Mary Anne Carter
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Category Archives: Opinion
May 5 2012

Dressing up the cluster mailboxes

by Mary Anne

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really paid a lot of attention to cluster mailboxes up until now. Seems to me that they have simply been very Spartan and utilitarian in design. After all, how can you really make a group of cluster mailboxes visually appealing? Well, today I saw some photographs of some cluster mailboxes that had been accessorized with finial tops and decorative pedestal wraps and they looked like they were part of a Victorian themed amusement park.

You may think that I’m being a little bit crazy here, and to be honest I would normally have to agree with you. But when I saw these mailboxes all gussied up like that my mind wandered to memories of wonderful vacations that I had spent in luxurious surroundings. Thoughts of Norman Rockwell settings of a time and a place when life was less frenzied, and more serene. Odd, I know, but there it is!

Categories: Around the House, Life, Memories, Opinion, Shopping, Travel | Comments Off

May 5 2012

Silly little toy

by Mary Anne

Have you every played with one of those silly little toys that looks like hundreds of dull nails in a perforated board of some kind, with a clear piece of glass or plastic on one side so you can make the nails go up and down in different shapes? I can’t remember when I bought this little toy for my now-adult son; I’m thinking it was probably when he was around ten or so. The toy is one of those things that people will play with for a short period of time and then pack it away forever. Well, yesterday I was sorting through the boxes of “junk” that my son cleaned out from his room. I wanted to see how much was actual “trash” and throw it away before moving the rest of the stuff down into the dark bowels of the house that we call “the basement.”

Well, I came across this silly little toy and for some crazy reason I pulled it aside and put it beside my computer keyboard. Every now and then it catches my attention (it is bright yellow) and I stop and play with it for a couple of minutes. Then I think to myself “what a complete waste of time this is” and put it back down. I can’t decide whether to give it to a thrift store like Goodwill, put it in “the basement” or throw it away. Somehow the pack rat in me keeps whispering in my ear that I should create a toy chest of odds and ends like this so that if and when company comes over with some kids that get bored I can pull it out and let them play with it. I wonder if they would think it was totally lame or if they would like it. What do you think?

Categories: Around the House, Family and friends, Fun, Life, Opinion, Shopping | Comments Off

May 5 2012

Every home should have a fire resistant safe

by Mary Anne

Every home should have a fire resistant safe. Important papers, such as life insurance policies, vehicle titles, copies of wills, and stock certificates all need to be protected from the possibility of being lost if the unthinkable happens and the house catches fire. Sadly, there may even be times when one family member needs to lock up other types of valuables to protect them from dishonest friends, family, and even service personnel.

Back when I was a newlywed, my husband was taking classes to become a paramedic he brought home some special vials that had hearts on them, and a big heart shaped sticker to put on the refrigerator door. He told me that the idea was people that have medical conditions that emergency response personnel should know about where supposed to put information about that condition in the vials and put the vials in their freezer. The emergency response personnel were trained to look at the refrigerator door for that heart sticker and if they saw it that they would look in the freezer for that medical information. Part of the reasoning for this was that freezers are insulated and would resist burning in a house fire, so that would be a great place to keep something important.

From my point of view that’s a good idea, except that my refrigerator doors are always filled with magnets and shopping lists – I’m not sure that anyone would see a heart sticker on it! But that was back in the 1980′s and I don’t have any idea if the rescue people still hand those out or not. And my hubby at that time is now my ex-hubby and I’m not very inclined to call him up just to ask him about it, so I may never know.

Categories: Around the House, Family and friends, Health, Life, Memories, Opinion, Shopping, Tips & Words of Wisdom | Comments Off

May 5 2012

Grandfather clocks are the comfort food of home furnishings

by Mary Anne

I think that grandfather clocks are the comfort food of home furnishings. Every house that I’ve been in that I felt welcome and at ease in always had a grandfather clock in the living room. There simply seems to be a feeling of warmth and comfort that I associate with the grandfather clocks.

My mother has a very handsome grandfather clock in her living room.  The clock is standing in a corner, lonely and unused. The clock has been there for about the past twelve years now, a silent sentinel, quietly standing watch over the room.

I have told her that I feel bad that this gorgeous clock is not being used. She told me that the ticking sound “bothered her” so she stopped using it. I asked her if I could have the clock for MY living room because I have always found the ticking sound of a clock to be a comfort. I think that one of my other sisters will probably end up with it as an inheritance piece instead – she has always favored them.

 

Categories: Around the House, Family and friends, Home Improvement, Life, Opinion, Shopping | Comments Off

May 3 2012

Sweet tea

by Mary Anne

One of the things that I find interesting about living in this area is that when I go into a restaurant and order “tea” that if I don’t specifically say that I want “hot tea” that they will bring me ice tea. I don’t understand why the wait staff does not ask for clarification on that. Seems to me that if it is early in the day, say before 10am or so, that a person that orders tea would probably be more interested in hot tea than in ice tea.

Not long ago a friend of mine was going to McDonald’s for lunch and asked me if I wanted anything. She told me that they sell large “sweet tea” for one dollar. So I said, sure, I’d like that, and I gave her a dollar ten (the extra ten for tax) and when she came back with my large cup of sweetened ice tea I was quite surprised exactly how yummy that was! Whenever I order sweet ice tea anywhere else it just is not as yummy. Even if I add tons of sugar, it just is not as yummy. I wish I knew exactly how they made it; I’d try to duplicate it at home! And I wish that they had it available in a sugar-substitute form so that it was zero calorie. I’m sure I could drink a lot of this stuff, but I hate to think of the weight I’ll gain if I do!

Categories: At the Office, Cooking, Family and friends, Life, Local, Opinion, Shopping | Comments Off

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