Back to Reality.....

Grocery shopping today..... the first I've done since before our trip to Maine. Although, we did go to the Wal-Mart up near the lake for groceries for Mayberry. But that doesn't count since it was so much fun.

Actually, today's visit to Kroger wasn't that bad because our young Miss C was with me. She called here this morning, to ask if she could spend some time with me today. This is her last day of summer vacation..... school re-opens tomorrow. (And, according to Miss C: "That just sucks!") Indeed.

So off we went to Kroger, while my husband and C's dad went to look at a boat for sale. We bought lots of groceries, but they passed on the boat. C was great in the store.... she found things for me to bring up to Mayberry-- ketchup and mustard (how could she have a BBQ without those?), and she found cookies in the shapes of seashells. We found items for a First Aid kit for the cottage... things for scrapes and bug-bites, and fire-ant bites.

I've already packed up everything we need to bring to Mayberry.... I guess I'll always have a bag or two (or three or six) filled with stuff to bring up with us. We both left clothes up there, and I've just packed up a make-up kit to leave up there, rather than having to carry that stuff back and forth. Miss C will leave some clothes up there as well....... especially her favorite pink sweatshirt that is positively coming apart at the seams. It's as soft as a kitten, and she loves that old thing..... both me and her mom cringe when she puts it on here. But at Mayberry, anything goes....... and we've decided that's the perfect place for that poor pink sweatshirt. My thirteen-year-old Key West sweater is already up there at the cottage..... too old to wear here, but perfectly fine and fitting for the lake.

We also drove into League City for haircuts today... way overdue for me. I should've gotten a trim as soon as we got back from Maine but I was just too busy packing to take the time. While we were down there, I poked around at J's antique shop and (of course) found some things to take to the cottage. Vintage tole-painted tinware that I can use to hold umbrellas, and a beautiful old handpainted plate to use as a spoon-rest. I was looking for a covered sugar bowl with a vintage shape and design, but couldn't find one that I liked. I did find a wonderful old creamer, so I got that..... the sugar bowl won't match, but that's the fun of antique/resale shopping.

Speaking of old things..... when I went to C's house to pick her up for grocery shopping, she was jumping up and down at the door as soon as I got there. She wanted me to come into her room so I could see the chair she found for her desk. "A garage sale find," she called it. And indeed it was...... a very old wooden chair-- so old that it has a round seat, so old that the wood is as soft as leather. Best part--- they gave it to her for free. "Free! Free!" She was so happy and so proud of that chair. Now she's on the look-out for another one...... then she'll decide which to take up to Mayberry for her cabin, and which to leave at home for her desk.

I've said it before, and I will say it again..... this child will be the keeper of the memories for us. She treasures old things, she's very sentimental, and very aware of things that are either handmade or one-of-a-kind. Most of all, she knows that things that are new and perfect aren't always the best treasures.