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This will be a short entry this week. I hope it will serve as a quick reminder of how blessed we truly are. So far this month I have known of someone who had to undergo brain surgery to remove a brain tumor. I have known of a family that has lost their young daughter in a tragic automobile accident. These people are not members of my immediate family however they are members of my online family which, sometimes, we know better than we do our own family. I found out today that one of my suppliers (one of my favorite ones at that) has left this Earth and passed on to another level of being. My thoughts and prayers go out to each and every one of these people and to their families as well. These losses and hardships are hard to face at any time but at Christmas they can seem insurmountable. They also serve to make me realize how truly blessed I am.
So please remember how fortunate you are this year and how things could always be a lot worse. When you get upset because maybe you cannot afford the most expensive gifts please remember that there are many who cannot afford any gifts. If you get upset because you cannot afford the most expensive Christmas dinner please remember that there are many who will be eating their Christmas dinner at a shelter (if they are lucky). If your Christmas plans don't go exactly the way you want them to please remember that there are many who will be celebrating Christmas without their loved ones this year due to illness, death or overseas military duties. Please remember, it could be a lot worse...you are truly blessed.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
You know, when I was younger I used to love to go shopping. It didn't have to be Christmas or a special occasion, I just loved to shop. I would spend hours at the mall just looking and buying. Needless to say as I have grown older my tolerance for plodding around in a mall all day has grown thin. I have many fond memories of Christmas shopping however somehow I just can't get excited about it anymore. There's too many people and I have too many aches and pains anymore. Don't get me wrong, I still love Christmas, just not Christmas shopping. Well, not at the mall anyway. I can however, spend hours online looking for that perfect gift or looking for the best price on something. I have all sorts of patience for online shopping. I can remember shopping for my son at Toys R Us...oh man, what a trip. Then I discovered online shopping and not only was I able to find everything that he wanted, I was able to purchase it and have it delivered to my door without ever having to leave my chair. What a dream come true!
At Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles we would like to make your Christmas shopping as easy as possible. We offer a wide variety of Christmas collectibles, handbags and purses, footwear, and, of course, jewelry of all styles. We also have a good number of beautiful jewelry pieces that are currently on sale with prices cut by 50% to 75%. For starters we are offering this 925 Sterling Silver Celtic Weave Amethyst Pendant Necklace
and also these matching 925 Sterling Silver Celtic Weave Amethyst Drop Dangle Earrings
These pieces can be purchased separately or as a set.
Looking for more earrings at a bargain price? We also have these Enchanted Antiqued 925 Sterling Silver Fantasy Fairy Drop Dangle Earrings
along with these Gypsy Boho 925 Sterling Silver Champagne Swarovski Drop Dangle Earrings
Earrings not what you're looking for? That's okay, try this 925 Sterling Silver Double Strand Honey Amber Flower Floral Bracelet
As mentioned before, all these pieces have been reduced by 50% to 75%...one heck of a savings! We have many, many more jewelry pieces which have been marked down in addition to these but there are too many to show here. Come on over to Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles and see for yourself. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. As always, all jewelry ships free at Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles so stop by and save yourself some time, money and aggravation.
I'm telling ya, shopping online is the best way to go. While you're there. take a look at some of the other stores on Addoway. There are so many different stores on Addoway that you are bound to find something you like and you can always be assured of safe shopping with trusted merchants when you shop on Addoway. Hope to see you soon...
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
I have many, many Thanksgiving memories. I remember one Thanksgiving when I was a kid we had 6 inches of snow on the ground which, for the area we lived in, was unusual. I remember one Thanksgiving when I was a teenager and I was allowed to invite my current boyfriend to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. I felt like I was an adult that year, beginning an adult life. Of course that boy was history before Christmas but it was still special. I remember the first time that I actually cooked the Thanksgiving dinner. That year we had about fifteen people over...WOW!! Everybody ate, no one got sick...it was all good.
Of course some of my best Thanksgiving memories are the ones with my son. I was fortunate in that I always worked a job where I had a four day weekend for Thanksgiving so we always held that weekend as special for both of us. I always cook the same thing for Thanksgiving, the same thing that my Mom always cooked. It's pretty traditional...turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans (no, not the casserole), rolls and homemade pumpkin pies with Cool Whip. I will be cooking that again this year however, my son will not be here with me. Believe it or not, that is what I am thankful for.
You see, for reasons of illness, my son has been estranged from his father for a good number of years. About a month ago I finally found a phone number for my son to call. He has many brothers and sisters on his father's side of the family and, along with his father, they have embraced my son into the family. As we speak he is on his way from Jersey to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with his father and also his brothers and sisters. It's really a long story between then and now but suffice it to say that I am so thankful that my son was able to reach out to his family and that they embraced him into the family. Family is so important and the family on my side is very small, most of them are gone now. Now my son can know the true meaning of family love. He knows that I love him, now he can know that many people love him as well. So this year I am so very grateful and thankful for now I know that Adam will never be without family.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
I originally wrote the following this past Independence Day however I think that it bears repeating in honor of Veterans Day. Not because it is such a fantastic blog entry but because I feel like it covers two important topics. For those that have already read it please read it again. For those of you that have not yet read it please do so. When you are done reading please take a moment to think about it for there are so many that are in need of our help out there and yet help may not get there in time or, worse yet, may never come...
As we celebrate Veterans Day in this country I am reminded about all of the members of our Armed Forces who have given so much for our freedom and independence. There are millions of veterans who have fought in a combat zone, many of these veterans suffer from some form of psychological condition as a result. Then we have the problem of the millions of sheltered animals in this country, many of whom are euthanized for the simple reason that no one wants them and there isn't enough room to keep them all. Their only crime is being unloved.
So, let's see here. On the one hand we have millions of veterans suffering from a combat induced psychological condition. By the way, did you know that 18 veterans commit suicide everyday in this country? On the other hand we have millions of sheltered animals who would love to be someone's best friend and love them, unconditionally. By the way, did you know that four to five million sheltered animals are euthanized every year in this country? It seems to me that if you take these two hands and gently put them together then there might be a solution (or a beginning to the solution) for these problems. Well, that's exactly what an organization called P2V thinks also.
P2V helps heal the lives of our nation's heroes and sheltered animals by providing cost-effective and readily accessible adoptions and healthcare so that both may live in dignity. David Sharpe, founder of P2V was saved by a little pit bull puppy named Cheyenne. You can read his story HERE. P2V's mission is to pair up active duty military and military veterans, law enforcement officers and emergency first responders with sheltered animals to provide these folks with a means of rehabilitation and to give these sheltered animals a loving home. So it's a win-win situation here.
So please, check out their website at http://p2v.org/. They also have a Facebook page which is http://www.facebook.com/pages/P2V/125894407465018?sk=wall. P2V is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization with headquarters in Arlington, VA. You may not personally know anyone who needs this kind of help however, if you don't, I bet you know someone who knows someone who needs this kind of help. Even if you don't, check them out anyway and help them if you can. These men and women have given an awful lot for this country and for your personal freedom so, do the right thing, please help if you can. You might just sleep a little better at night.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
I have lived through 56 Halloweens. I don't remember the first few but I remember most of them after that because Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, always has been. It's right up there with Christmas...not quite but almost. There were a few years between the time that I was grown up and the time that my son was born that there were some Halloweens that weren't too exciting but I still remember them. I used to love answering the door and handing out the candy, watching the kids in their cute and scary costumes get their candy and scurry away with a big ol' grin on their faces like they just hit the jackpot. When my son came along I had just as much fun with him at Halloween as I did when I was a kid. He loved Halloween too...still does as a matter of fact. He would always have an elaborate costume and come home with 2 or 3 bags full of candy. Of course it was an unwritten rule that I got the Butterfingers and the Tootsie Rolls. He could have everything else but those were mine, mine, mine. He didn't care, he got so much candy that he was still eating it at Christmas. We would always decorate the house so every room had Halloween decorations. We just loved it. Those were good times...real good times.
Of course now that my son has grown up and moved away Halloween isn't as much fun as it used to be. We don't get any trick or treaters here where we live now so there is no answering the door and handing out candy. That's not what made this Halloween the scariest one ever though, not by a long shot. The scary part of this Halloween was the fact that we had about 6 inches of SNOW on the ground. I mean, really??? What's that all about? I can remember walking with my son on Halloween and it being 75 degrees outside. SNOW...seriously??? I hate snow in January, much less in October. I suppose that people who live up north are used to this but not this southern girl. I used to make sure my son's Halloween costume was large enough to wear a light jacket underneath, not a winter coat, snow boots and mittens. I mean SNOW...are you kidding me??? Now that's some scary stuff.
PS...Just so you know and can prepare yourself...this will NOT be the last time you read me ranting and raving over snow...I hate it. Signed...Someone who needs to move to a warmer climate...
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
Apparently I am not geared towards home ownership. I guess I have rented too long and I have gotten used to calling the landlord when something breaks so they can send the maintenance people over to fix whatever the problem is. The biggest concern I ever had regarding home repairs was to make sure none of the dogs chewed on the maintenance people. That was fine with me, I could handle that. I'm proud to say that I never had a dog try to eat the maintenance personnel. I have a spotless record in that regard. My record with do it yourself home repair is not quite as successful. For those of you that follow my ramblings here you might remember the fiasco with the air conditioner and the stink bugs. We recovered from that and...just when we thought it was safe to go back into the water...Jaws appeared again.
The problem started a few days ago when I noticed that the metal ring around the drain in the bathtub had come loose. I promptly showed it to my husband and asked him to glue it back into place (glue, putty, caulking...whatever he needed to use). He shot me a look like my face had gone green and said "Yeah, okay". I asked him very nicely if he needed me to go into town and purchase some stuff to glue it back into place. He said "No, we will go tomorrow. You don't know what to look for". I told him that any idiot could walk into a hardware store and ask for some glue (or whatever he needed). He then proceeded to inform me that this was not a simple "glue it back in" job and that the whole thing would have to be replaced. I asked him "What whole thing?". He just shook his head and said "Tomorrow, I'll take care of it tomorrow".
Well, two days went by and today we finally went to the hardware store. He bought some "kit", which included a new ring thingy and some plastic pipes (or what looked like pipes). When we got home I told him that I didn't understand why he bought all that stuff in this kit, all we needed was the ring thingy. He said nothing other than he would take care of it. He proceeded to change into some work overalls. When I asked him what in the Sam Hill he was doing that for he explained to me that since we live in a trailer home he would have to crawl underneath the trailer and take off the connections for the bathtub drain. Whatever...I'm going to eat lunch. Next thing I know the skirting is off the trailer and he is underneath hollering for me. He couldn't find the right connections. I had to run a tape measure down the drain hole (I didn't realize the pipe moved like that until I looked at it). He found the connections and took them off, leaving a gaping hole in the bathtub where the drain used to be. At this point I was sure a snake was going to come crawling through the dang thing as I firmly believe that we have a nest of them underneath the trailer (along with other forms of wildlife that I am terrified of). Now, you know that not a darn thing that we bought in this kit fit the connections...yeah, what a surprise. Back to the store we go to buy another kit. We get home, half of that kit doesn't fit either. My husband said he refused to go buy anything else, he would MAKE it fit.
To make a long story short he did finally get the dumb thing fixed. In the process he used his power drill, a hacksaw, some pliers and a HUGE adjustable wrench. He also went through numerous curse words, threw a number of things and drank a 6 pack of beer. He's sore from crawling around underneath the trailer and hitting his head on the axle. I'm sore from bending over the tub on my sore knees forever holding the top piece while he tried to attach it and make it work. It still leaks a small bit but I don't care. I took a shower tonight but in the morning I am filling up that tub with the hottest water that I can stand and soaking in a good hot bath...which I haven't been able to do since the blasted thing broke a few days ago. I can only hope that this is the end of the home repairs for a while...I don't know if I can take any more of them. If not, well, my car runs good...maybe I can just live in that for a while. And yes...I'm still looking for rogue snakes in the house.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
A friend of mine recently asked me if we had any men's rings made of tiger's eye in our Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles store. I said that unfortunately we do not however I would be able to find him one. So I am currently looking for the perfect ring for him. In the meantime we got to talking about it and he told me he really did not know much about these stones, other than the fact that he liked the way they looked. Of course that alone is reason enough to wear a piece of jewelry. I have always said that if you like something by all means get it and wear it proudly. A piece of jewelry, clothing, shoes or anything else that you are proud of and happy to wear and show off can do wonders for your self esteem. However many times certain stones can offer you much more than beauty. The tiger's eye stone is one of them.
The tiger's eye stone is a quartz stone which has rich yellow and golden brown stripes with a golden luster when it is polished. The bands within the stone resemble a tiger's eye, thus it's name. These stones are said to have mystical powers. Roman soldiers wore these stones for protection in battle. It is said that they offer protection during travel and also strengthens convictions and confidence. Tiger's eye stones are used for focusing the mind and are said to be beneficial for the weak or sick. As far as their healing ability goes tiger's eye stones are believed to relieve high blood pressure. Their wear is also very helpful in the presence of respiratory problems.
At Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles we do currently offer some very nice and affordable necklaces which have tiger's eye pendants. We have this lovely Tiger's Eye Eternity Circle Protection Pendant Necklace...
We also offer this dainty Elongated Oval Mystical Healing Protection Tiger's Eye Quartz Pendant Necklace...
In addition to these pieces we also offer some beautiful necklaces made with healing black hematite. Please come by and take a look and remember, if we do not have what you are looking for please contact us, we just might be able to find exactly what you are looking for. Until next time, Rock On...
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
It's been a long week. It started off with a tie rod on the car snapping off about 30 miles from home in Cumberland, MD. Fortunately we have a good friend that knows a little bit about cars so we called him and he drove all the way to Cumberland, put a new tie rod on the car and followed us home to make sure we got there okay. I hate car repairs of any kind but fortunately this was an easy one compared to other breakdowns I have had in the past. A new wheel alignment and some grease should fix this once and for all (I hope). So okay, we recover from that.
The next day I'm sitting at the computer which is right next to the window when a stray cat jumps up on the air conditioner and starts meowing. It's nothing new to see stray cats in this neighborhood. Unfortunately many folks around here don't have their cats spayed or neutered so the feline population around here is phenomenal. I'd take all the kittens in if I could but I just can't...I'm only one person. We already have five that we have taken in and, in addition to the three dogs, that's about all we can handle. Anyhow, I figured this particular cat must be hungry because it wasn't that cold the day this happened. So I did what I always do when the cats come around meowing, I fed her. Apparently that wasn't enough, she wanted to come inside. I figured that she would get bored with the whole window thing after a while and move on. I was wrong. She did leave for a while but later that evening after dark she was back. And she started meowing again. Not only that but she started clawing and scratching at the window. I thought maybe another animal was after her so I went outside with a flashlight to check. Nope, nothing...she just wanted in. Apparently word has spread in the cat community that we are suckers. I spent the whole evening trying to get her off the air conditioner and trying to get her to stop clawing at the window. Of course all this time the dogs were going nuts, barking at the window. They are really good about leaving our house cats alone but they still react to the outside cats. The cat would leave and then come back. When I went to bed she was still on the air conditioner but had apparently settled in for the night. I figured she would be gone in the morning. She was. I have seen her up the street since then, she must have found more suckers.
The next afternoon it started to rain, and I mean rain hard. Pouring down rain. Some while after the rain started I happened to notice that the window below the air conditioner was dripping water. After looking at it closer I realized that the cat had clawed holes in the accordion panels next to the air conditioner and also in the sealing material around it. Great, water is just pouring in. It was too late to get anything to fix it, all the stores around here close early when they roll the sidewalks up. So we figured the only thing to do would be to just take the air conditioner out of the window. After all, summer's over anyway and we probably won't need it anymore this year. Well, I run it a lot longer than most people do but I figured I could deal with it, especially since I didn't have much choice. Now most people would have gone outside and taken the AC out from the outside but, oh no, not us. My husband has a bad back and can't lift anything very heavy and between my knee and my right arm I can lift even less than he can. So we decide to take the thing out of the window from the inside. In theory, it's easier due to the height of the window from the outside. So here we go. We start wrestling with this thing and pretty soon we had it sitting on a plastic bag in the living room. Of course it's soaking wet because it's still pouring rain outside but at least it's out of the window and the window is now closed.
Now, little did we know that apparently a family of stink bugs had decided that they liked the air conditioner too. I'm not sure where they had positioned themselves within the AC but they were not happy that their little home had been disturbed. My husband and I were both on our hands and knees trying to pick up these little jackwagons and buddy, they were mad. Needless to say that within a few minutes our living roon smelled like the bathroom at the corner gas station. I mean to tell you, those little things STINK! I guess that's why they call them stink bugs, huh? My husband told me to go get the vacuum and just vacuum them up. Uh, I don't think so! I'm not having that stench get into the vacuum cleaner so I can relive this over and over again. We finally got the broom and swept most of them up and into a plastic bag. Then we got the AC moved into the storage closet right outside the door. Once it was outside my husband was able to get the remaining bugs out of it however, for days after that I kept finding one or two bugs in the house. It's been a couple of days now and I have not seen anymore. The stink is finally gone thanks in part to the gallons of Febreze that I have sprayed throughout the house. Fortunately it was contained in the living room for the most part so we could get some relief when we went to bed.
I'm not sure what the moral of this story is however I do know two things...stink bugs like to live in air conditioners and I don't ever want them in my house again. Who knew? Live and learn I guess.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
Suffice it to say that I love jewelry, ALL kinds of jewelry. Still, there's something special about those vintage and retro jewelry pieces. They take you back to a time when things were a lot simpler. One jewelry maker that has been among the most respected and admired producer of quality costume jewelry for years is Trifari. Trifari was founded in the early 1900's and has designed jewelry that has been worn by many, from Mamie Eisenhower to Madonna. The Trifari Crown pins, made from the late 1930s to the 1950s, were just one of many very popular pieces. In fact, the crowns were so popular that Trifari incorporated a crown into its mark in about 1937. Trifari’s Jelly Belly pins of seals, poodles, roosters, and other animals appeared in the 1940s and were also wildly popular. Nowadays, any of these pins are likely to command a good price however the poodles are especially rare. Also, Trifari's vintage floral pins from the 1930s and the fruit and vegetable pieces from the 1950s are highly sought after pieces.
At Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles we (unfortunately) do not currently have any of these rare pieces of Trifari jewelry however we do have this Retro Vintage Set of 2 Trifari Signed Initial M Pins Brooches...
These actually belonged to my mother, I can distinctly remember her wearing them when I was a little girl back in the 1960s (yes, I know, that makes me old). We are always on the lookout for rare, vintage jewelry pieces however so keep in touch with us...you never know what we might be able to find.
Please stop by and see us at Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles on Addoway for all your jewelry needs and desires. If we don't have what you're looking for feel free to drop us a line, we just might be able to find it for you. While you're there check out our new Halloween and Christmas collectibles. We'll be adding more of those also. Hope to see you soon.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
It must be the change from summer to autumn, everybody is looking for some new, stylish footwear that they can show off. I don't blame them, I used to be quite the footwear shopper myself. I was always on the lookout for new shoes and boots, in particular platform shoes and boots...you know, the kind that Stevie Nicks always used to wear. Of course, after one broken ankle, one broken foot and arthritis in both knees the days of me being able to wear that type of footwear is long gone. I have changed from platforms and heels to flats and sneakers, albeit not willingly. I still love those "way out there" styles and I always will.
Even though I cannot wear that stylish footwear anymore as long as they continue to make them I will continue to sell them. At Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles we offer a wide variety of stylish footwear, both shoes and boots. For instance, we currently offer these Pin Up Couture Pleasure-05 Champagne PF Open Toe Pumps, which many people seem to like...
Also we offer these Pin Up Couture Bella-16 Black Satin & Black Lace Platform Pumps Shoes...
If you're looking for something with a slightly higher platform we offer these Pleaser Dolly-31 Black Platform Ankle Strap Pumps Shoes...
We also have a wide variety of boots in different styles and many more styles of shoes to choose from in various colors and materials. All of our footwear is made by the Pleaser company, a well known and respected manufacturer of quality footwear. The only thing to remember is, as with most designer footwear, the sizes tend to run a tad on the smaller side so please keep this in mind when ordering your footwear. Always order a size up, never a size down.
I hope you will come and visit Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles for all of your footwear needs, as well as your jewelry needs. We carry all styles of jewelry and I'm sure you will be able to find a wonderful piece of jewelry to go along with your new shoes or boots. You can always find us in our Addoway store and we look forward to your visit.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To the Gypsy That Remains
This is the first time that I have attempted relate my personal experiences of 9/11/01. As I begin I'm not sure that I will be able to find the correct words to describe how my day unfolded or how I felt on that day. I have certainly not forgotten, I will never forget. I just don't know if I can accurately describe my emotions relating to that day, or to my feelings that still linger. I was lucky, I did not lose any family members or friends that day as so many people did. What I did lose was my sense of security, my sense of well being. It goes well beyond that but that's the closest that I can come to putting it into words. I suppose I will just start at the beginning and see what happens.
That day started for me just as most other days. I dropped my son off at school and headed to work. September 11 is my son's birthday, he turned 12 that year. I remember thinking what a picture perfect day it was. The sun was shining about as bright as I have ever seen it, the sky was a beautiful bright blue and the air was so clean, clear and crisp. You don't see too many mornings that are as gorgeous as this one was when you live in the city. As I drove to work my mind was full of thoughts about what we would do to celebrate his birthday. Being a week night I thought maybe we would just go out to eat, wherever he wanted to go, and then head home to have some cake & ice cream. We would be able to truly celebrate his birthday when the weekend arrived.
I had finally gotten through the usual traffic jam at the North Kings Highway & Telegraph Road intersection and was pulling up beside the Hoffman Building which was on my way to the office when I heard on the car radio that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. At that point they really didn't say much about it and I assumed that it was a small private plane that had either somehow gotten way off course or that something had happened to the pilot in mid flight which caused the plane to veer off course. I also assumed that the plane had hit one of those radio towers on top of the building, not slammed into the building. I mean, things like that just don't happen, right? After I passed the Hoffman Building it was only a short drive to my office in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia and it didn't take me too long to get there. Before I knew it I was pulling into the underground parking lot of my building. I knew I would not have a problem finding a place to park. I worked for a small trade association and, except for me, the entire staff was out of town for our annual trade show. It would be an easy day, all I had to do was answer the few phone calls that came in and find things to keep myself busy all day. As a matter of fact, it should have been an easy week, no one was due back in town until the following week. I parked the car, grabbed my purse and my tote bag and headed upstairs.
Once I unlocked the office and went in I did what I normally did every morning, I put my purse and bag down and went into the kitchen to get a glass of ice and a Coca-Cola. I'm not much of a breakfast eater and I don't drink coffee however I always have a glass of Coke beside me. The office was quiet but not in a bad way, a peaceful way. I turned on the copy machine and the postage machine and went to check the phone messages. There were a couple of messages but nothing I had to deal with right away so I proceeded to sit at my desk and get ready for my day. I lit a cigarette (we owned the building so we were allowed to smoke in the office), turned on my computer and then I turned on the radio. That was the last normal thing that I remember. By the time I turned on the radio the second plane had hit the second tower and life as I and everyone else knew it ceased to exist. All of a sudden it was a new world and a new reality, both of which would be very unwelcome and always fearful.
I can remember sitting there in that office which, just moments before, had seemed so peaceful and normal but then turned to being unnerving and deathly still. My first thoughts were of my son. Was he safe? Was he upset? What was going on at the school? I tried to call but each time the line was busy. That really came as no surprise but as each second went by that I was unable to reach them my anxiety level rose. I had no choice, I took a Xanax. My nerves were already getting the better of me. I knew I needed to calm down. It seems like seconds after I took that Xanax the announcement came on the radio that the Pentagon had been hit also. My panic level rose to heights that it had never been to before. My office was roughly two or three miles away from the Pentagon. I sat there at my desk and used every single line that we had on that phone to dial the school's phone number nonstop until I finally got through to them. I knew the secretary that answered the phone, it was the type of school where the staff knew all the parents and the parents knew all of the staff. She assured me that Adam and all of the children were okay. The county police were there and also the National Guard had been called in to maintain security at the school. They already had counselors talking to the children, especially the ones whose parents worked at the Pentagon. She told me of course I was more than welcome to come and pick up Adam however, it was chaos in the parking lot and the surrounding neighborhood at that point because I was not the only parent that wanted to come and gather their children near them. There was only one small side street in and out of the school and cars were already lined up on the street trying to get to the school. I said okay, I will wait a bit as long as Adam was okay.
After I hung up the phone I made a huge mistake. The windows by my desk faced in the opposite direction of where the Pentagon was located. For some unknown reason I decided to go into one of the offices on the other side of the building to see if I could see anything. What I saw out the window is something that I will never forget and truly wish that I had never seen in the first place. I could not see the actual building but I could see the dark, ominous black smoke rising up in the air against that blue sky that had appeared to be so picture perfect only a short time before. I saw the Pentagon burning, I saw the destruction of life as we knew it up to that point. As I stood there just staring out that window I started to shake. Not the nervous kind of shaking when your hands shake, the kind of shaking that starts from somewhere deep inside of you. I can only describe it as shaking from the inside out. And then I started to cry. I sat down right there and just sobbed. I am not a particularly "religious" person. I have my beliefs and I have my own relationship with God but I do not pray several times a day however, I prayed that day. I don't really remember all that I prayed for that day. I do remember praying for those that were at the World Trade Center, for those that were at the Pentagon and also for my son. What kind of a world had I brought him into? What would life hold for him now? I remember praying for this country, for us to be able to get through this somehow. At that point no one knew if it was over or not. I didn't hear about the plane going down in Pennsylvania until after I went back to my desk where the radio was. I prayed for those souls also.
I really have no idea how long it took me to regain my composure. I made it back to my desk and then an overwhelming nausea came over me. I rushed to the bathroom and tried to rid myself of all the evil that had taken over the world that day. Once I pulled myself together it dawned on me how eerily still everything was. Not only inside the office but outside on the street. The normal hustle and bustle was replaced by a stillness that I suppose only happens in the aftermath of a horrific event. There was no traffic, there were no people, it seemed like there was no life at all. Oddly enough, the phone did not ring once up to this point. When it did I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was the husband of one of my co-workers. He wondered if I was going to be there for a while. He worked in Washington DC and was walking out. There was no other way out, the streets of downtown DC were gridlocked. His wife's car was parked at our office and he was going to walk there and then take her car home. I told him where he could find the door opener if I was not there and he was fine with that. Right after he called my co-workers started calling to see if I was okay. They were on the West Coast, three hours behind us and were just waking up to the news.
After the barrage of phone calls it was deathly quiet again. I had the radio on but yet there was a dead quiet that I could not seem to escape. I started to notice a few military vehicles occasionally driving by but not much else was out on the streets. Then I heard an airplane overhead. It sounded like it was flying low, right over the building almost. At first I panicked a little bit, I knew that President Bush had grounded all commercial aircraft. I jumped up and looked out the window and realized that it was a fighter jet overhead. I welcomed the sight of that fighter jet with both relief and fear. Relief that it was not yet another hijacked plane, fear that I now lived in a world where fighter jets flying overhead in American air space were necessary to protect us from harm. About that time the phone rang again. It was Michelle, my daycare provider and also one of my dearest friends. She wanted to let me know that she had gone to the school and had picked up Adam and the rest of her kids, they were safe at her house. I said "Good, I'm on my way".
When I left my office building I tried very hard not to look in the rear view mirror at the still smoldering Pentagon smoke. I made it to Michelle's house very quickly and there, for the first time, I saw the images that most of America had already seen. I saw the planes hit the towers, I saw the live newscasts of the actual events as they were happening. I was sick all over again. I told Michelle that I just needed to get home. As we were driving home I made my usual right hand turn onto Route 1 from Huntington Avenue and started to drive up Beacon Hill. As we approached the top Adam said "Oh my God Mom, look!!". At the crest of that hill you could see very clearly the destruction that had been done to the Pentagon. The black smoke still rising up into the sky was just like something straight out of Hell itself. We stood there for a minute and looked at that smoke rising up into the sky, taking with it a United States of America that future generations will never know. To this day I still believe that Adam and I watched life as we knew it slowly disappear.
Ten years later we as a nation have overcome this tragedy for the most part. The toll on the individuals that were more directly involved may never fully be known. For the families of the people lost in the Twin Towers, in the Pentagon and on those planes life will certainly never be what it once was. For the first responders who were at the scenes of these horrific events and worked tirelessly to save all that they could without regard for their own safety and lives, life will certainly never be the same. For those that were in charge of this country at the time and had to make difficult decisions which were sometimes met with harsh criticism life will never be the same. Then there are also those, like myself, who lived through it firsthand. We were not on the front lines so to speak but we were close by watching the events happen and unfold around us while we sat helplessly in fear and disbelief, watching our country, our cities, our fellow human beings fall victim to a group of then nameless cowards. For those of us that remember and lived through that day we will not and cannot forget. Personally I will forever remember the fear, the uncertainty and the loss of that day. What is even sadder is that people who were very young or not yet born on that day will never know the America that I knew, that I grew up in. The America where you could board a plane without having to take your shoes off and you could take your shampoo on the plane with you. The America where you could attend a large, public gathering and not have to worry about a bomb going off or a plane crashing into a nearby building. They will never know what America was like before 9/11. I forever lost my sense of well being that day and gained a sense of apprehension, anxiety and fear that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It will not change for me, however, my hope is that somehow, someday this country can get back what these people took from us as that would be the true victory...
And the summer became the fall
I was not ready for the winter
It makes no difference at all
'Cause I wear boots all summer long...
Stevie Nicks~1983
As it is every year I am not ready to say goodbye to the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the fall season but I do not like the winter. But every year the seasons change anyway. As always, there is a good side also. Winter brings Christmas, which I love. It seems like that's the way it always is with change. There is some good in the changes and some bad in the changes and these perspectives vary depending on your own personal point of view.
It seems to me that there has been a whole lot of changes in my life over the last few years. I have a hunch that there have been no more changes in my life than there ever was however I just do not roll with the changes (thanks REO Speedwagon) as well as I used to. In 1989 I lost my mother, moved and gave birth to my son. Lots of good and lots of bad that year. Yet, it seems like more recent changes have been harder for me to adapt to. My life was going along pretty well until September 11, 2001. Although I did not lose anyone close to me on that day I did lose my sense of security and well being. Just being three miles away from The Pentagon when the plane crashed into it was enough to forever change the way I view the world. The horror of what happened followed by the dead still and eerie silence (except for the fighter jets flying over the building) in Old Town Alexandria that day is something I won't forget. The sight of the Pentagon fire rising up into the crisp, clear blue sky is not only something that I won't forget but something that I very much wish I had never seen. I truly believe that most of us, as Americans, lost a part of our lives that day...we will never be the same. Very bad change...but, yet we adapt.
In 2005 I moved from Alexandria to a small town in West Virginia. For me, having lived in the city for most of my life, that was a tremendous change. I didn't realize how big this change was going to be until I got here. Yet again, I have adapted. Earlier this year I got married. I've been married before but, even so, that was another big change. My marriage was a change for the better...the jury is still out on the move, lol. I DO miss the city very much but, then again, maybe I miss my life in the city more than the city itself. Maybe I miss my life there because my son was still young then and it was just the two of us. He moved to West Virginia with me but when he was 18 he moved again to New Jersey. While I miss him terribly I know that was the right thing to do for him. There is nothing for him here, this is a very small town with precious few opportunities unless you were born here into a family that runs a business that has been established here for a while.
So, with all these recent changes, I have become leary of change. When I was younger I looked forward to change. Nowadays I'd just rather things stay the way they are as a general rule however, of course, that doesn't happen. So when Addoway announced that they had implemented changes to their website I just sighed. "Oh no, what am I gonna have to deal with now?" I said to myself. I was almost afraid to look at the site. I did finally manage to muster up the courage to click on my store link in my favorites and I got a welcome surprise. The site has a brand new design, logo and feel to it. Not that it was bad before but it is now so much more bright and inviting. It definitely sets itself apart from the other shopping sites out there and in a good way. Fredrick Nijm and the Addoway team seem to always be one step ahead of the others in innovation and ideas for Addoway. They have definitive goals in mind with the desire to create a safer place for buyers to shop and also for sellers to sell. They get to know their customers and they want their customers to get to know them, to offer suggestions and to express their ideas and their criticisms. In other words, THEY LISTEN! What a refreshing change that is!!!
So, to make a long story short, Addoway has shown me that all change is not bad, in fact, it can be quite good. I would highly recommend that anyone selling online give Addoway a try and also anyone who makes purchases online should look at the storefronts on Addoway. There are a ton of knowledgeable, friendly and honest sellers there who would love nothing better that to have you as a customer (myself included). So when you have a few moments go to www.addoway.com and surf around. I believe that you will like what you see.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
Yesterday evening my husband and I took our grandson to the Hampshire County Fair. Of course he rode on every ride that he could and played every game that he was able to play. He ate popcorn and cotton candy. He had a blast. While I had a good time watching my grandson have fun being there brought back wonderful memories.
When I was little my Dad always took me to the Prince William County Fair.
Back then there was no King's Dominion, no Busch Gardens, none of those places (unless your family could afford Disneyland which mine could not). It didn't matter though, the fair was plenty big and plenty fun. Of course I grew up but still, every year I went to the fair. When my son was born I always took him to the fair. It was something that he looked forward to every year, much as I did when I was a kid. We would always wait and go around 5 or 6 in the evening and ALWAYS on the last night. It seemed more fun that way. We would stay until the last light on the last ride was turned off and they started the tear down. Then we would slowly walk back to the car, look back and sigh. "Oh well, it's over for another year" we would say. Of course the bad thing about the fair is the fact that school was always just around the corner. When the Prince William County Fair was over well, so was the summer.
My son was much more of a rider than I was. When I was a kid my favorites were the Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl and the Ferris Wheel. While my son rode those his favorites leaned more towards the Kamikaze, the Zipper and the Round Up. You know, all those upside down rides that you couldn't PAY me to get on. Man, he would ride too. There was no stopping him. Off one and right on another one. The only reason he would take a break was to get some cotton candy, a caramel apple or some other "nutritious" snack. That was okay though, he had a great time...and I had a great time just watching him, as I did with my grandson.
Nowadays my favorite ride is the "sit on the bench and rest ride". I always enjoy looking at the exhibits and the animals but after that I'm ready for a funnel cake and a seat. It's not the same as it was when I was a kid (but what is?) however I recommend that everyone who lives remotely close to a place that holds a county fair go and take it in. It's a great time and it makes for great memories. My son (who is all grown up now) and I still talk about the fair and it always makes us feel happy. After all, what's more important than that?
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
When I was a child my neighbor used to have a small garden. He grew a little bit of everything but mostly he grew tomatoes. I used to love picking those tomatoes off and eating them, digging into them like I was eating an apple. Those were the best tasting tomatoes! I would eat them until I almost made myself sick. Then, after a while, I would go back for more. My neighbor (Mr. Dugan was his name) didn't care because even though his garden was small he always had plenty of tomatoes growing. They just seemed to keep growing and multiplying.
As I grew older we moved away from that neighborhood and, living in a suburban area of Washington, DC, we always seemed to have a yard that was too small to have a garden. So since the time I was around 12 or 13 I have had to rely on buying fresh tomatoes from a local produce stand. Now that's not really a problem except for the fact that I always wanted to grow my own tomatoes.
Fast forward now a good number of years to the present. When I moved into the house that I currently live in I finally had a yard big enough to grow a small garden. I moved here in September and could not wait until the Spring came so I could get this garden planted. Spring finally came (three years ago) and I ran out and got some tomato plants, some gardening gloves and a watering can (we don't have an outside faucet). I get home with this stuff and my husband says, "Who's gonna dig this garden?". I replied, "I don't know, I never really thought about it". I mean, I was just going to dig little holes and plant the tomato plants (I'm a city girl). Wrong!!! We finally got the neighbor to come over with his Rototiller and get this garden started for me. He tilled the garden and I planted my tomatoes. I weeded, watered and cared for those tomato plants and how many tomatoes do you thinK I got? Three, that's all. Out of six plants I got three tomatoes. So I blamed it on them not getting enough sun that year.
The following year I got the neighbor to Rototill a different part of the yard. How many tomatoes did I get last year? About ten or so. Last year I said the deer were somehow getting in the yard and eating the tomatoes. Now, this year I got smart and decided to get one of those Topsy Turvy planters. I figured they would be easier and, by now, my husband is tired of me tilling up half the yard. He says it makes it harder to mow...like that's MY problem, lol. So far, out of this one planter I have gotten one ripe tomato and four that are not yet ripe. Oh, did I forget to mention that the plant is now dying? Pfffft, I give up!!!!
I guess the moral of this story is girls who grew up in the city should just get in their car, drive up the mountain to the produce stand and continue buying tomatoes like they have done their whole lives. I guess you can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl...not this one anyway.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains...
Let me preface this by saying that I realize that there are many folks out there who do not hunt and do not care for hunting. Being an animal lover I personally don't hunt and I never will. I just don't get the thrill in it however, there are those that do enjoy it so, when it comes to hunting I have always believed in the philosophy of "Live & Let Live". I don't want anyone telling me how to live my life and I don't tell others how to live theirs. When I lived in the city I didn't even think about hunting very much but when I moved to a small town in West Virginia that changed. Lots of people around here hunt. Many folks here feed their families by hunting, this is food that they might not be able to have otherwise. Schools here close for the week when hunting season starts. I mean it really is almost a religion around these parts.
Of all the people here that I know who love to hunt, one of them is very close to me. That person would be my grandson Christopher. Christopher is now 14, getting ready to turn 15 in just a few short months. Christopher started hunting with his Dad when he was very young and, in his short lifetime Christopher has accomplished more in the way of hunting than many people have accomplished in their whole lives. He has hunted for more animals than I can begin to name here and has been very successful at it. Recently he got a black bear (although not his first) and just received his wall mount back the other day...
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I love Christopher very much and I am very proud of him. Christopher is mature well beyond his years but, then again I suppose he had no choice. You see, five years ago Christopher was diagnosed with leukemia. For the last five years Christopher has had to fight with everything he had just to stay alive. He has been sicker than I ever want to be and has had to struggle and fight far harder than I ever want to struggle and fight. During his worst days, during his darkest hours, Christopher would always think of hunting. It would bring him peace because that's what he loves to do. During his illness, when he was able, his Dad would take him hunting. This brought Christopher a welcome release from what was going on in his everyday life. When he was hunting he could just concentrate on hunting and nothing else. It brought a sense of normalcy back to his life. Again, he could be at peace.
Once Christopher started to get better his Dad contacted the Hunt Of A Lifetime organization. This organization's mission is to grant hunting & fishing dreams for children age 21 and under, who have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses. It took a while but they set up a trip for Christopher to go hunting in New Zealand. After the long trip Christopher almost didn't get to go hunting, he got sick the first day he was there. Christopher was determined however and by the next day he was ready to go. On his first day out he spotted a stag. He followed this stag all day but could never get it. He saw others but he was determined to get this stag. On the second day he was successful and he got the stag. Christopher just got that mount back also a few days ago and, I mean to tell you, this thing is huge...
That's Christopher in the second picture (good looking kid, ain't he?). The doctors tell us that Christopher's leukemia is in full remission. They expect him to be okay from here on out. I have to believe that because the other possibilities are too horrific for me to begin to imagine. Christopher wants to be a taxidermist when he is older and I'm thinking he will be a damn good one. Now, I'm not saying that hunting saved Christopher's life, Christopher saved his own life by fighting as hard as he did to get better and by never giving up. Hunting however did give Christopher the ability to focus on something that would give him the peace and inner strength to go on and fight as hard as he could to rid himself of the disease. So I suppose that my opinion on hunting has changed somewhat and I see that there is good in everything, even if I don't see it on the surface at first glance. Hunting gave Christopher the ability to stay with us and I certainly can't argue with that. I can't imagine my life without Christopher being in it.
Enchanted Jewelry & Collectibles...Dedicated To The Gypsy That Remains
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