Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries: 2nd Time Around Tuesday

Welcome to "2nd Time Around Tuesday!"

I hope you will visit our gracious hostess Diane at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words, and see the beautiful floral arrangement and urn she found at a garage sale ... plus everyone else's treasures for today.

I'd like to share a little blue mixing bowl that belonged to my grandmother.

I use it often, and it never fails to bring back memories of the happy times I spent with my grandmother in her kitchen ... standing on a chair stirring and mixing and kneading and washing dishes (I think all little girls love to wash dishes).

I treasure this little bowl and hope to pass it down to my daughter one day.

I appreciate Diane taking the time to host our "2nd Time Around Tuesdays," and look forward to seeing what everyone is sharing today.

Vintage Kitchen Utensils and Crock

Welcome to "2nd Time Around Tuesday," graciously hosted by our friend Diane at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words.

Thank you, Diane, for taking the time to be our hostess. I always enjoy seeing your and everyone else's "2nd Time Around" treasures.

Today, I'd like to share these vintage kitchen utensils I inherited from my mother-in-law, along with the old crock she used to keep her utensils in beside her stove.

I love them because they were hers, and I wonder how many eggs she ... and her mother before her ... whisked with them during their lifetimes.

The whisk in the center is spring-loaded and works by pressing down on the handle. I had never seen one like this, and you can tell by the peeling paint on the old wooden handle that it was used a lot.

I've already put the wire whisk and garlic press to good use, and I'm sure I will find a use for the spring whisk, too.

I love having the crock beside my cooktop because every time I take a utensil out of it, it brings back sweet memories of my precious mother-in-law.

The old lemon juicer was my grandmother's, and I treasure it, too.

Thank you again, Diane, for giving us an opportunity to share our "Second, Third, or even Fourth Time Around" treasures.

Things I Would Save if There was a Fire ...

I'm sure we've all thought about the "Things-I-Would-Save-if-There-was-a-Fire" scenario, and have a mental list of those precious irreplaceable things we would grab, after we grabbed our loved ones, of course.

I'd like to share with you a few of the things I would try to save, not necessarily in order of significance ...

1. Family Pictures ... I know where they are (two large plastic storage containers in an upstairs closet, one large and very heavy plastic container in the attic, and a couple of albums in a guest bedroom desk drawer) ... but, realistically, there's probably no way I could get to any of them in the event of, Heaven forbid, a fire.

I need to put them all together in a safe, more easily accessible place. I don't know where that would be except in the back of my SUV, maybe.

2. My maternal grandmother's Biscuit Bowl ... One of my favorite "little girl" memories is standing on a chair in my grandmother's kitchen "helping" her make biscuits and kneading the dough in this bowl. It's in my china cabinet in my kitchen and would be easy to rescue. I hope to give it to our three-year-old grandaughter Avery Grace someday.

3. My Piano ... Of course, there's no way I could save my piano, but I would if I could.

4. One of my most precious heirlooms is my maternal Grandfather's Scarf, which was used on top of his dresser. I use it as a runner on my dining room table in the fall and winter, so it would be easy to rescue in an emergency ...

5. This delicate little Vase in a Brass Stand is another cherished heirloom. It belonged to my paternal grandmother, and I keep it in my china cabinet in the dining room ...

6. My maternal grandmother's little Blue Mixing Bowl is another bowl I'd like to save ...

7. My Camera ... I love my new Canon EOS Rebel xsi digital camera and I'm sure I would grab it (AND my computer) on my way out, if there was a fire.

8. And last, but certainly not least, is my beloved first doll, Nancy.

Santa Claus brought Nancy to me when I was five years old and from that Christmas Day forward, she was my constant companion, "best friend," and confidante.

She still has the battle scars from a little girl's love, including three chewed fingertips, nailpolish "lipstick," and brown painted hair under her wig (you can see the little curl at the top of her forehead in the first picture).

I love her dearly and she would be one of the first things I would save. I will give Nancy to Avery Grace on her fifth birthday and hope she will love her as much as I do. Goodness, that makes me teary-eyed to think about.

After writing all this, I realize now that I'd have to have a small moving van (and a couple of moving guys) to "save" all my treasures. I just hope we never have to find out what we'd really save if there was a fire.