Today I am taking a collection of topics and photos that I haven’t put into any other post and am compiling them into The Thing Post.
If you haven’t checked out Monday’s post yet, please do. We’ve been having a lot of interaction with over 110 comments so far. Readers are giving mysterious clues as to where they live and then the rest of us are trying to figure it out.
My only request is that if you haven’t yet revealed the answer to your location and no one has guessed it, please drop back by the post and fill us in. I am just way too curious about some of those clues!
Here is a certain Smith son of ours and a certain Smith son of our certain Smith son. (That was certainly redundant!)
Noah’s main goal in life is to be exactly like his daddy in every possible way. I am so proud that Nathan has become a daddy his son wants to emulate. Those two make my heart sing.
I went to Greenville Tuesday for my RA infusion and didn’t walk back in the door until 6:30 p.m. It was stormy and dark and my hubby knew exactly what menu was called for on a night like that. He had this waiting when I came in the door.
He even thought to put parsley on the soup. Is that not great, or what?
Speaking of food, this week I got a little adventurous and made something different: a pesto pizza.
This was Steve’s pizza. (Mine was sans jalapenos.)
As I was serving it to Steve I quipped that it was The Pesky Pastor’s Pesto Pizza! (I am easily entertained.)
The pizza is very easy to make. Just spread pesto on the crust, add sliced tomatoes and mozzarella (and anything else you are in the mood for) and bake according to the pre-made crust directions.
Easy peasy pizza pie!
Steve and I went to a birthday party last Saturday and as soon as we walked in the door, one of the women looked right at me and said, “Sarah Coventry, 1970’s.”
As you can imagine, I was just slightly perplexed until I realized she was referring to my necklace.
She has been in fashion retail for decades and it turns out she actually remembers selling that very necklace to her customers back in the ’70’s!
Nothing like being on the cutting edge of fashion, right? I was wearing something almost as old as me! (Which makes it almost an antique.)
That got me to thinking of another necklace in my collection. I got this at a thrift store 25-30 years ago and have loved it ever since.
One of the many things I love about blogging is getting to know people online who I never would have gotten to meet any other way. And the thing that I love even more is getting to meet some of those people in real life!
Case in point: Fred and Lucy Johnson, some of the dearest people you could ever hope to meet.
The Johnsons met in marching band at East Carolina University and will celebrate 50 years of marriage next year. We got acquainted through the blog and found out they live in Virginia Beach, about 5 minutes away from Sarah’s school. Steve was up in Virginia a few weeks ago for a hospital visit and decided to drop by and meet them since we had done a lot of online corresponding and felt like we already knew them! The three of them spent two hours talking like old friends.
And then yesterday, Fred and Lucy were in Manteo for a funeral so they dropped by the church to meet ME! I was so honored.
Our next goal is to set up a time for Sarah to meet them. (On her birthday, Fred dropped a big supply of Oreos by the school for her; I think he was inspired by this video she made a couple of years ago.)
My life has been made so much richer by the people I have met (in person or online) through blogging. And YOU are one of those people. Thank you for honoring me by continuing to read here and for being such a special member of the Smithellaneous community.
What about you?
- Do you have any jewelry you have had a very long time? Or else jewelry that already had some history before you acquired it.
- Have you ever met someone in person who you first met online?
Ah, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Nothing better. 🙂
Mel,
The ultimate comfort food/stormy weather food.
Ah, right up my alley as I love to collect old jewelry! I have (and wear daily) two Victorian era gold rings, one hallmarked 1849 and the other 1864. I also wear two medieval gold rings I got from an antique dealer/small finds archaeologist in London. One is a plain band, the other has a small ruby, both from the early 13th century. The ruby ring was found near an ancient abbey in Kent, so he believes it may once have belonged to an Abbess there. I like to imagine all that it’s been through, including the signing of the Magna Carta and the crusades! My latest purchase was a small, plain gold pendant from around the 2nd-3rd century. It amazes me that these pieces are so old and can still be worn today, although with a few dings and scratches. I feel like I’m wearing a piece of the past, and wonder about the people who owned them before me. I love old things and have several other collections of old stuff too!
Melissa,
Wow–it sounds like you have some TRUE treasures!
Your items go beyond antique and vintage all the way back to . . . well, I don’t know even know what the word would be for something from the third century!
The fact that you are wearing these items instead of squirreling them away in a safe box is so cool; items like that need to be enjoyed and appreciated for their workmanship and their history and, as you said, all the memories and history they contain.
I have a couple pieces of jewelry that belonged to my grandmother. She was born in 1896 and died in 1960. I was only four at the time. The first piece is a bangle breakfast that has her maiden name and initials on it. She was married in 1919 so this bracelet is nearly 100 years old if not 100 years. The second piece is a cameo necklace that she wore at her wedding and my mother, being the only daughter, also wore at her wedding. My mother handed it down to me many years ago since I had never gotten married. I did get a new chain for it as the one it was on was pretty well worn. I plan to let both of my nieces wear it at their weddings and one of them will get it to keep.
I’ve never really met anyone that I met online like you have. However, I have met fellow coworkers that I only knew from phone calls, emails, etc. One particular one I picked up at the Tampa airport when she flew in from Jacksonville. I told her what my car looked like and she told me what she was wearing. This worked very well. The funny thing is one time I was picking her up again. I pulled up to the curb for her to get in and someone I didn’t know from Adam jumps in the car. I think she called me Debbie and thanked me for picking her up. I was laughing so hard I could barely tell her I wasn’t Debbie. Meanwhile my friend was standing on the curb wondering why this unknown person got to ride shot-gun. We had a good laugh about that,
Phyllis,
Having a piece of family jewelry that is 100 years old is amazing! And I’ll bet the cameo necklace is beautiful. I’ve always loved a cameo.
I enjoyed the airport story about the wrong person getting in your car. 🙂 I’m glad you all got a good laugh out of it. Too funny!
I inherited some jewelry from my aunt and uncle when they passed away a few years ago. Some of the jewelry is over 60 years old. I have met at least 5 people from “online”. One of them is a mutual FB friend of yours and mine and I met 2 others who were FB friends of that same mutual friend (hope it’s not confusing). I hope sometime you make a trip to see Nathan and family that I will be able to meet you too…even if I have to meet you at an Exit. I wouldn’t mind! 🙂
Hmm..my comment is the only one without a reply…except by me :-0
Marylea,
One of my great joys in blogging is interacting with readers in the comment area. Since I try to reply to every comment, I would have been very sad if I had inadvertently overlooked one. Thank you SO much for popping back in here and saying something! 🙂
Inherited jewelry is like a double blessing: you have the joy of the jewelry and also the joy of knowing and loving the people it came from. I am not lucky enough to have inherited anything like that so I am just a little envious of people who have.
Now you have my curiosity up as to the online friend you have met who is a mutual FB friend of mine. One great thing about blogs and FB is the inter- connectedness they provide. It’s such a joy to keep up with friends–old and new, ones we have met in person or just online. And yes, we would love to meet YOU too!
If I recall correctly, you finished chemo a couple of months ago. I hope you are continuing to feel stronger each day.
Yes, guilty on the jewelry part. I still have the diamond stud earrings that I got from my high school boyfriend which I still wear now and then. I saw no need to dispose of them just because I disposed of him! No shame. 😉
I also have my mother’s jewelry armoire that is filled with her costume jewelry. I look at some of the pieces and vividly recall her wearing them when I was a child. (Some Sarah Coventry circa 1960’s!) I just can’t bear to part with any of it. I figure it might be fun someday for the granddaughters to play dress-up with. 🙂 My oldest, Millie (age 4) is already intrigued with it all and is such a girly girl. She delights in just opening the doors and gazing at it. So cute!
LeeAnne,
You are blessed to have all that jewelry with so many memories attached to each piece. That is the BEST kind of jewelry in the world.
And I would have kept the diamond stuff earrings, too! 🙂
Love the necklaces and the things!
1. Yes – I have my add-a-pearl necklace that was given to me at birth by my great-grandparents. I also have a set of my mom’s pearls.
Last week, my in-laws met us at the train station in Downham Market (we were on a trip to the UK) and they mentioned going to a thrift store – I was soooo excited! Haha! I found two gorgeous necklaces for £2 each, and I’ve received numerous compliments on them already. One is a copper-colored metal with rhinestones in two shades of green and the other is a pendant with green and orange stones. 🙂
2. I’ve met a TON of people in-person who I first met online, including my husband. 🙂 When we go to the UK, we stay in an Internet friend’s guest apartment; on our last trip there, our Internet friends from New Zealand stayed in our house in St. Louis! We live in St. Louis because we met another Internet friend who now lives here. We have also met Internet friends from Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Illinois, and Germany. Our online presence is far-reaching, and based on a wide range of interests – cars, house renovation, travel…
Someday, we want to visit the OBX, and we’d love to meet YALL in person too. 🙂
Stefanie,
Well, I guess you can definitely say you have met some Internet folks. In fact, I think you are setting a record in the meeting of said folks!
How fun to have such a wide span of interests and acquaintances and friends. The world has so much to see–but mostly it has people to meet. That is its greatest treasure.
Would love to see your necklaces; they sound fabulous. And yes, if you get to the OBX, give us a holler!
I have an add a pearl necklace my parents gave me for Christmas when I was in the ninth grade. Have not worn it in years. We met The Smiths at Duke after meeting on line. Precious memories and friends.
Ann,
That was a wonderful day when we got to meet you and Jim! Seems like such a long time ago. We have been blessed by your friendship.
You’re the second commenter that has mentioned an add-a-pearl necklace. I hadn’t even heard of those until today!
Becky, you can add pearls to the necklace and have as many as you want. The jewelers knew how to do that. You can shorten the chain as you add pearls or keep the same length chain and just makes the necklace longer. I also have my Mother’s which she bought after the great granddaughters were born.
Ann,
What a great idea; I LOVE that!
I haven’t added any pearls to my add-a-pearl necklace since I was 13 or so. My great-grandmother always gave me $10 each birthday and at Easter to add more pearls. When she died, my mom kept up with it for a while but then it just quit being a “thing”’to do.
Stef,
I just think it’s cool that so many of my readers have not only heard of an add-a-pearl necklace but actually own one! A completely new concept to me and one that I find fascinating.
Even though you no longer add to your necklace, I know the beads that are there are special because they represent your grandma’s love and her Easter and birthday gifts to you over the years.