Here is the rest of the story. The customer told me that her two Marine sons were serving second tours of duty, which had been extended, in Iraq. To keep her mind occupied she decided to plant a shade garden and had read about fairy gardens. I suggested that her wee friends, in this climate, are probably happy and secure hiding high in the Live oaks nestled down in Resurrection fern which covers the branches. Then, of course, there are the long strands of Spainish moss upon which to swing in the breezes. We then set about selecting Azaleas and various ferns for her shade garden. She was interested in variegated shrubs for contrast. The nursery did not have a good selection of those on hand. So, I jotted down some suggestions for her. Many of the plants one associates with fairies will not grow here. I suggested that she begin an Amarylis collection (perennial here), gingers, Ligularias and blood lilies (Scadoxus multiflorus). All do well in shade and compliment shrubs. She really had not Searched the subject of fairy gardens and I encouraged her to do so. There are times when you give a person just enough information to make their own journey of discovery. This was such a situation.

This is not my oldest but it is one that I do treasure because it is practical and used everyday. It is a 30" laboratory sink from a university that was built in 1970. When they were renovating the labs, I got one of those sinks and it is now my refurbished "farmsink" that holds a prominent place in my kitchen. Another one is my large steamliner pressure cooker which is still going strong. Bought this in 1970 from an old woman who was leaving the island. Never had to service this vintage and cooks up a storm during the holiday seasons. There was another tall one that I had, can't remember the brand name but it had four stacked "trays" that would allow you to cook products of varied cooking time at the same time. That I gave to my mother when I was leaving home. It was too big for me then. Lastly, my grandmother had a brass plant pot that every weekend, as children, we had to clean it with burnt charcoal and lime juice. I could not wait to grow up to get the younger ones to do the cleaning. One day I went to a garage sale and found one just like it. I bought it because now I can buy silvo or brasso :). I love old things especially if they bring back memories. They must also be unique. Just my 2 cents.

Oh Dear...this is a hard one. I lost so many in a Rodent Infestation and then again so many more when my tree toppled, that it seems all the ornies that are left, are all my favorites now! Every ornie that isn't a standard round glass or plastic ball-style, has a memory attached to it or represents someone in my family ie; Woodworker Santa= Mr.Amity because he loves working with wood. I was able to save one of my Grandpa's ornies...even though it had a few tiny chew marks in it, I just had to clean it and put it on the tree. My daughter painted this when she was six years old. She's now 34. Me and the kids made these back in the late 70's using a kit and the oven to melt the 'glass'. Made by Grandma in late 60's. I've never had to re-stiffen it. I had several. Unfortunately this one is the only one that survived the Rodent Rage. Painted by Son back in the late 70's. Woodworker Santa;

My dad's mom was from a farm in Minnesota. They raised horses. Several kids all together in one bed in the upstairs room. She loved the country and her home with the stream running through the pastures. My dad's dad lost his parents young. His dad was a tailor. Both their parents had come over from Sweden. My grandfather especially never forgot that his parents came over to escape religious persecution for being Baptists. Both grandparents always celebrated their Swedish heritage. My grandmother spoke Swedish with all her brothers and sisters. At the end of her life, when she had memory loss, she said she wanted to go back to be with the Swedes ( Minnesota ). They had things from Sweden all over the house and my grandma always had blue and gold curtains and fabrics for slipcovers. They asked me to make them a big Dala horse with the house numbers on it for the gate. I remember the two Victorian portraits of my grandfathers parents over the Victorian organ that was in the family room. We loved to play that organ as kids. Grandfather also had the china and a writing desk from his family when they came to America in the 1800s. Grandma always loved gardening and had a flower garden everywhere they lived. They started out in Minnesota, moved to Maryland, Indiana, and then out to California. The happiest day my Grandma had according to my dad was when her brothers and sister came over during WWII and they were all together again. Both brothers were in the army then and my grandpa worked as a radar specialist and sometimes flew in the large bombers. My grandmas brothers helped my grandpa build the first house they had in So.CA My grandma had a big garden then and it was packed full of flowers. I was a toddler then but I still remember all the flowers and the hand poured cement walks. Grandpa also built a little pass through door in the wall from the kitchen into the family room so grandma wouldn't have to go around. She always loved to bake. Later, they moved out to Riverside county. They had a bigger property and grew all kinds of fruit trees and grapes and every kind of vegetables. Grandma canned them all even though she had a market right down the road. She had all kind of little figurines and things for the kids to play with in the yard. We liked to make out little farms with the toy animals and give them rides in the old wagon she used to move plants around in. Grandpa had a room he added on to the garage where he had his electronics equipment. After the war, he was involved with the space missions. He loved radios, anything electric and my dad got him an Apple computer when they were first available. He was on the cutting edge of technology even into his nineties. I remember dad said he could fix anything. He was always going over to a neighbors house to help with electical or plumbing or carpentry. That's what neighbors were supposed to do. He had a woodshop in the garage and he built all our garage cabinetry and shelving and all our kitchen cabinets and a big kitchen island. He removed all the kitchen cabinets from their last home and replaced them with custom ones. If his body hadn't worn out, he'd still be doing it. Grandma always had pets. She loved them and I don't remember a time when she ever scolded them ( or us) . My sister said that grandma could make a good dog out of a bad one. She never was sophisticated and had an 8th grade little schoolhouse education but she had a kind heart and would always be there for a friend or neighbor in need. Her three kids all went to college but she never boasted about it. Any kind of flattery embarassed her in fact. She loved crafts and had a little room full of scraps and buttons and trims where she would sew. We spent hours in that room going through it all just for fun and on holidays she let us make valentines and ornaments and all kinds of Christmas decorations. We got together every Sunday for dinner and afterwards watched Lawerence Welk, Wild Kingdom, and Disney. I remember my cousins came over too and especially during the holidays. Two of my cousins moved to Virginia but they came to spend the summer with grandma in CA. She loved Virginia too and sometimes she lived there with my aunt for a month in the summer. After my grandpa passed away, she moved to my aunt's in Virginia and saw my cousins and their kids all the time. She loved kids and babies and all kinds of animals. She loved the seasons in Virginia and sent me pictures and fall leaves.