Coastline Treasures

While on a trip to Savannah Georgia we went on a bay cruise.  We cruised along the shoreline watching the pelicans diving for food and the pods of dolphins swimming frantically.  There was a shrimp boat in the bay casting off some of its days catch into the waters.  These dolphin figurines were such a delight to watch against the beautiful sparkling waters and skyline.

The dolphins raced around the boat jumping up into the air trying to seize these delicacies.  They showed off their physical abilities while prowling for this food; jumping, twisting and turning to be the first one.  They were not afraid of the fishermen or the boat as they had come to know them quite well.  I wondered if this was a daily occurrence for these playful sea mammals.

My husband inherited Aunt Kate’s drop leaf table and chairs.  For years we stored it in the attic as it was just too small to use, or so I thought.  Many years went by before we cleaned out the attic only to rediscover this table.  It was a beautiful table from the 1950′s with dark stain and petite claw feet, both sides dropped down.  As we reexamined this table we realized that it would make a great accent table in the entry.

We slid it in place along the entry wall with the sides down to create a narrow landing.  We added a tall vase with flowers and an antique dish to collect car keys on the way in.  Above it on the wall we hung two smaller pictures that were framed and matted the same, one on top of the other.  With very little effort we were able to create a welcoming entrance.

To this day, my grandmother hasn’t let me live it down. I’m referring to an incident from my childhood, when we drove over to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was about 5 and had just finished stuffing my face with turkey with all the trimmings, corn, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. The adults were understandably sluggish after this bountiful feast, and so they failed to notice when I slipped away from the table and went to look at the glass animal figurines on a high shelf in the living room.

Moments later, the clatter from a few rooms over was almost deafening, and my parents and relations came running with genuine concern. When they saw that I had managed to knock over every last knick-knack, my fate was sealed. I spent the rest of that evening helping with washing and drying the dishes. It doesn’t seem to matter how old my grandmother gets; she’ll always remember that holiday from long ago.