The Fork War

A few years back, I was really into collecting antique china and silver. It didn't have to match; that's what makes it interesting.

I fell in love with Occupied Japan and couldn't get enough of it. So, I collected, and collected; as much as I could find. Ebay was a great source.
After I had collected enough china, I began looking at silver. Forks, knives, spoons, demitasse, butter knives, ladles, muffineers, napkin rings.... You name it, I had to have it. And it HAD to be silver.

One day, I found some forks. They were beautiful, they were silver, and they were mine! (At least in my mind they were mine!) They were all I needed to complete my set, allowing me to be able have 12 dinner guests. I could feel them in my hands. I could see them on my table!

I put my bid in. I waited. I watched. No competition.
The last day of the auction, still no bids, and I had to leave the house, something I never do on the last day of an auction. I felt confident that I would be eating with my new forks later that week.

When I returned and checked the auction, someone else had bid against me and stole my forks! I was so disappointed! But for some strange reason, I was calm! Later, I would learn why.
At the time, ebay allowed users to use their email addresses as bidder names. I noticed that the thief winning bidder had an AOL address. I don't know what possessed me but, I immediately added the name to my AIM list and IMed her/him (?).

"I had to leave the house today," I said, "or those forks would be mine!"

Holding my breath, I waited for the response. I really expected to be ignored or worse; get a nasty response. Instead, I got the old, "LOL"!

So, I responded with some other witty retort and ended up having a nice, long conversation with a really nice lady who, it turned out, lives a little more than an hour from me! We continued to have conversations for days, then weeks, months....

It has been years now (I can't even remember how many) and we still laugh about the forks. Things happen. Life interferes. Children get married, grandchildren are born, loved ones pass on, houses are sold, spouses get sick. But we continue to be Internet friends. We laugh about the forks. We exchange birthday, anniversary, and Christmas cards. We laugh about the forks. We exchange confidences. We laugh about the forks. Someday we will meet.

"Kevmeema" is one of the best friends that I have never met! Sometimes, it takes being a loser to become a winner!

I survived the NY Subway!

Wow! The kid's first day of school took a lot out of me. I needed a week to recover. Ok, 2 weeks.

On Monday, I took Big Daddy to see a Yankee's game. The Yankees are his favorite team; Mickey Mantle, his idol. So, when he mentioned that he was sad that he had never actually seen them play, I decided to buy us some tickets and journey to the Bronx before the stadium came tumbling down.

He was so excited to be going to see his team play; I was excited to be going into Manhattan for lunch!

Ok, so I amthe typical tourist; shoot me! Oh never mind, by the looks of this picture, somebody already did!

We took the NJTransit from Hamilton, into Penn Station. Then we went up to the street to walk around a bit and have some lunch before descending into the dark hole known (to me, anyway) as the New York Subway.

The trip wasn't as bad as I had imagined, even though I had to stand and hang on for dear life; swinging and swaying like a pole dancer. When we ascended the stairs, the street was alive with tourists and Yankees fans, all taking pictures of the new stadium. There it was in all it's glory.

The new Yankees Stadium

We wandered around under the train tracks, looking at t-shirt shops, hat shops....Big Daddy didn't want one of "those" hats; he wanted one from inside!

So whatever Big Daddy wants, Big Daddy gets...

Um, no, you cannot have a hat like Mickey Rivers'.Outside the stadium, somebody painted on a wall in a parking lot. This shot shows Mickey Mantle (L) and Joe DiMaggio (R)Here's the whole gang:

Inside the stadium, here's another gang:

Yup, this is as close as we got to Monument Park. They only allow so many people through there at each game! How fair is that? :::note sarcasm::: Before the game started, I took a bunch of pictures and I will not even attempt to tell you who these guys are but if you are a baseball fan, Big Daddy said you would know.

FOUL BALL!!

This guy comes in, late, toting a bag and a toddler. Who takes a 3 year old to a ballgame?!Oh, perhaps when the 3 year old is a huge fan? This kid was so excited, he almost lost his PB&J! He was my favorite part of the game.Some of the Yankees fans are crazy! You'd never catch Philadelphia fans doing anything like this!

Hmmph! The Phillies will disagree!

Kindergarten!

Today was The Kid's first day at Kindergarten! He was all set since he had already gone to pre-school last year. He loved it then and he loves it, still!

While waiting for the bus, the neighbor came by with his company vehicle. The kids loved it!
Saying goodbye to Mom.
Here comes the bus!
7 hours later; home from a hard day at the office.

Another fun day with THE KID

I have been wanting to go to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire for a few years now and when I got the email about Children's Weekend, I thought, "Yeah, 2 birds; one stone".

Whoa! People actually come dressed like gypsies, maidens, wenches, etc (body parts busting from their garb, and all...makes for a hard time hiding the tatoos!). Whole families. I couldn't help but feel sorry for some of the children who's moms dressed these poor little darlings in velvet and leather clothing in the sweltering August heat! What the heck is wrong with people?

We were first met by some really tall guys.

Then there were some pretty ladies.

Gotta love these outfits: The Kid had more fun than The PopPop on the swinging boat!

But they both had fun on the elephant! $15!?!?!?!?!?!???? WHAT?????

Ok, so this kid was cute:

The horses were a big hit. Yeah, I was there, too....making sand art (woohoo!).
In any event, The Kid had fun that day but The PopPop sure was beat when it was over.

God, I love having this kid all to ourselves!