Serenity Prayer

I find comfort in this.  Now, if I can just pay attention to it!!

Quote of the week

"Three o'clock is always too early or too late to do what you want to do."

Jean Paul Sartre

Antique of the week - Tilt Top Table

For an antiques lover, there is almost nothing greater than having a beloved family piece that was off of the grid for years returned to the family for whatever reason.  That's what happened with this mahogany tilt top table.  It belonged, originally, to my Great Aunt Mary Lee and her husband, Uncle Bunyan.  They purchased it sometime around 1910 when they were living in New York.  It is a re-purposed square grand piano leg.  Now, I don't know if they commissioned this piece or if was already made into the table when they purchased it.  I never thought to ask anyone who might know.  Oops LOL

This table stayed with them the rest of their married lives, ending up in Raleigh for years until Bunyan's death in the early 70's.  Shortly after that, Mary Lee came home to Wingate, NC to live her remaining years with her sister Sara.  She gradually broke up housekeeping over the course of a few years with the help of many family members.  Margaret, who was the eldest of the family's next generation, was very close to her Aunt Mary Lee. And when Mary Lee was dividing up her home, Margaret wanted this table.  Everyone loved Margaret and she usually got what she wanted, including the table.

So, off it went to Lakeland, Florida to Margaret and her husband George.  Margaret died of cancer in the early 80's having promised the return of many family pieces including the Tiffany lamp that always sat on this table.  However, having not written any of that in her will, it was not done and George kept it all.  Oh well.  Fast forward to 1991.  A phone call came randomly from George.  I remember that I answered the phone and he thought I was Dad.  We hadn't seen him since the mid 80's.  Anyway, George had become ill and needed to make some room in his house so that he could get around in his wheelchair.  He was calling to offer Mom a pie safe that had also been in the family.
When she called him back to accept and say she had a way to get the pie safe transported, she just flat out asked him about the table...if she could have it.  Amazingly, he agreed immediately much to Mom's delight.  By the way, the Tiffany lamp never made it back to us.  (sad trombone)

When Dad remarried after Mom's death and broke up his house, I got this piece.  I absolutely love it and cherish it.  It's one of the first things I see when I enter through the front door!  So, that's the history of that...as much as I know.  If  you know something I don't, please share!

The Continuing Adventures of Just a Waiter - a challenge to coworkers

Working with elderly people is not for everyone. And if it's not for you, that's ok.  Like, for me, working with children is not something I'm especially interested in doing as I prefer the old folks.  Always have!  But sometimes people take jobs simply because they are jobs.  I get that.  You gotta pay the bills.  Now, most of the people I work with in dining services are kids.  At least, to me they are as I could be most of their dads haha!  It's easy to spot who has the patience and countenance to work with the elderly and who doesn't.  Like I said, it's not for everyone.  

What we do is not always easy in dining services.  Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has ever waited tables can tell you that it is not nearly as easy as one might think.  (Side note:  always tip your waiter except under extreme circumstances!) Sometimes, though, I just want to shake some of these people to whom this is just another job.  I would tell them if you will simply take the time to get to know these people and treat them with the respect they have earned, it would make your job so much easier even on the most difficult of days.  All of our residents pay a great deal of money to live there.  This is their home now and they should be treated as such.  My coworkers are not rude to the residents, but there is a huge difference in being polite and being personable with people.  My residents in assisted living are much more forgiving of me when things go awry during a meal because we like each other.  It's that simple.

So, my challenge to my coworkers is this:  find at least one resident to get to know.  Take the time to ask them questions.  Listen to them when they just want someone to talk to.  It will mean the world to them and you will come out a better person for it in the end.  Having said that, I think about my residents and how much I enjoy them and have enjoyed getting to know them and hearing all of their stories.  And I wonder which of my coworkers could identify the following:

Which resident is right handed but drinks coffee with her left hand and wants her cup on that side of her place setting?

Which resident has a son who lives in Japan?

Which resident has a degree in dance and met her husband while touring with the USO in France?

Which resident has published a book on religion?

Which resident taught middle school social studies?

Which resident has a daughter that brings her lunch every Monday and Thursday?

Which resident's mother operated a tea room?

Which resident lost her eldest son to cancer?

I know that at least one of my coworkers can answer these questions and probably knows some information that I don't know yet.  If others can't answer these types of questions, then they need to learn about the people they interact with on a daily basis.  And if they don't want to know the answers to these types of questions, then it's time to find something else that is "just a job".  

Recipe of the week - Squash Casserole

I have always loved squash. It's one of my favorite foods!  This is a recipe that Mom used to make a lot.  Dad grew lots of squash in his garden, so we always had plenty of it around.  Mom got this recipe from Aunt Sara.  Hope you enjoy!

Squash Casserole

1.5 lbs cooked squash

1 small jar of chopped pimento, drained

1 medium onion chopped finely

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 cup sour cream

Stuffing mix

Mix all ingredients together except stuffing.  Pour into a pyrex or casserole dish.  Top with stuffing mix and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*the carrots will still be crunchy after cooking.  So, if you want them softer, cook them down first.  I prefer them crunchy :)

Kure Beach

As it is that time of year that so many people are packing up and heading to the beach for a week's vacation, or more, I find myself thinking a lot about our family beach trips when I was growing up.  They were always such great times and, over the years, we went to so many different NC beaches.  There was lots of planning involved in these trips.  Mom and Grandmother would spend weeks planning our meals.  We usually went out for seafood at least once during the trip, otherwise everything was cooked at the beach house.  And the packing.  That was always intense.  Dad could pack more stuff into a vehicle than I ever thought possible.  Suitcases, coolers of food, fishing gear, etc.  It was all there and nothing was to be missed. 

Kure Beach, NC was the first beach we went to during my life.  That was always such a wonderful place back in the day.  Someone in Monroe owned the house that we rented and I remember driving with Mom to pick up the keys for the house.  I don't remember where we went exactly, but I remember going with her haha!  And as I was not yet in school, I got to go with Mom to Food Lion (or it may still have been Food Town in those years) to buy all of our food for the trip.  Getting the flats of Chek Sodas was my favorite because it was one of the few times of year we got to really drink soda!

The house we stayed in was old.  There were no closets in the house and each bedroom had a wardrobe in it.  The light fixtures hung from the ceiling were turned on by pulling a cord.  The house had 2 screened porches.  One in front and one in back.  Each porch had a swing on it.  I spent many afternoons with Grandmother on those porches swinging and singing.  It was so glorious.  The downstairs/street level of the house had 2 bedrooms.  One was green, the other red.  When family went with us, they usually stayed in those guest quarters.  I remember that the red bedroom had a high bed in it and there was a small step stool you could use to climb into bed. 

Family was always with us at that beach house.  Sometimes Aunt Sara and Aunt Mary Lee came with us.  Sometimes cousin Isabel came.  And Uncle Bill and Aunt Jan, who lived in Wilmington, always came with our cousins for a visit.  One year, it rained all week.  My brother and I, both very young, were apparently climbing the walls so Mom and Dad went shopping and bought us our first set of Legos.  As the story has been told to us, that kept us occupied for the rest of the week to the relief of our parents.  This was also the beach where I got my first fishing pole.  Mom and Dad loved to surf fish and, when he visited, Uncle Bill always joined them.  They would catch the fish and Dad would clean it and Mom would fry it up for dinner. They got me a little yellow fishing rod that had 2 fishing lines on it.  On my first time fishing, I could 2 flounder at the same time.  Somewhere there are pictures to prove that!

I never realized how much truly went into these trips and am so grateful now for having had that experience.  The house, which was ocean front, is long gone as are mostly all of those houses from yesteryear.  Kure Beach is built up and looks so different from those times.  But, oh, how I long to revisit that time just once more.  Just being with family and friends in a relaxing spot away from all reality for a time.  I'm not sure the house even had a television in it.  If it did, we didn't watch much of it!  Maybe it's time to start planning a beach trip of my own, not to relive those times necessarily but to create new memories that are just as special!

Quote of the week

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

                                                                   Hans Hofmann, painter

It Is Well With My Soul

This is one of those hymns that I grew up singing in church.  I always find comfort in this one and also motivation.  Peace of the spirit and soul is essential to a good life.  And this is a lovely arrangement.

List of the week - Antiques & Collectibles

I have loved antiques for as long as I remember.  I love the history of them, especially when they are family pieces.  My Grandmother and Mom really encouraged my love of antiques, so I come by it naturally.  We spent many weekends going to antiques stores, estate sales and auctions.  It was always such a wonderful time finding a new treasure.  Grandmother told me many times that there were 3 antiques that she always wanted:  a four poster bed, a grandfather clock and a tea cart.  Unfortunately she never got any of them.  So, in the back of my head, I have always kept a list of antiques that I would love to some day have.  I can already check a few off of my list.  I may never have all of these and that's totally ok, but it's fun to daydream about and it makes for good motivation to treasure hunt.  Other than the first two items, the other pictures are merely representations/suggestions of the antiques.

In no particular order:

1.  Castor Set

The first time I remember seeing a castor set was at the family home in Wingate, NC.  The day that we were dividing up the dining room, there was my great grandmother's castor set on the buffet.  It went to my cousin Edith, but I was totally enthralled by it and determined to have one.  I bought this one at an auction in Monroe from the contents of the Blakeney House.

2.  Chocolate Set

This is another throwback to Wingate.  Aunt Sara had a chocolate set which had been given to her by her sister, Mary Lee.  In her will, she left it to my cousin Edith.  I had never heard of one before and when I finally saw it was completely charmed by it.  I found this one online on Ebay and absolutely love it.  Another one checked off of the list!

3.  Gone With The Wind Lamp

Yet another Wingate inspiration.  There was a lamp like this one in the living room.  I have loved them ever since and it's pretty high on my list.

4.  Soup Tureen

No one really uses these anymore, but I still want one!  Grandmother had a big white tureen that always sat in the middle of her dining room table.  She never used it during my lifetime, at least not for soup but it did house some centerpieces from time to time.  A friend of the family's, Marge Scruggs used to borrow it every Christmas to serve french onion soup out of.  Not sure whatever happened to Grandmother's but I love the memory of it!

5.  Bowl & Pitcher set

I love these.  Don't really know why though haha

6.  Hall Tree

A staple of the Victorian home...beautiful and functional...and yes, I want one with the seat, the umbrella stand(s) and a mirror, preferably beveled. 

7.  Bumble Bee Honey Pot

This one is specific.  Aunt Sara had one exactly like the picture that sat on her kitchen counter.  I remember playing with it as a small child when we would go to visit.  I don't know where hers ended up, but I would love to have one just like this.

8.  Staffordshire Dogs

I love the Staffordshire dogs.  I don't remember any relative having any of them, so I'm sure I saw them in antiques shops growing up.  I can never decide if they're cute or ugly.  Some of the colors are pretty outrageous on them and they come in many different breed of dog.  But, I need a mantle first before I get a pair haha!

9.  Silver Service

Plain and simple, I don't have a complete silver coffee and tea service.  Even though no one uses them anymore really, I think they're beautiful.  Grandmother had one and it went to someone else, so I want one.  It'd look beautiful on the buffet!  And, ironically, when I was looking up images for this, the picture I ended up liking most and downloading is actually in my silver patter.  Karma?  lol

10.  Pickle Castor

I just think pickle castors are pretty.  I want to find one like one of these that has a colored glass insert, but clear glass would work too.  And this is one of those pieces that I would actually use.  And, if you don't believe that, ask anyone who's had dinner at our house!

There you go, my list for the week.  Whether or not I will ever acquire all of these things doesn't matter.  As I said before, it's nice to daydream!