This article was published in the Pittsburgh Press Sunday Roto in 1974 (21 years after she opened their hardware store)
In case you aren't able to enlarge it to read it, the title says it all. "She knows the Thingamabobs from the Watchamacallits". You see, they opened a hardware store in 1953 (that is still open and being run by their son) in Clairton. She ran the store, and when she started knew nothing about hardware. But that didn't stop her, she persisted and learned everything. She could tell you what you needed and where it was. She knew everything in her store. You see, not only was she a great businesswoman, she was a great mother to her 4 children, she loved her Lord and she cherished her family. She was a true hard working woman. Her legacy is now carried on by those children, her 9 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren, and the many nieces and nephews that she "took under her wing". It was sad to say good bye to her today, but as her daughter kept saying to her in her last weeks...we love you more! And please tell Nona all about her beautiful great granddaughters she never met, Mary and Sarah.
Jack got the WORLDS GREATEST Christmas Present...at least to him it is. A heated mattress pad. I have never seen that boy show so much excitement as he did when he realized what it was. Now his parents will never be able to get him out of bed. :)
And now it is time for the present for Grandma and Pap from all of their kids and grandkids.
Oh my!! That is what they said when they realized that what they saw on the box was actually what was in the box. (a new television) Imagine that!
And Sarah was one happy little girl too. Lots of great presents...but most importantly she got her pillow pet.
Mary was next up in opening her grab bag gift. (around Halloween, we all write down a small list of things we would like, and then we draw names...only rule is you can't get yourself or your spouse)
What could it be, Mary??
A kitchen play-doh set...just what she had asked for. (and she got a set of soccer goals that we will get to use in the yard in the spring...can't wait to try them out!!)
Jakc had her for grab bag...thanks Jack!! (I always smile when I see a picture of Jack and Mary...they are the two that seemed to inherit the Italian genes, darker skin, dark eyes and dark hair)
This year, Mary had a Santa's Workshop at school. That is where we can send in money and a list of people, and she gets to shop for them. She really enjoyed shopping for those on her list, and even managed to save some of the money to spend on herself!! :) Of course, since Mary got to shop for us, Sarah felt the need to shop as well. SO, I took her to the dollar store and let her get for the same people. She had SO much fun, and was very mature in her shopping. I was quite proud of her. These pics were taken on Christmas Eve. The girls just HAD to give Grandma and Pa their presents.
And of course, they loved what was picked for them.
Grandma got a pretty bracelet from Mary and a hot plate and decorative dish from Sarah.
Pap got a pen from Mary (I think) and some cologne from Sarah---his favorite kind!!
This has been such an up and down day...I just have to vent. I don't think my body can take too many of these days.
It started out with a hair coupon I have. Well, the darn thing expired on Friday. (Mary won it for me earlier in December, so I have not had it very long) I really wanted to get a new style before vacation and was really looking forward to that. SO I called, and explained everything, and they didn't care...it was expired and they would NOT honor it. SO no new do for me. :(
Then we had the Urso weekly weigh in. We are doing the biggest loser in our family. Well, Jude and I had a great week. He lost over a pound and I lost nearly 4 pounds. Pretty exciting...so we reported and waited for the other couple's percentages. This was a good thing!!
Needed to go to the library to return 2 books due today, although they are saying that one of them didn't get renewed like the other so it is oh, say 3 weeks past due. BUT the library doesn't open till 1 today. Grrrrrrr. I wanted to do that while I didn't have 2 little helpers.
So I come home to work on laundry...bound and determined to get it done today. You know that getting ready for vacation thing. I hate laundry, so this was a down moment.
Then the standings come in for the biggest loser, and Jude's twin brother single handedly beat Jude and I together by .03 percent. We actually lost more pounds than him I believe, but we go by percentages. So there goes my excitement for losing so much weight this week. We are doing couples, so you average each spouses percentage together to get the couples percentage. His wife was at 0 percent again this week, so that is how he single handedly beat us. I am super proud of him, just bummed. (and Jill did give us a reward for the week as well because we were so close, but it just isn't the same...I am a very competitive person, so this was rough)
Then our friends call, and we join them at a playground for a bit. A nice reprieve from laundry!! Girls had fun, it was chilly, but the fresh air felt good.
Then I "check" in on my aunt's shenanigans and she is still going crazy, so this gets me all worked up. Oh, I just wish I had an easy answer for this situation. It involves my young cousins, so let me tell you, I get worked up!! Not good!
Then I make supper, and Sarah refuses to eat it. (it was a hamburger and tater tot casserole-2 things she normally will eat) So she was given that and jello. She chose to not eat any of it...so she went hungry...no crackers, no snacks and NO MILK!! I hate doing that, but she has to learn to eat. Mary ate it, and actually enjoyed it. Sarah has me in a sour mood even more. Especially because she chooses to throw a few tantrums. I HATE tantrums.
All calms down, I continue my laundry, finish folding it all (except what is in the washer and dryer) and decided to look through a bin of my old clothes. YEAH...stuff that didn't fit me this past summer now fits, and some of it is big on me. 2 sizes down from what I was wearing....this is VERY exciting. For the first time in a very long time I enjoyed trying on clothes...now I have to clean out my closet and get rid of the BIG stuff to make room for the stuff that fits. YEAH!! Can you tell I am super excited about this? I have lost around 20 pounds, but have a LOT more to go.
Then to top off the night, the girls want me to read them a story...no problem. Well, the problem is they were told to go upstairs and get ready for bed, I would be right up to read. Instead, Sarah decides to throw another tantrum at the top of the stairs because she wanted me to read on the couch. So she refuses to go potty (which is a bedtime MUST at our house), and chooses not to put on her jammies, and fake cries in her bed. I hate fake crying almost as much as I hate tantrums. So I give her one more chance to go potty and get ready (with me up there). She won't budge, so she lost the story for the night. I read it to Mary. I hate doing that, but didn't have a choice...the child won't listen. I finally get her to go potty and get dressed, it wasn't pretty, but we got it done. And she continues to throw a fit because she wanted to see her new book. I hate using books as punishment, but she loved it so much, it was about all the leverage I had.
So, I am here venting and praying that she wakes up on a better side of the bed in the morning. I have too much to get done in the next couple of days to go through another day like today. Besides, I don't think my blood pressure can handle it either. Even though it is only 9:22, I think I am signing off and going to bed. I'm exhausted too. And i have a feeling that a hungry little tummy will be in my room at some point tonight.
Oh, and if you didn't pick up on it during this post...yes, indeed I did forget to go to the library after 1pm today, so now I have 1 book that is supposedly 4 weeks late and 1 book is now a day late since it was due today. What is my problem??
I have made something new, so we are now ready for Disney!! Now if only my laundry were done and my bags packed we would be in even better shape! Thank goodness I have a few more days to accomplish that. I had to make another new camera strap cover, and this one is padded so it will be comfy to wear around Disney.
Still far from being "good" but hey I am still new at this. And it suits my standards for the time being. Can't wait to see if I get comments on it while we are there. Maybe I should make a few extra to sell!
Thank goodness my husband is a good sport too, and he doesn't mind wearing pink around his neck at times. (especially with the extra padding I put in this one versus my first one I made)
Good night...this time I am done blogging for the night! I have a very busy week ahead of me, and am still not feeling 100% up to par.
My Tour of Pittsburgh post has just been updated. If you liked the Macy's store windows, I am now able to explain what they were displaying, thanks to Jill!! Check it out, at the bottom of the post I included a link. Some of you that are "older" than me might understand the display better. I think I am done blogging for tonight...more to come this week. Gotta get caught up before we head South!! Oh...but I think I will post one more. It's really cool!!
Bunny needed a stocking this year, so I made some things to put in it. Here is a collection of what I made. Far from perfect, but it was my first try at sewing, so I was pretty proud of myself. And Mary sure enjoyed opening the presents for Bunny.A super-bunny cape
When I made it, it was supposed to be a dress, but then I was reminded that Bunny is a boy, so it has become a long shirt. :)
A pillow and blankie for Bunny
Bunny sure was glad to get his own pillow and blankie...now he doesn't have to share with Mary.
