Gratitude Day 625

Luke 12:34 – Where you deposit your treasure, that is where you fix your thoughts—and your heart will long to be there also.”

I found just what I was looking for, even though I did not know that I was looking for it.

Full disclosure: I have really been trying to reduce the amount of stuff I have in our house. I completely believe that when we have more stuff, our stuff controls more of us than we control our stuff. This is why I’ve been on a personal mission to have less stuff. Period.

I am making some progress. I get rid of a box here or a bag here. Then I look at a closet and my heart sinks. How did I ever end up with so much stuff?

Last Saturday, Hubby Rick suggested that we go to some garage sales. We were meeting his sisters for lunch. Rick had not seen them in over a year. Now all vaccinated, we felt it was time. BUT before our lunch date, we took in a few garage sales.

Mind you – Hubby Rick is not typically a garage sale person. AT ALL. It’s not something he finds great pleasure in. However, last fall, one of the tires on my bike blew out because Rick put too much air in the tire. He’s determined to find a used bike with the correct tire to fix my bike.

Aside – I know. I could just take it to a bike shop. But I digress. For Rick, the hunt is more important than making the purchase.

Back to garage saling: we went to a neighboring town that was having their annual garage sale weekend. We parked the car and poked our way through people’s stuff. We even found some bikes but not one that had the right size tire.  

This town has many cool historic homes. We were in the area with some of these beautiful old homes. One particular home had such cool historical architecture and gorgeous flower gardens, we had to stop.

Three ladies were sitting together. I asked which one owned the house and the other two, her sisters, pointed to the homeowner. I commented on the beautiful flower gardens and well-kept home as I looked through the items they had for sale. They had lots of older items, many of which Rick and I both recognized. I think this means we are OLD.

And then I saw it. A Hall Poppy Pitcher. Hall is the brand name. Poppy is the design because of the poppy flowers in the design. This is a cold beverage pitcher. It’s partner to the hot beverage pot that I had at home.

This is what is in my kitchen cabinet. It was my Grandma Deaton’s. I know she used it for entertaining when she had company over. When using this carafe, it must first be filled with hot water to warm it up BEFORE adding the hot coffee. This way the hot beverage stays warmer longer. Yes, these were designed long before the days of a microwave and a plug-in-the-wall coffee maker.

Like my Grandma, I have used this coffee pot when I’ve entertained. While I knew there was a cold beverage companion for my coffee pot, I never envisioned having one. Until I saw it sitting under a pop-up tent at a garage sale at a historic home in a nearby community. That’s when I thought it might be so cool to have the set.

It basically went against my current reducing mode to buy the pitcher. I certainly don’t need it. But maybe I could get it?

Noticing the price tag, I asked the sisters what their bottom price was. When they agreed to my offering price, well, it was now mine. They said the pitcher had been their Mom’s and they weren’t all that interested in packing it up … again.

So instead of a bike tire, we came home from our garage sale expedition with a pitcher. How does this happen?

Later, I picked up a bouquet of mixed flowers and put them in the pitcher. I’m a firm believer in fresh flowers making a home feel so cozy. Real. Beautiful. Now, I have a “new” container to put them in.  

I consider the pitcher a nifty little treasure that I found at a garage sale. It’s something that I know my Grandma would have proudly filled with fresh lemonade, put on a tray with real glasses and carried out to the table on their screened-in porch for lunch or an afternoon snack. If we were sitting at the table together, we would have talked about the weather, some sewing she was doing and then walked out to the garden to see how the plants and produce were progressing. She would have cared for the pitcher as it was one of her favorite treasures, as she did with all her pretty things.

My Grandma didn’t have a ton of things. She basically had what she needed and just a couple “special” treasures. The things she bought, she kept for years. Nothing was terribly expensive or valuable. Her things were treasures to her, only because they were hers.

This summer, I look forward to making an ice-cold pitcher of lemonade. I’ll put real glasses on the tray that my Grandfather made for my Grandma to carry items to their screened porch. I have the tray and use it nearly every day during the summer as I carry our lunch out to the porch. I’ll pour lemonade from the Poppy pitcher, sit at the table and think of my Grandma Deaton. And what a special treasure this will be for me.  

For little treasures in our lives that bring back special memories, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

P.S. – Should I take the bike to the bike shop? Let me know what you think!

Dear God – Sometimes, we find something that evokes such a special memory for us. These are such good treasures in our lives. I pray that we are helping create special memories that others will treasure one day as well. Amen.

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