Thanksgiving 2011

In the past years Thanksgiving was at Meme's house, that is me.
In the past my dining room table was filled we were always 12 and sometimes 13.
I brought out the Limoges with the gold and cobalt blue borders , the gold rimmed glasses and polished the Lilly of the Valley Sterling flat ware, in the mniddle of
the table the 8 arm sterling candelabras. Was I wealthy?? Heavens , NO!
I was and still am an ANTIQUE DEALER.
Did I grow up with such niceties? We were lucky to have a few pieces of 18/8 solid stainless steel forks and knives. The working knives for cutting the preparations of meals were getting smaller and smaller, they were ancient and the Gypsies came along once a year to sharpen them.
Never heard of eating a turkey and a chicken was for Sundays or when we had enough money.
The contrast of the way I lived and the gorgeous table was just more a passing fancy it was all about the FOOD. I love food , I DID love to cook.
I started 3 days before Thanksgiving, Sabrina was in charge of the store and I was in the kitchen just glowing with every spoon of butter which entered into the pan.
Thanksgiving day I had the TV blasting with the Parade in New York and the Giant balloons and pretty girls dancing and freezing their nipples off while they were in hardly covered up attire.
I glanced now and then onto the screen while I continues to cook for an army.
I always had way too much but my mother always said if you do not have left overs it means someone left the table hungry. Should not be happening.
My husband would fuss with decorations and surveying the pots and pans while coming to "sample" a bit. It was heavenly.

Bob became ill and in the last years the task was getting heavy, the kids brought dishes of food and we ate from Melmac plates while Bob wondered who were all these people....The fall of my kitchen duties was hard but I was too tired to care.
Everyone showed up and we wondered each time if that would be the last one with Papa. His last one was indeed in this house. He passed in September 2010 and our first Thanksgiving without him was weak at best.

I had put out my lovely table on the side of the road with a sign "FREE", it was gone within minutes. A very well stacked lady was delighted and I figured she was going to feed a lot of people at that table, there would be laughter and singing and lots of food. I let it go to a fun place, I just knew it and delighted in it.
Kids brought food and we managed to eat on trays on the carpet and wherever.
We all missed the person who would sit in the bergere and laugh with us.
It ended with arguments over politics and the room became quiet or heated and very uncomfortable. I decided NO MORE!.

So this year Sabrina and her family plus another teener and I went to the beach.
I packed sweaters upon sweater after all it is end of November.
Turned out to be 70 during the day and I was stuck with my white T shirt for days , the one with short sleeves. I did stay in the room or balcony for most of the time. I was playing word games on my Kindle and loving it while the sun shone on my
wrinkled face and I did not give a damn if 100 more wrinkles would appear. It was heavenly to watch the Atlantic which looked like a lake.
Kids went deap sea fishing, I was not thrilled on the catch (baby shark) but ..hey..chacun a son gout. The fish were frozen to go to Brevard anyway.
Thanksgiving day we were on the road so we stopped at a Shoneys and had their buffet, no one seemed to care about the date, we were "en route" to crab legs fresh from the ocean.
Football was on and 3 guys jumping up and down or booing, take your pick.
"That's how you play as a receiver!!!" , " What you do not know how to catch a ball?"
"Idiot call on that one!!!" Testeterone in full action.
I did not care I just kept playing my own game.
I missed Bob, we loved traveling together. Most of all I also missed the fun they were having around me. Not hearing the conversations , the jokes, the answers...it is not fun. One can't keep asking :"What did he say?"
Hearing aids suck in plain English. That is my 4th set!!!!
So I was lonely in the crowd but I would be that at home too and when I looked outside and saw the sand, the kids making sandcastles and the Atlantic Ocean ...then..I was glad to be there....I was glad I was not home cooking.

PS I gave my Limoges dishes to Rhonda, sold my gold rimmed glasses, still have my silver ware and candelabra but packed away.
Life at 79 without my partner is different.
Should I be thankful that I am still here? Some days I am and some days I am not but I am thankful that I had the 4 days at the beach.

antiques and thrift stores

When I started the antique business ......years ago, an "antique" had to be over 100 years old. Rule used by customs in the USA when you brought in some juicy bit of European history. Mind you the Europeans did not like these things to come to the US but at that time they needed the bucks which we had....how times have changed.

Now the dealers have changed the game anything over 5 days old is called "Vintage"
so that gives one a lot of space.

"Gently used" is also an over used term.
Your thoughts on "Gently" may not match mine.
Some people use whips and think they are "gentle" people.
I do not wish to buy a second hand purse which has been whipped!

Eons ago I started a second hand clothing store, it was in lovely Santa Cruz Ca.
and called :"Second time around". Business was slow but I met my best buddy there so it was worth it. Now it is chic to go shopping at second hand stores. Ultra chic is if you have "vintage", Bravo even has a show on that.
Went to a middle of the road "used" clothing store and was surprised that they are not ashamed to ask $275 for a Coach "vintage purse"....eBay has several ,same style, starting at $69.95...I know my bags ,it is another addiction I have.
Love bags hate shoes.
In my book Italians make the nicest bags!

Telling in our old town is the fact that there are a lot of small elderly ladies with a closet full of Dior type suits. Just go to one the better "used" stores and you hardly find a 16 and if you do find it then it is a church dress buckled up to the chin with tiny little flowers in polyester.....
Hate polyester and I have cleavage so I show it , hey we have push up bra's for something. Also I do not go to church.

Yesterday I hit it well, found a gorgeous boucle jacket which is very warm in mint condition, NOT gently used, Bijou approved of me wearing it this morning on our walk. I paid about 100.00 less then it would have been new.
I love it and not ashamed to admit it.
Outside that particular store was a BMW shining in its red glory. driver may have brought something new (size2) or is hunting too....it is a new world.

back again???

By popular demand...of 2 of my friends who keep track of me via this blog..I should at least try to keep up a few words to let them know I am alive and well.

Truth is that this is the commercial season and I am doing my best to make some nice necklaces hoping that people love the bling and buy!

I am also enlarging which is always dangerous but the mini mall in Brevard is adding another store and I am trying a second booth so I can also display my linens which I have a lot off.
It is all a lot of work, linens need to be washed again and ironed before they are put up. Vintage jewelry which I buy in bulk needs to be repaired , cleaned (I have a machine for that) priced and put in inventory.

Add to this that I take 2 to 3 hour naps!
The old girl will be 80 in 4 months!!!She needs to recharge the batteries.

All this work when I am retired keeps my mind going.
At the very least I do not have time to sit and think about what could have been, what the pasty 14 years have been and ...........

I always had some game plan, some goal, I have to rethink a lot of them.
I just do not see the use of planning for my 90th birthday.
So plan a for the next 10 years is "try for the next 2 or 3 "
Plan A is selling what I do not need and enjoy mini trips with my family.
In 2 to 3 years I probably will sell the house.
I am not thinking assistant living.
I am not good with that.
I do not make friends that quickly, eating at the table with 3 other old broads and not hearing what they have to say anyway...that is not my cup of tea.
I may have to relent BUT hope not.
If I were wealthy I would move into a studio apartement in the middle of Biltmore Park. Everything is there in walking distance and it is a fun clean lovely place reminding me of some of the European places like the one my Mom lived in.
Prices are too steep here for my budget.

This is not YET a good time to sell houses either. Mine is cute and has a lot of history and is a fixer upper, lets face the truth.

Bob is doing very well with school, the treatment is on going, counselors come twice a week. The other day when I got caught into a rain deluge walking Bijou he came
with an umbrella as far as he could go to meet me, old Bob did this all the time (meet me) I started to cry. I knew how big the effort was on his part.
He managed to drive around the block with his friend but his heart was racing, at least he did it!!!!Major issue!!!!

I am delighted that I sold another painting of Bob's , he is pleased I am sure.
He did not paint the last 10 years and constatnly in his confused state told me that he was going to open a small shop and sell his paintings (the ones he had given me) I used to be so sad when I heard this but he still wanted to be a part of the giving to the household. Confused as he was that still was on his mind.
It is hard to part with them but I can't hold on to them forever and the kids all have very nice collections already.

Thanksgiving is upon us and the Fisher/Kensinger/gang are going back to North Myrtle Beach, we liked the place when we went in September and Frank, Zack will go deep sea fishing on the rentals available there.
I will just sit and breath sea air, my enormous healer..the ocean...albeit I prefer Destin and the Gulf of Mexico but that is too far away.

No cooking for us!!!!!

Ditto for Christmas, on Christmas eve I will join others to go to outback and have a great bunch of ribs. Bobby nor I are Christmas nuts, that was dad's job, he pushed it on us like a very busy elf, without him there is no Christmas for me.
I did not grow up with that commercial side anyway and the church side has left me a long time ago.

Presents I do not do, I give them cash, still good in this country...I THINK...

back to beading......love you very much friends and you know who you are.....I will keep this going now....promise....

not today

but one of these days soon I will write again....