Friday, August 6, 2010

A Few of My Favorite Things -- My cornucopia

Cornucopia or "horn o' plenty"

We moved a lot when I was growing up. Maybe some of the things I inherited from my parents, particularly my mother, meant so much to me was because when the seasons changed, Mother would set out the same things to decorate with.
They were always used differently from year to year. I can't ever remember any of her decorations staying exactly the same. Just seeing the familiar dishes, bowls, granite fruit,
dried flowers, etc... brought a little security to my world. That thought has not occurred to me until now. (One of the benefits of blogging!)
This cornucopia, or "horn o' plenty" as it is sometimes called, would always appear in
mid-September. Either there would be fresh fruit
in it, dried flowers, nuts, whatever my mother
chose for her fall decor.
I loved this cornucopia. Not only did it
signify bountiful food, but it also signified that
Halloween and Thanksgiving were near.
I loved this time of the year. The aroma of
autumn leaves and such.
Perhaps I am getting a little ahead of myself
with the seasons ... but that's okay.

When our oldest son and his family were
visiting us recently the topic of the annual
Halloween party that I had been hosting
for our granddaughter the past four years in
Mexico came up. I had already been thinking
about the theme, what to cook and
even had a great "spooky" story in mind.
My son said, "Why don't we do something a
little different this year?" Hmmm... was I ever curious. "I would like for Carmen and David
to learn more about American holidays and
customs. Let's do Thanksgiving together in
Mexico."
A-ha!" ... The words I have been
waiting to hear. Our son, also our business partner has been living in Mexico for thirteen years with only periodic visits back to the U.S.
He married a woman from Mexico (educated for a year in England though) and I have been concerned that their children would miss out
on our U.S. holidays and customs.
It appears now that this is a priority to
our son. My husband and I were thrilled
to hear our son's suggestion.
Our cornucopia is over-flowing!

My mother




I am linking to Laurie for
Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.
It's "A Few of My Favorite Things Saturday"
Check her out! 
http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday: Daddy B's Typewriter


Daddy B's typewriter

My sister and I would stay with each set of our grandparents for a couple of weeks each summer.
Visiting our paternal grandparents meant many different experiences:
- riding in my grandfather's red MG with the top down
- picking peaches from the peach trees at their "stock farm"... a term we don't seem to hear anymore
- riding on the Brackinridge Eagle in San Antonio (my grandfather owned it)

What I think my sister and I really enjoyed was being in our grandfather's home office, sitting at his desk and pecking away on his typewriter.
This was around 1955, or so.

Daddy "B"

The typewriter, a Hernes 3000 was extra special and unlike my father's typewriter.
This machine was green AND it typed
in script!
I thought that was so unusual.
On top of that, my grandfather had a brown ink
ribbon in the typewriter. Leave it to Daddy "B" to be unique. He typed all of his letters in spite of the beautiful handwriting he had.
Perhaps it was having access to Daddy "B's" office that led me to a life-long passion for
office supplies and to enjoy typing.
You will see Daddy B's typewriter on my blog
always. I inherited it!
It doesn't really type anymore and I am sure
to find someone to clean and repair it would
be a monumental task, but I love to
look at it, remembering the hours of
pleasure I got from it.


I am linking to Show and Tell Friday
at
My Romantic Home