who do we blame for all the decorations, all the gifts, all the baking and cooking, and all the wrapping, all that wrapping?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Who?..the retailers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, they do bombard us with Christmas way back in October. . .whatever happened to starting the Christmas season AFTER Thanksgiving??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, my conclusion is that us women are to blame!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, we did it all. . .are we such gluttons for punishment, or are we just so into celebrating???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that I’m not into all of this,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but we’ve been programmed by our mothers. . .we grew up with all of the so called ‘Hoopla’, and we just keep it going. . .year. . . after year. . . after year!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be honest, if it was left to the men, there wouldn’t be ANY celebrations!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that I don’t like Christmas, but there’s just so much to do for just one day. . .and why is there so much to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do we buy so much, cook so much, bake so much, and wrap so much?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I always did it for my sons, they love Christmas, and I always made sure that they would, but now, I’m at a point in my life where I want to cut down on everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the boys were younger, we always cut down our Christmas tree, I actually loved that, my husband, Jerry, not so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a lot of photos of his ass sticking out from under numerous trees, looking for the best place to cut. . .when you’ve seen one of those photos, you’ve pretty much seen them all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we had the room, we would get an 11’ tree. . .ask Jerry how easy that was to straighten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That tree that goes up, sooner or later comes down. . .that’s always a chore, and many a time I contemplated putting Easter eggs on it.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In the Polish tradition, our big celebration is on Christmas Eve, Wigilia, pronounced Vee-geel-ia, which literally means vigil, and supposed to be a fast from meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was little, it was always at my paternal Grandmother’s house, where we lived, and was always a meatless meal, which consisted of mushroom soup, and cheese or sweet cabbage pierogi, and a breaded baked fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the years, my kids and my cousins kids were not all that happy with meatless, so kielbasa, chicken fingers, & ham were added, along with an array of salads. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKfMPhzcZnzgyccNd0WZKRTlQtNHfpYKIokLACAdx0hRDUkLBstSktprGEa3X2TBUFrvaGnmy6nXNxrpTkC814TkwDPvurPIP48LL1KNhk4Z6bEYoLoAt_Gl5d5qiLGM47Zv9MDsYVtI/s1600/Wigilia+1965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKfMPhzcZnzgyccNd0WZKRTlQtNHfpYKIokLACAdx0hRDUkLBstSktprGEa3X2TBUFrvaGnmy6nXNxrpTkC814TkwDPvurPIP48LL1KNhk4Z6bEYoLoAt_Gl5d5qiLGM47Zv9MDsYVtI/s320/Wigilia+1965.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Wigilia 1965</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0XLsH8mGUYJ_EDgsjhhlUf89usdUkM0oqbXay4fw2rB9vHKckWFLuWcGXCep5Fo2BB2IHcOgOtw39sh8WI9PcQFcSr9d-G5ubr-WxBABBXDBxG9M4oHqxzm8LRN-EbMPHQ7pw06wX20/s1600/Wigilia+1965+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0XLsH8mGUYJ_EDgsjhhlUf89usdUkM0oqbXay4fw2rB9vHKckWFLuWcGXCep5Fo2BB2IHcOgOtw39sh8WI9PcQFcSr9d-G5ubr-WxBABBXDBxG9M4oHqxzm8LRN-EbMPHQ7pw06wX20/s320/Wigilia+1965+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">After dinner, the 3 of us, myself, and my cousins Alan and Sharon, would wait for Santa to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There we sat, in our best Christmas outfits, velvet or taffeta dresses, and Alan with his hair all slicked back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve, and ‘Santa’ always made an appearance. . .usually an uncle or family friend who for that evening took on the ‘Santa’ persona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was driven to each relatives house by yet another uncle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our house was always the last stop, and by the time ’Santa’ got there, he was pretty well hammered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the gifts were distributed to us,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>’Santa’ always made his way to the kitchen, where a shot of so-called ‘celebration’ was waiting for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm, so that’s why ‘Santa’ always smelled like booze!!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">My cousins Alan and Sharon waiting for Santa.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On Christmas Day, we visited my maternal Grandmother’s house, and since she had 10 children of her own, there were a lot of us cousins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This ‘Santa’, and I use the term ‘Santa’ loosely, was the most scary-ass Santa that you’d ever want to meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He came in ringing his bells, and snapping his ‘pida’ (spelling???), leather straps, that we were always threatened with if we were ‘BAD’!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wore a horsehair mask, and a satin baseball jacket that was all shredded. . .SHREDDED!!!!!. . .what the hell kind of a Santa figure was this guy!!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course we stood silently, afraid to make a move for fear that he would whack us with his strap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before he gave us a present he asked if we were good all year, of course we said we were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except for one time when we were a little older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He made his rounds to all of us, and then got to my cousin Jimmy. . .Santa asked Jimmy if he was good, and Jimmy looked him right in the eye and said “NO”. . .OH MY GOD!! he said “NO!”. . .what would happen to him?????<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I don’t remember a thing about what came next, and I’m pretty sure that was the last time Santa visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I think of that now, I wish I had that horsehair mask, it’s a pricey collectible item.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXFT5ZepzlnkKU3AV88sE1Sm3g5Qotk_Yhu57DHfxssAYlr28YZpSDnGTC3LqvO2W9CfZR1vEDFHcDFB42Zs2lcdexuL-E2H61_ovYB6zcnEuIqI3UsfMR1EluduqVG_91uoVNR485tM/s1600/Scary+Ass+Santa+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXFT5ZepzlnkKU3AV88sE1Sm3g5Qotk_Yhu57DHfxssAYlr28YZpSDnGTC3LqvO2W9CfZR1vEDFHcDFB42Zs2lcdexuL-E2H61_ovYB6zcnEuIqI3UsfMR1EluduqVG_91uoVNR485tM/s320/Scary+Ass+Santa+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">SANTA????????????</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: small;">When Jerry and I were first married, we got such a great deal on a real Christmas tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bought it at the Bailey Market, a local farmers market in our neighborhood at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tree was all tied up with twine, and it was frozen. . . and it cost $1.00!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so excited about the deal that we got, but I figured that once we got it home, and cut the twine, the tree would probably look like crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that wasn’t the case, it was beautiful, the perfect shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">didn’t expect was that every time we passed it by, you could hear needles fall. </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">More and more needles kept falling, and before we knew it, the tree was just about bare. . .didn’t even make it to Christmas. . .a Charlie Brown tree for sure!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">And so it goes, Christmas after Christmas. . Traditions passed on. . .stories to tell. . .memories to look back on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for as much as I hate this time of year, we have something very special this Christmas, our first Grandchild, our Grandson, Henrik Finn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’ll make this a most wonderful time for us. . .a time to make new memories. . .who knows, maybe Henrik will show me that there is a good side to all the hoopla.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-52541384875805120182011-10-30T12:33:00.005-04:002011-10-30T20:44:48.577-04:00Sweet, Gentle Puppy. . .<div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first time that I met Traveler, a strapping, young Alaskan Malamute, was 10 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son Eric was working at a Kennel and had absolutely fallen in love with this handsome dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traveler was being fostered by the kennel after being rescued from Alabama, a long journey to say the least.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pKG-2aP33jnl6ySMFjb65jwjc1Fx6bDWmkPQhkHAznR_bKKKT5f1Z1_NOzyOjDAziswRa0GolVCbErQ5IZ-TjEuLMH-tUEv7__K6ryBfqkLzpdRGcTxo4TY-xYJsUSy1auJ5b_VcMdU/s1600/Traveler+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pKG-2aP33jnl6ySMFjb65jwjc1Fx6bDWmkPQhkHAznR_bKKKT5f1Z1_NOzyOjDAziswRa0GolVCbErQ5IZ-TjEuLMH-tUEv7__K6ryBfqkLzpdRGcTxo4TY-xYJsUSy1auJ5b_VcMdU/s400/Traveler+1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Eric had been telling us about Traveler for quite sometime, and I knew that his heart had melted for this dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was time to meet him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we arrived at the kennel, Eric took me upstairs to a huge room that was used as an indoor run for the dogs that were boarding there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took me by both arms, moved me to the wall, and said ‘you wait here’. . .when he came back he had Traveler with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He let Traveler off the leash, and this gorgeous wolf-like creature ran full speed all the way across the room, turned around...and came directly to me, put both of his paws on my shoulders, and gave me an amazing ‘Welcome”!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in awe!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was just beautiful. . Full of life, and ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was then that I knew he would become part of our family. . . and so he did.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">Not long afterwards, Eric & Sarah formally adopted him.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">Eric had a huge run installed in his garage, so that Traveler would not have to be crated at first when no one was at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one occasion I can remember that Eric put him in the run, and we went out for awhile . . .when we returned, Traveler was in the garage, out of the run, just looking at us, almost to say ‘where’ve you been?’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow he had squeezed under the gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another time, Eric and I went to an estate sale right in the neighborhood, Traveler was in the house now, since Eric felt he was now used to things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we returned a short time later, there, in the driveway,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was Traveler to greet us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eric said, very nonchalantly, ‘hey, look, it’s Traveler’...then, ‘OMG, how did he get out?’!!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We jumped out of the car, and Traveler just walked right up to Eric, like nothing had happened….once again, ‘hey, where’ve you been?’!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time getting out through the bathroom window that was open.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One incident was very scary and pretty much laid the groundwork for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Travelers life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was at work when I got a call from Sarah, she was in a complete panic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that there was blood all over the house and that Traveler was hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rushed over there, and when I walked in, Sarah was white as a ghost…...I couldn’t believe my eyes….the living room had blood spattered all over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I walked into the bedroom, the site was unbelievable!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There wasn’t a surface in that room that wasn’t covered in blood!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pooled on the bed….smeared on the furniture and walls…..’My GOD, what happened here?!!’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I was law enforcement, I would have come to the conclusion that a murder had taken place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sarah said that when she walked in, she thought that Traveler had killed her cat, but she soon found out that wasn’t the case at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The window in the bedroom was broken from the inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We figured that Traveler must have seen something outside, and not realizing his own strength, landed his paws on the window and broke it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The glass sliced his paw and cut his tongue...he panicked, and began to run all over the house…..hence, all the blood!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we cleaned up, Sarah and I took Traveler to the vet, but there wasn’t much that they could do for him, he had to just heal.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><o:p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">It was clear at this point that Traveler had anxiety issues.</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">Eric needed someone to watch Traveler everyday. . .that’s where my Mother comes in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first, she was totally opposed to the idea, since she was never an animal person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never had a pet as a child, aside from gold fish that I assume got flushed at some point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But once she met Traveler, and she saw just how gentle and sweet he was, it was instant love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traveler loved her just as much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly think that Traveler was my Dad reincarnated. . .they had the same gentle ways. . .the same ‘widow’s peak’ hairline. . .and I truly think that he was here to take care of my Mom (I even asked Traveler one time, looking him straight in his beautiful brown eyes, if he was my Dad).</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Traveler came to our house almost everyday for 10 years. . .and for 10 years. My Mom took wonderful care of him…..always thinking that he needed more to eat...and of course more treats. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">It was an ongoing discussion between her and Eric about how he was getting exactly what he should eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">Traveler now had two homes . . .and all of us loved him dearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved when all of us were together. . .he would ‘Roo’ in delight!!. . .WE, were his pack!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As the years went by, Traveler slowed down. . .as we all did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Mom was now in her 90’s, and getting around became more difficult for both she and Traveler.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Recently, it became obvious that Traveler was having issues with his hind quarters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eric said that it was a nerve problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was put on pain medication and Eric even tried laser treatments, but to no avail. . .Traveler was getting worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even relieving himself was almost impossible.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">We all knew what the inevitable was, but we all tried to put it out of our minds, after all, this was Traveler, our sweet and gentle puppy, he would always be with us.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">But, one day just two weeks ago, right after Eric and Sarah brought their new baby son, Henrik, home from the hospital, Eric had made the difficult decision to euthanize Traveler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was probably one of the hardest things that he ever had to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day was full of tears for us all, even though we knew it was right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> That night, Eric brought Traveler to our house to say 'Goodbye'. . .between the tears we gave him as many hugs and kisses that we could, not to mention treats. Before they left, Eric told Traveler to say 'I Love You'.....and in his heartwarming way, Traveler lifted his head up and gave us 3 wonderful 'Roo's'. . .an 'I Love You' that we'll never forget. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;">Eric made arrangements for his friend Mari, a veterinarian, to come to their house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With his head in Eric’s lap, Traveler went to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eric called me, and simple said ‘he’s gone’.</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eric chose a beautiful spot for Traveler…..next to a tree, in their front park like yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerry and Eric readied the spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave an embroidered white sheet to wrap Traveler in; my Mom gave a bag of his favorite treats; Jerry put in a hat that he wore; Sarah gave an autumn flower; and Eric put down hay, added his stuffed hedgehog to go with him, a little bit of cheese too (his very favorite), then wrote a note to Traveler to take on his final journey.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">. . .he then laid his beloved friend to rest.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix5OmhZQ0BVr5J235RzyiM9GQKk4hJC7kJ3Z8LcFwvrH8cJ8iB3XoAV0TLoAFRjhX7psEeuvdikV6G9Oy27zH7uhOq4DIcQZLezNFFaS8Bk776Enjl83kzUf3cbilcfYsqVzknlDGT5c/s1600/Traveler+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix5OmhZQ0BVr5J235RzyiM9GQKk4hJC7kJ3Z8LcFwvrH8cJ8iB3XoAV0TLoAFRjhX7psEeuvdikV6G9Oy27zH7uhOq4DIcQZLezNFFaS8Bk776Enjl83kzUf3cbilcfYsqVzknlDGT5c/s400/Traveler+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traveler</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2011</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Always Remembered. . .Always with us.'</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-34064132548168891452011-09-11T12:53:00.001-04:002011-09-11T12:55:39.341-04:00Remembering 9/11. . .<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: black;">On September 11, 2001, I arrived at work just before 9am. I walked through the waiting room, (I worked at a car dealership), and quickly glanced at the TV…..I saw a building in flames </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #cccccc;"><span style="background-color: black;">and asked the customers that were waiting, what had happened….they told me that a plane had hit a building in New York City. I raced upstairs to my office, and then went to the business office because they had a TV. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing…..the girls filled me in on what was going on, and then I ran back to my office, this time in a panic because I knew that my son Todd, who lives in NYC, took the train to work that passed directly under the World Trade Center. I had no idea what time he left for work. I called him immediately, and just prayed that he answered, ‘Please God, let him answer, please God, let him answer’…...he did, <em>“I Mom, what’s up?”</em> he asked in a calm voice. My God, I was so happy to hear his voice. . .I said, <em>“Todd, do you know what’s</em> <em>happening outside?”...</em>he said that he didn’t, and I told him what had happened, he couldn’t believe what I was telling him. He went to turn on the TV. <br />
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I then ran back to the business office.. . As we stood watching in horror as the second plane hit, we all gasped! One of the girls said that the pilot must have been blinded by the smoke…..I looked at her and told her that this was no accident, it was a terror attack. This was so surreal…...could we actually be watching this happen? It didn’t seem to register for any of us that this was indeed really happening. And then, we watched as the first building fell. . . .dear God, how could this happen???? <br />
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I went back to my office once again to call Todd. He lived in Brooklyn then, in D.U.M.B.O. to be exact, which was directly across the river from South Street Seaport, and a block away from the Brooklyn Bridge. He said that when the building fell, he lost all TV connections, and that he was taking his camera to the end of the street and that he’d call me later. <br />
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Again, I went to the business office…..by this time, we watched the second building fall. . .we were all in shock. I couldn’t seem to get my insides to calm down, I was still worried about Todd, even though I knew he wasn’t in Manhattan, no one knew what would happen next. I decided to go home. <br />
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Once I home, I was glued to the TV. Todd called at one point to tell me what he had witnessed. He said that what he thought was paper falling from the second building, were actually people jumping. He also said that the people that were running on the Brooklyn Bridge looked like they were on a conveyor belt, moving across the bridge to the other side, and that the air smelled of concrete and ash. I told him to try and get out of the city if he could, but that was almost impossible to do. Later in the day, he did get out through Brooklyn, and went to say with friends.. . .I was very relieved knowing that, and I told him to check in with me later on. <br />
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For the rest of the day, I sat in utter disbelief in front of the TV, watching as events unfolded. . I kept the phone in my hand. . .and just cried.</span> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-77653509707785740672011-06-29T14:39:00.011-04:002011-08-20T11:45:06.647-04:00House Hunters. . .<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our very first house was a two family, front and back flats, that we purchased before we got married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was in Kaisertown, where we grew up, and we lived there for 5 years before we moved to the suburbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being landlords was not for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we move in, I had to raise the rent to $100 for the front tenant, and it just killed me, because she was an elderly woman, but this was an investment for us and I had no choice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlkyDy1ThTykTiJJw7JdGE1akCn21jF-_-aEu5WGbm-gSA7PKTQWOZJstHmuB2XjqwOcfPV1gCPcucPqrDwcXTy_aSk8GZQ2Chpr7hXLlM_0Sw58zJJbDAkuAmnZmjBplHxVO3j3O88A/s1600/Weimer+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlkyDy1ThTykTiJJw7JdGE1akCn21jF-_-aEu5WGbm-gSA7PKTQWOZJstHmuB2XjqwOcfPV1gCPcucPqrDwcXTy_aSk8GZQ2Chpr7hXLlM_0Sw58zJJbDAkuAmnZmjBplHxVO3j3O88A/s320/Weimer+Street.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Over the years, house hunting became a major weekend past time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though we were already in our second home, which was beautiful, and in a neighborhood that the boys loved, it was in a sub-division, and we always had visions of living in the country, and thus pursued that perfect home of our dreams.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the way to this ‘perfection’. We did have a few eye openers. . .or perhaps a better word would be misadventures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When Eric, my youngest son, was only a year old, we looked at a home that was completely out of our comfort zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was in a rural area along Lake Ontario, and the house was in pristine condition. . that is, if it was 1930.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wallpaper was all original, and this home had no kitchen cabinets, instead it had a butlers pantry, which was very common during that time period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had a back staircase, as well as a beautiful one in the front foyer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This had always been something that I loved, back stairs, since my Aunt Kitty had them in her house, and I used to visit there a lot when I was a child (by the way, Aunt Kitty’s house is my all time favorite home).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The foyer was huge, and the staircase was gorgeous...all wood, and wonderful!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I first saw it, my jaw dropped, Jerry told me not to show so much positive enthusiasm as it might drive the price up. The bedrooms had no closets, which was also very common for homes built during the early 1900’s.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the basement was a cistern, which is a place to catch rain water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was also told that there were snakes in the basement...ok, I wasn’t going down there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The property was on 5 acres, and included a barn, a chicken coop, and a couple other small out buildings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also had a front porch, which is also something that I’ve loved since childhood.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzyMK_B8qS_KXSkDrMNqaKYs8LB28A5ru4D_16RvuGx0RWGAI3sDnJyuXiHpjyUOmlGOMCfj7Vvz39W69jPcZNYy8KbxMzXctwEwzvck0Z7jKAQQDiUcXlXvm5JrqrN2IZRX7fexAHP4/s1600/BeBe+Road+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzyMK_B8qS_KXSkDrMNqaKYs8LB28A5ru4D_16RvuGx0RWGAI3sDnJyuXiHpjyUOmlGOMCfj7Vvz39W69jPcZNYy8KbxMzXctwEwzvck0Z7jKAQQDiUcXlXvm5JrqrN2IZRX7fexAHP4/s640/BeBe+Road+2.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only neighbors at that time were chickens on one side and corn on the other, like I said, very rural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This house would not be ’the one’, and I’m very glad that it wasn’t because my life would be very different now, and some of the people that I hold very dear would not be in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we move on. . .</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few years later, we decided to check out a new area of homes. . yes, it was in a sub-division, but it couldn’t hurt to look. It had been raining for a few days prior, and the area was very muddy around all of the model homes. We proceeded to check each one out. By the time we got to the last one, our shoes were covered in mud. We walked in the last home and I told the kids to wipe off their mud caked feet in the front hall before we took the tour. . "Make sure you get all that mud off". At that point, something happened that was an absolute shock to us. . .we looked up, and in the kitchen, a family was eating dinner. . . <strong>"</strong>UHHHHHHH, HELLO?". . .talk about embarrassed. There we were, wiping our filthy feet on their front hall rug, thinking this was a model home. With a very ‘tail between our legs’ apology, we turned and got as far away from that house as possible. . .and then you just know we laughed our asses off!! Dare we move on?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next house was also in the country, but not quite as rural as the Lake Ontario home, a bit closer to civilization. By this time, Eric was 10 and Todd was in his last year of high school.</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular house was being sold by the owners, an elderly couple. He was very articulate, and we later found out that he was a handwriting expert and banker. They seemed very friendly and I think that they really liked us. The property was also 5 acres, mostly wooded, and the home was a small ranch, on a hill, and in perfect condition. The woman had a lot of beautiful antiques, and it was immaculate. I have to mention that Eric was not at all happy about even thinking about moving, in fact he pretty much decided he wasn’t going, no matter what!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This house seemed perfect for us, so we decided to put a bid in. Our bid was accepted and we put our house on the market and scheduled an ‘Open House’. A couple of weeks went by when I got a phone call from the woman. . .she was frantic, absolutely hysterical. . .I thought that her husband must have died. Uh, NO. . .he just packed up his stuff and left for a commune in Lake Tahoe...alrighty then!!!! I could not calm her down. She was very upset, but she seemed more upset that there was no one there to cut the grass. So, being the ‘NICE’ people that we are, we decided to go over there and Jerry would cut her grass.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we arrived at the house, the woman was working in the garden….<strong>’HOLY SHIT,</strong> <strong>JERRY, SHE KILLED HIM AND IS BURYING HIS BODY IN THE GARDEN!!!!!!</strong>’!! I expected to see a hand in the soil!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Oh My GOD!!!!</strong> We didn’t know these people, who knows if she was capable of something like that!!!! I could just see us on the news. Anyway, she proceeded to give Jerry his grass cutting instructions, and believe me, they’re were a lot...and they were very precise as to how she wanted that grass cut. I got to sit on the porch with her while we waited. She began to tell me a very strange, and twisted story. She said that her husband had a relationship with their daughter that was way too close. . .inappropriately close (OMG!! I don’t want to hear this stuff!!). . .she also hauled out a garbage bag full of his books regarding commune living in Lake Tahoe, with various passages highlighted. Apparently this was a place that he went often, and alone...but I don’t think that she realized that his intentions were to go there and stay once the house was sold, I think that these were his plans all along.</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><strong></strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jerry finished the grass, and the woman gave his work a critique, it wasn’t quite up to her standards. . .I’m not sure that she even said ‘Thank You’. She brought out something for Jerry to drink and at that point told us that she had the locks changed. . .but that the locksmith was chasing her around the basement, so she had to tell him to leave. . .(look in the G-A-R-D-E-N!!!). Thank God I came with Jerry or he might have been accused of chasing her with the lawn mower. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishqEQxzwLbyv0J5PvOSqMNno__MTeELtNi_ohsqZNzA7yfroFC-DjNgKO9-VsJWkbKwMXVhjbwppCd3actTkDNKoTSp7gTmcEgB2U1El5sTI8RtGR3yJ8CBk8oI2I89gKdnHOjVYzObQ/s1600/Hunters+Creek+House+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishqEQxzwLbyv0J5PvOSqMNno__MTeELtNi_ohsqZNzA7yfroFC-DjNgKO9-VsJWkbKwMXVhjbwppCd3actTkDNKoTSp7gTmcEgB2U1El5sTI8RtGR3yJ8CBk8oI2I89gKdnHOjVYzObQ/s400/Hunters+Creek+House+2.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we left, I told Jerry that I didn’t want anything to do with this house at all!!!! BAD JuJu!!! As soon as we got home, I called the realtor who was handling our sale and cancelled the Open House. We would wait for the contract to expire, and hope that our home didn’t sell until then.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That evening, I got a call from the ‘husband’…..’Well, hello’. He was calling from Lake Tahoe to assure us that even though he had left, nothing would change and that the deal would all be the same. I told him that his wife was devastated, and that he would have been better off dropping dead than leaving her high and dry, and that he should have at least waited until the process was complete. </span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luckily, there was no interest in our house, and the contract did expire. . .and that was the last we ever heard of either one of them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so, we move on?</span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another house that caught our eye was actually on the street that we now live on. It was a small refurbished farmhouse, with a big, beautiful barn on the property. The house itself was just so small, so small that the bathroom was directly off the dining room. It was remodeled, but not really to our liking, but it was that great barn that had us hooked. Jerry and I went to check it out, and then I decided to take the kids to see the property. So, Todd, Eric, & myself took a ride. I don’t remember if we went in, but we did walk around the property and of course into the massive barn. . .which both guys liked. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we were ready to leave. we got in the car, and something smelled like shit...’ Check your shoes guys, one of you must have stepped in dog shit’!! They checked, and said nothing was on their shoes. . ‘one of you stepped in shit and it stinks!!!’ I kept at them because the odor was getting worse!! I looked down at my feet, and there, all over my sandal clad feet. . Oozing and gushing up between my toes. . spread all over the floor, and covering the car pedals was a mushy, red, you guessed it...DOG SHIT!!! Lots of it!!! Needless to say, the three of us started to laugh so hard that we literally cried. . .I had to pull over because we were laughing so hard. There was nothing to be done at that point, just hold our breaths and head for home. I don’t know how we got there because this kind of ‘funny’ doesn’t go away very fast!! When we did get home, I jumped out of the car, got the hose and just cleaned my feet and sandals. . .then I had to clean the car...OMG!!! It was so gross!!! And of course the kids were still laughing! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We pass that house all the time now because it’s just a few doors away...and every time, I can’t help but think of the red dog shit!!!!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had made an appointment to see a house that was just down the street from the small farmhouse. We got there on time and waited for the agent to show up. That never happened, so we decided to take a ride down the street since we really loved this area, (On our first date, Jerry and I took a ride down this street and got lost in the fog...at least that’s what he told me), so you can see why we were drawn here. As we checked out the area, we saw another house for sale. . .our current house. My first thoughts were ‘UGLY!!’, and I really had no interest in seeing the interior.</span><br />
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we got home, I did call about the house, and was really surprised to learn how large it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They called it a split level, so I expected a small stairs off the living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made an appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The front entry had double doors and when I walked into the huge foyer, once again my jaw dropped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not your average split level home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was actually a tri-level, with a full staircase to the upstairs. . .not what I had pictured at all.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Probably the weirdest thing about this house was the basement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had closed off half of it and made it into an apartment...an awful apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How anyone lived there is beyond me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerry assured me that it could be reversed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The yard was beautiful and there was an in-ground pool to boot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We fell in love with this house. . .it went from ‘UGLY’ to ‘GORGEOUS’ in one fell swoop!</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrIJfvJiooARDS12gw05MKaGbdfVVXLu8I4VNVeyW4NZQFYtePzkQ-AGAji8SYDxYrVvDv7QV1FQhrePy6_zkXjEu7gJeft2fBzrKHNUxA6dF9i_YYxwcnyR5sLWaAGXiM5yuBZygUDs/s1600/Chairfactory+House+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrIJfvJiooARDS12gw05MKaGbdfVVXLu8I4VNVeyW4NZQFYtePzkQ-AGAji8SYDxYrVvDv7QV1FQhrePy6_zkXjEu7gJeft2fBzrKHNUxA6dF9i_YYxwcnyR5sLWaAGXiM5yuBZygUDs/s640/Chairfactory+House+2.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say, we bought the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By this time Todd was already in college, and Eric was ready to start high school, so moving was no problem.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the evening before we were to move, we went to the house to take some smaller items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we walked into the family room, the owners son and a friend of his were there (he lived in the house). . .the entire room smelled like pot...I guess they were celebrating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once we were moved in, Jerry took on the major task of the basement, which was separated into two basements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took down the wall in between….and then started to clean...and clean...and clean.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Todd was home from school at one point and helped Jerry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They found a few very interesting items down there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hidden in the rafters was a rifle, and an array of snapshots taken in our yard of a naked woman...OK...into the fireplace they went!!! (Todd wanted to take them back to school with him. . .I don’t think so!)!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also found a floor safe that they had to pry open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this safe was a bottle, in the bottle was a rolled up small plastic bag, tightly wound with rubber bands...in that was a cigarette pack, also rolled up...in the cigarette pack were a few very large white pills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now call me crazy, but I doubt if that’s where they stored their vitamins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We contemplated having them analyzed, but had no idea what they were and didn’t want to be caught with this unknown substance, so they got flushed...what a lovely housewarming!!!</span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, here we are 20 years later. . .in our beautiful remodeled house, with my new gourmet kitchen that Jerry did for me. . .and contemplating if it’s time to move on yet again.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-currency-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-default-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-greek-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latin-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“So Jerry, what do you think, are you up for another adventure?”</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-22433805407510596212011-04-08T20:27:00.012-04:002011-04-08T20:30:32.305-04:00Just Call Me 'Grandma'!!!! ????<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-asciisym-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-bengali-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-bopomofo-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-braille-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-canadianabor-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-cherokee-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-devanagari-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-ethiopic-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-eudc-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-georgian-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-han-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-hangul-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-kannada-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-khmer-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-lao-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-malayalam-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-mongolian-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-myanmar-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-ogham-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-oriya-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-runic-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-sinhala-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-syriac-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-tamil-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-telugu-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-thaana-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-thai-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-tibetan-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS""; mso-yi-font-family: ""Trebuchet MS"";">Now that</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"> I’m finally going to have my first Grandchild, since </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">Eric and Sarah are </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">expecting their first baby in</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">October.. (even saying that gives me chills and makes me want to cry...and I‘ve been on a cloud since I found out)..</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">..I started to think about what I want to be called. ‘Grandma’ is probably the easiest, but do I really want to be called </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandma’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">There’s a lot to consider here, since this is what I will always be to </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">all</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"> of my </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">Grandchildren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was never much of a fan of </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Nana’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">, and my apologies to those of you who are called Nana, but it reminds me of ’Nanny’ way too much. I could go the Italian route and choose </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Nonni’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">, but that just doesn’t seem like a good fit, maybe because I’m not Italian. Of course, there’s always the Polish version, ‘Babcia’ (pronounced ‘bop-cha’) is Fathers mother, and ‘Busha’ (pronounced </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘boo-sha’) is mothers mother……</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">I guess that would make me Babcia...but that steers me to a black dress and </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">babushka...not exactly where I want to go.<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">If I were to choose the international ‘grandma’...maybe German, ‘Oma’...or Dutch, ‘Grootmoeder’...or perhaps Spanish, ‘Abuela’ or Portuguese, Avó.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The French Grandma sounds rather beautiful, ‘Grand Mere’...and there’s something nice about Grandma in Slovenia, ‘Babica’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, I don’t know, </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">“Abuela, play with me…Grootmoeder, read me a story”</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">…..</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">just doesn’t do it for me</span>.</span></span></span></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">I guess </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandma Kancar’ </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">would work, but that is my husbands Mom to all of us. But, when my boys were little, in order to distinguish their two grandma's, they called my mom, 'Grandma with the Big Hair', and Jerry's mom, 'Smokey's Grandma' </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">(she had a basset hound named</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">Smokey)</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">! Those were names that they chose, and of course as they got older that changed to Grandma Kancar and Grandma Bielat.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">What about </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandma K’ </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">or even </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandma Carole’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bengali-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-braille-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-eudc-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-georgian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-han-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hangul-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-kannada-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-khmer-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-lao-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ogham-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-oriya-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-runic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-syriac-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-tamil-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-telugu-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thaana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-yi-font-family: "Ȭourier New"";">? Now that would be good, except that Sarah’s Mom is also Carol and that could get confusing.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bengali-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-braille-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-eudc-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-georgian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-han-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hangul-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-kannada-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-khmer-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-lao-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ogham-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-oriya-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-runic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-syriac-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-tamil-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-telugu-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thaana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thai-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-yi-font-family: "Ȭourier New"";"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bengali-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-braille-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-eudc-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-georgian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-han-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hangul-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-kannada-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-khmer-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-lao-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-ogham-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-oriya-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-runic-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-syriac-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-tamil-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-telugu-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thaana-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Ȭourier New""; mso-yi-font-family: "Ȭourier New"";">She already has two grandsons that call her grandma.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">My son Todd’s Mother-in-law told me that when they have children, she wants to be called ‘Mimi’, so that’s out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s always ‘Grand Mother’ or ‘Grand Mummy’...uh, way too formal!!...and I’m not the Queen!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One version I rather like is </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandmom’ </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">sounds more modern. There's always 'Gram', 'Grams', or even 'Grammy'...way too cutsie for me. What about 'Granny'..yeah, right! That's a bit too 'Beverly Hillbillies'!!!</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="en-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">I've been thinking about this a lot and something that I did come up with that I really like is 'Gia'....I love the sound of it.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4HXLfn7tBoWOkak-abbZAYthw0lwQTj1L5LT13b9QRF2yzpNVwrLg0XjDt8cPUCCGhgYaIzU3ITKIsy6pvYxpHsYVgPe_omfBEhnQl3BnddFZUCfS4a8FThbX1J47PO_bN7l3ZQZ8dY/s1600/Eric+%2526+Sarah+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4HXLfn7tBoWOkak-abbZAYthw0lwQTj1L5LT13b9QRF2yzpNVwrLg0XjDt8cPUCCGhgYaIzU3ITKIsy6pvYxpHsYVgPe_omfBEhnQl3BnddFZUCfS4a8FThbX1J47PO_bN7l3ZQZ8dY/s320/Eric+%2526+Sarah+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">Anyway, I have a few months to decide on a perfect fit. Regardless of what I’ll be called, this is a dream come true for me and I’m absolutely thrilled!!!! So for now, just call me </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">‘Grandma’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial; mso-thai-font-family: Verdana;">!!!!!!</span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-24930685830128416022011-03-24T23:28:00.027-04:002011-08-19T17:21:21.811-04:00Confessions of a Packrat.... ('If you Have 2, It's a Collection!')<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>AA</strong></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>AA</strong></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: small;"><strong>col-lec-tion :</strong></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><i><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The a<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">ct</span> </span>or process</span> <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">of <i>collecting.</i></span></span></span></span></i><br />
</strong></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>A group</em></span> <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>of objects or works to be seen, studied, or kept together.</em></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em> </em></span></span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">An accumulation, </span></em> </strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Gathering together.</em></span></strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>ad-dic-tion</strong><strong>: </strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><strong><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Compulsive physiological and psychological need for</em></span> </span><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>habit-forming substance.</em></span></strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><div align="LEFT"><strong><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><em>The condition </em>of <em>being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.</em></span></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">packrat:</span></span></span></strong></span></span></div><div align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><em>Any </em><em>of various small North American rodents that collect in or around </em></span></span></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><em>their nests </em>a<i> </i></span></span></strong></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times;"><i>great</i></span></strong></span></span><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> variety of small objects .</strong></span></i></span></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">A collector or accumulator of </span><span style="color: #76a5af;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">miscellaneous objects</span>.</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span> </span></em></strong></div><div align="LEFT"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT"><br />
<strong><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">"....My </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">NAME IS CAROLE, AND I'M ADDICTED </span><em><span lang="en-US" style="font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">TO </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">DISHES"</span></em></span></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">Exactly when does the 'Packrat' syndrome begin? Early on would be my guess. Are we</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"> 'Connoisseurs of Collecting' or 'Selective Packrats'?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">Or perhaps, we're obsessed with possessing more than one of a particular item. I'm inclined to think that a lot of the enjoyment of collecting is the </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">'Hunt'. </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">Finding that exact item that you've been looking for to add to your collection can be so exciting. Whatever the case, collecting is fun!</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">As a child I absolutely loved paper dolls, or cut-outs as I always called them. Those cut-outs came in card board folders that were used to store the paper dolls and the clothes that you had already cut out. I can remember saving all the </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">folders. My paper doll collection consisted of Wedding, Baby Doll, Movie Star, Family, etc. One in particular that I remember was from the movie 'Oklahoma'. How I wish I had saved all of them because I see them constantly at fleamarkets, antique shows, and on Ebay ...and they're very pricey at times.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2iAJTnP9JqumuKSfQP8QlJdD3h_sYtlVnDr-STNnM5Cmg6G_XpfUxt15hFbkdyNLH9DAK1d6KCs0H87CQDhVV7z-CJc5T4vwLqtm1h_22ym32hoFgLIiUX7K8cWQOydG-kgXskugxsuE/s1600/A+Cake+Blates+%2526+Platters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2iAJTnP9JqumuKSfQP8QlJdD3h_sYtlVnDr-STNnM5Cmg6G_XpfUxt15hFbkdyNLH9DAK1d6KCs0H87CQDhVV7z-CJc5T4vwLqtm1h_22ym32hoFgLIiUX7K8cWQOydG-kgXskugxsuE/s320/A+Cake+Blates+%2526+Platters.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As an adult, I've collected an array of items: Tea Pots (a </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">slew of yellow ones </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">included); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Blue Willow China </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(started with </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">my </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Grandmothers); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">White China; </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">turquoise melamine </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(this is where the 'dish' addiction comes in); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">glass candle holders; children's books, cookbooks, books in general </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(my collection consists of </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">a </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">large number of 'Wizard of Oz' and 'Little Women' editions); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Cabbage Patch Dolls </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(saving these for grandchildren); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lazy Susan's; vintage purses; green </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">marbles, green vintage hand mirrors </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(my bathroom is green); </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">and vintage </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">wedding cake toppers. Right now, I've been concentrating on woman's gloves, my grandmother started me on that. I have well over 1000 pairs, every color, length, and style that you can imagine. I have these in dresser drawers sorted by color. Vintage Ginny dolls has also become a fun collection, although there are some really serious collectors out there and the prices are rather high. I myself prefer the sad little ones that need some TCL. My Lazy Susan collection started with 2 turquoise/white ones at an estate sale. I didn't buy them right away, but I kept thinking about them, so I went back the next day and bought both. That's all I needed ...now I've started a collection. I look for markings on the back that say 'California'. I now have </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">too </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">many in all colors. This is a collection that takes up too much room, so I'm thinking about cutting it down and just keeping the colors that are my favorite. I've also recently started to collect the cardboard Christmas houses for under the tree, and the old bottlebrush Christmas trees to go along with them. I have so many beautiful ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband made a special 3-tiered stand for me to display them on during the holidays. </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">That 12-step </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">program is getting closer.</span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVnAYd2DDSAXysH-N_igf-V9YCUBCbISTl8GRdMbLFJgsaFsxzCja7fout9Dfnls4XsVm-r3_VC7-HKQn1vLXNHyrtPyO5gopFFGKVZgWU5EfRMDNlffkO6jTHcKcqhwDouWP0uNd5FY/s1600/Vintage+Green+Hand+Mirrors+%2526+Marbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVnAYd2DDSAXysH-N_igf-V9YCUBCbISTl8GRdMbLFJgsaFsxzCja7fout9Dfnls4XsVm-r3_VC7-HKQn1vLXNHyrtPyO5gopFFGKVZgWU5EfRMDNlffkO6jTHcKcqhwDouWP0uNd5FY/s400/Vintage+Green+Hand+Mirrors+%2526+Marbles.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But, my all time favorite and most fun collection is one that I started maybe 2 years ago ...vintage wedding pictures ...all eras. I collect them for the styles. I read an </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">article in the newspaper a few years ago regarding the various change in wedding gown styles ...that got me to thinking about what a wonderful collection old wedding photos would be. I collect them like someone collects stamps, for my own enjoyment, and I have so many that I actually needed a special cabinet to store them, one with separate </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">sections so that I could separate them according to era. This collection has been so much fun! I started out by just copying photos and putting them in a binder, but it soon </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">expanded to purchasing the actual vintage photographs. Ebay, flea markets, antique shops, relatives, are the best places to find them. My best find was at a yard sale. I was looking around at items displayed on a lawn under a tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not your </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">average garage sale because there were a lot of antiques. The man running it asked me if I was looking for anything in particular, I said old photos ...he asked what kind ...I said </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'wedding'. </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He told me to wait while he went into the house. In a few minutes he </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">returned with a chair in one hand and a binder in the other. He put the chair down, told me to sit and handed me the binder. I started to look through it and my heart started to pound .... it was all old wedding pictures ... '30's, '40's, '50's. I didn't even look through all of it, but I went far enough to know that I had to have it, </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">all of </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">it! I figured that he'd want at least $300. for the entire album. I thought, ok, first I'll ask him how much for each photo. He said it depended, maybe $5 or $10 each. Then I asked how much for the whole thing. He didn't answer and kept side stepping my </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">question ...but, I kept asking </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(answer me mister, </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">my </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">heart can't take the suspense). </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I decided that I would pay $100. at the very most for the entire album and I figured he would eventually say $300. Finally, after quite awhile, he answered, "$100." </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(at that point I almost fell off the chair!) .... I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">said, "Would you take $90.?". He said yes. I walked across to my car and when I got in, I let out an excited high pitched "eeeeee" and just shook all over. ... Damn!, I hit the mother load!! Quite a few of the pictures in this album were post card size and from Romania. One thing that all of these vintage Romanian brides had in common was that they wore metallic streamers on their veils or bouquets. I tried in vain to find out what the streamers meant.. .. I'm thinking a wish for prosperity. I was meant to have the album, I'm convinced of it.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv-dBJ3xf3q3pykwvTl0Wj3yAUs5MxVB5M0jgJk9HIAOHtNzRQ24sws2XO3TRzy98XnDno09XbyVk3grzpQYBFSO3geVPnYnza1qt2_59iguxtne5KDBLDPzZVagCUKswLT3RUTXzbKc/s1600/Best+Vintage+Wedding+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv-dBJ3xf3q3pykwvTl0Wj3yAUs5MxVB5M0jgJk9HIAOHtNzRQ24sws2XO3TRzy98XnDno09XbyVk3grzpQYBFSO3geVPnYnza1qt2_59iguxtne5KDBLDPzZVagCUKswLT3RUTXzbKc/s320/Best+Vintage+Wedding+Photo.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">When my husband and I were at a local antique mall, I was looking at a doll and a woman in another stall said she couldn't help but over hear what I said. She asked what else I collect. Of course, I went through my current collection list. I mentioned old </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">wedding pictures. She said that she was doing an estate sale for a man who owned some sort of local newspaper and that there were some wedding pictures, the kind that brides would have sent to the newspaper to announce their marriage. She asked if we could meet her at the house and so we did ..... Boxes and stuff every where. I found the box with the pictures ... there were a lot. I asked her what she wanted for them and she said "$20." ...I said "I'll take 'um!". When we got home, my husband and I started to look through the pictures. They were mostly from the 1960's, maybe a few from the '70, and two from the '40s. There were 123 in all and believe it or not, I </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">actually knew one of the brides .... what are the chances of that. Once again, I was meant to have these pictures.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA-b_Kvj8mFLWD5PDqjJoL6G4GcRCkNskLbzIkHjmozVnaqk0QV43sDfhxKxGq3T1DJzreP2qbG2fnfAsFbsaLPs7RB19KQOe3uqqIJsiagl5Dngi9uCqk2w2BQ706pks2hDltwboZyQ/s1600/A+Vintage+Wedding+Cake+Topper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA-b_Kvj8mFLWD5PDqjJoL6G4GcRCkNskLbzIkHjmozVnaqk0QV43sDfhxKxGq3T1DJzreP2qbG2fnfAsFbsaLPs7RB19KQOe3uqqIJsiagl5Dngi9uCqk2w2BQ706pks2hDltwboZyQ/s320/A+Vintage+Wedding+Cake+Topper.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Once at an auction I noticed a box with some old photos. Upon closer examination, you guessed it, wedding pictures. There must have been 50 or 60. I wanted to just scoop up the box and tell them that I would buy it, but we know auctions don't work like that. I made up my mind that the . photos would be mine because I would outbid everyone else </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(that took some </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">of </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">the pressure off).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I was a nervous wreck </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(I always get like that when there's something that I want at an auction)</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> waiting for the box to come up for bid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, I bid ...someone else bid ...then I bid again ..... .'what no more bids?' .... YES! The box was mine, for $12.00!! Talk about a steal!! OK, now I could relax.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">People at the auction, flea markets, antique shops know me as the </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'wedding picture lady'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sometimes the problem with that is that when they know what you're </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">interested in, the price goes up. I let them know straight out that I won't pay much </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">because I have so many and I can be selective. Of course, there's always that one </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">gorgeous photograph that I can't live without and therefore don't think twice about paying more. The beauty in all of my wedding picture collection is amazing. Some of the photos are signed by the photographer and are truly works of art.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><strong> </strong></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Things are really bad when you start to collect for other people. </span><span lang="en-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">My husband Jerry, </span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">collects Boy Scout items and license plates ... my son, Eric, collects marbles, old maps, and metal globes ...and my son, Todd, collects unusual photographs </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">(crime scene, post mortem, etc.), </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">vintage paint-by-number, and black velvet paintings. And of course I keep my eyes open for all of those things!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">Thinking back, I seem to recall that my son Eric’s marble collection started when he was about 6 years old. On one particular weekend, we had ventured to one of our very rural, but huge flea market haunts and had purchased a large butter container full of marbles for him. Eric held onto the container like it was his last bowl of </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">noodles </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(noodles were pretty much all he wanted to eat at that age). </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">On our way home, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, and of course he took the container in with him so that he could check out his find. As we stood in the restaurant waiting to be seated, Eric dropped the butter container…...</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">Uhh!!!…</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">was the single chorus that came out of all our mouths...the marbles rolled everywhere, scattering like cockroaches when you flick on a light. Eric looked at us and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(as the shock dissipated, we couldn’t keep the laughter in</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As luck would have it, a restaurant employee was sweeping at the time </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(how convenient), </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">and without a word just started to sweep up the marbles. Before you knew it, the butter container was once again full. As we ate lunch, patrons were bringing us wayward marbles that had rolled under their tables. I’m assuming that somewhere out there this story has been told by those patrons…</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">’Once Upon a Time, there was a little boy and a butter container of marbles….’</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those marbles were in a gumball machine in Eric’s room for a long time, but were then packed away and banished to the </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">basement </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(as are most collections at one time or<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>another). </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">A few years ago, he </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">resurrected his marble collection and we’ve been adding to it ever since...it’s quite </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">extensive now.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">As a very young child, my son Todd had a penchant for little plastic animals. Every time we went shopping we would buy a bag of these animals which were sold as </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">either farm, jungle, or zoo. He had so many of them that we ended up getting a very large plastic container to store them in </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(we set them up for play on a black & white check bedspread). </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">On one of our shopping trips, he noticed a bag that had teeny, tiny piglets in it and even though he already had multiples of all the other animals in the bag, </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">he just had to have those teeny tiny piglets</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">, and of course as a collector at heart, I thought he should have them too. Todd is an adult now, his animal collection has become that of taxidermy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His prize piece being that of a Buffalo head which he received as a gift from his father-in-law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His ‘paintings’ collection began some time ago when I was at an estate sale and found a black velvet painting right out of the ‘70s of a wide eyed girl, lifting her shirt to expose her breasts… tacky to say the least, but highly collectible </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(my husband always says ‘What a Mom!’). </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">He lives in New York city, so I called him from the estate sale to ask if he would be interested in the painting….of course, he was. I ended up purchasing it for $5. and that was the beginning. On Ebay, I found an exquisite vintage ‘paint-by-number nude’. It was so well done, and the paint had acquired that beautiful old patina, I</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">just had to have it for </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">his </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">collection. Three more Ebay ‘nudes’ followed soon after. Are we seeing a pattern emerge?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now tell me collecting isn’t genetic.</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">Awhile back, my friend Jan </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">(another avid collector</span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">) and I stopped at an antique store in yet another rural town. Our husbands waited in the car since we pushed their </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-style: italic; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-currency-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,Italic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,Italic";">‘antiquing’ </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-asciisym-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bengali-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-bopomofo-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-braille-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-canadianabor-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-cherokee-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-devanagari-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ethiopic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-eudc-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-georgian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-gurmukhi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-halfwidthkana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-han-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hangul-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-kana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-kannada-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-khmer-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-lao-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-malayalam-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-mongolian-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-myanmar-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-nonhansurrogate-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-ogham-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-oriya-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-runic-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-sinhala-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-syriac-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tamil-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-telugu-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thaana-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-thai-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-tibetan-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic"; mso-yi-font-family: "Arial,BoldItalic";">buttons to the limit. Inside was a ‘paint-by-number’ treasure trove, I bought twelve of them and one black velvet painting. Our husbands thought we were captured by pirates since we were in there for so long. I couldn’t wait to call Todd and tell him about our find. </span><span lang="en-US" style="language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">We are a family of 'Collectors'<strong>.</strong></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've come to the conclusion that people who 'collect' are warm hearted ...wanting to be surrounded by things we love to look at. ... and possess. If that is an addiction of sorts, then so be it. ....we could all be addicted to worse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="color: #76a5af; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-default-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-greek-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Hello Carole."</span></span></span></span></strong></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-38485797809343837082011-02-14T15:31:00.001-05:002011-12-31T18:14:56.627-05:00Photobooth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNSIa97qPkiRMwk9dys-x062bzRozb3qWtD3NAo5fkiX0sQoDFtKOG2YiYNfZOnShfQLgGE4OwOFPM01hKOPqx7TsaOvYYRplUt0m4nNdv4AILdAD3fxhdDPOUEiDkGelEhJMVixZXvk/s1600/Photobooth+Photos+Small+Horizontal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNSIa97qPkiRMwk9dys-x062bzRozb3qWtD3NAo5fkiX0sQoDFtKOG2YiYNfZOnShfQLgGE4OwOFPM01hKOPqx7TsaOvYYRplUt0m4nNdv4AILdAD3fxhdDPOUEiDkGelEhJMVixZXvk/s400/Photobooth+Photos+Small+Horizontal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Oh, the ‘Photobooth’...remember how much fun they used to be? Little did we know that those old strips of 4 pictures would someday become a hot collectible. And although I am a true collector at heart, this is not one of my collections….not yet, anyway.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">What I’ve put together here are all family members, including myself, my husband Jerry, our sons, Todd and Eric…<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">an aunt</span>, <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">an uncle, a few cousins, a couple</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">of grandmas, two </span> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">brothers,</span> <span style="font-size: small;">and a sister</span> </span></span></span>are all part of this ‘Photobooth’ collage.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It’s very unusual to find the 4 photos in tact as a strip, more than likely, since they were meant to be cut apart, you’ll find individual photos….some were kept, some given away. When you find some of these great little gems, you’ll notice that the poses vary from serious, almost portrait style, to downright silly..tongues out...noses up...kissy faces….and any other weird poses that one could think of doing in a very short period of time before the next photo was shot. That was the fun of it, not to mention the fact that they were instant...you didn’t have to wait for them to be developed….you had your photos in hand right then and there….and back then they only cost a quarter per strip. </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEh7mVy1ImpJ4xdYfhMes-jh97tK6w2Pfdba9m1ZSEqhezAWsgaNLDEz_BV7ID6Kxc2HGQBKzNuIZ3zwcalOD-HtrHQFqNoSfpP43fqG6yaFsZJJfzn50zg-G1xRkr2BggoHsIwkjEkk/s1600/Eric+%2526+Sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEh7mVy1ImpJ4xdYfhMes-jh97tK6w2Pfdba9m1ZSEqhezAWsgaNLDEz_BV7ID6Kxc2HGQBKzNuIZ3zwcalOD-HtrHQFqNoSfpP43fqG6yaFsZJJfzn50zg-G1xRkr2BggoHsIwkjEkk/s320/Eric+%2526+Sarah.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">If you look hard enough, you can come across photos from the ‘20s and ‘30s….that far back, since the Photobooth was invented in 1926. Photos from those eras and also WW II, are a great find. And even though photobooth’s are still around, somehow, they’re just not the same.</span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-91990406476899145902011-02-11T20:49:00.029-05:002011-02-12T11:54:29.865-05:00PANDORA.....one of my favorite things!<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last spring, I had been seeing advertisements in magazines and on TV for Pandora charm bracelets (<a href="http://www.pandora.net/my-pandora?rurl=http://www.pandora.net/Views/Consumer/Shared/Main.aspx"><span style="color: cyan; font-size: x-small;">Pandora Website</span></a>). They really caught my eye because of the beautiful colors of some of the beads....reds, blues, aqua’s, greens, pinks. At that time, I was under the impression that you bought the bracelet complete. Well, that’s not the case, as my friend Jan explained to me. She has been collecting Pandora charms for four years now, and has an amazing bracelet to show for it. Most of her charms were gifts, some were purchased to remember places that she and her husband, Joe, had traveled to, and all have special meaning to her. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, I just had to have one of these gorgeous bracelets!! With our 40th wedding anniversary coming up last October, my husband Jerry decided that a charm bracelet would be a great anniversary gift, and I wasn’t about to argue with him…..so, we went charm shopping at our local Pandora store. </span><br />
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</span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I decided that I wanted to choose glass charms in my favorite color, aqua, and that the silver charms would depict my love of the beach, and also for my sons and daughters-in-law. This would start my bracelet. Since my birthday was prior to our anniversary, I also received charms as gifts for that occasion. How lucky can I possibly be!!! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJOjyKhYW8n-20aqTF_WrYGg4eY1qdeBcaB9jDRRF5dXgX7Skm3WVXf9Z8zze2bLd1wRbXF0q-GuVIiwFq0CjwLf7PcQS_uK0_v-LykZMbQkxmsyzIMpKRpkA5bgY2PYqtlzJKzT54cw/s1600/IMG_4797+Aqua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJOjyKhYW8n-20aqTF_WrYGg4eY1qdeBcaB9jDRRF5dXgX7Skm3WVXf9Z8zze2bLd1wRbXF0q-GuVIiwFq0CjwLf7PcQS_uK0_v-LykZMbQkxmsyzIMpKRpkA5bgY2PYqtlzJKzT54cw/s320/IMG_4797+Aqua.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When our anniversary actually came, Jerry decided that I needed to start yet another bracelet, so when we went to a local Oktoberfest in Ellicottville, NY, I started my second bracelet. This one would be in browns and white for the autumn season, and most of the charms would fit into that category, and also to celebrate our anniversary. Some of the silver charms that I have are a gold/silver acorn, a pumpkin, a heart, a ghost <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>(from my son Todd, and daughter</em></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">-</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>in-law, Jenna….because Todd said that I had always made</em> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>Halloween a</em><em> really special and fun holiday),</em></span> a giraffe <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">(from my son, Eric,</span></em> <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">and daughter-in-law, Sarah…because when Eric was little, we made an</span></em> <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">annual trip to the zoo every October).</span></em> I also included a charm that I had purchased when on a shopping trip to New York City, a Christmas tree that represents the Rockefeller Center tree…..and a silver & white agate that my Mom gave me this past Christmas.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6NkznOWdQvoPhjhQa2jcRoJipjNv8pl_7IFem8-MXbJx3UXg0H2k2Pa9qm1eHgKgD-Hy2nb9ZUIoG97EFKuJLlVF9b0RmXCK8o4aKI_EZPZOFztaRroX5cfbkeoVg8Z6VLphTKH7zZM/s1600/IMG_4789+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6NkznOWdQvoPhjhQa2jcRoJipjNv8pl_7IFem8-MXbJx3UXg0H2k2Pa9qm1eHgKgD-Hy2nb9ZUIoG97EFKuJLlVF9b0RmXCK8o4aKI_EZPZOFztaRroX5cfbkeoVg8Z6VLphTKH7zZM/s320/IMG_4789+Brown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So now, it was time to think about Christmas…..and once again, Jerry thought that another bracelet would be a terrific Christmas gift…...YES!!!! How ever does he read my mind????? Sooooo, we went bracelet shopping once more!! <span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time, my color choice was blues and lavenders/purple…..it almost looks like a beautiful periwinkle when they’re all together…...Oh, such FUN!!!! </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I would pick out 3 or 4 to choose from, Jerry would always say, <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>“I think</em></span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>that you should get them all!”.</em></span> Oh Boy! Oh Boy!!! </span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This bracelet has a variety of glass and silver charms that I chose just because they appealed to me for some reason or another. And again, I received some of them this past Christmas. The last two were ones that Jerry bought for me just the other day, a Valentine’s Day gift….a snowflake with a blue stone, and a lavender enamel charm. I have room for one more on this bracelet and then it will be complete.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have since started my daughter-in-law, Sarah, and my Goddaughter, Megan, with bracelets. Sarah's is pink and brown, and Megan's is pink and black, each of their favorite color combinations. These are things to be passed down someday.</span></div><br />
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</div><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, what is the bottom line of all this? <strong>ALWAYS</strong> take my husband Jerry shopping with me!!!!!! And in all honesty, I think that HE enjoys shopping for them as much as I do!</span><br />
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</div><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-1970412656517131252011-02-02T13:04:00.001-05:002011-02-02T13:06:34.784-05:00Amish Adventure<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Quite a few years ago, so many that it seems like another lifetime, my girlfriends and I decided to venture to Amish country in search of a handmade quilt. Only one of the girls was actually looking to buy a quilt, but it gave us a great excuse to tag along.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_O0jIo9og9rOdWabHUm8eOaq5uLrAUnRx0FonYWNJVTDmKsr37_i-shIiu6VrTLKAGXh6VuWjSnGfQDWMq_DbNDOtTaVNao63iSakG-nt6EewP4kn9Z9_oezfDxzHoF36RWQ6Q4GgUU/s1600/Amish+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_O0jIo9og9rOdWabHUm8eOaq5uLrAUnRx0FonYWNJVTDmKsr37_i-shIiu6VrTLKAGXh6VuWjSnGfQDWMq_DbNDOtTaVNao63iSakG-nt6EewP4kn9Z9_oezfDxzHoF36RWQ6Q4GgUU/s320/Amish+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We visited four homes that day, the first of which was owned by a young couple. The house was new, and outside, on the porch, colorful quilts were hanging on a clothes line, like a business sign on a store front. We were welcomed inside to view the quilts that were for sale. The rooms were very stark, and very clean. The young woman was dressed in traditional Amish garb, simple, neat, and crisp...and we noticed that her dress was fastened with pins instead of buttons. There was a teenage girl helping in the home, and we wondered why she wasn’t in school. Of course we didn’t ask.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The second home was an old farm house. As we approached the house, a very pungent, and might I add nasty, odor was present, it turned out to be something boiling in a kettle on the porch….it almost looked like bones. We were invited into the house, and as we made our way upstairs to the bedroom, I noticed that sitting on a rocker in a corner of the great room was an elderly, white haired woman, dressed all in black except for her white bonnet. In her arms she held a beautiful apple cheeked baby, dressed in a long white gown and bonnet…...this was a picture to be seen….but we would have insulted them if I had asked to take a photograph...So we just made our way up the narrow stairs to the bedroom. On the bed were an array of quilts, piled atop one another. The woman escorting us started to flip each one back so that we could see the various patterns and beauty of each one. This seemed to be the way they chose to display their quilts, since it was the same at each home we went to that day.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The third home was a small ranch house, again very neat, very clean. A pretty, young woman, who resembled Meryl Streep, except that she had some front teeth missing, showed us in. This home was one large room, with bedrooms off to the sides. She took us to one of those rooms, and again the quilts were piled on the bed. My girlfriend did find a quilt there and it was beautiful. The craftsmanship of Amish quilts is just perfect. It was such a surprise to us when she brought out the charge card machine, since there really weren’t any other modern conveniences in the home…..no phone or TV, but they had the charge card machine!!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XzCC2l_pKtlrPv9lzvkhtzACAyGwRCaKcGMmMfv_cIwoMfdG5GH60FEoO_ibYQmH-Um9YRkPHPD8hBlBwaX_9hZBfSi-ocaQRqyDNi2uG1F6H4PAwcIMAXCaJP0NqsDLTCwAh24nNOU/s1600/Amish+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XzCC2l_pKtlrPv9lzvkhtzACAyGwRCaKcGMmMfv_cIwoMfdG5GH60FEoO_ibYQmH-Um9YRkPHPD8hBlBwaX_9hZBfSi-ocaQRqyDNi2uG1F6H4PAwcIMAXCaJP0NqsDLTCwAh24nNOU/s320/Amish+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now, even though my friend had already purchased a quilt, we decided to go to one more house. This was a huge old, weathered Victorian home. When we walked in, you could see that the inside was in it’s original condition. Wallpaper was peeling off the walls in places and there was that musty scent of an old house. To the right was a huge room that at one time must have been the dining room, now, it was where they made their quilts. A large stretcher was set up, and around it sat women, girls, and even an old man in a wheel chair. All of them, except for the old man, were working on a quilt. They looked up and smiled, but just kept on quilting. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>Quilting needles are called ‘between needles’ and they are very small. A good quilter will get as many stitches on her needle (a minimum of at least 8) as she can before pulling it through the quilt. This makes for tiny and close stitches, and it’s not an easy thing to do.</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">An older woman took us upstairs. The oddest thing was that we had to pass by a man who was in bed sleeping. I kept thinking to myself that if he woke up and saw all of us, he’d probably think, <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">‘Wow, I must be in heaven, floozies!’</span></em> I’m pretty sure that we didn’t disturb him and he just rolled over. After looking at the quilts and not finding anything, we thanked them and left.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">Our adventure was just terrific. Being able to see close up how the Amish live was truly amazing. They were all so hospitable and so eager to show off their craft. I have to say that as we drove off, we saw two little boys sitting in a driveway playing…..I just had to have a picture of this, so we pulled over, rolled down the window, and I got my shot...let’s hope that they weren’t offended. As we left, Amish horse and buggy’s passed occasionally, reminding us of a different lifestyle. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rbHNobSnjn2_baZxxPMVYYohwvNstOdP1k5U5ifjjlsN_TVcgQqSKvyAW9UqD9PvXNa6uxWMbVOVLPt5-Kgiv714YnouV91tnE66n9wM6Zwc-EScW_ibF7aTzk9IBN5bgmYUH_xf90c/s1600/Amish+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rbHNobSnjn2_baZxxPMVYYohwvNstOdP1k5U5ifjjlsN_TVcgQqSKvyAW9UqD9PvXNa6uxWMbVOVLPt5-Kgiv714YnouV91tnE66n9wM6Zwc-EScW_ibF7aTzk9IBN5bgmYUH_xf90c/s320/Amish+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a great day this was!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-46644984580678392212011-01-27T12:53:00.020-05:002011-01-27T21:01:55.863-05:00Butterflies Last Flight<em><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>Last summer as I walked the beach searching for treasures, I noticed that the shore, the sand, and the rocks, were strewn with dead butterflies..they were everywhere....it was the weirdest thing to see....and so very sad. It seemed as though they're demise might have been because they got caught up in the surf. I started to write a poem in my head.....this is the result of that.</em></span></em><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Follow me to the azure sea,</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">to white sands rich and warm…</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">with tiny shells, and weathered glass,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">washed up from storm to storm.</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Follow me to sun kissed cliffs,</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">to rocky, cozy, nooks,</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">where fossils are a lasting print</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">like pages on stone books.</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Follow me to frothy waves,</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">that sing a soft, sweet sigh...</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We’ll dance on balmy breezes, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">pay homage to the sky.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Follow me to endless dreams,</span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">t</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">o what is meant to be.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We’ll take a breath, we’ll bow our heads..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">surrender to the sea.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-52489775210533744202011-01-26T13:08:00.001-05:002011-01-26T13:24:00.836-05:00oh NO...SNOW!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbErYXx8FYzrm00QV_mFprlPldPhziWQbysD2jf3xgyG8a475XNq4xPjK765ljpr2Ts6zUe16B419z5Xg0YXbPjSNU-qXg83Ldjc_dPOi-_pLEXZIYvT5C8wwQzACT9Z_miBGjbk6oUJs/s1600/Winter+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbErYXx8FYzrm00QV_mFprlPldPhziWQbysD2jf3xgyG8a475XNq4xPjK765ljpr2Ts6zUe16B419z5Xg0YXbPjSNU-qXg83Ldjc_dPOi-_pLEXZIYvT5C8wwQzACT9Z_miBGjbk6oUJs/s320/Winter+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>A few weeks ago, I wrote this and neglected to post it. Unlike my son, Eric, who seems to love the beauty of all seasons, for me winter is a countdown to spring, and pretty much, only that....</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have never been a fan of winter...or snow....or even Christmas. I start stressing about the entire season already in August and have often wished that I could hide in a closet until it's all over. BUT....when the snow is newly fallen and fresh, the beauty is breathtaking.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the past two days, we've experienced our first heavy lake effect snowfall. Most areas were hit really hard, some worse than others, and some, had hardly a dusting. The snow itself is heavy and last night when I went to bed, I could hear a crackling sound, which turned out to be a tree in our yard that had given way to the weight of the snow. We were awakened at 4am by the sound of a chainsaw.....our neighbor was without electricity because one of his trees had fallen on the wires, and the electric company was cutting the tree away. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sunny morning brought an awesome beauty of a winter wonderland. Everything was covered; the snow covered trees were bowing down and the sound was crisp. Now tell me, how can I not love this grandeur?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JO11EI1OSwG67fClHwpOBvJJxrPtqsRmd_Tg18jrfc9XajvmX7QSEv8GtAxZ-b-hXnt7NiGIFRTbAxzSHweqBhmjl402g9hdepj5duOeNBVPCfOpKOXuRnPU4F4zkWzjdOyG3D69gfU/s1600/Winter+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JO11EI1OSwG67fClHwpOBvJJxrPtqsRmd_Tg18jrfc9XajvmX7QSEv8GtAxZ-b-hXnt7NiGIFRTbAxzSHweqBhmjl402g9hdepj5duOeNBVPCfOpKOXuRnPU4F4zkWzjdOyG3D69gfU/s320/Winter+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-64229946674026019652010-10-15T11:13:00.003-04:002010-10-26T14:56:42.193-04:00Sweet October<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZvnx4z1xvoKnhygdtQyCD9a25mTtobmgIu3i7qZL1JYxmRHHXcGtSiJ-goKGvQL3XV_ovzSd3kNGq-s1YlhAyyR6OD3d70xsUA8Mbd-6XTrat4hrzyHsLHHKQNx1vNi_jHG7NC9zfAA/s1600/IMG_4654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZvnx4z1xvoKnhygdtQyCD9a25mTtobmgIu3i7qZL1JYxmRHHXcGtSiJ-goKGvQL3XV_ovzSd3kNGq-s1YlhAyyR6OD3d70xsUA8Mbd-6XTrat4hrzyHsLHHKQNx1vNi_jHG7NC9zfAA/s320/IMG_4654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">A deep breath. . .the beautiful woody scent of wet leaves, </span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">a smell that imbeds in my being.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">A smile on my face, as branches sway and whisper ‘goodbye’,</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">their leaves tumble to the ground acknowledging their demise. . .</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">they waltz to the windy music, a last dance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">Pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks. . .stand watch over the </span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">radiant autumn countryside. . .</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">while flickering jack-o-lanterns peer eerily in darkness.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">Like a child, I walk through piled leaves. . .</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">the rustling sound brings a giddiness to my heart! </span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">I dwell on the mesmerizing sights, sounds, and smells . .</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000;">Oh, sweet October, if only you could linger on.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHDjLBB1Dm47M5Kc8Di3hG2HYLLY85eAE-rlDv2Nskf3vz9M6GA7iUUnHv6OMnB38JFlh2AKxglc8LS_JnqRniG-7DwyfLYWEKNSS7phtt7JpQSeX7uEdtI7K6unP6CFzJ0DtaX1UXtM/s1600/IMG_4709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHDjLBB1Dm47M5Kc8Di3hG2HYLLY85eAE-rlDv2Nskf3vz9M6GA7iUUnHv6OMnB38JFlh2AKxglc8LS_JnqRniG-7DwyfLYWEKNSS7phtt7JpQSeX7uEdtI7K6unP6CFzJ0DtaX1UXtM/s320/IMG_4709.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaSNpS-h1VbjuLhg5Xl-aNdAnwbSJYoY96GfBesvTltkZWDAT8YO8fOIBZx9htOitwU8dNr7eFBCKKg4Lxy0yjeysClTP3erZ7LgO73tHkZx90Ze2RCEADHx3esCx_mghYuv7NwOHDYI/s1600/IMG_5124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaSNpS-h1VbjuLhg5Xl-aNdAnwbSJYoY96GfBesvTltkZWDAT8YO8fOIBZx9htOitwU8dNr7eFBCKKg4Lxy0yjeysClTP3erZ7LgO73tHkZx90Ze2RCEADHx3esCx_mghYuv7NwOHDYI/s320/IMG_5124.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-72226878525806425432010-10-12T11:41:00.009-04:002010-10-12T11:57:59.716-04:00Halloween<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Walk through the graves on Halloween night,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">the ghouls wear black, and the ghosts wear white.</span><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Courier New;"></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange;">Memories linger of lives long dead,</span></div><span style="color: orange;"></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">and bodies sleep in a deep dirt bed. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The revelry moves to torturous tones,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">screaming and moaning amid the gray stones...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><span style="color: orange;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The powers of darkness bring lost souls home -</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">never to rest; forever to roam.<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><span style="color: orange;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Cries of passion possessed by the night;</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">tormented shadows, creatures of fright.<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><span style="color: orange;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The voices of death capture howls from the wind,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">this celebration’s for those who have sinned.<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Restless remains and spirits arise,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">then back to the ground where their future lies.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoYStH-DU5blf9vxH9Wb-_esm4ay4i4vGQjPMvgkj65VvgbEzMgRs2DG8NPNNxjw4u9jL_xss0IT8JH3GMCTAjhnAWIY75aPXsQ2n9OmYpG9_o7mHCIiYhcMyV38tD6KQ9Bxghuj5CFo/s1600/Halloween+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoYStH-DU5blf9vxH9Wb-_esm4ay4i4vGQjPMvgkj65VvgbEzMgRs2DG8NPNNxjw4u9jL_xss0IT8JH3GMCTAjhnAWIY75aPXsQ2n9OmYpG9_o7mHCIiYhcMyV38tD6KQ9Bxghuj5CFo/s320/Halloween+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-84431748263623420412010-08-27T21:06:00.000-04:002017-01-13T12:31:48.443-05:00Road to Bermuda...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With our 40th wedding anniversary approaching in October, we have been trying to decide where we would like to go to celebrate. This takes me back 10 years, when we took our first cruise to Bermuda as a 30th anniversary celebration.</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Neither of us had ever been on a cruise before, so I decided to do some research so as not to seem like utter novices. What I eventually found out, was that when on a cruise, you become acclimated very quickly to the ships routine, and are pretty much guided throughout the trip by a very accommodating staff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now you have to understand what mindset I was in at the time when shopping for the trip. ‘Titanic’ was the big movie out at that time….the book stores were filled with everything and anything that you wanted to know about it...coincidence, I think not! When I passed the shelves filled with Titanic books, I turned my head and wouldn’t look directly at them, for fear of jinxing our trip. When I shopped for a windbreaker, my thought process went something like this…<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><em>’If I buy the</em></span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><em>black jacket, I won’t be seen floating in the water, so I’m best to buy the hot pink….much easier to spot’</em></span>...I was convinced we were sailing on the <strong>Titanic 2</strong>!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our trip started by driving to New York city to see our son, Todd. He would have use of our vehicle for the week while we were out of the country. We would spend a day visiting with him before embarking from Chelsea Pier to Bermuda</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day we were to sail was a Sunday, and since we didn’t have to be at the dock until afternoon, I wanted to go to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We called for a Town Car to take us to the church, the day was rainy. The Town Car arrived right on time, and we were off. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The streets were very busy, as is the norm for New York City. The driver went down some small side streets, and finally I could see St. Patrick’s on the block ahead of us….we were so close….<em>’there it is, I can see it!’</em>. It was slow going for such a short distance that was left. All of a sudden we heard sirens behind us. A fire truck was trying to make his way down the same street that we were on….a one way street. Our driver edged his way down the street and slowly into the intersection, trying to give way for the fire truck to pass. He kept inching further into the intersection….as I looked to the left, I saw a cab coming directly for us, not slowing down, just moving in our direction. I knew at that moment that he was going to broadside us, and sure enough that’s exactly what happened! We were so close…..why didn’t we get out and walk?????? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stupidly, Jerry and I did not buckle our seatbelts. When the cab hit, it was a major jolt! I hit my head really hard on the ceiling of the Town Car. Next thing I knew the door was being opened and a police officer was asking us if we were alright. We pretty much were, but decided to get checked out at the hospital. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there we were, just a few hours from sailing to Bermuda, in an emergency vehicle, on our way to the hospital. We never got to St. Patrick’s for mass that day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to call Todd and gently tell him what had happened, since I didn’t want to get him all shook up…<em>’Hi Todd, Dad</em> <em>and I are fine….we were in a slight accident on our way to church. We’re in an emergency vehicle, but we’re ok, on</em> <em>our way to the hospital just to get checked out, we’re ok...we’ll see you</em> <em>at the dock later.’</em>...gentle enough? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We checked out fine, but they gave us some pain killers to take along, just in case. Great start to our trip!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at the dock, said our ‘Goodbye’s’, crossed the gangplank, and were immediately ambushed by the <em>‘Cruise</em> <em>Photographer’...</em><strong>S-M-I-L-E</strong>!!!!!! Little did I know that this would be only the first of the thousands of photographs that they want to take of you….and oh yes….<strong>SELL TO YOU</strong>!!!!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first thoughts as we entered the main concourse was, <em>”Wow, Vegas TACKY”!!!!</em> This was not one of the new sleek mega ships. It was older, with less passengers, and so much smaller than the floating cities that are now offered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got to our cabin well in advance of all of our luggage. Once everyone was onboard and settled in, we were called to our <em>‘muster stations’!!!</em> <strong>‘I KNEW IT!!!’</strong>!! So with life vests on, we headed to the deck that we were assigned to for our emergency instructions,<strong> ‘EMERGENCY?? WHAT EMERGENCY???</strong>’…..we weren’t even out of the dock!!!!! OK, I know this is the usual procedure, but when you think that you’re on the Titanic 2, not such a good feeling!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our outer cabin was small. They pushed the twin beds together for us, and believe it or not, there were also 2 fold down beds on the walls. This cabin was barely enough room for us, let alone two more people in here...they’re kidding, right? Well at one point, I hit my head on the folded bed, yet another head injury! The bathroom was pretty much just a ‘do your business and get out’ kind of place. Anyone of large girth would definitely have a problem, I could actually see them having to come and pry someone out of there. The shower was barely enough room for one, let alone two, we had to turn in unison <em>(hey, it was our anniversary!).</em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">One thing about cruising that is truly against my grain, is eating dinner with strangers…..although, Jerry, being the social guy that he is, loves it. So there I was, wanting a table for two, and Jerry ready to tell our fellow cruisers our life story, and hear theirs. We had a mixed bag at our table…..from really friendly young attorney’s, to newly weds who didn’t always make it to dinner, ...to a crabby old dentist who wasn’t very happy when the table hopping pirate put the parrot on his shoulder…”ARG!”. I have to say that the conversation did actually take my mind off the storm that was happening at sea with lightening that we could see out the windows. Don’t let anyone ever fool you and say that you don’t feel the ships movement….sometimes, ever so slight, and even on a calm day, once in awhile you feel it, like someone is moving the floor beneath you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The food was amazing, and you could pretty much eat until they rolled you back to your cabin. The entertainment provided by the waiters was also good….the getting everyone involved, not so much! Breakfast was my favorite because we were on our own and always sat at the bow next to the huge windows...it was relaxing and beautiful! I was very disappointed with the shops onboard….everyday, they would fill the upper concourse with sellable items, and I can’t forget the art sale….if you want to call it that! The shops were few and the merchandise was not great. The ships excursions were very pricey , and if you didn’t sign up as soon as you boarded the boat, you were out of luck. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">We opted for our own excursions. One of which was to a Bermuda beach. We had heard so much about the pink sand, not really pink, that we wanted to spend at least one afternoon there. We decided to take a bus to the beach since the ship was docked quite far away….cabs & scooters were also available….cabs were expensive, scooters dangerous. Little did we know that the bus ride would also be dangerous!!! The roads were really narrow and extremely winding. The bus must have been going 90 miles an hour, at least it seemed that fast. You had to hang on for dear life!! I can remember thinking that if you were a pedestrian, and stepped out into the road when the bus was coming, just kiss your ass goodbye...you didn’t have a chance. The driver packed the bus beyond capacity, and at one point let an entire class of little school children board, they ended up sitting on our laps….the little boy on Jerry’s lap commented to him that he had a curl on his forehead...very observant child. Jerry told the driver that he would be a great New York city cabby, he said that that’s where he came from!! We found the beach very nice, but when you’re in a strange place, how could we both go into the water and leave our belonging? We went in one at a time...no fun in that! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The shopping ports were great, I truly did enjoy that. Seeing the ship ’parallel parked’ right next to the street was incredible...how did they do that?? We also visited a glass blowing shop that was probably the best thing that we did. </span><span style="font-size: small;">The entertainment aboard ship was so, so corny!!! That did not impress me at all.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">But I have to say that all in all we loved our trip.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">However, while we were in Bermuda, our car in New York city was towed because Todd parked in the wrong place, and we had two deaths in the family, my Uncle from my Mother’s side, and my Aunt from my Father’s side. Cell phones were not used all that much yet 10 years ago, and I felt so out of touch with home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day that we docked back in New York city, everyone was color coded to make it easy to disembark. We were all herded into the main auditorium...there, everyone waited for their color to be called. It seemed like forever. I started to feel queasy and light headed, and just plain weird. I thought that it might be claustrophobia because of all the people, and the lack of fresh air. We decided to wait on deck…..I just kept feeling worse and worse. Finally we got off the ship and I couldn’t wait to get to our hotel and take a nap. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I felt better that evening after a long nap, and we met Todd for dinner. The next day, we were on the road back to Elma. The first thing that I did when we got there was take flowers to my cousins, and go to the cemetery. When I got back home, me legs became weak, and buckled under me. My heart started to pound heavily, I felt faint, and I broke out in a cold sweat…..I thought for sure that I was having a heart attack. I went to see the doctor and she thought that it just might have been from all the excitement of the trip, and she sent me for blood work just to be safe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next day I went to get the blood work done. The technician asked me about the trip and if I got seasick. I told her that before we ventured on this cruise, I had asked my doctor to give me something for sea sickness. Not that I had ever been seasick, but I have had severe motion sickness which was horrible, and I didn’t want my trip to be ruined. She gave us small patches to be put behind the ear. Before we boarded, I stuck mine on, and figured that I was good to go. When my patch fell off, I would put on a new one...I did this three times. When I finished telling her this, she asked, “WHAT?”. She then told me how potent these patches are and that I overdosed on the seasick patch and that’s why I felt so sick once we came home, I was going through withdrawal. She said that one patch would have taken care of me for the entire trip….huh? Who knew!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, I guess that we didn’t sail on the Titanic 2, but we certainly did have some misadventures…..”<strong><em>so what do you think Jerry, another cruise????</em></strong>”!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-29853890368013091952010-07-19T13:03:00.011-04:002010-07-19T14:09:36.885-04:00child's play<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuqhmGKAEq5ry4V0BKS8b3Y5D5yNeSzJ5RZLgnv96RVytCIHbZ2vyyOrFZbuY7dXQhh90QzV2pj-A2RkIHElZTpWtyeZtj4lgo7XpvsKnIJrGpbxoc7Ks3s7JJl2E27HSZTP-U1n4VBM/s1600/Jerry+%26+Tommy+in+little+boat.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 251px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495678887008159410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuqhmGKAEq5ry4V0BKS8b3Y5D5yNeSzJ5RZLgnv96RVytCIHbZ2vyyOrFZbuY7dXQhh90QzV2pj-A2RkIHElZTpWtyeZtj4lgo7XpvsKnIJrGpbxoc7Ks3s7JJl2E27HSZTP-U1n4VBM/s400/Jerry+%26+Tommy+in+little+boat.jpg" /></a> twinkle, twinkle, little star. . .</div><div align="center">jacks, jump rope, pedal car. . .</div><div align="center">paper dolls, metal toys,</div><div align="center">where are those little girls and boys?<br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-hIuEtlCXOuD6-sCJLHGSpy5-pIPqU50XVj2EADRnInx6tTq1e6hfcwjVhupC4AGkGNRqT7PhTViCRzmrKfubK4ceg_RFIeT0s2mbW3U8qIYtJLrkEIMMDwQ_N1rYxp3c0anhonWy5s/s1600/Carole+Watering.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 291px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495678878919522338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-hIuEtlCXOuD6-sCJLHGSpy5-pIPqU50XVj2EADRnInx6tTq1e6hfcwjVhupC4AGkGNRqT7PhTViCRzmrKfubK4ceg_RFIeT0s2mbW3U8qIYtJLrkEIMMDwQ_N1rYxp3c0anhonWy5s/s400/Carole+Watering.jpg" /></a> somersaults, hide and seek. . .<br /><em>'count to ten, and don't you peek!'<br /></em>red light - green light, <em>'may I?'</em> too. . .<br />games we played, until we grew.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyLwC_tQHp7TsQTBIUeXRY6naO17jsjBQvRksA5JKcRrF-vSF-hd5saftQb1VcnBhyphenhyphenyVV_nYYMZZ_Rfdo7WWyJsQwycQEwa8sKrka5aaNCikCX9QAaNbctq3XgLn0w7Y2E1k5snu7jFk/s1600/Jerry+%26+Dog.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 244px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495678875510724674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyLwC_tQHp7TsQTBIUeXRY6naO17jsjBQvRksA5JKcRrF-vSF-hd5saftQb1VcnBhyphenhyphenyVV_nYYMZZ_Rfdo7WWyJsQwycQEwa8sKrka5aaNCikCX9QAaNbctq3XgLn0w7Y2E1k5snu7jFk/s400/Jerry+%26+Dog.jpg" /></a> innocence of times long gone. . .<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh004wsYohthNooRukDLsOJ1Z8Wb2NBMmBbTIa4L_-96cOp9z8wWhHaavepdUU9biWokdvJQ35NQTrp-weennnqQcNdG-ionj7oCGZHL_WTZ_H2fpgQdpfvBTtTxOdNGj0BvKTn-_XOFY4/s1600/Carole+on+French+Street.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 281px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495678864778864194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh004wsYohthNooRukDLsOJ1Z8Wb2NBMmBbTIa4L_-96cOp9z8wWhHaavepdUU9biWokdvJQ35NQTrp-weennnqQcNdG-ionj7oCGZHL_WTZ_H2fpgQdpfvBTtTxOdNGj0BvKTn-_XOFY4/s400/Carole+on+French+Street.jpg" /></a> those children sang a carefree song. <div align="left"></div></div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-29207883051252033202010-07-09T12:53:00.006-04:002011-08-20T12:34:16.011-04:00tick...tock...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlmlVPTEktvCLsTm5IIDYjWVlcQ-XPpk6A6ydpxhCGtdc3d7sZ9eq49fxLDFrHWPDgF2aFnbjJB9ZLDtM8DhOHRiJI-CMLPrtY_Hl3zDvYMar5yeFy9xB2YO4VlgcvTbKtrrnLtZ6aXs/s1600/Clock.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491951046306237186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlmlVPTEktvCLsTm5IIDYjWVlcQ-XPpk6A6ydpxhCGtdc3d7sZ9eq49fxLDFrHWPDgF2aFnbjJB9ZLDtM8DhOHRiJI-CMLPrtY_Hl3zDvYMar5yeFy9xB2YO4VlgcvTbKtrrnLtZ6aXs/s320/Clock.jpg" style="display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> <span style="color: #66cccc;"><span style="font-family: courier new;">On the morning of July 3rd, I sat down at the computer to write this poem that I had been thinking about the night before...little did I know the impact this poem would have.</span><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><em>tick...tock...</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">tick...tock...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">time slips away...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">one more night? one more day?</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">memories present themselves,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">a slideshow in my head...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">enjoying them for one last time,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">before the day I'm dead.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">tick...tock...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">days disappear...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">a month is gone, and now a year.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">how many more will I have left?</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">there is no time to waste...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">completing all those "should have's"</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">with quickness and in haste.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">tick...tock...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">no time left, I have no fear...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I see the end, the end is near.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">a fleeting sigh, a lingered breath..</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">how many more until my death?</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">tick...tock...tick...tock...tick.....................</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 85%;"></span></em><br />
<span style="color: #66cccc; font-family: courier new;">That evening we found out that our dear neighbor of almost 20 years, Art Reimer, had passed away suddenly. Little to say we were all in shock. Art was a guy full of life and adventure, always ready with a joke or a smile. We've all been saddened by his loss. We'll miss you, Art, but we'll never forget.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-78838750831905316502010-06-11T13:01:00.014-04:002011-08-20T12:32:31.704-04:00shoes...<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: courier new;">So, what is it exactly about shoes that tingles our fancy?? Perhaps it's that feeling of being really <em>'dressed up'</em> when wearing a new pair of shoes...or maybe, it's the elongated look that high heels give to our legs. Whatever the reason, shoes seem to be important to most women, and I'm no different.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: 85%;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Since we were little girls, those new black patent leather <em>'Mary Jane's'</em>, that clicked on the floor when we walked, gave us that <em>'girlie'</em> feeling that was always so rewarding. Our little white, ruffled socks folded over ever so neatly...We were dressed in our best and the shoes made us feel that way.</span></div><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: 85%;"></span><br />
<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDbgVvFQY9-iU92RiWGhhVd31gTGI94jHjk2NsL_yXKimLAgsDAbQupdJD_Yh6R4YPeqrLh1t7STjDwHbQdtE1EGqendI6LZB8XqAIEpNpEpIAT6FtURWkTMyU2kl8O-p7lklES1F7uE/s1600/Shoe+11.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563992745973458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDbgVvFQY9-iU92RiWGhhVd31gTGI94jHjk2NsL_yXKimLAgsDAbQupdJD_Yh6R4YPeqrLh1t7STjDwHbQdtE1EGqendI6LZB8XqAIEpNpEpIAT6FtURWkTMyU2kl8O-p7lklES1F7uE/s320/Shoe+11.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 239px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: courier new;">My cousin Jackie and I loved shopping for shoes when we were teenagers. There was a shoe store called 'Bakers' that always had the latest styles on sale and we couldn't resist taking advantage of that! We were together when I bought my wedding shoes there, and I only paid $1 for them.....white satin pumps, can you believe it, just what I was looking for. I still have those shoes, and now they're forty years old!! I think I got my money's worth!!</span><br />
<br />
<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrecuUvpX3aid3QmV3WfLZRH-BnbNXV398fRXtbMwlH803FWRk9XIrizWLRZXM5ZgnhDDNjL38CBOokUZ774v90y8uDJ-lfZDxSf5XeRpdH4hf9ArxarYmy6i2E18bGk95YQ7OwHXNJ1g/s1600/Shoe+7.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563983867700354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrecuUvpX3aid3QmV3WfLZRH-BnbNXV398fRXtbMwlH803FWRk9XIrizWLRZXM5ZgnhDDNjL38CBOokUZ774v90y8uDJ-lfZDxSf5XeRpdH4hf9ArxarYmy6i2E18bGk95YQ7OwHXNJ1g/s320/Shoe+7.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 241px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: courier new;">I remember as a kid, having play high heels that had a strap of elastic to hold them on....of course I also remember falling off of them all the time, but they were fun. Wearing mom's high heels, gloves in hand, pop-it beads around our necks, and a purse hanging over the crook of our arm, made us feel like little grown up ladies, ready for shopping or tea. Could this shoe thing be inborn??.....who knows. What I do know is that I just love shoes, and sometimes cannot resist buying a pair that I just have to have.....but in fact, end up never being worn.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-pg9yNIktBKbSojWpvzKGjx4to73CyLHA9Vf2yWv28YxTvJ5U9iiH6Sb3wMJAYh6WPuvHCradhwiu1ubnox1w81olaCJxW6VkK4qegAV_Wo3k9vWsLqmzzDktGQ7weKKgc14OpsXVCI/s1600/Shoe+6.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563980356732658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-pg9yNIktBKbSojWpvzKGjx4to73CyLHA9Vf2yWv28YxTvJ5U9iiH6Sb3wMJAYh6WPuvHCradhwiu1ubnox1w81olaCJxW6VkK4qegAV_Wo3k9vWsLqmzzDktGQ7weKKgc14OpsXVCI/s320/Shoe+6.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: courier new;">Go-Go boots????....what was I thinking???....don't even ask!!</span><br />
<br />
<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4H8S5vNfRf_wT2oeDkgoi6ZpdkyxlkS8E8eu9k5sAA-emrzfBEQ06VWUI0goNBywNG2DUj8PU4cm3547_OC0uSuAy9MhZw_-dJq_jtt3BWd7MLXXRRIjsfln_741eNLvSdeKuPIy0M6Q/s1600/Shoe+4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563976200057362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4H8S5vNfRf_wT2oeDkgoi6ZpdkyxlkS8E8eu9k5sAA-emrzfBEQ06VWUI0goNBywNG2DUj8PU4cm3547_OC0uSuAy9MhZw_-dJq_jtt3BWd7MLXXRRIjsfln_741eNLvSdeKuPIy0M6Q/s320/Shoe+4.jpg" style="display: block; height: 165px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: courier new;">I'm surprised that I didn't buy more of these.......they came in so many colors!!! When I got home, I figured that I had better practice walking in them. When I put them on, my balance immediately became very tilted....<em>forward!!!</em> Uh, let's see, am I supposed to walk on a slant???? </span><span style="font-family: courier new;">But they looked so goooood!!!! I hope they enjoy where they're living!</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji05R-9iamePuYsIPO7iyVkq5hLhbvzhL4PtzXFkuXgBSZWKZtincU5xmCZJZSb7_2h4MjC8aG-RcKhglvzcc_7TDLZcVc9r2eol4DlHztpFz-7VAf0mRq8x1NkDKfzO-AeZN0VvpE3h8/s1600/Shoe+9.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563243067419426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji05R-9iamePuYsIPO7iyVkq5hLhbvzhL4PtzXFkuXgBSZWKZtincU5xmCZJZSb7_2h4MjC8aG-RcKhglvzcc_7TDLZcVc9r2eol4DlHztpFz-7VAf0mRq8x1NkDKfzO-AeZN0VvpE3h8/s320/Shoe+9.jpg" style="display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Dq2NpXlas4DeQC1Pkmctzj-7jSg853YRVQZLmIIDJA1UILUgT_2QxmV_752afg4tGFYlIPB_kBiqfITJ3VcXILFgsqLofFaY2kbMFgCoL4VpjQYUqUVim4XBJBio5mI51mfLXogS6Uc/s1600/Shoe+5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563244878286306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Dq2NpXlas4DeQC1Pkmctzj-7jSg853YRVQZLmIIDJA1UILUgT_2QxmV_752afg4tGFYlIPB_kBiqfITJ3VcXILFgsqLofFaY2kbMFgCoL4VpjQYUqUVim4XBJBio5mI51mfLXogS6Uc/s320/Shoe+5.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 238px;" /></a> <em><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">"There's no place like home, there's no place like home".....</span></em><span style="font-family: courier new;">you don't want to know!!!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgu2lpcNZK0a2rMFMZ39vuffwfl_mdryOyqxj-oQ-E4etkI7lAeKBsMPRgH-WChyxrdml_sqgYUY-3K3mFyRMeYdMBkY9CV3COrdd6jk6DHpUtIlFoHf-rqIKaVdbwN3HyMm2SmpmI4s/s1600/Shoe+3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563240583168674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgu2lpcNZK0a2rMFMZ39vuffwfl_mdryOyqxj-oQ-E4etkI7lAeKBsMPRgH-WChyxrdml_sqgYUY-3K3mFyRMeYdMBkY9CV3COrdd6jk6DHpUtIlFoHf-rqIKaVdbwN3HyMm2SmpmI4s/s320/Shoe+3.jpg" style="display: block; height: 239px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsphHNInnikjHad-QoYNLXXGGf17wgNTfWtPfz4LXzt0J_fYmEbCIqB3f0pcwfAzRR3Vua-yPztfaY0ksv9J0p1PJXqDA58vxZpRNgb9-j6WJF8E0f8ICtXUDuHZTojIwBsWz2LSKgYrU/s1600/Shoe+10.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563227254650898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsphHNInnikjHad-QoYNLXXGGf17wgNTfWtPfz4LXzt0J_fYmEbCIqB3f0pcwfAzRR3Vua-yPztfaY0ksv9J0p1PJXqDA58vxZpRNgb9-j6WJF8E0f8ICtXUDuHZTojIwBsWz2LSKgYrU/s320/Shoe+10.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevLepHx7tuisAiRVXj6ESeYiQl98VjYSO_4bJYOX0EiE3ax8SnaO8xLfnSIyLWXuTaPO-GBy9KQeqHzsCtx-Qem67_LXw72kQPkjMoeifwVcNkC2_kDOB059H4FNvhzSVguXaxL3-8ks/s1600/Shoe+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481563214395293474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevLepHx7tuisAiRVXj6ESeYiQl98VjYSO_4bJYOX0EiE3ax8SnaO8xLfnSIyLWXuTaPO-GBy9KQeqHzsCtx-Qem67_LXw72kQPkjMoeifwVcNkC2_kDOB059H4FNvhzSVguXaxL3-8ks/s320/Shoe+2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 237px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: courier new;">These are my latest <em>'had to haves'</em>......I can actually walk in them, but haven't worn them as of yet.</span><br />
<div align="justify"><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new;">I don't think that this shoe fascination is exclusive to women. My husband, Jerry, also enjoys buying new shoes.....can't have too many wing tips or bucks!!! </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: courier new;">So, I'm inclined to come to the conclusion that new shoes are like the frosting on a cake, the cherry atop a sundae, the period at the end of a sentence.....they complete the look!! </span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-66435335852221882672010-04-13T15:08:00.006-04:002011-08-20T12:39:02.571-04:00April beach. . .<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98Czw1N5fSL1j1jG5dkDodJ0IrcR83n7CmARPkrDRmIjoJwHKSTB0PkHK5LqyVQiAlPRG7LirDLuVc9sF82MhihYL62MuODsQpnyMYRpq38YLjbjiv6-1Ga3NRBz78jybyLnRmLghyGo/s1600/My+Weekend.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460101767775109394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98Czw1N5fSL1j1jG5dkDodJ0IrcR83n7CmARPkrDRmIjoJwHKSTB0PkHK5LqyVQiAlPRG7LirDLuVc9sF82MhihYL62MuODsQpnyMYRpq38YLjbjiv6-1Ga3NRBz78jybyLnRmLghyGo/s400/My+Weekend.jpg" style="display: block; height: 125px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: courier new;"> <span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;">It was a beautiful day for the beach...sunny, but chilly, which warranted us wearing warmer coats since it's always cooler near the water.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;">This <em>'April beach'</em> is so different than last year. When we were here then, we had to bundle up in heavy winter wear. The beach itself was littered with huge piles of debris. This year, we've already been here wearing summer clothes, and the beach is clean and clear, except for a few things scattered here and there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<span style="color: #ffffcc;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum_FPOKnGdhEQVc9tv_eg6CnxorwLs4cIG4keCFxMb6unbZ7Qd60g4LjjutVxOrWHqUAfsKeAY6Sy48n6ukdjeoAN_yqdejpd4J3PU0dpqqcTl8T9jcCRofEFexMAWQMmyRzqLqTVnqM/s1600/Aqua+Glass.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 78%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460101763999289442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum_FPOKnGdhEQVc9tv_eg6CnxorwLs4cIG4keCFxMb6unbZ7Qd60g4LjjutVxOrWHqUAfsKeAY6Sy48n6ukdjeoAN_yqdejpd4J3PU0dpqqcTl8T9jcCRofEFexMAWQMmyRzqLqTVnqM/s400/Aqua+Glass.jpg" style="display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 318px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ffffcc;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Jerry went fishing at one end of the beach and I went <em>'hunting'</em> at the other. After a few loud choruses of Brenda Lee's <em>'All Alone Am I', 'Big Spender' (from 'Sweet Charity'), </em>and<em> 'Are the Stars Out Tonight'</em>. I got </span></span><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;"><span style="font-size: small;">down to the business at hand...finding glass.</span> <br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;">The beach was empty, except for the two of us...which of course was the reason I could sing out loud. This is how I like the beach! To the few people who did eventually wander in, I felt like saying, <em>"Get OFF</em> <em>MY beach!!"</em>! I had my little bucket and my pick-up stick, a must have when it comes to looking for glass, much easier on the back.<br />
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN4prWgtsG03bEZBJF8su-BVs33DC1tULWip9EIrhx5913CIQFJt_Umw-wuxrJ9VoBUMjoJnwnE-_VHvkgqBHxBk5-uBz3bszKOk_O9Jj-c-w7ofC-EqRslfjuYRb8D0TwImnwkERcZE/s1600/White+Glass.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"></span></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN4prWgtsG03bEZBJF8su-BVs33DC1tULWip9EIrhx5913CIQFJt_Umw-wuxrJ9VoBUMjoJnwnE-_VHvkgqBHxBk5-uBz3bszKOk_O9Jj-c-w7ofC-EqRslfjuYRb8D0TwImnwkERcZE/s1600/White+Glass.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460101764246885474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN4prWgtsG03bEZBJF8su-BVs33DC1tULWip9EIrhx5913CIQFJt_Umw-wuxrJ9VoBUMjoJnwnE-_VHvkgqBHxBk5-uBz3bszKOk_O9Jj-c-w7ofC-EqRslfjuYRb8D0TwImnwkERcZE/s400/White+Glass.jpg" style="display: block; height: 317px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 238px;" /></span></a><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"> <span style="font-size: small;">I was in my glory!! A gorgeous day, an empty beach, the sound of the waves teasing the shore <em>(one of my favorite sounds),</em> what more could I ask for.</span></span><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: Courier New; font-size: 85%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: Courier New;">I have what I like to call a <em>'glass'</em> eye...I'm able to see the most elusive shards of glass, peering ever so slightly from beneath stones and sand...gleaming, chameleon-like slivers, resting amid rocks and slate, hoping to blend in with the surroundings...<em>"you can't hide from</em> <em>me!!!"</em>!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylYbJGCg2a113dtYxvDYtn07fW2RRJCV49mz8x83WdQiOCvV1kGa8yhyphenhyphenxhrG1QrgYQM-frSu8YN4WZFcT6S-Z0Tgpc9UqIizH_z-G5rhMceLZWM-TOMFsBAoJF7IEDW46dMn8aa8XedQ/s1600/Blue+Glass.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460101761636353410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylYbJGCg2a113dtYxvDYtn07fW2RRJCV49mz8x83WdQiOCvV1kGa8yhyphenhyphenxhrG1QrgYQM-frSu8YN4WZFcT6S-Z0Tgpc9UqIizH_z-G5rhMceLZWM-TOMFsBAoJF7IEDW46dMn8aa8XedQ/s400/Blue+Glass.jpg" style="display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 316px;" /></span></a><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"> <span style="font-size: small;">The glass on this beach is not what I normally find at the inlet, which always has an abundance of pottery and pieces of restaurant ware. This glass is well weathered, showing it's time in the water has been long. But these are the highly coveted pieces that collectors look for...these are the pieces that make beautiful jewelry. The most unusual color that I found today was a small piece of vivid pink, most of the rest was white, aqua, green, brown, some cobalt blue, and an occasional lavender. The best piece that I found was the side of an old Coca Cola bottle...a perfect find! My bucket was full since I had ventured farther than ever along the shore, time to see if Jerry caught anything.</span> <br />
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<span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;">I'm always so excited to check out my <em>'booty'</em> when I get home...booty is 'pirate speak' for seized goods...I guess you could say that I seized the glass from the beach!</span><br />
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</span></span><span style="color: #ffffcc;"><span style="font-family: courier new;"></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZnIutsAORizAt0qyty_wbvX5FYTuU3U4P-TAQTBZI464blP5PiWAd8HL_zFXZAkcNgCQpDSKHp5WAkGUGAd412J4xhipw8KX3S3eBgmb_9m8hQ6JGi8MIkc0qtv2Dp4ED-w6N_8qHWQ/s1600/Beach+Debris+B.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459701656751224274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZnIutsAORizAt0qyty_wbvX5FYTuU3U4P-TAQTBZI464blP5PiWAd8HL_zFXZAkcNgCQpDSKHp5WAkGUGAd412J4xhipw8KX3S3eBgmb_9m8hQ6JGi8MIkc0qtv2Dp4ED-w6N_8qHWQ/s400/Beach+Debris+B.jpg" style="display: block; height: 195px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 264px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ffffcc;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #ffffcc;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"> </span><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Debris is at a minimum right now, although there were a few items that caught my eye to photograph. One was a golden yellow velour recliner that had it's footrest replaced with a small bale of hay. Near it was a small bonfire...someone had really made themselves at home, they were comfy and I got a great photo! </span></span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsatNofwkpxqi08KHHjrkk3-F7cBCIBp_NuitHGYMUY2fid8J9eYX7aQm-zF8uolybQmcGjBtXAWXrrnakINya3tUx7LZiqnWmPutuceghw0UM61MPHEAUJCA5RyM6BvnorY4d5d8eRU/s1600/Beach+Debris+C.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: georgia;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459701649387320594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsatNofwkpxqi08KHHjrkk3-F7cBCIBp_NuitHGYMUY2fid8J9eYX7aQm-zF8uolybQmcGjBtXAWXrrnakINya3tUx7LZiqnWmPutuceghw0UM61MPHEAUJCA5RyM6BvnorY4d5d8eRU/s400/Beach+Debris+C.jpg" style="display: block; height: 196px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></span></a></div></div></span></span></div></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhZWjDzSCsiYfNdztcDMTh5IIRufBWIjiQV4GYAlEVjO9SUYf02ue5Ybc5WhCcrrWfi4zI4GhTKMXEFs5Jr5DVwwsQw_ZkdAWrf4zxRXaEyQo9z3Baa_Czo5HuYBi0a2a6xpfYlDyjRE/s1600/Beach+Debris+D.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459701646353852498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhZWjDzSCsiYfNdztcDMTh5IIRufBWIjiQV4GYAlEVjO9SUYf02ue5Ybc5WhCcrrWfi4zI4GhTKMXEFs5Jr5DVwwsQw_ZkdAWrf4zxRXaEyQo9z3Baa_Czo5HuYBi0a2a6xpfYlDyjRE/s400/Beach+Debris+D.jpg" style="display: block; height: 194px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></span></a><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: courier new;">Another item was a rather sizable bra...we figure that there might be a story to tell between the recliner and the bra...<span style="font-family: georgia;"><em>hmmmm</em></span>....let's just use our imaginations!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier new; font-size: 85%;"><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKnkzGTlgLkuadn88ZI4XXNeoq-r7lY6h7bq_WkH7-Kt1ft3mms60fxZX2FAnPY321jhDCnmOOTkWbo77H9KFO9KImSPQhCjKLBfvvHbUMMzko9lsYMLK1v20kuokw-gPlYN5n9oEmIs/s1600/Beach+Debris+A.jpg"><span style="color: #ffffcc; font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459701636874575874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKnkzGTlgLkuadn88ZI4XXNeoq-r7lY6h7bq_WkH7-Kt1ft3mms60fxZX2FAnPY321jhDCnmOOTkWbo77H9KFO9KImSPQhCjKLBfvvHbUMMzko9lsYMLK1v20kuokw-gPlYN5n9oEmIs/s400/Beach+Debris+A.jpg" style="display: block; height: 188px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ffffcc;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: courier new;">We're getting an early start to our beach combing this year and I'm so happy about that!! The beach is a wonderful place to spend a beautiful day!</span></span></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-4225165775125607712010-04-09T13:53:00.011-04:002012-05-11T00:43:39.456-04:00If you want something done. . .<div align="left">
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">You know that old saying...<em>'If you want something done, do it</em> <em>yourself'</em>? Well, I always used that adage as a coaxing tool, hoping to generate some sympathy from my husband, Jerry, when he didn't move quickly enough to do something that I needed done, hoping that he'd take pity on me and do what I asked <em>(well, that never really worked).</em> No sympathy there!</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Years ago, we had a full size, three cushioned, winged-back, brown PLAID, monstrosity of a sofa!!! Oh, the HORROR!!! Not to mention, the matching chair, like there wasn't enough plaid in the room already!</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMUr5XPCp08kKjpR8LMleLOT5ER5tJD1P7ES3vM0BkT5NOKOuSpmf0xmKN04ktoIMKUYQ85u3U1hHoFU_gxwtRDhYDT8vr1eLK582lgV6CBD_kR7NvkHfhDpPiLpfuRFOyCzVs3llKy0/s1600/Plaid+Couch+1.jpg"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458197558315612866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMUr5XPCp08kKjpR8LMleLOT5ER5tJD1P7ES3vM0BkT5NOKOuSpmf0xmKN04ktoIMKUYQ85u3U1hHoFU_gxwtRDhYDT8vr1eLK582lgV6CBD_kR7NvkHfhDpPiLpfuRFOyCzVs3llKy0/s400/Plaid+Couch+1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 190px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"> <span style="font-size: small;">After living with this lovely piece for quite a few years, it got to a point that I just couldn't look at it for even one more day. So, like I usually did when I wanted something removed, I asked Jerry to take it in the basement <em>(where all unwanted furniture went to die),</em> with me, but that was just not on his agenda. Well, after asking him for some time, and not getting any response, I took this upon myself to do <em>(here's where that adage comes in).</em> How hard can this be????? </span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">After all, I <strong><em>WAS </em></strong>freakishly strong <em>( I really was).</em> I told Jerry that I would 'do it myself' and he kept telling me not to even try it, but he tells me a not to do a lot of things...ask him how often I listen!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">I waited until I was home alone, of course, then assessed and cleared the potential moving route that I would take for this endeavor...<em>out of the living room, through the dining room...through our small kitchen, and then down a step into a very tiny back hall</em> <em>(probably a</em> <em>square yard wide),...then left to the basement</em>...as easy as that!</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I took all of the cushions off of the sofa, then proceeded to put my plan into action...I <strong><em>PU..ULLED</em></strong> and <strong><em>PU..USHED</em></strong> it until I got it to the hall. Now, I needed to re-evaluate the situation. "So let's see, if I take it down the small step on the short side, I should be able to just lower it onto the basement stairs...yeah, that'll work!" So that's exactly what I did. I stood it upright on it's side, then pushed the other side that was on the floor, down into the basement...so easy...well, it didn't quite go <strong><em>down</em></strong> the basement stairs. It got stuck...<strong><em>on</em></strong> the stairs...just past the doorway. It wouldn't budge!! What now???? I decided that if I pulled it from the other side, the side that faced the basement, it would surely go down. I climbed over it until I was between the sofa and the basement wall, hoping to move to the other side...unfortunately, now I got stuck and couldn't move either way...ok, I think I have a slight problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's all I kept thinking about was, what if I was still stuck here when Jerry got home from work????...I was sure to get an <strong><em>'I TOLD YOU SO!!!'</em></strong>, and there was no way I wanted to hear that! I kept squirming, and pulling, and trying to pry myself out of the wedged-in position that gave me no leverage what so ever...'OK, this can't be good'. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, and with a lot of grunting, groaning, and swearing, I did indeed pry myself out...SUCCESS!!!...well, not quite, the sofa was still stuck.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I crawled my way back up the sofa, <em>(hoping that it wouldn't decide to make it's move to the</em> <em>basement with me straddled on top of it),</em> to the small hall and at that point had to once again re-evaluate my situation. I now had an alternate plan...I sat on the floor, put both of my feet solidly on the side of the sofa, pulled back, and with all my might and both of my legs, I kicked the sofa so hard that it went bouncing down the basement stairs....see, how hard was that?!!</span><span style="font-family: courier new; font-size: 78%;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-9992679936509439702010-03-20T21:09:00.009-04:002012-05-11T00:46:04.863-04:00Nice Day to Buy a Grave. . .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-n8wH9UZaPQbMst9eZ25-xVWCWy5u6fkieRquM_KxIPs6f5ZYCLUABPCuDT1jxxpzH9P89OsMduO1vTQsm5gFKqWRh7WAHD_kO-pHmRNBsQXapbjrhpTjALNSGFb-AXYbaWuweOkAtc/s1600-h/Monument+DD.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451524072117044786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-n8wH9UZaPQbMst9eZ25-xVWCWy5u6fkieRquM_KxIPs6f5ZYCLUABPCuDT1jxxpzH9P89OsMduO1vTQsm5gFKqWRh7WAHD_kO-pHmRNBsQXapbjrhpTjALNSGFb-AXYbaWuweOkAtc/s400/Monument+DD.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 343px;" /></a> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One day last summer, my sister-in-law Barbara, called to tell me that our local cemetery, St. Mathews, was having a 'Two for One' sale on military grave sites. This new section would, upon completion, mimic Arlington National Cemetery with all white marble headstones. Quite a few of our family and friends are buried at St. Mathew's, including my Dad and Jerry's Mom and Dad. I listened to what Barbara had to say, and it really seemed like a great deal, but we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">weren't</span> quite ready to buy a plot.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 85%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">That same day, my husband and I were going to the Social Security office to make an appointment so that we could sign up. On the way there, my husband, Jerry, turns to me and asks if I want to go to the cemetery after the Social Security office and check it out. <em>"Oh my God....Social Security and the cemetery in the same</em> <em>day...you might as well get the shovel out!!"</em> I was in no mood to do that! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But the more I thought about it, I guess it couldn't hurt. So, that's exactly what we did. The representative took us to the new site and explained things to us. What we found out was that the military person's name goes at the top of the monument, along with rank and dates...the spouses name goes at the bottom, like an afterthought...<em>Lt. Ralph Smith, U.S. Army, 1930-2002...and oh yeah, by the way, he was married to</em> <em>Mildred!!</em> Oh, I don't think so, I'll have none of that, thank you very much! So, we asked her to take us to see the regular sites that were available. There were two in the garden where my Dad is buried. One of which was just perfect...near the road, under a tree, near a water <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">spicket</span>, backing up to a hedge....it was beautiful! And the monuments on either side were really nice, no purple urns or artificial flowers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We bought the plot then and there. While we were transacting the business end of this, in walks Barbara and her husband Conrad....it was like 'old home day' at the cemetery!!! They decided to take the 'two for one' deal....Barbara said she doesn't mind being at the bottom of the stone since she would sooner or later be under it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When Jerry told our sons, he told them that we had bought some land....we thought that was pretty funny, the boys, not so much! The younger one, Eric, couldn't believe we did that...Todd, the oldest, understood. I myself can really understand Eric's feelings because my mother has had a sign on her wall with instructions on what to do when she passes. I told her not to worry, I would put her in a clear trash bag at the side of the road. But I never wanted to know about these instructions because it brings reality way too close.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The next step was to choose a monument. We wanted something simple, but different. We decided to ride through the cemetery and look at all the monuments, perhaps we'd get some ideas....and we most certainly did. We found a beautiful old monument that was weathered with moss, and it was the backside that we really liked.....simple and classic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We took photos of it and took it to a Stone Art company. We told them exactly what we wanted and chose a very plain gray granite. We still have to choose the font, but everything else is all set. When we told Eric that we bought the monument, he wanted to know if we bought the caskets too! Jerry told him that since he's really handy, he was going to make them! We have since taken Todd and our daughter-in-law, Jenna, to see our 'land'. We thought about maybe setting up some lawn chairs and enjoying the serenity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I guess it really was a nice day to buy a grave.</span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223808873790866522.post-48202121998004211172010-02-23T14:46:00.025-05:002012-05-11T00:48:16.623-04:00the Broadway Market. . .<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-V1ypPG8MbtKlZ-hWSGahN_zo6WLAwY69pokq2isZoeewUYeZVSWN1z-FeAOfROj_F7VoLH1zlIj4BFkl2Yc7582KxmTzM548PXY1_d8ltmn6X9MJtPfFvQoQzh7Iuv5gZ8H7ooVtrE/s1600-h/Easter+Text+2+PINK.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441538141558524690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-V1ypPG8MbtKlZ-hWSGahN_zo6WLAwY69pokq2isZoeewUYeZVSWN1z-FeAOfROj_F7VoLH1zlIj4BFkl2Yc7582KxmTzM548PXY1_d8ltmn6X9MJtPfFvQoQzh7Iuv5gZ8H7ooVtrE/s400/Easter+Text+2+PINK.jpg" style="display: block; height: 146px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5nBenOVHvNMGNwXWBBWOn6YvND-NxGXoyaa8QEUqaGdCeFkXV_JeVjjOsSz1v856ppVvUPKk3vA-eW7njLqobpBv3zE-0V8-mgjSt6U2ubwZVduLTG404eWwVilh4TC2y3G71Q2kcjI/s1600-h/Market+6.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441538136259069634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5nBenOVHvNMGNwXWBBWOn6YvND-NxGXoyaa8QEUqaGdCeFkXV_JeVjjOsSz1v856ppVvUPKk3vA-eW7njLqobpBv3zE-0V8-mgjSt6U2ubwZVduLTG404eWwVilh4TC2y3G71Q2kcjI/s400/Market+6.jpg" style="display: block; height: 186px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 251px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6jZ9tKyZlFkQCIfXc7LEEHzeht4IXImMUGQQEeQJxpQB4bp_qzKdtxCliqeQqZk1UEv_0Cn3XUBg3ypo4EKtga1_e75sbmElk1eJgLhBa2nTYNqw1oyBwKi5Be4fKQ3eFfMz4J1z4ik/s1600-h/Market+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441538127181808594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6jZ9tKyZlFkQCIfXc7LEEHzeht4IXImMUGQQEeQJxpQB4bp_qzKdtxCliqeQqZk1UEv_0Cn3XUBg3ypo4EKtga1_e75sbmElk1eJgLhBa2nTYNqw1oyBwKi5Be4fKQ3eFfMz4J1z4ik/s400/Market+2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 186px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijj6JiEm9hW_j5Ikl-Q-Nm3nTOEowISquCUkt09LWkfexMmf86QOzIVYHBarRvCWgZBGY76rYgte4grHiBYPjX1jreV3Aliq7rfXEZ34eetUN-RmbcAFdcNPATBmbVFm0XTutiRDnP1a4/s1600-h/Market+14.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441538125010415826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijj6JiEm9hW_j5Ikl-Q-Nm3nTOEowISquCUkt09LWkfexMmf86QOzIVYHBarRvCWgZBGY76rYgte4grHiBYPjX1jreV3Aliq7rfXEZ34eetUN-RmbcAFdcNPATBmbVFm0XTutiRDnP1a4/s400/Market+14.jpg" style="display: block; height: 184px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 249px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJiwEA9MD1lp9kTdZk6r4opBgvKS8i_FunQd_WFAG6mSx1RvQnirW06L_T8YuHYktd_BnA1TD62S1i3pC8kW3GPaNrWbsLnirg4huZZayjOAu9gf1JfYQeDJWA4NANp940u_Zz6zjdI4/s1600-h/Market+16.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441538120655204082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJiwEA9MD1lp9kTdZk6r4opBgvKS8i_FunQd_WFAG6mSx1RvQnirW06L_T8YuHYktd_BnA1TD62S1i3pC8kW3GPaNrWbsLnirg4huZZayjOAu9gf1JfYQeDJWA4NANp940u_Zz6zjdI4/s400/Market+16.jpg" style="display: block; height: 187px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a><em><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Eastertime is filled with wonderful sites, sounds, and most of all smells. Nowhere is that more true than at the Broadway Market, an Old World, European style marketplace that caters to all ethnic backgrounds. It has changed drastically over the years, and was at one time, a daily shopping place for the local eastside neighborhood and other areas of Buffalo, New York.</span></span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm of Polish ancestry, and all of the food items that we put into our baskets, to be blessed for the Easter breakfast (Swieconka), are available here.</span> <span style="font-size: 78%;"></span></span></span></em><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><em>During the weeks preceding Easter, the Broadway Market becomes alive again, a bustling place filled with holiday shoppers that long for those memories of when they were young, and for those that have been coming here for so many years, it's a part of who they are. For children that are brought to the Market by their parents or grandparents, it's a place that they can talk to the Easter Bunny,buy some chocolate candy,and soak up all of the beautiful, ethnic and cultural elements that will bring memories for them in years to come. For the rest of us, it takes us back to our childhood...remembering all those sites, sounds, and smells, that are tucked away in a happy place.</em></span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2