Traditions...The Juice Glass

Does your family have a tradition? I'm not sure we have too many. There is one in particular however, I am writing about today. My Grandmother would always serve a small juice glass full of V8 at each place setting during holiday dinners. Easter, Christmas, New Year's Day, whatever the occasion. Well, I miss my beloved Grandmom. She passed away in March of 2006. Ninety-six years old! She had wonderful qualities we still admire and talk about today. Here she is when she was about 18 years old.

To honor her memory, I decided to continue this tradition when I have family over to my house. (Of course my step children think we are all nuts. "V8 Juice? Ewwww!") There were special juice glasses we used and I have them now. This past Sunday, tragedy struck. I was trying to be excited about the arrival of fall...(please refer to an earlier blog) and bake a carrot cake for my DH when I knocked over a stack of these little vintage (Libbey) juice glasses. Out of the stack of four, three of them broke. BROKE! Oh my GOSH! What am I going to do? Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have to have enough of these glasses. Not just any glasses but these little Libbey rose patterned juice glasses! My first thought was "Oh, I'm sure I can find them on eBay!" But now, after looking today, I could not even find ONE.

I have less than four weeks to find them. I will surely keep up the search but in the meantime...I'd love to hear about your family traditions and why they mean so much to you. Drop me a line!

I Wanna Be a Producer!

What a difference a couple of days make! One day I'm outdoors camping and the next I'm doing what I REALLY enjoy! Going to the theatre! DH took me to see The Producers at Hershey Theatre. How sweet...this is where we had our first blind date!The show was very entertaining with the great artistic scenery, the singing, and of course, the DANCING! Plus they did a great job casting the characters. I almost thought I was watching Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane!

This was one of my favorite scenes below ...(and there were many) in the accounting office of Whitehall and Marks. Great stuff! Makes me want to dust off my dancin' shoes!

The last time I performed onstage was in '05 when I was part of the cast of Steel Magnolias at LCT. Maybe I'll be up
"there" again someday. . .you just never know what Miss Jillian is going to do next! Stay tuned . . .

Miss Jillian Goes Camping

We did it! We finally went camping. I said I would and I did. And I was very reluctant at first. But we really had a good time. After setting up the first night and made it through a night of rain... the next day we decided to check out the local area nearby and ran into a Farmer's Fair in Dillsburg, PA.

So many people were there! This was a great way to get a feel for small town Pennsylvania. Chicken barbecues, civil war re-enactments, tractors (oh lots of tractors!), yard sales (DH can't resist,) and great views along the way.

Then later, after moving our camper to a new campsite...we met a great group of people who were lots of fun to hang out with.

So this leads me to ask this question...how many men does it take to pull down an awning? My DH and I were trying to figure out how to use this contraption on the "family camper" when we decided to take a peek at OTHER campers nearby. Well, first one guy volunteered to help. Then another would show up and another until we had about half the men gathered 'round trying to figger this dern thing out.

They tugged....and they pulled. We all scratched our heads. Maybe it just wasn't going to work. Maybe we shouldn't even try. (What if it doesn't roll back UP? The horror of it all!) We brought out all the owner's manuals. And still nothing.

My DH got out his tool box. The men brought over their "special guy," you know, the one who gets things to work just by being there? Well, it was a combination of whacking at the mechanism with a hammer and the guy with the magic touch...because the next thing you know, this thing finally rolled out!

We really had a lot of laughs over this and well into the evening.

Turned out the helpful folks we met were all there for a family reunion and they invited us to join them around the campfire to celebrate. Definitely a memorable evening! Thanks, guys! Maybe we'll see you next year! (Did I just say that?)

Warming up ... and a glimpse of my shop!

There has been a noticeable difference in my personality since it has WARMED UP again! Whoo hoo! I'm lovin' it. Windows open again at night, the heat is OFF. Life is good again. For now! My DH took a picture of the little birds eating us out of house and home (I think they go through this bird feeder in a day.) Charming!

Also charming (if I don't say so myself) is a picture from the glass case where I sell my favorite vintage things:

And another great shot of the week (again taken by my DH...he's giving me some tough competition) is a photo of the TWIN calves up at the family farm. CUTE!

Okay, so it's COLD!

Have to admit, this is my WORST time of year. Not trying to be negative here, but Miss Jillian does not like the cold. What was I thinking when thoughts of "oh it will be nice to have autumn here finally" and "I'm going to embrace this leaf falling thing." Changed my mind! No way! Don't like it. Just had a huge reminder yesterday morning as soon as I stepped outside. Wait a minute, it was before that. The WHOLE HOUSE was chilly. The floor felt like ice. (That might be the worst part.) Guess we will have to turn the heat on soon. Maybe my DH is holding out a little bit longer, but I am weakening! I've already pulled out the little space heater.



To try and put a positive spin on my "ill feelings" toward winter I will look forward to the benefits of the cold weather. Let's see...there's .....hmmmm....I'm thinking. Ummmmmm.....well, here's one......no, no, not that either. Well, I guess there's Thanksgiving and Christmas! How about all the fun decorating and cooking? Food is a good thing in the winter. But I am going to work on losing a couple of pounds so that might not be a good thing. Anyone have some great low cal Thanksgiving recipes out there? Drop me a line if you do....



In the meantime I will get out the blankets and hope for the best.

The Hershey Car Show!

Well we are ready this year for the Hershey car show crowd! Every year people from all over the country travel to HERSHEY to display their vintage cars, buy vintage car items, and just have a great time. They often shop our antique mall which really makes us happy! Our antique booth is stocked with all kinds of goodies for the vintage car collector. My dear hubby hunts down the stuff all throughout the year just for this one week. Today I framed a couple of photos to add to the mix. One is of a 1953 FORD ...and I think my father in law took the picture way back when. . .

Then I matted and framed a photo of the old gas pump still sitting at the farm. I titled it "Runnin' On Empty." I try and give my photos a title. Guess its the TV promotion writer in me, still trying to get out!

All the fun 50's music we play throughout the antique mall makes you want to just jump in the back of an old convertible and head on down to the local diner to get a milkshake, fries, n' a burger! What's your favorite era/decade? Let me know by leaving a comment or two. Thanks for stopping by!

I love new furniture!

New furniture is kind of like getting a new pair of socks, but in a much bigger way. So new and great when you first put them on but then after awhile they just become "comfortable." Well, tonight, I finally bought an extra piece of furniture for the dining room. It is a smaller sideboard, or butler, or buffet as some might call it. I've already arranged it, hung a mirror over it, and stuffed it full of things that needed a home. What new furniture or even used furniture have you added to your home? Drop me a line and tell me about it! I'll post a photo of mine soon.

A BIG "Thank You" from Minnie!

I think our prayers were answered! Minnie is definitely on the mend. It was amazing to watch her wound begin to heal. Each day it looked smaller and smaller. I am so relieved! She is back to her old self and keeps bugging me about going outside again. But, we will wait just a little bit longer and this time I'll have to go with her. We spotted that mean 'ol cat again. She was approaching Lovey this time. But, Love held her ground. Minnie would like to leave a message for someone very special:

Dear KA,

THANK YOU for all of your prayers. My boo boo is going away. I feel better and better everyday. Soon I can go outside and PLAY!

Love,
Minnie

Miss Minnie - Injured But Still Spunky

When I first saw Minnie at the humane league in Missouri, I knew she was the one I just HAD to take home. Out of a litter of all black kittens, she was the dark striped tabby. And she was energetic, fiesty, and adorable! Here is her picture from kittenhood: Well, it has been 11 years now and she is still here with me. Through all of the moving, etc, she is happy as a lark where we live now. Unfortunately I let her outside for too long one day and she must have come across another cat because she came back with two horrible cat bites in the leg and back. At first all seemed to be going well after a trip to the vet. Then, an infection set in on the leg. After another trip to the vet (who suggested she needed surgery), she seems to be doing better but I have to pray her new, open wound, will heal well. At least Sissy and Love have seemed concerned. Well, a little. Sissy: Love, my step-cat:

Summer is Leaving Me! Don't Go...

Ok, so our deck is filling up with these little things that are falling...and it is making me very upset! Each year this happens and I do the same thing. I start to realize summer is coming to an end and winter is LOOMING ahead of me. Maybe I should live in a much warmer climate. You think??? Now, I don't see too many of the leaves actually turning on the trees...things are still pretty green here. But, it is happening, just the same. I have even written a poem about this topic. Not recently, I think I wrote it in 2000. The year 2000 was an interesting year. I really haven't written much poetry since.

Summer Flight

It's flying flying flying faster than I can grab onto it.
Every moment, every hour, everyday.
Summer is leaving.
Leaving me behind.
And I can't stop it.
Stay, stay, please stay!
The warm cricket evenings.
Leaves touching the breeze.
Absorbing summer sounds.

Hot days, cool nights.
How I love the summertime.
Now it's reign has come and gone.
Soon the cold will be the only one.
And my days will be shorter.
Emptier.
Less free.
Tied up in bundles of clothes.
How I long for the summer.
When winter wind blows.

Now the brighter days seem old.
Why can't I remember them?
Each day that passed didn't leave a memory.
Where has my summer gone?
Don't leave!
There's still lots to be done!
(I'm ready now!)
Lemonade to be made.
Water to splash in.
An ocean to see.
The sand between my toes.
What happened to summer?
I can't let it go.