Sunday, November 30, 2008

Going, Going...Gone


Once upon a time, my mother and another woman had an antique shop. Mom's specialty was Depression Glass, but she had plenty of other wares and she loved to go to garage sales and yard sales to pick up more treasures.

Eventually, the shop closed. Then for a while, my mother had a booth in an antique center. As she aged and that got to be too much for her, she put her wares on display in a small case in another antique store closer to home.

However, Mom's been rather frail for the past six years. An auctioneer had sold off most of her collection of Depression glass. But she had several large pieces of furniture that she did not need and a lot of boxes cluttering up the basement.

We contacted the same auctioneer who had liquidated her Depression Glass and he set up a date for an auction of my mother's stuff. He took the Victorian rocker, the old-fashioned washstand, the oak server and china cabinet along with a number of ceramic pieces. My mother was extremely apprehensive about the sale.

The evening before the auction, she had trouble breathing. She went to the hospital. She had water in her lungs. Neverthelesss, she wanted hubby and I to go to the auction on Saturday. We did. It was a bittersweet experience to see my mother's treasures on display and it was at times disturbing to discover that some of the things I always considered most valuable went for so little. On the other hand, some items fetched a surprising amount.

In general, the antique furniture did not sell for much. Nevertheless, Mom did have some Hess toy trucks, some Roseville china, a bit of sterling, and one very old souvenir from the 1851 World's Fair which attracted some interesting bidding.

Mom got out of the hospital just as the auction was ending. She was pleased with the total amount of the sale, though disappointed that some of her things did not make more money.

Still, she told me, "See, you should save everything." :^)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

E-Book Talk at the Nutley Library


Yesterday, Kathye Quick and Patt Mihailoff, Cathy Greenfeder, and I presented a panel discussion at the Nutley Library. The library provided a lovely luncheon.

I went through my Power Point presentation. I get very enthusiastic talking about ebooks.
We had a good crowd. :^)

Cathy had lots of handouts for everyone.


Kathye talked about the book of her heart.


Patt told everyone how she loves to read about love. :^)


Our Gracious Hostess


It was fun talking with everyone.


The raffle winner!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Hand Holding

I did a lot of hand holding this past week. Daughter #2 had three wisdom teeth removed on Friday.

My mother went into the hospital on Friday evening. She could barely breathe. It turned out she had water in the lungs--not pneumonia. Hopefully, diuretics should help.

Today, hubby and I were with Daughter #1 who had an endoscopy to check for ulcers and celiac disease. Once those problems are ruled out, she will probably have her gallbladder removed.

Daughter #1 lives two hours away, down in south Jersey--which is considerably less populated than north Jersey. I took the photo below as we were zipping home on the Parkway on the bridge over the Mullica River. I have always loved the view there. Miles and miles of nothing.



It could be a very boring drive, but there are things to keep it interesting. For instance, we wanted to see if milepost 66.6 was there. It wasn't. Somebody keeps stealing the sign.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Soaking Up Sunshine--I Wish

Do you see the turtle sunning himself on the log? I took this photo last week. Hubby and I took a walk in the park hoping to see a turtle or two. It isn't easy. The turtles always hear us coming no matter how quiet we are. But this one was braver than most. So though his friends slid off into the water, he remained--alert, but still able to soak up the sunshine.

Life is so hectic lately, I was simply glad I got out for a walk. Soaking up some sunshine would be great. I was envious of the turtle.

Our oldest daughter apparently has gallbladder trouble. She's gone for a few tests and still has another one coming up. In the meantime, she is unable to enjoy eating. She is not eating anything with fat, milk, or caffeine. She came home for the weekend and I did not know what I was going to feed her. I went to Whole Foods and bought some vegan cheese and soy hotdogs. Neither went over well.

However, I made my oatmeal pancakes for breakfast and that seemed to be okay with her and her gallbladder. Otherwise, she is living on organic vegetable soup. She has lost a lot of weight. :^(

Saturday, November 01, 2008

This Year's Costume


This year, the boss and I coordinated our outfits. Hers appeared more authentic with the belt, the canteen, and the dogtag.

Now what am I going to do next year? Any ideas?