Sunny Thursday

3/16/2017

A beautiful day today.  Hard to imagine that it was snowing just two days ago.  That's Mother Nature for you.  There is still some snow on the ground in the backyard, because due to the height of the trees, there is mostly shade.  I'm thankful for only having wet as opposed to muddy paws.  Guess it doesn't take much to make me happy.

In preparation for Tuesday's book club meeting at the house, I have begun to do some cleaning in the living room.  I'll put off vacuuming until Tuesday, but I did take down three glass shelves, very carefully, and washed all the glass treasures that were on the shelves.  I've decided that the last two shelves will just have to stay dusty.  I can't reach them and nobody wants to see me on a step stool or ladder!  With my luck, I'd stumble and bring down the shelves and all of my "pretties".

Compared to the other ladies' homes, which are pristine clean and free of clutter, my house looks like a granny lives here.  Pictures, glass pieces, Benjamin's art projects and needlepoint hanging on the wall.  By some standards, some would call my house cluttered, and they might be right.  All I know is that for each piece of glass, picture or you name it, means something to me.  

As a teenager, whenever we traveled someplace, I (actually my parents) bought me a cup and saucer.  I'm not talking about the rather tacky ones that are made to be souvenirs and not really meant to be on display.  I have genuine china cups and saucers from places like Plymouth, Gettysburg and any other place we went.  These cups are the kind that you could actually use - after you wash the dust off!

Many years ago, Jeff bought me a series of miniature cups and saucers from china companies, such as Wedgewood for example.  They are all beautiful and make a very nice collection.  These cups and saucers could easily go into the dishwasher, if I had a mind to do so.  I also have a mug from the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth.  The mug is now multi-glued and fragile.  Not only do I not dust it, but I would never wash it.  It remains on a top shelf, undisturbed by time.  There's a cup and saucer from Jeff's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.  I don't wash/dust that one either.

I have a porcelain figurine marked "made in occupied Japan". You don't see too many of those marked items for sale. 

I am well aware that sometime in the future, when we downsize for instance, that not all of my treasures will likely come along.  I also am pretty sure that there is nobody in the family, that gives two hoots about my varied and vast collection of glass.  I understand these are my treasures and my memories, and they won't mean as much, if anything at all, to somebody else.  And, you can't put a price tag on memories.

There's a wood chipper across the street that's chewing up trees from my neighbor's house.  The puppies find this exercise very interesting, and they are both standing in a chair to get a better view!  When I think of a wood chipper, I remember a very ugly episode from the television show "Fargo"!

Yesterday's dinner was chicken noodle soup.  I took two packages of dry soup and noodle mix, put that in the pot with a combination of chicken stock and water.  I added in bits of cooked chicken, some peas and corn, plus a few handfuls of very tiny noodles.  The outcome?  Delicious if I say so myself.

P