Help...I am One Hundred Today!

Having visited many wonderful blogs, I know that they do something like a giveaway when you reach a certain number of posts and here I am...or there I am...

Now the question is...what do I do or giveaway?

If you were nearby, I could give you some of my flowers or even cuttings to plant in your own yard....

How about a trip to see these hundred fountains at Villa D'Este in Italy? This has to be either A. an imaginary trip or B. purchased with imaginary money, all due to the fact that Bill Gates has failed to recognize me as his first cousin 552 times removed.

What I would really enjoy doing is cooking or baking for you or both....

Okay, don't worry, I will find some sort of giveaway (after all we are still cleaning the garage out...hee hee...Michael has found some treasures that he thinks even Goodwill will reject, seriously!!) Check in time will be Monday and will involve something nifty to guess about on your part!

Now here is one of my favorite things, no actually two, no really four (do I hear five?...no, going once, going twice to four!). These things are on my night stand.

The first treasure is a picture of Corbyn when he was just a little baby, given to me by my sweet DIL for Mother's day. Next, hanging over the picture is the crucifix part of a crystal rosary I gave to my own wonderful mother when I was only 15 or 16 yrs. old (will get a better picture for you, hopefully tomorrow so you can see the whole rosary).

You can see that very pretty cut lead crystal basket to the right and that is another work of art from Poland (need to remember to take pictures of the others I have). It serves so well to hold the heavenly smelling gardenias that I put all over the house...and now I have just realized (another special moment close to Christ for me) how all four of these blend so well together as my mother loved her grand babies so much and Corbyn would be her great grand baby, then the rosary was hers, the flowers were her favorite and the crystal basket was from Poland and she loved my late and great husband, Mario.

Just so everything is "crystal clear" for you :o):

"The traditional method of forming the crystal blank is done by a highly skilled blower who gathers the molten mixture at the end of an iron blowpipe and then forms the blank shape purely by means of his skill or by blowing the “gather” into a rough mold. After cooling, the blank is then ready to be sketched, cut, polished and decorated in whatever manner the artisan has chosen.

Full lead crystal, which is mouth blown in the traditional method, may from time to time have a few minor bubbles contained within the piece. This is generally accepted as a by-product of the traditional process and does not detract from the piece. On occasion, small, barely perceivable lines may be detected within a piece of crystal. These represent slight variations in the density of the molten crystal, which remain after the crystal has cooled. These lines are called cords and are also considered a by-product of the traditional process.

It should be noted that each piece of true hand cut lead crystal is a unique product of the individual artisan or artisans who have produced it. For example within a set of stemware of the same pattern there may be very slight variations in pattern size and spacing of the elements. This only serves to embellish the charm and appreciation of such artisanship and is by no means considered a detriment. Absolute product consistency is only achieved by fully mechanized production, not by a craftsperson.

Slight variation within a matched set of cut crystal is the accepted benchmark for handcrafted artisanship. It is comforting to note that in this age of accelerating technology someone is still practicing traditional, limited production, hand crafted work.

For generations Slovakia (formerly the eastern region of Czechoslovakia) has produced much of the finest cut crystal in the world. Polish and Russian (Belorus) selections represents classic Victorian style and very high quality, fully leaded hand cut crystal.

Proper Care of Lead Crystal

Full lead crystal is much clearer than common glass and is somewhat “softer” which makes it easier for the artisan to cut. This “softness” also makes it easier to unintentionally impart fine scratches onto the surface of crystal. Crystal should be stored so as to reduce the possibility of contact with other pieces, which could cause scratching, chipping or other blemishes to occur.
Care should be taken when cleaning your crystal to avoid use of harsh detergents, excessive heat (both of which may be found in your automatic dishwasher) excessive cold, rapid temperature changes and abrasives. It is very strongly recommended to wash your crystal by hand in warm water with a small amount of detergent, rinse then dry with a soft cloth. Use of a mechanical dishwasher, with it’s associated heat and harsh detergents will result in either producing a “cloudy” etched surface to the crystal or crack the crystal outright.

About Lead

Full lead crystal should not be used for long-term storage of consumable liquids (fill your decanter with only as much brandy as you will use over the holidays).

The FDA advises consumers not to store alcoholic beverages in lead crystal decanters.

The FDA also advises pregnant women not to routinely drink from lead crystal glasses. "

Do I hear any anticipatory giggles yet?

Honey, Can You Hear Me

An old man was wondering if his wife had a hearing problem. So one night, he stood behind her while she was sitting in her lounge chair.

He spoke softly to her, "Honey, can you hear me?"

There was no response.

He moved a little closer and said again, "Honey, can you hear me?"

Still, there was no response.

Finally he moved right behind her and said, "Honey, can you hear me?"

She replied, shouting "For the third time, Yes!"

The Blinking Light

Eighty year old John went on to his annual checkup. The doctor asked him if he was still getting up in the middle of the night and going to the bathroom.

He replied, "Yes But the lord has made it much better for me, He turns on the light when I go and He turns off the light when I am done".

The doctor replied, "Really"!!!

About and hour after that the doctor called Johns wife and said: He looks fine. But he said that God is making it better for him, when he gets up and Goes to the bathroom during the night God turns on and off the light.

She replied, "that old fool he has been going to the bathroom in the refrigerator again".

Snow in Her Hair

One day, a little girl is sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly notices that her mother has several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looks at her mother and inquisitively asks, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."The little girl thought about this revelation for a while, and then said, "

So, Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"

~~Thank You Heavenly Father, for the blessings of white hairs and hopefully 'wiser' hairs.