Surrounded by antiques!

Both granddaughters are buying new living room furniture. One just bought a new house and the other one only wants to change her living room furnishings. What she has is fine, but she wants a different style..

As I look around my home, I am the one who should be changing everything. We bought a queen size sofa that makes into a large bed to be used when when the family came to spend several days. We spent a lot of money on our “new” sofa and a beautiful dusty rose chair, for me. Later my husband thought I needed a new, comfortable chair to sit in when we watched the evening news and our favorite game shows, so he bought me a dusty rose easy chair that rocks. We had a large bedroom/den combination in our Atlanta home.

I hadn’t bought any furniture since then, but when I moved back to Columbia, I did buy a bedroom suite. I gave several bedroom sets away when I left Georgia. The master bedroom in my new home was extra large and I just wanted something different. I kept my dining room furniture, which is antique. One thing I didn’t want to part with is a marble top chest that belonged to my husband’s grandmother.

The furniture you buy today is not as well made and doesn’t last long. Every time I think about getting rid of what I have, I get cold feet and talk myself out of it.

Not only is it hard for me to part with old furniture, it is heart breaking to donate or just to give away things that have been around all my life. I have so much that belonged to my Grandmothers. It means nothing to my daughters, but it means a lot to me. The same is true of my Mother’s things.

After looking around my house , I realize how “comfortable “ I am with my old things and antiques. Then I looked in the mirror, where I saw the oldest antique of all! It is ME! ♥️

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!🐿🐿

Remember Mr.Rogers? He was always calm and always positive! It is a beautiful day in my neighborhood today…the sun is shining, all is quiet and hopefully the squirrels will take up residency someplace else. The service man has been here eight times so far this month trying to rid my home of the energetic pests. 🐿🐿🐿

I used to watch as the bushy tailed “pests” scampered along the fence in the back yard, hesitating periodically to look around before continuing their frolicking! Not a care in the world! I thought they were cute! 🐿🐿🐿

Little did I know they were gnawing holes in the front of my house so they could take shelter when they wanted to. I don’t know about mating season of squirrels, but I have been told recently that they deliver little ones in February. 🐿🐿🐿

I went through trying to get rid of them last year. I had several trees cut down, plus limbs taken off other trees and the cost of many visits to check the traps. I could probably take a nice cruise for what it is costing to get rid of them. And they aren’t gone yet! So there is no telling what happen next.. 🐿🐿🐿

I am thankful to live in a nice neighborhood with plenty of room. I have a very large lot, but my house is not big enough to for me and the squirrels 🐿🐿🐿 ….I trust that on this second go round of trying to get them to move on to a place they like better, they will move! Then I can say, “It is a wonderful day in MY neighborhood!” Can’t wait for that to happen!

Old trusted names…where are they now?

My thoughts sometimes wander back to earlier days when life was simple…at least compared to the present, it seemed that way.

I don’t live in the past and I am definitely not against progress, but I wish some things could have remained the same. For example, Main Street is totally different. If I had returned to Columbia after being away for many years and had wanted to go shopping like I once did, that would be impossible.

Starting at the corner of Main and Hampton Streets….I used to go to Woolworth’s to buy lots of things and stop for coffee and pastries at the lunch counter in the front of the store, They sold quality merchandise and the name of the store went back many years in business.

On the corner of the next block where the big clock stands is the jewelry store that has been there for many years. But directly across the street, where Belk’s was located “forever,” is the the Columbia Museum of Art. It is lovely, with a fountain and trees, but Belk’s became “Belk” and moved to Dutch Square, then added another store in Forest Acres. Now it is operating in bankruptcy.

Going back across the street, we had a nice S.H. Kress 5 and 10 cent store which sold a variety of quality things, as well as having a lunch counter. On the same block was McCrory’s, Shulte United, National Shirt Shop and others that were popular and reasonable.

My mind wandered to all the places where I used to shop. Penney’s, Haltiwanger’s, Taylor’s, Tapp’s, Berry’s on Main, and where I went to the theaters; Palmetto, Ritz, Strand and Carolina…all gone. The sidewalk photographer is long gone, as well.

Main Street is very busy, as usual, but now it is filled with banks, office buildings and restaurants. Trees have been planted down the street and on Saturdays there is a huge outdoor market that covers about six blocks. Merchants and farmers sell their wares and food is also available. It has become a tourist attraction. Columbia has become “Soda City.” The name is taken from the abbreviation for Columbia, Cola.

I am for progress, but I miss KMart, W.T.Grant, Sliver’s, Cabiness, Louries, Donen’s, Sears, Latchicotte’s Jewelry Store, Eckerd’s, Piggly Wiggly, A&P, and all the others that we took for granted. They are gone and with them, went personal service, well made merchandise and helpful sales people. We are now living in the world of “do it yourself” checkout, poorly made clothing and shoes and higher prices. It makes me sad and I don’t think I am the only one who feels this way!

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A “Surprise” from the past..you never know what you may find when you clear out old files…I hope you will read this…

I am in the process of clearing files of out of date backup documents. It requires a lot of shredding. It also requires scanning some things to make sure they do not need to be retained.

During this process, I came across a copy of an email I sent to a friend. I took time to read it because I thought it must have been important or I would not have kept it, especially in that file.

It was an email to a friend during a sad time in her life. I reread it and decided that my two daughters needed to hear it. I began my blog for their benefit because I wanted them to know something about how things were when I grew up. Although the email did not apply to my childhood, it mentioned their younger days.

It is lengthy, but it was meaningful to me and maybe some of you will find it helpful, also.

It begins, “My heart aches for you and your family. I have probably told you that losing my mother was the hardest thing I ever had to face. There is a special relationship between a mother and a daughter that does not exist between any other family member. I could not believe it was real when she went on to Heaven. I cherish every minute we had together together and the thing that keeps me going is that I know we will be reunited and she will be well and whole and free of pain.

I was fortunate to have her for a long time, but it is not the length of time, but the quality of the time. l am so thankful I was able to move back and to take care of her. We would talk about old times and laugh.

We remembered the time she took Carole to the back yard to show her how pitch and hit a ball. Carole loved soft ball. Mother taught Susan how to do the “Charleston” and I made a red silk flapper dress and headband with a rhinestone pin in the center of it for her. Mother gave her a long string of pearls to flap around as she danced. Both girls still talk about those happy times,

Try to continue to make good memories so you can remember the sweet times. I know you have so many already. You have told me about some of them, like when she made beautiful dresses for you when you were growing up.

God does work miracles. I have experienced one of those when the doctors told me John would not live, but he did! They said he would never have quality of life, but, despite everything, he told me his last three years were his best because of the way I took care of him.

I do not mean to make you sad, by mentioning the past, but it was those things that brought me comfort.

Each of us is only promised “right now, this day” and we must be thankful for our every minute! I remember writing a note on a card I made in school telling MotherI did not want to live without her. I must have been in the third grade then.”

I am as near as the telephone and I want to do what I can to help you. I encourage you to spend as much time as you can with your Mother. You are strong and you will face the future with strength and hope.”

This journal entry was very long, but if it can help just one person through a difficult time , it is worth reading it. 🙏

Remembering a Valentine’s Day…long ago

Good memories are so nice. I wish I could recall more of the past, but with so many things I have experienced, seen, or done through years, it would not be possible.

Today, February 14, is a day when many people express love for their wife or sweetheart by sending flowers or giving a box of candy, or both.. The day that sticks in my memory took place in Charleston, SC when I was in the fifth grade.

We lived in an area of “old Charleston“ where the homes dated back to the 1800s. I attended Craft School. I was in the fifth grade and adored my teacher, Mrs. Hassell. We had moved from North Carolina and I had a long Southern drawl. She was a typical Charlestonian, who spoke a language that was totally different! I thought she was the most wonderful lady I had ever met!

I made so many nice friends, most of whom were born and raised in Charleston. Once my daddy let me take the camera to school so I could take pictures of my teacher and classmates. I still have them, but they are faded. One very special boy in my class was Quitman Seymour. He lived on the street behind us on Tradd Street. We lived on Broad Street, just around the corner.

Quitman was my “boyfriend” and he came to my house on that afternoon rang the doorbell and left a small box of candy and a card for me. When I opened the door, no one was there, but I saw the card and candy, I looked around and when I didn’t see anyone, I went inside. Quitman had hidden behind some shrubbery and he left when I went inside.

My father was transferred to Columbia and I lost touch with all my friends. Many, many years later after I had retired and moved back to Columbia, I told one of my high school friends I wished I could talk with Quitman about old times in the fifth grade. My friend went on the Internet and found his telephone number.

I called Quitman, who was retired, as I was. I asked if he remembered some of his classmates from the fifth grade. I told him who I was, he remembered me very well and we spent a long time talking that day. We had other conversations that were so nice. He had been a doctor and was married to a nurse. She had passed away, He told me about his three sons and I told him about my two daughters. It was wonderful to step back into the past and to talk about current things, also.

We had hoped to have a face to face visit, but things kept preventing it. Then one day, as I was getting ready to fly to South America, some ladies from Charleston, were joining us for the trip to Rio de Janerio, I asked one of the ladies by some small chance, if she knew Quitman Seymour. She said, “Oh, yes, he was a wonderful doctor and his obituary was in the paper as I left to go to the airport” I briefly told her why I asked about him. She told me the paper would still be at home when we got back from the trip and she would send it, which she did,

So, that is one of my Valentine memories from long, long ago. As we travel our journey of life, we experience many happy times and some sad times, as well. I don’t know what became of the valentine. I’m sure I kept it for many years. The card and candy are long gone, but the memories are forever etched in my heart and mind.♥️

Then…and Now

I was just reading about how the cost of everything has increased so much since the pandemic began. It seems that very quickly we began to have shortages of certain items and the price on everything sharply increased.

In addition to many items being in short supply, there were major problems getting things transported from manufacturers to stores so they could be purchased.

I, like so many others, took for granted that we could go to the grocery store and could find whatever we needed to make the new recipe we had just read about.

For several years, the price of food, such as bacon and beef had skyrocketed, but very quickly all foods; fresh, frozen and canned, followed. Not only that, reports of contaminated food made headlines daily. It seemed that the trust we previously had about our food supply being safe, was being shattered. There were some deaths reported after packaged salad mixes were deemed unsafe.

I have lived through many frightening situations in the past which concerned certain foods, as well as temporary shortages, but none have been like those we face now. I know I have been around a long time, but I can remember when we did not have a great deal of money in my family, to spend for food. I made a budget and was able to buy an “economy” sized package of ground beef from which I made a meatloaf, spaghetti, chili, hamburgers and even a pot of soup, using a little meat in it. Having to stretch my money, as well as to feed my family nourishing meals, taught me a lot.

I was talking with a young mother just recently about food shortages and prices. She told me she used to spend $200.00 when she bought groceries for her family of four, but now the same food costs $400.00. There is just me in my family, but my diet has changed. I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, certain meats and “specialty “ breads, as I call them. Fresh foods are out of sight now. They are hard to find, then so expensive ,we don’t buy them. often

This journal entry was not meant to be a list of complaints, even though it sounds like it is. It just points out that nothing remains constant. Back when I was on the strict budget of money I had to spend for food, everything was more realistic….salaries were low and the cost of food, shelter, clothing and gas were in line .

Presently, so many people are not working. Many folks receive money to stay at home. There is a shortage of manpower to work on farms where food is grown or cattle is raised. Then there is a shortage of manpower to transport goods from place to place, as well as a shortage of people to be service providers in almost every area of life.

The answer has to be in prayer and trusting God to supply ALL our needs. He has done that through the ages and He will see us us through the circumstances we now face each day. We need to call on HIM, trust HIM and HE will see us through.