Thimble, Thimble Whose Got the Thimble???

When I was a little girl we liked to play this game.

Well....































One of the things Norman and I enjoy doing together is going to Estate Sales. We love visiting some of the old homes of Atlanta and stepping back in time. I always want to know who lived there, what did they do, what happened to them, etc. Sometimes if you listen (you know I am good at that) you can find the answers to some of these questions. Its amazing what you can learn about a person just by rummaging through their stuff.

Saturday was the perfect day for estate saling. The air was crisp and the leaves were in all of their fall glory!!!! We plugged in our addresses and off we went. Just to clarify the difference in a yard sale and an estate sale...The words "estate sale" can mean different things depending on the quality of the person's "junk" or to coin an old phrase -"one man's junk is another man's treasure". But what we have found to be true is if you replace the word "yard" with the word "estate" the price immediately jumps up at least 50%. You have to be careful.(You could end up with an organ no one needs-inside family joke that is still sitting in our living room).

On this particular day we hit some of both. I found 4 Mardi Gras mask, 4 boas and 3 Disney videos for the kids. We saw an exercise machine like the one my Aunt Aubrey use to have. (Just had to have a picture of that!) And a Coleman stove the size of my first microwave. Can we say - Where is the dumpster????

We visited a very old house out by the Governor's Mansion with beautiful trees, terrace landscaping, an elevator, lots of old dishes and books. I found a prayer book entitled A Diary of Private Prayer copyright 1949. It has a morning and evening prayer and lots of handwritten notes. Inside was folded a piece of paper with this prayer - "For Those We Love" - "Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." I thought that was very well said. I also found a copy of C.S.Lewis' Mere Christianity .(I have always heard of this book but have never read it. I look forward to doing so). Tucked inside of this book was a bookmark that said, "My Grace is Sufficent for Thee". Another lady found a "Leaves of Gold" poetry book which had been a gift from Governor Carl E. Sanders (Governor of Georgia in 1963).

Our final stop of the day brought Norman's "find"... Let me preface this by saying, I have never been a collector of anything but dust, which by the way is easy to collect but not very profitable. However, someone was and now I am a collector of thimbles. I am now the proud owner of over 200 of them!!! We actually detached the display case from the wall with the thimbles still inside. They threw in many of the original boxes at no extra charge. You know Norman, he is quite the negotiator. When we got home we were like two kids on Christmas morning looking at all the different thimbles. Some of them are just sourvenir types from over 50 different US cities, more than 60 are from places all over the world and some are just very unique. It also included a complete set of 25 Country Store Collection Thimbles with papers for each.

I have taken pictures of a few of my favorites. So if you are looking for the perfect gift for Christmas for someone who collects thimbles, we are looking to turn a profit and can fix you up!!! Otherwise, these thimbles will one day be a "find" for someone at our estate sale. Enjoy.

Visiting Samuel & 1st time visit to Disney

After the visit to Treasure Island, I met Samuel in Tampa. We did some shopping @ the International Mall - where we looked at "Coach Purses" and $650 sun glasses. Needless to say I did not purchase anything but Samuel did buy a cute dress for Sydney with a matching hat and shoes. We had a nice dinner and then went to his apartment where we watched a movie on his laptop. It was fun!!! The next morning I was able to meet his staff. It was so weird to see my baby as the boss. I was one proud momma. Around 10 I picked Summer up from the airport, we drove back over to pick up Samuel and then we all went to lunch.

Summer and I drove on over to Orlando, while Norman waited and rode with Samuel after he got off work. Norman had made us reservations (using pts)at a brand new Hilton on the Disney property. We had connecting rooms. It was nice!! Sara, Ryan and the kids arrived around 7 and we all met for dinner in Downtown Disney.

Saturday was a little cool but sunny. We rode the ferry over and spent a glorious day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. It truly was magically. Seeing the castle, riding the rides, eating funnel cakes, watching parades and performances of the all the favorite characters brought tears to my eyes throughout the day. Everyone seemed to really have an enjoyable time. Watching my children's delight was as much fun as watching the grands. I definitely recommend waiting until your children are 23, 28 and 30 to go to Disney-they don't fight, whine or complain,they can feed themselves, go to the bathroom by themselves and they have their own money. NICE :)

Samuel was a wonderful host! He supplied the tickets for the Jackson crew, bought souvenirs, paid for lunch and bought suckers the size of their faces. It was a wonderful day!!! For pictures see http://www.joshsummerandmaddux.blogspot.com/ I forgot my camera.

Thanks, Samuel, for the memories!

Coming Soon.....The Boss/Disney

Fall Break

I recently had a nice 10 day fall break (Can I say, "I love my job!") Norman and I spent the first 5 days in Valdosta visiting Sara, Ryan and the GRANDS!!! I am not sure we could have crammed anymore into those 120 hours. A soccer game, a parade, bike rides, lunch with Parker @ 10:30 (I think that is considered brunch), lunch with Landon @ 11:00, lunch with Bryce @ 11:30, the hatching of several monarch butterflies and then their glorious releases, meeting teachers, doing a bulletin board, playing at the park, reading, shopping for a bed with Sydney(and lunch @ Chick-fil-A) and last but not least a little "OCD therapy". It was wonderful!!!!

Then it was off to Sarasorta where Norman attended a meeting. Before his meeting we were able to do a little sightseeing. We enjoyed a visit to the grounds of the Ringling Bros.Museum and some window shopping at Longshore Beach which included a Ben & Jerry's banana split. YUM! That evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and meal at Marina Jack's. The next day I enjoyed sleeping late, walking the Longshore Bridge, talking on the phone and a trip to Tampa via Treasure Island near St. Pete. I plugged in my destination to the GPS -not really expecting the place to be there. But sure enough the man said, "Continue 3.2 miles." I continued to drive, then heard, "Arriving at destination on right." I couldn't believe it but there she was, the Thunderbird Hotel and right next door, the Sea Castle. And yes, (those of you who know me), I cried. I got out, walked through the lobby(it was very small)and out to the pool area. It looked frozen in time with the rooms opening right up to the pool, the seawall between the hotel and the beach leading to the water.


***SIDE NOTE - As I crossed the drawbridge onto Treasure Island a flood of memories flashed through my mind...
When I was a little girl one of my favorite aunts (I am so blessed to have 3 favorites: Aunt Louanne, Aunt Sarah and Aunt Aubrey)lived in St. Petersburg. My family and I would travel to see her every summer. She would put us up in a very nice hotel on the beach where we would swim, laugh, play shuffle board,laugh, play goofy golf, laugh, eat ice cream and laugh everyday. Occassionally, we(my cousin, Cheri and I) would find some cute boys by the pool with which to exchange addresses. Oh the lazy, crazy days of summer. Thanks, Aunt Sarah for all the fond memories of the vacations at the Sea Castle and the Thunderbird.