My TIme Capsule (Prompt 8)

A series of shelves in my living room currently symbolize my "time capsule." In each cubicle there are mementoes of happy times, trips, people I loved and love, books and CDs. I have taken photos tonight, November 4, 2013, of the cubicles as they are currently constituted. So many trinkets, china figures, photos

I am so glad that I have a few items that I grew up--the penguin and rabbit families, the elephant, the marble horse bookends, three small watercolors prettily framed. And I have photographs of family--cousins, nephew and family, my darling daughter, and my wedding day. Two Lladro figurines, one that I gave a friend's parents and my friend returned to me after their deaths. The other a gift from my husband one Christmas, which means a lot to me because he is not in the least sentimental yet he saw the figurine in a shop and remembered how much I cherished my other. Mementos from our trip on the Queen Mary--a photograph and a tea pot. A santon (woman in traditional dress) and miniature Gault buildings from our trip to Provence. Lilliput Lane cottages from England. China and glassware from Portugal and Ireland. A biscuit tin celebrating the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

I think that my daughter knows what most of these trinkets mean. My two year old granddaughter plays with them, much to my daughter's horror. However I point out the small chips on the penguins and rabbits and tell her that my two year self made them almost 60 years ago. I learned to handle things carefully and Quinn will as well.

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Life on board the Queen Mary

Passenger's log on the Queen Mary 2: Dec 9th - First Day at Sea Didn't sleep well--think it was the soused mackerel at dinner. Anyway, R and I woke up at about 6:00 am and discussed the order of the day. Quite the swell outside and I can feel the roll of the ship. (No seasickness thank goodness!) Despite the mackerel, I was hungry so we went to King's Court at 6:30 a.m. Buffet with loads of choice of course. We sat in an alcove looking out at the ocean. Our server was from Croatia, Slavan. I asked him my burning question of the day--why did we get a free bottle of wine but a regular bottle of Diet Coke cost $3.75? Diet Pepsi is $1.00 less. Fruit juices are free on tap. Coffee, tea, milk, ditto. But you have to pay for soft drinks. Very odd. Slavan says it is because Cunard can't get a good contract with Coke. Hmmm.... our local School District back in Sierra Vista can negotiate .50 a can for the soda machines in the teachers' lounges but Cunard has to cha...

Sunday in Richmond Park & Memories

One of the reasons I came back to London after Ireland was to keep a date with my cousin Elizabeth: a Sunday morning walk in Richmond Park. When I moved to England in May of 1978, I rented a room in a house near Richmond Park. I'd heard of the room through a colleague at McGill University's Human Resources Department, where I was working as a Senior Clerk. Montreal had become a bit difficult for me to be in owing to a twice-broken heart and a feeling I wasn't going anywhere at McGill. It seemed like an omen, then, on the plane returning from South Africa in January of 1978--I keep promising to write about that--that I came across an article in a magazine about young Canadians living in London. I'd always loved the idea of being in London what with growing up on a diet of British movies and then all of the articles about Swinging London in the 1960s/early 1970s. By the time I arrived at Mirabel Airport, I had the perfect antidote to my wounded pride over South...

Christmas

Ogilvy's Christmas window with thanks to Pinterest I hadn't really been very much in the Christmas spirit after US Thanksgiving this year. Tiredness, a feeling that it was all too much. And then, slowly, as the neighbors' Christmas decorations went up, as the Christmas songs and carols started playing on the radio, memories crept in. When my granddaughter performed in our local Nutcracker here in Sierra Vista--four years' worth of memories. When we had ward Christmas dinners with turkey and all the trimmings in Toronto--another four years' worth of memories. Concerts in Toronto and Laurie and I dressing up to go to them—the “professional” Nutcracker performances. Going farther back, to when I was 18-19-20, going to Radio City Music Hall in New York with my sister and her family, seeing the annual Christmas movie and live stage performances, then walking over to the Lincoln Center and watching people skating on the skating rink. Much farther back, to as early as I ...

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