A Busy Day

Phew, today was non-stop. First off, it was Huber Day. This year’s event was located at the Valleybrook Country Club in Kingsville. I ate way too much, as usual. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, Caesar salad, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, fresh fruit, and the piece du resistance – steamed crabs. The country club offered different activities, like swimming pools, which I did not participate in. It was pleasant.

Next was a surprise birthday party for Skott, who used to work at the restaurant. I took Sara, another Tidewater co-worker. It was nice to see him again, and we sat with some fun people who work with him now. The best part, he was really surprised.
After the party, I went back to Tidewater to listen to the band - Til September. In my opinion, they are the best musical entertainment we’ve ever booked there. I loved them the first time they played there, and I missed the next time for some reason (probably band), but there was no way I would miss them again. And they lived up to my expectations. They were great. They were set up outside, so I sat on the deck with Fred (a regular) to listen to them. We were soon joined by Don and Steve (a couple more regulars), and a few of their friends. What a great day!

Egypt Tags

Today's mail brought me a double bundle of joy. First was Bianca's tags. They are really cute, and for a sneak peek, click here. She also included a little wooden box filled with buttons and trims.

Thank you, Bianca!
I also recived a special package from Jane. She did the tags for England, and had the good fortune of happening upon a bunch of stickers with a travel theme to them. She asked if I'd like to include them with the tag books, and I said sure. Now, they're a wonderful addition to the stuff I'll be including with the tag books. I can only hope that all of that stuff will fit into a small flat rate box (the tag books seem to be a little bit too large right now, but if I squish them...)

Thank you, Jane!

Sentimental Sachet Swap Story

So, the co-hostesses of the Sentimental Sachet Swap sent out a story to help provide inspiration for our sachets. It was really cute, printed out on old ledger paper. Here is the story:

It was the fall of 1924 and Ruthie was all set to board the Dixie Flyer from Chicago back to her hometown of Willacoochee, Georgia for a visit. It had been 3 years since she had seen her family. Her departure from home had been a bit scandalous in that she ran off to marry Elmer, the love of her life, as he finished fighting in the war in the South. Mama and Daddy would've loved to have given her a proper wedding, but they also understood the passionate love Ruthie and Elmer had for one another and how they couldn't bear to be apart once it had been discovered. Now that 3 years had passed, all hard feelings had diminshed and all were eager to see one another and get reaquainted once again. Ruthie's heart swelled with anticipation. For months she had been working on gifts for her grandmother, Mama, her sissies and her cousins...sweet sachets made of the finest materials from special linens, hankies and doilies, filled to the brim with the fragrances of her and her sweetheart's botanical garden. Each sachet had been lovingly made, personalized and embellished for each one. She knew tham all so well ~ their favorite colors and scents. Ruthie had even wrapped each one with her loves in mind using their favorite colors and things as themes. The evening before her departure she packaged them ever so carefully in her big, black trunk.
It was now time to travel and her beloved Elmer was with her at the train station awaiting the slowly approaching train. Ruthie and Elmer had arrived in Chicago from this very same train just three years before. This would be their first time apart since then. As excited as Ruthie was to see her family, she was equally saddened to be leaving her beloved Elmer. With tears in her eyes, Ruthie took her place in line to board. She was traveling with her big, heavy trunk, her train case, and her hat box, not to mention her pocket book. Unfortunately, all but Ruthie's pocketbook and one other belonging had to travel in the baggage car, not in the sleeper car with her. Ruthie had no choice but to keep her train case with her as it contained the provisions she would need for the next two days of travel. She and Elmer bid one another farewell and she waved, with her hankie in hand, sadly and sweetly, as the train departed with the woo-woo sound of the whistle and a plume of big, black, billowing smoke...Elmer stood at the tracks and watched and watched and watched...until the track was once again empty.
After traveling out of the city and soaking up a few hours of majestic countryside with beautiful evening light, Ruthie got relaxed and was able to fall asleep. The train continued on its southward journey well into the night. Some loud banging and thumping awakened a number of the passengers but no one could quite identify the sound and after briefly waking, each soon fell back to sleep. After two days of travel, the train was nearing Willacoochee. The passengers were a bit weary after having been containd for so long. Ruthie's enthusiasm at seeing her loved ones quickly awakened and refreshed her. By the time the train had come to a complete stop, she spotted Daddy in the distance waiting to greet her. He was smiling his big smile and enveloped her with the biggest, strongest hug. She had sure missed her Daddy's hugs.
A commotion greeted them as they approached the baggage car. The baggage car that had been nearly full at the time of their dseparture from Chicago was now nearly empty. It seems taht the latched were not properly fastened at departure time and the baggage was jostled and tossed about and discharged from the train! Including Ruthie's big, black trunk! Her heart sunk to the bottom of her chest, then on to the bottom of her feet. Ruthie nearly passed out from the disappointment. The train personnel promised a full investigation and recovery efforts for the missing baggage. Over the following weeks a number of the bags were located, but not Ruthie's...not until now...some 80 years later! And guess what girls? Your sachets have been discovered in Ruthie's trunk! Each lovely one waiting to be identified and opened by its proped recipient...each one personalized for each of you based on you favorite colors and things and likes...........join us in Omaha to both deliver and discove your vintage treasures!

This story is reproduced without Susie or Lisa's permission (please forgive me ladies), but, as with most things, I will need help from Wanda, and this is the easiest was for her to "know the story."

Heartwarming

At work today, I witnessed something so sweet that I wanted to cry. I was waiting on a table, a lady, perhaps in her 50's, and an older gentleman with big glasses and curved-over back. He went to the restroom and stopped at the hostess stand to tell the hostess that he had a harmonica, and it was his daughter's birthday, so if we could bring out a muffin with a candle, he'd play his harmonica. At first I thought it was a little cheesy, but when I brought the dessert tray out at the end of their meal, to show them what we had to offer, he seemed so excited! As I approached the table with the dessert with a candle in it, I noticed his hand was ready, resting on the harmonica hidden in his bag. When I put the dessert in front of the lady, he pulled out the harmonica and started playing Happy Birthday, then continued on into For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. His music wasn't loud, but in that area of the restaurant, which was loud from conversations and the regular clatter of restaurant activities, people heard it and applauded at the end of each song. I was so touched, and I feel proud to have been a part of making that experience special for them.

Plans Go Awry

So, my day didn't go quite as planned. I don't have to be at work at the restaurant until 6 pm (gasp!), so, having examined the local paper's classifieds, I was planning on going to my first ever estate sale. When I got there, I found out it had been cancelled due to the rain, and was rescheduled for tomorrow. But since I have to work a double tomorrow, no estate sale for me. But since I was in Bel Air anyway, I stopped at JoAnn's and Michael's to pick up some stuff for another set of tags I'm going to do for my swap, one of the ladies' tags got lost in the mail, so I'm going to try to make something up so that it will still be 20 tags. I also visited a consignment shop, two Goodwill stores, and the thrift store in Edgewood. I found these great items, that I will use in the Vintage Bling Charm Swap for Silver Bella.

One Enchanted Evening

This is the latest book I've finished reading, "One Enchanted Evening" by Lynn Kurland. I've read two other of her books in the past, most memorably, "The More I See You," and they've both been about women travelling back in time to medieval England to find their true loves. That might seem hokie, but I enjoy (and recommend) them. She has a whole series of books about the time travel aspect, and a fun family lineage all drawn up. It's really quite fun, just don't start with this one if you start reading them - there are too many characters introduced that won't make sense otherwise.

Jordan Tags

Woo hoo! I got tags from Sherry today - I'm so close to having them all that I can taste it! For a sneak peek of her tags, click here.

Happy Fourth of July

Today's parade was in Havre de Grace, and like yesterday's parades, it was a hot one. I always like this one more because I get to see people I know along the parade route. We did have a little fun before the parade began. Staged right across the street from us was the "float" for The Towne Pub & Restaurant in Aberdeen, advertising Stella's Cove. They had a DJ who was playing music, and when he played "The Cupid Shuffle" a whole bunch of band people jumped into the street and started to dance along with them.

The street party continued until the band had to step off, but what a great way to pass the time!
After the parade finished up, and I completed the work I had to do at Huber, I went to Mel's for her 4th of July gathering.

We ate crabs, drank some alcohol, walked on the promenade, and just hung out until the fireworks show. A bunch of other people from the Tidewater (past and present) showed up, and it was great to hang out with them away from work.

Parades and Ireland Tags

Wow! I had a good time today at the Baltimore area parades that the band marched in. The first parade, in Dundalk, was pretty standard. I got to see Kayla and Eddie (who used to be in the band) and their new daughter, Abby. Before the second parade, though, is where it got fun. While we were waiting for the parade to start, the drumline of the Reading Buccaneers "challenged" our drumline to a duel. It was fun watching each of the drumlines try to outdo each other. What I didn't know, until about half way through, was that Reading is the 9-time Drum & Bugle Corps World Champions. I definitely thought Reading was better, but we weren't too shabby either.

When I got home, I found Marlene's tags in the mail. For a sneak peek, click here.