Angelica Antiques

There is a part of me ready to quit going off to work 3-4 days a week. I'm ready to stay home, clean and organize my house, make savory soups, and bake flaky desserts... and maybe take a nap on a dreary, golden afternoon. Autumn does that to me.

Deborah and I set off into a world of golden sunshine this past Friday. We drove long and far (and I took the long way every time...) and found a tiny town full of antique shops. 

We wandered to our hearts' content, took fancy photos, brought home selected treasures, and left others behind. We're both wishing we took this sweet swinging doll home to stay, but she made her way back only in a photograph... There's always something left behind that I'm wishing I had purchased. I've save a lot of money that way through the years



 Bling, lots of bling. It's the first thing you see in the shop window. So fun, even for me, and I have never been a collector of bling.

These twin lamps graced an upstairs table creating a mirror image. I initially thought them rather gaudy, but every time I look at the photo I love them a little bit more. I don't know why, but they make me smile and every home should be filled with people and objects that bring a smile to our faces. (I read that in a book once...)

We're done traveling far and wide for a while now. We're both worn out and running out of money. (ha ha!) Actually I spent more buying grape pies on the way home for my October birthday kids than I did in any antique shop. And yes, I left the lamps behind too.

Making Plans

Hannah and I have plans to visit an old friend of mine in mid September. Judy lives in the Bronx and I haven't seen her since we were in high school. This will be an adventure for both Hannah and me. Having never been to New York City, I am not totally sure what to expect or what I want to see. James has suggested visiting Central Park and I'm planning to meet the Bronx Painter. I found him here.

Wanna Play?

Yesterday we took a drive to the Fisher Price Toy Museum in East Aurora, NY. The Little People were always my favorite toys when I was a little girl, so it was a fun place to look around.
Bethany went along with us and even Josh thought it was a pretty cool place, bright, colorful, and full of wonderful stuff. He especially like the playroom where he could crawl around and touch things.



There were cases and cases of unplayed with toys looking lonely locked behind cold glass. It's hard to believe that the rough looking bunch of toys I keep in a bucket in the corner of my living room once looked like that.
It was a fun day out. We didn't go home after visiting East Aurora, but headed north toward Buffalo and crossed the border into Fort Erie. More on that later...

A Penny Saved

Today I ran errands with the kids. First we stopped at the bank so I could cash my check and then I paid off my Kohl's card and my Target card. I try not to put too much on them and have made it a practice to pay them off each month. So far so good. I filled up my gas tank for $3.79/gallon (and that was a good price) and ran in Wegman's for a few grocery items. I decided not to buy too much this week as my cupboards are still full, but I did need milk and so picked up some bananas, cereal, and cheese while I was in there. While out we also stopped in Walmart and K Mart. Ben and Nate were looking for clothes and Hannah bought herself a pair of sneakers in Payless. It's all about consolidating those runs to the store nowdays. Soon I will be running out again to take the kids to their Friday night teen group at church and James and I will be meeting Beth and Adam for dinner. By the end of the dayI will be ready to stay home for a while. (I'm trying to convince myself, but it isn't working...)

Playing Catch Up

I think I am actually beginning to recover from all the stress and busyness of the holidays. Behind me are Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, Christmas day, a birthday celebration, New Year's, and a New Jersey wedding. Ahead of me... well, maybe I'll just not think too much about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip down to South Jersey and back with my daughter. I loved seeing our friends and totally loved the wedding too. I also found out that South Jersey is a rather nice place with lots of old farms and open space. Maybe some day I will go back again, when things aren't quite so rushed, and take a look around. I'm sure there is a ton of history and a bunch of great places to see. I wish we had more time to roam about taking pictures, but we had a long drive ahead of us and didn't want to worry our men. We did take an hour or so to stop in Binghamton, NY and say hello to Bethany's friends, Stephanie and Stephen, and then grab a quick bite to eat before continuing home. We were blessed with good weather along the way.

James came to pick me up at Beth's house and on the way home said he had "potentially bad news". Seems the boys had let Jasmine out of the house around 9:30 am and she hadn't returned. They went out looking around the yard and called for her but she was nowhere to be found. Gunshots from hunters or target practice pretty much keep us out of the apple trees at this time of year. Somewhere around 9:30 pm James and I went out to look in the orchard. It was dark, rainy and the snow was melting fast making it hard to tell which tracks were which or how old they were. We came back disappointed and somewhat worried. My biggest fear was that she was injured and unable to get home. How does a three-legged dog get about if she hurts a leg? We wondered if she had been shot or hit by a car but had no way to know. Of course I was already tired from our trip and spent a restless night thinking about our dog. We went to church Sunday morning still unsure of her whereabouts but were relieved to find her home when we returned a few hours later. She was dry, trembly, and smelled of cigarette smoke but refused to tell us where she had been.

Angelica

Yesterday Priscilla and I took a drive down to the town of Angelica, NY where many of our ancestors once lived. We had lunch in a wonderful little coffee house and visited with a couple of local residents. Angelica is described as "a town where history lives". It is an old fashioned town, I'm not sure there are any new buildings in the center of town. We arrived to find that this weekend was the Harvest festival in the park. The park is located in the circle in the center of town and is surrounded by historic buildings.

We visited Until the Day Dawn cemetery and found the gravestones of both our great-grandparents as well as the headstones of some great- great- great-grandparents.

The house, where Great Grandma lived with Uncle Leo and Timothy the cat, still stands on Main Street. Priscilla was rather dismayed at its appearance. My curiosity got the better of me this afternoon and I looked up real estate in Angelica. I was surprised to find Grandma's house for sale as there was no sign out yesterday. It is a multi-family dwelling which may account for the fact that it is not so grand as others in the area. What fun it would be to take a tour or even buy the house and fix it up... Hey Priscilla, didn't you say you wanted to open a gift shop?

Just Bluffing

It was cool morning. The sun was well hidden behind a thick and sometimes threatening cloud cover, but it wasn't raining. Rachel and the boys showed up at 10:25 am and soon after we headed out for a hike at Chimney Bluffs. After taking the best "old lady" route down to the lakeshore we started our walk, but not before I had to head back to the van for new camera batteries. I just couldn't make the camera work right. With new batteries installed, I was able to take a few pictures but not long after they died too. (Good thing Rachel had her camera along! I was taking movies and didn't know it.) We walked along the water's edge, then we headed back the other direction, had lunch, and hiked along the top of the bluffs. Rather than take the kids, who kept disappearing, back along the top, we climbed down by the shore again where Rachel and I found a nice log to sit on while the kids played in the water. Two of them got soaked but they were having fun, so I decided to forgive them. It was a wonderfully relaxing time, a cool fresh breeze blowing, no biting flies or scorching sun... It was a beautiful day even if I did have to wash Alysa's clothes when we got back home. (pictures coming soon, I hope...) Thanks, Rachie!