Close Encounter, Sweet Tea Crystal,

Close Encounter

Yesterday I stopped by the Audubon bird feeders expecting to see some birds feasting. Instead this urban doe was checking things out. She is so used to people and cars that she hardly noticed me when I stopped with my camera.

Deer in the neighborhood used to be a rarity. Not anymore. They roam our street, eat the plants in our yard, and often are a hazard on the roam. But I love seeing them. Bambi has come to live with us.

Sweet Tea Crystal

My sweet tea will have that old time taste when I pour it from this pitcher. When I just made a quick stop at the NAMI Thrift Shop Tuesday I saw this memory sitting on a shelf and I brought it home.

Tuesdays are the best days for shoppping at NAMI. That's the Senior discount day - everything is half-price if you have enough years to claim it. So this $6 pitcher cost me a whopping $3.

I bet this elegant beauty originally came from Woolworth's Five and Dime Store and cost 50 cents. When I began buying my own Christmas presents I bought my mother a treasure from the Woolworth glassware collection every Christmas. I loved that stuff.

I don't know if Mama really appreciated those offerings or not - but she kept them all. Even the Woolworth's decanter set with its fat little brandy glasses. Oh boy, I remember how I admired that set when I saw it on the high shelf in the Woolworth Store on Central Avenue. A ray of sunlight set those facets to sparkling like diamonds. I coveted it.

When Christmas came and it was still there I bought it. I had saved the dollar it cost. I carted the big box home, wrapped it and gave it to Mama for Christmas.

At 10 years old I did not really get it - that a fancy glass set to encourage imbibing was the very last thing she wanted around the house - especially in a house where imbibing needed no encouragement. Sorry Mama, just wanted to give you something pretty. To my memory it was never used; just gathered dust on her hutch.