Comfort Food

    Did you ever have a heartache, a hurt that you tried to smile through, and pretend that it everything was okay? But you really felt just plain wounded, totally deflated, and just left wondering what you ever did to deserve such a thing.  Well, I do today.
 It's a simple family problem, some family members can't come to terms and make peace, no matter how hard I try to reach out.    BUMMER!   
  People sometimes like to hold on to grudges, but I think life is too short,
and that it's ridiculous to waste time, letting misunderstandings go unresolved,
letting anything come between people who love each other.
 Family is everything.    Friends are too!
I've chosen to truly unconditionally love no matter what, to forgive, and to move on.
To focus on good memories and hope for restored relationships.

 There, I got it off my chest. Here's what I did:

*Made a decision to forgive and to love.   Best choice, I will never regret. 
.
* I sent private Facebook messages, just saying I love them and asking for a response and a truce.

*Then I just got busy, made silver dollar pancakes for breakfast.  Simple comfort food.

The Grandma mug made me cry today, I'm just being overly sensitive.
 Do you see my mismatched silverware?
I am putting together a "set" for me and Teddy, all different patterns of vintage silver
  that long ago some other people once loved and set their family tables with.
Polished up and treasured once again.  Isn't it cool?

                    *Started a pot of soup, using whatever vegetables I had on hand.

               * Had a cup of tea..

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* Set the table with my best dishes as though we were having a gourmet feast.
  Ted went out to get some  fried chicken,  and I warmed up some veggies.

  *Had another cup of tea.  The best thing to have with tea- is more tea!

  *  Lovingly added photos to the birthday posts on Facebook,
 to honor my grandmother, turning 100, bless her heart,
 and my sweet mother 82, and a childhood favorite TV personality, Sally Starr, 90.

Mom and some of her wonderful friends

Grandmom and some of her grandkids, great, and great, great-grandkids
My sister, Faith's family.

my grandmom, Mary Helen Layton, is 100 years old!

Sally Starr, a   beloved Philadelphia area celebrity who hosted Popeye Theatre
 and The Three Stooges in the 50's, 60's until 1971, turned 90 on the 25th, my Grandmom's birthday!.

Update, January 27, 2013,
     I am so sad and sorry to announce that Sally died today,
 just two days after her birthday. I found out about it just hours after ,
when I went to her website to get a url to add to this post so you could
 learn more about her.  She will be sadly missed, as she was so loved 
by the many she brought so much joy to, and those she helped tremendously. 

 At the end of each broadcast, Sally always said,

 "May the good Lord be with you and your family" .

  *Played good music.

  *Prayed.   A lot.

  *  Blogged about it!

Now, see, I got through it!

I thank God for all my blessings and choose joy and love, and I'll think upon all good things, for He will strengthen me!  Just filled my head with things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, things of good report, virtue, and praise, like it says in Philippians 4:8.
.

 "May the good Lord be with you and your family!"

Love, Linda

Birthday Highlights

 My sweetheart's birthday is today, and
 our youngest granddaughter turned 3 yesterday.

The New Year is off to a good start with mostly
 happy events, birthday's being especially fun! 

  My mother, and both daughters-in law have birthdays this month.

And my grandmother turns 100 
later this month! 

Happy Birthday Teddy and Ava!

Grandpa Teddy and his little sweetheart Ava ,  who share birthdays.
 He takes her out to lunch at his favorite local diner, to show her off!

 Happy Birthday, Mother!

Mom and me, last year, at a steakhouse!

 Happy 100th Birthday, Grandmom!

Here's Grandmom, a few years ago, with my daughter and me

Ah, I  fondly remember those          
 early childhood birthday celebrations!

Mama always baked us a cake and had the grandparents over,
and a few friends too,  as we got older.

Nothing fancy, or expensive, just cake and ice cream,
 and we always sang  "Happy Birthday".

She once told me that when she was a very young girl,
 she invited several schoolmates to her house for her birthday
 and sadly,  her mother sent them away.
  You see, there really was no party.

  That made her feel so bad, so she always had a simple
celebration for all seven of us, no matter how bare the pantry was,
 or how little she had.  She could always come up with something,
cupcakes,  or a layer cake from a mix.
She often made Betty Crocker cake mixes,
 and I thought she was Betty Crocker, because to me,
 she looked like the pretty brunette lady  on the box.

 Betty Crocker, artists depictions  of the average homemaker through the years.

 A fascinating article about Betty Crocker,  and how she changed through the decades at
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695214930/Betty-Crocker-through-the-years.html.        



Here's some of the photos from our family's fun 
and memorable  birthday bashes.

 My homemade Elmo cupcakes for 2 yr. old Tommy's  birthday.

 Good old summertime birthdays on the deck.  

 Abby's ice cream cake, super yummy! 

Julie made Rice Krispie Treats in the shape of baseballs for Tommy's 1st birthday.
 They are big-time Phillies Phanatics!

Ava loves Dora!

The littlest granddaughter, Ava, turned 3!

She got a camera and took pictures of Buck all by herself!

Now, we always go see our grandkids on their birthdays, sometimes it's simple

 homemade cakes, and sometimes it's full-blown affairs with pony rides,

 barbeques, pizza parties, ice cream cakes, or sit down suppers. 

 But what's important is that we are all together, making the birthday person know

 how special they are and how much we love them.!

Now each month of the new year we will fill in the new datebook
 with everyone's special day, and in a big family there are  surely birthdays every month!

Wish you lots of  fun Birthday Celebrations this new year!

Love,  Linda

  :(    I just missed the party at

 http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/01/mop-it-up-monday-49-birthday-bash.html

  We were supposed to write about our ways of celebrating birthdays!
  Check it out, it's great!  

 However,  I could not upload photos last week, due to a problem with
Internet Explorer and Blogger. 

I tried unsuccessfully to send feedback, and finally found out that if
I posted using Goggle Chrome as my browser instead,
 that I  might be able to upload.   Yeah!  It worked!

I've joined Grand Social at http://wwwgrandmasbriefs.com  

Another fresh new year is here....

               Another fresh new year is here

          Another year to live,

          To banish worry, doubt and fear

          To love and laugh and give.

 

         This bright new year is given me

         to live each day with zest...

         to daily grow and try to be

         My highest and my best.

 

          I have the opportunity

         once more to right some wrongs

         To pray for peace, to plant a tree

          and sing more joyful songs.

                           --- William Arthur Ward  

    "Cheers to a new year
     and another chance to get it right!"
                                                      -                                                           ---Oprah Winfrey

"Be always at war with your vices,
at peace with your neighbors
 and let every new year find you a better man"
quoted in Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, December 1755




"Approach the new year with resolve to find
the opportunities hidden in each new day."
 Michael Josephson, www.whatwillmatter.com

These words of wisdom inspire me to start a positively,

 


 Have a rockin' New Year!

 

Love, Linda

It is still Christmas at my house!

Now is when I really enjoy Christmas, the rush is over, but there's still visiting to do,  and friends to call.  The grandchildren are home from school and eager to hear about the real meaning of Christmas, as I play with them and they show me all their new things!   I'm still celebrating and my work is done and now  I can sit and enjoy  my decorations,  read my  Christmas cards, and  savor the holiday atmosphere. I have no intention of putting anything away for some time!    It is still Christmas at my house!  A vintagey Christmas, I might say.



teacup byVcagco, Made in Japan,
  and a favorte old book,  A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg

 Finally, I can sit down and  leisurely sip a cup of Christmas tea,

  without thinking about a million things that I need to do. .

                                          I like my vintage decorations best.

Some vintage glass ornaments and  paper gnomes are arranged

 in an old bookcase with some old silver.                                     

 A couple fine  Ken Ebert's prints, my very special and treasured old gifts,  from  my sweetheart, who is  also an artist and  car enthusiast,  are hung for the holidays.   An amazing automotive artist, Ebert's work was on the cover of Antique Automobile, the publication of the Antique Automobile Club of America,  for many years.  Many of his pieces depict Victorian homes decked out for the holidays, with the vintage cars.

 Another gorgeous  Ken Ebert's piece featuring a lovely wintry home and antique cars

 My vintage Lefton ceramic children,   I've named them after my grandchildren . These are Grandma's toys!
The children are content to play quietly all day with their new dollies and toys.

These little vintage Napco figures stand in my kitchen windowsill,
while  my favorite carols are still  playing on my old cassettes and CDs.

These beautiful  vintage  Coke ads hang in my kitchen.

I just popped the whole magazines in some old frames.

 I love my old Santa Coca-Cola ads hanging  in my kitchen. The artist was  Haddon Sunblom, who used Clement C. Moore's Santa from"Twas the Night Before Christmas" for inspiration.  He often used himself for a model, and for the children he used a neighbor's little daughters, changing one to a boy.  He painted for the Coca-Cola Company from 1931-1964, creating the modern day image of Santa that we mostly see today.

 

  Vintage glass ornaments are so pleasing to me, and usually get hung

 in a small window, with ribbons, instead of  on my tree.

My holiday gift orders were successfully delivered

 and thankfully my customers are happy. (sighing!)

I truly enjoyed my Etsy shop this year and I am grateful to some really special post office  employees in my town.  They are super friendly and efficient and  made all  my shipments go smoothly. 

I love the illustrations from the  vintage Little Golden Books!
 I remember them fondly from my childhood. 
"Frosty the Snowman", and  "Twas the Night Before Christmas"
  were two recent sales items from my Etsy shop.

And this darling little reindeer head planter also went to a new collector.

Thank you to my Etsy customers!

 I wish you the happiest holiday season and a blessed New Year.

 It has been such a pleasure, sharing  unique little "pieces of the past"

 with you in my online shop, and I look forward to bringing you

 many more unusual and special  treasures in 2013.

Hoping you too, are still celebrating Christmas!

Love, Peace and Joy!

Linda

I am joining " A Return to Loveliness", the pary at http://adelightsomelife.com 

I also joined the Cottage Vintage Style Party at http://www.etsycottagestyle.com

Cookie Baking Marathon with the Grandkids

I'm all through with cookies, although I don't have any at my house.  I baked with my granddaughter, and with my daughter and grandson, 7 kinds,  about 54 dozen.  They are using them for gifts and have shared them at school and at work.   I don't want to eat another cookie.  Not from taste-testing, I really only tried a few.   My boyfriend made the dozen or so I brought home vanish quickly.

Amber loves gingersnaps and makes them perfectly round and bakes them just right!



 My grandson, Gary, 16 years old, just passed his driver ed exam.   Yikes!
Took a homework break to help us out with the Spritz and was quite good at it!
 He also sampled the others and said, " I'll come out again
 when you've made the chocolate chip cookies!"


My daughter and I bake cookies every year.  

     Laughing and baking away!

Well, now I'm just about over a 48 hour bug of some sort that knocked me off my feet, so now I'm behind with my Christmas preparations, more that ever.  I'm so glad we got the baking done before I got sick!

Today, I realized that this illness made me jump-start a diet, because I  haven't eaten for two days, have totally lost my appetite.  So now, I just have to start eating the right stuff, right?  Tea and chicken soup for tonight, though.  I am drinking lots of water, appreciating my general health, (usually very good), as I  recover from this nasty setback.



Thomas , in the back, next to one of the wise men

  I took Thomas, now 2, across the street to see  baby Jesus in the neighbor's nativity scene,
and while I was trying to get a picture, he hopped on the camel.  Didn't understand that it was not a riding toy.  I did get a picture of him next to one of the kings, but he's extremely hard to photograph, never still for a moment!    He didn't think much of Santa either!


I went to a school program for a third grader friend who was awarded the Student of the Month Award.  At first, I cried when I saw the children, reminded of  the precious ones we lost in the Newton, Ct. shooting.  But my heart was uplifted to see the  eager young faces of really good kids with their marvelous  teachers. The speaker talked about Respect.  Each month they focus on a quality of building good character.   I am so thankful to see young people and their caregivers and nurturers learning compassion, trustworthyness, good workmanship, leadership and respect.
 The teacher read this:

List of Christmas Gift Suggestions

                                                              by Oren Arnold

 to your enemy- forgiveness

to an opponent-tolerance

to a friend-your heart

to a customer-service

to all-charity

to every child- a good example

to yourself-respect

I am really glad I got to make cookies with my grandkids, and take my friend to her grandson's school program.  Whatever things I didn't get done. as far as my decorating and shopping is concerned isn't important.  Last weekend,  I did manage a night out with my sweetie. We went to historic Cape May to see the Christmas festivities.

 

Shop windows were splendid!

The magnificent  parlor tree in Congress Hall, Cape May, N.J.

Charlie Brown Christmas in a store window

Hey, remember these?
 You can by these reproduction bubble lights from the "five-and-dime"
 in Cape May, or from catalogs, like the Vermont Country Store.

 Some reproduction toys in the nostalgic  5 and 10 cent store in Cape May, N. J.

In the middle of the craziness getting your house ready for company,

 making sure you've cooked all the right food, bought all the right presents,

remember what we are celebrating and what really matters.

God sent his son Jesus, to show us how to love one another,

  how to care for one another,  and to save us all from sin. 

Merry Christmas!  Celebrate the gift of God's son!

May your hearts and homes be filled with love,  peace, and hope!  

Love, Linda