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[PamfromCT]

@Enufstuff 

Hi Donna,

Thank you for your beautiful message about Queen Elizabeth.

Believe it or not, we are on vacation at the Cape and will be heading home on Saturday.  We rented a house belonging to a family we heard of from a friend of my brother.  It’s a cute place, very private and quiet, on the outer Cape.  We are no longer “beach people,” but go here and there to enjoy our favorite little spots.  We have visited a few beaches in the early evening, including Nauset Beach this pm.

I hope you had a wonderful party for your son, and I do thank you for the recommended sites to explore.

I am in complete shock that Elizabeth has died.  Only Tuesday she met with her new Prime Minister, and yet now she is gone.  We are now watching CNN as they acknowledge her - and how incredible a life she led.  To think she became Queen at 25, a young mother with two small children.  She was “one in a million.”

I know that Charles is certainly ready to assume the throne, and we wish him great success. 

Please take care.  This is a very tough time.

All my best,

Pam

[Enufstuff]

@PamfromCT   What a lovely time of year to vacation on the Cape. I have heard that September, after kids have gone back to school and tourists are mostly gone, is the best time to visit.

     Years ago, we rented a cottage in Chatham at the end of August. We went with all five children who ranged in ages from 2 - 12. They had a great time going to the beach and visiting their

aunt and cousins who live in Chatham.

       We didn't have a party for my son, I just made his favorite

cake and dinner. The cake was a Devil's food chocolate Bundt

cake with macaroon filling and vanilla icing.

       I do that for him since he is still living at home and still single. When my other children lived at home, I always made a cake for birthdays.

      Yesterday, I watched a lot of coverage on Queen Elizabeth.

David Muir did a great job. (He is one of my favorites)

      Today, I watched the lovely service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The bagpiper was really special. I wondered if he was The Queen's piper. I learned that her piper played for her at 9:00 a.m., for 15 minutes, every day. How wonderful is that?

       It is still hard to imagine that she is gone. It is strange to hear "King Charles". I'm sure that we will get used to it, but I have heard about Queen Elizabeth since I was five years old.

She has been here for most of our lives.

      I heard the speech by King Charles today and he did a wonderful job. The crowds outside the palace seem to love him. One woman even kissed him! He shook many hands.

      Tonight I watched Anderson Cooper's coverage and that was very good. Outside the Palace there is such a mass of flowers

that have been left in the Queen's memory. She was loved and

admired by so many. She will be missed.

     It will be a new era for Britain with a new King and a new

Prime Minister.

     Once you are back home, you will probably watch a lot of

tv coverage of the life of Queen Elizabeth. Then, there will be her funeral. I heard tonight, that President Biden will be at her funeral, as I'm sure there will be many heads of state

from other countries and the Commonwealth attending.

     Our world has been changing in so many ways. I hope that we see some positive changes. We need some good things to happen. I'm trying to be optimistic.

     I'm happy for you, that you had a chance to have a nice relaxing vacation. A private, quiet place sounds lovely.

       It's getting late and I think that I will be getting ready for bed soon.

                     Have a safe trip home,

                                                 Donna

[Qshopper1991]

---

@Enufstuff wrote:

My porch is ready for guests. Come relax on my shady porch

out of the hot sun. Have an ice cold lemonade or I can make iced tea.

---

Very nice!  The only change I would make is to get rid of the white wrought iron table and chairs and put a wicker porch swing there instead   That type of porch begs for one!!

[PamfromCT]

@Enufstuff 

Hi Donna,

How are you doing?  I am sure you have been busy and hopefully you have gotten some rain where you live.  

Yes, our vacation was good for us.  Low key and not running all over.  But, of course, staying in Eastham is low key.  I bet you had a great time in Chatham!  What a beautiful place.  If I ever won the lottery, I would buy a place there.  We did not go to Provincetown, have not gone for quite a while, due to crowds and worries about getting sick.  We used to love going there.

I bet your place is prettily decorated for fall.  I have a fall wreath on my front door, and hope to bring out a few things.  I have too much stuff, and this place already looks like a gift shop.  I do everything to excess, one of my many faults.

Packing to go anywhere?  We always bring too much stuff.  So the unpacking takes forever.  If we can ever get to Italy - which I doubt - we’d have to hire a barge.  

I hope your DH is doing well.  Once the hard work is over in the fall, there is always a break.  Although someone here has to have projects (?) hanging over him to be happy.  

I am sure you are following everything thing related to the passing of the lovely Elizabeth.  Yes, she was a treasure.  I have always loved and admired her, and I alternate the coverage between CNN and BBC.  Somehow I just can’t truly believe she has left.  I truly wish Charles well.  It has to be hard following his Mom, especially in his mid-70s.  I don’t

know how he is managing what he is doing now.  I guess my energy level is so much less than when I was younger.  But then, I am now living in an old body.

I am thinking of you when I watch all the proceedings.  We are all so familiar with Queen Elizabeth because she has always been there.  I do hope that better days are ahead for everyone.

We are planning a mini-celebration for our son and DIL.  I cannot believe it -  married 25 years.  I made reservations at a very nice place for a Sunday brunch for our small group.  It includes everything you can think of for $40 a head.  Including drinks.  As I don’t indulge, and neither does my SIL, we’ll take OJ.  The cost sure beats what we would pay for an evening event at a nice restaurant.  The thoughts of making a fancy meal here for everyone overwhelms me.

Wishing you well!

All my best,

Pam

[Enufstuff]

@PamfromCT 

Hi Pam,

         Happy Fall! I hope that you and your family are well and

enjoying the cooler temperatures. It is so nice to have the heat and humidity gone, but I miss the later sunsets. We have only had a couple of rainy days and we now have a water ban on outside watering. I hope that you have seen some rain. The drought and the damaging floods that this country has had is very scary. I hope that things get better.

       It sounds like you have a lot of fall decor. I only change my two door wreaths on the first day of autumn. On my front door is a grapevine wreath that I decorated with black and orange grosgrain ribbon, silk autumn leaves and a black raven. My back door wreath is a grapevine wreath with autumn leaves, berries and small pumpkins. I added amber fairy lights.

     The only other thing I did was my mantel. A picture of it is in the thread on decorating mantels, that Oznell started in Home.

     We will get some mums for outside and we have bittersweet

all along the back of our house and it will be full of orange berries, after it sheds its leaves. Since my kids are all grown and we don't really have visitors since Covid, I don't put up Halloween decorations. I did a lot of that when the children were young.

    The fall clean up keeps my husband very busy. I want to hire someone to rake up all the leaves and pine needles. He hasn't agreed to it yet, but I think that it is too much for him. He loves working outside and all the gardening and landscaping, but we have 30 pine trees and several maples and oaks. He does more than 80 bags each fall and I can't help with my bad shoulder.

I hope that he will let me hire someone.

    You must have watched all the coverage of the Queens passing. We watched many of the wonderful documentaries about the Queen's life. She was such a pretty little girl. She did have an amazing life, even joining the military to drive a Jeep and being a mechanic.  She had a very full life and served the people until recently. Everyone seemed to love her and she loved her Corgis and horses. It must have been very diffcult for her to deal with all the scandals of her children in the tabloids and then the fire at Windsor Castle in 92. She was fortunate to have her husband with her for so many years. They are together again.

    We got up early in the morning for the funeral. It was so amazing to see. This was the first time that such an event was televised and also the people who were there, were seen everywhere with their phones, making their own videos. How far we have come from the days of the big camcorders of the 80's.

    My daughter and I were talking about one of the most touching moments, when her Piper, Mr. Burns, played the bagpipes at the end of the service and walked away. I wonder if he will still have a job with the family.

    After the ten days and three funerals in one day, her family must have been exhausted, especially Charles and Anne. I hope that they all were able to have a restfull getaway. It must have been so emotionally taxing.

    It will be interesting how King Charles handles everything.

He has had decades to prepare for this. I wonder if he will make changes.

    Have you had the 25 year celebration for your son and daughter in law? Making reservations for a brunch sounds perfect. Will it be a surprise for them?

   My daughter just made reservations for a brunch for 30 people for my grand daughter's bridal shower. My Colleen is suffering with sarcoidosis and this is the best way for her to have a shower, with Covid still out there. Having it at her home would be too much work for her.

   She was out of work on sick leave all last year and has been on several medications. She just went back to teaching this year, but she is still very tired and needs to rest when she gets home. She teaches elementary school, so she does get home early.

   My grand daughter had to postpone her wedding because of Covid. She is getting married in May at Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA. It is by the ocean, so I hope that it is a warm day in May. That time of year, it could be like spring or it

could be cold enough for a coat.

   I have been busy Christmas shopping for my kids and last week I went to Maine with my cousin. I had a jeweler in Maine make a pendant for me and I picked it up. It is a cabochon of Aquaprase that I got at a gem show in May. He set it in gold with three small diamonds. Now I'm having him make an amethyst pendant in gold. It will be a dark royal purple. This jeweler is amazing. He mined the amethyst himself from Deer Hill in Stowe, Maine.

  He started rock hunting as a little boy, with his father. His aunt taught him how to cut and polish stones. He made and sold small pieces of jewelry. Then he went to college in Arizona to study geology, then changed to a Fine Arts degree.

He learned how to design and make jewelry and goldsmithing.

After college, he worked for a mining company, then he and two friends started their own mining company in Maine.

   They worked on the Deer Hill mine and discovered an amazing amount(thousands of pounds of amethyst). He has also mined Maine tourmaline. He and his wife have a lovely

jewelry store in South Paris, Maine. cont.

[Enufstuff]

@PamfromCT  

Dennis Creaser is the jeweler. He designs and makes jewelry with Maine amethyst and tourmaline that he cuts and facets and he custom makes pieces. He has also written 5 books. After I read his book about

mining the amethyst, I decided that I needed one of his creations. Just one piece of that "grape jelly".

   He is a man of much knowledge and many talents and creates beautiful jewelry.

Creaser Jewelers has a website and also an Etsy shop. You may like to look at his creations online. You might be tempted. I certainly don't need anymore jewelry. I tell myself that this will be the last piece that I buy.

   If you haven't had the 25th celebration yet, I hope that all goes well.

                 Stay well and stay warm on these cool nights,

                                                       Donna

[PamfromCT]

@Enufstuff 

Hello Dear Donna!

We have gotten some rain here, but not enough to make up for what we have lost.  It’s so nice to go outside without fear of melting from our blazingly hot summer.  I do wonder if this will be a new normal for us.  My friend who lives in the southwest tells me the heat used to be dry, but has gotten more humid there.

I have done very little fall decorating.  When Elizabeth died, I was glued to the tv for days.  Still cannot believe she is gone.

One of my very favorite people ever, someone who fulfilled her duty with so much grace.  And she adapted to change and dealt with problems with such grace.  I do feel sorry that she had so many problems with her family.  Particularly Andrew!

I do have my little library to refer to, which I am so glad I have.

I have so much here in this place to clean out.  We donate to the Salvation Army, so we make appointments and they always show up.  They don’t take everything, but it is a help.

The anniversary brunch will be on October 16th.  My son and wife are so busy, and he has a business trip on the agenda, so postponed a couple weeks.  

Your fall decorating sounds lovely, and your mantle picture is perfection!  You have such talent.

I am sorry your Colleen has challenges to deal with that certainly affect her life.  I am hopeful that medical advance continue to be made, and we are so fortunate to live in areas where excellent medical are is available.  My highest hopes for your girl.

Your grand daughter’s wedding plans sound lovely!  What a beautiful event to look forward to.

Your trip to Maine and your pendants take my breath away!

Just so beautiful and unique.  I would love to see pictures!

I have an amethyst pendant and earrings from about 35 years back.  Not huge, but an antique set.  The pendant stone surrounded by seed pearls.

The stones from Maine are gorgeous - I looked them up.  And how unusual.  I did buy a pendant from the last QVC Irish jewelry show, a large green onyx stone set in silver, with silver trim and a very long chain.  And two pretty assorted bead necklaces at the Cape, found at a gallery for quite a cheap price.  Yup, I am a jewelry hog.  But all this is going in husband’s gift drawer for me for upcoming occasions.

I am carefully weeding out jewelry - my daughter-in-law has agreed to take some black jewelry I have - onyx pieces I never wear.  For some reason, I just am not drawn to them anymore.

I do like the clothes at Talbot’s, but not the prices.  I buy only on big sales.  Got two sweaters with French theme, and my birthday gift from my daughter will be a tote with Paris pictures.  Oh-la-la.  I am waiting for it to arrive.  I guess I can pretend!

Hopefullu, you can convince your husband to hire some help with the cleanup.  But I do know the challenge very well.

Please take care, and enjoy the excitement of one super lovely piece of jewelry, with another to come.  You deserve it all!

All my best wishes,

Your friend Pam

[Enufstuff]

@PamfromCT 

Hi Pam,

          Like you, I was glued to the TV watching everything about

Queen Elizabeth. My husband watched much of it also. I thought that CNN did great coverage to see things live, in real time. There were also so many great shows about her life.

         It is still not easy to realize that the Queen is gone. It seems strange to hear Charles called King. Eventually, I'm sure that we

will get used to hearing "King Charles".

         There are probably already so many things on the market to commemorate Queen Elizabeth. Today I received an ad from

The Danbury Mint, for a Steiff bear. It is a collector's edition,

11 1/2" black Teddy bear. The feet are embroidered 1926 on one foot and 2022 on the other. It has a royal purple satin ribbon bow at the neck, with a silver and purple pendant on the bow. On the pendant is an image of the Queen, in profile and her name. The bear is wearing a purple arm band, embroidered with ER. It is really very cute and I might have been tempted if it weren't $299. I really don't need anymore bears and I have a few Steiff bears. Last Christmas I gave a Steiff bear to my 11 year old great grand daughter. This year I  bought one for her baby sister, who is 13 months old. The one for the baby is one of the very soft machine washable ones that Steiff makes for

babies.

    It is wonderful that you have a collection of books about the the Queen. Books are treasures and I have always loved them.

Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. It seems that we share a love of books.

    We also donate clothing and household goods to Salvation Army. During Covid, for a while they stopped accepting books. I will have to see if they are taking them now. I have so many and I keep buying more. Many I will never read again and some I like to keep for reference.

    Years ago, I always went to the library, but I lost interest in doing that, since Covid. Just today, on the news, it was reported that more Covid is showing up in waste water, north of Boston. They said that is a sign of a surge coming. Most people around here are socializing and not wearing masks.

When I go to the supermarket, I am among the very few wearing a mask.

   I hate living like this. I have not been to any family parties and we have unvaccinated grandchildren. I don't visit and I miss the little ones. I have yet to get the current booster. Since it is a combo of three strains, I'm kind of nervous about it. I'm so sensitive to many medications and injections. The last time I

got a Tetanus shot, it affected my whole left side and I could not go to work the next day. I only had a Flu shot once and I got cellulitus. Thirty two years in the school department and I never caught the Flu.

   I only go out for doctors appointments and once every two weeks for groceries. I see my cousin and being a cancer survivor, she is very cautious also. My husband and I did go out for breakfast last week and it was about six months ago that we last did that. Saturday we are going out for lunch with

my brother and sister in law. Before Covid, we always took them out for Chinese New Year. ( my sister in law is from Hong Kong) We missed doing that, so I thought that we would take them out to our favorite Chinese restaurant now, before Flu season and the expected winter surge of Covid.

   The restaurant is very large and not crowded during the day.

We feel safe going there. My husband and I have not gone out for dinner since our anniversary in June.

   When I get my amethyst pendant, I'll have my son post a picture for me. I told the jeweler that there is no rush, since I have been doing a lot of online Christmas shopping for my large family. Your antique amethyst jewelry must be beautiful.

It sounds like Victorian era pieces. They used a lot of seed pearls in designs with gems. I'd love to see a picture of your set.

   Your new jewelry pieces sound very pretty. This is the first year that I didn't even watch the QVC Irish presentation. For years, I bought jewelry and sweaters every year from the St. Patrick's Day Shows. I don't watch the Q anymore, but I see their offerings online. Today the Special Value is Malden Mills

polar fleece sheets. I got three sets. A few years ago, I got sets for all the kids. They loved them. I like sleeping on them, so soft and not too hot. I think that I'll put a set on the bed this weekend. We are feeling that crisp, cool fall air.

   I love that you got French theme sweaters and a Paris tote.

Tres jolie! Maybe someday you will be able to go Paris. I'm still afraid to fly anywhere. Maybe someday.

  You must be getting excited for your 25th anniversary event for your son and daughter in law. You have something fun to look forward to just a couple of weeks away.

                           Stay well and stay warm,

                                               Donna

[PamfromCT]

@Enufstuff 

Hello Dear Donna,

You certainly are not alone in avoiding crowded places.  I refuse to put myself at risk.  Despite all the shots, I am still wary.  People are sick of restrictions, and everything is going full tilt again.  I read that the President of Pfizer has COVID.

A mild case, but COVID nonetheless.  And my SIL has COVID now, at 88 years old.  She lives far away, but I think she goes wherever she wants.  It’s so hard, but I would rather be lonely than sick.

Some restaurants are pretty good - not packed in - and good if you can find quiet times.  Same for stores - there are quiet times.  I haven’t been to our library forever -  but this winter I hope to go once a week or so when it is quiet.  The same thing for a few special museums.  I have given up on any thoughts of volunteer work.  Of course, cleaning out this house could occupy me for years!

I am excited for you with your new jewelry coming!  How nice to have that to look forward to!  Along with the little anniversary party on Oct 16th, I really need to plan something small, quiet, and informal for my DB. He turns 70 at the end of October.  Thought of a pizza party at our house for just immediate family.  He married late in life.  A disaster.  He has now been divorced for 5 years.  He’s not a fussy person and would be happy with a simple party.

Oh, we also love the polar fleece sheets.  like you, we have given them as gifts in the past.  they are so cozy!

My Paris tote arrived in the mail.  What a disappointment.  It is way too large for me - I should have known!  And it isn’t as pretty as I thought it would be.  So going back.  Oh well!

While don’t officially exchange gifts with adults anymore at Christmas, I do like to give special bath, lotions, etc.for gifts.

HSN not only sells Beekman, but Korres and Perlier.  I like to watch those shows and have a spot to accumulate my little inventory for “just because” gifts.  I really like Perlier.

I am sure you are watching all the storm reports like we are.  What a terrible happening.  Just makes you feel sick. I have a friend of 50+ years, widowed for years, living in Tampa.

She was really lucky. She chose not to evacuate.  She is a good person, but can be a bit stubborn.  I have never had a desire to move.  Love the change of seasons, being in New England, the access to great culture, health care, etc.  No desire to leave during the winter.  Good thing!  I don’t see us going anywhere.

Stanley Tucci will restart his shows on Italy on CNN Sunday nights.  We loved his prior shows and am excited they will begin again.  I think that’s the closest we are getting!  Do you watch?  We also like Rick Steeve’s.  Thank heaven for our TVs.  And piles of books, DVDs, and all!  

But jewelry is the frosting on the cake!

All my best wishes,

Youe friend Pam

[Enufstuff]

@PamfromCT 

Dear Pam,

        It is definitely feeling like Fall here and we have had the heat off and on now for about a week. I hate having to burn oil,

but more than that, I hate being cold. I can't sleep at night if my feet and nose are cold. I have been wearing socks to bed and flannel nightgowns.

       We are supposed to get rain here tomorrow, which is a good thing. I hope that your area has been getting some rain.

        I want to thank you for the condolences on the other thread. I was so shocked and saddened by my cousin's death.

He was two years younger than I am and he just had his birthday on Sept.27. His wife told me that he had a nice birthday, went to sleep that night and didn't wake up in the morning. Their little 17 year old Boston Terrier is very confused about what happened to her Daddy.

        They had not evacuated for the hurricane. Their house was built in 1979 and was very strong and substantial, so they felt safe. They had no damage to their house, but the day he passed away, the storm was so violent that no one could drive

there to take him. She had to wait until the following day. The

poor little dog was unable to understand why her Daddy didn't

get out of bed to play with her.

      I had called him the day before his birthday, to wish him a happy birthday and that he and is wife would be safe from the storm. There was no answer, so I left that message. I had not heard back from him, so I called a couple of days after the hurricane and she told me the sad news. There was still no power in the house and no phone service. I had called their cell phone. She said that some young neighbors had moved near them and were bringing food to her and the police were checking on her.

    She is a few years younger than my cousin, but she has a lot of health issues and lost vision in one eye, in an accident a couple of years ago. She really relied on him. I don't know if she will have enough of a support system to stay in the house.

They never had children, only dogs and she has no siblings.

   He had been a Medic in Viet Nam and when his service ended, he joined the fire department and was on the rescue squad. He became the youngest Fire Chief and the youngest to

retire at 52. I think that his military time in the Army, went towards his time to earn retirement. His wife had been a school

teacher, before they retired to Florida.

   His family and mine had been very close, when we were growing up. All the aunts and cousins got together at our grandmother's house every Saturday and she made lunch for everyone. We had all holidays together and in the summer we all went to the beach.

  Even after they moved to Florida, we spoke on the phone every few months. I visited them at their lovely home in Punta Gorda about 7 years ago. He had been after me to move to Florida after I retired. I could never take the humid weather down there. Besides, all my family and grandchildren are here.

  I visited them in April and I thought that I would die from the humidity. We would have great phone conversations. We "got"

each other and shared the same dry sense of humor. We used to

joke that we were the "normal" ones in the family. We had a lot of characters in our families and there were a few crazy family feuds. I will miss him, even though we only visited by phone in recent years.

     Have you heard from your friend in Tampa? I hope that she was safe from the hurricane.

    Thankfully, my female cousin and I have become close in our later years, after raising our families. We were born two weeks apart. We live about 10 minutes away from each other

and try to get together once or twice a month. She is still working and plans to retire this coming year.

   We had a lovely lunch with my brother and sister in law on Saturday. She and I both retired two years ago and thought that we would be having fun, going to lunch and visiting museums.

Of course, Covid changed all that; so disappointing. She doesn't drive and I have taken her shopping at the mall a few times. I told her that I would call this week and makes plans to

go to Macy's. I do most shopping online, but have gone to Macy's a few times since Covid. cont.