Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to 56 year old me!
Yummy carrot cake mini-muffins with cream cheese, walnut frosting!

I had an excellent day and will write about it with photos over the weekend..
My good, generous and loving children bought their mama a KINDLE .It is very cool and I am most grateful.

My Mom treated us to lunch and then we went shoe-shopping...
And so many FACEBOOK birthday wishes!..I felt very loved and so appreciate every single Happy Birthday wish..so...thank you bunches, all my dear friends and family. You made my day!

Now, look at this ! This jug belonged to my Great Grandmother, Marianna, and she brought it with her from Sicily at the turn of the century (1906) when she arrived in NYC (pregnant with my grandmother)

Isn't it exquisite?
(Oh, and can anyone advise me on how to set  CORRECT date on my camera? These shots are from August 12-19, 2011 Thx)

 My big old girl, Olivia, was very curious...Her sister, Jennifer, not-so-much..go figure....

Know what this is?
This is my Grandparents 1930 sugar bowl !
{I bet they bought it at the Hardware store for 2 bucks, at that time.... }
This is the sugar bowl that sat upon their modest kitchen table for the 38 years I had my Grandparents (we lived right next door to one another for my first 13 years) and I was always enchanted by it's simple, yet beautiful, unique style.
And, as you must know....I treasure it..

It has been 18 years since my grandparents went to Heaven, and even (no,especially) today they stand united and glorious as a positive, loving, comforting, intelligent, funny!~~ shining beacon of an example of true love, compassion, caring, courage, hope, perseverance, honorable spirit and love of family and neighbor, alike....This sugar bowl seems to be a tiny but emotionally tangible illustration of the SWEETNESS of their lives, and of the sweet memories they left for us to cherish!
And although (100 years later), their children, grandchildren and Great-grandchildren! are still struggling to make ends meet (lol) we are all close to one another, and are all good parents and children to one another----And what better Legacy can anyone hope to leave?

                                                            WE ARE ALL SO BLESSED!