My Thanksgiving Adventure

For Thanksgiving this year, I went to Milwaukee in my new old car, and my sister and I went out to eat. First time I've ever eaten Thanksgiving dinner out, and it was lovely. It was just my kind of restaurant - good food, hearty portions, and low prices. Afterward we went back to her itty bitty, teeny 'ueenie' house, and watched an old movie - Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck. Gosh I love those old movies, especially the romantic comedies such as this one. After that we watched the Reba McEntire Christmas movie that was on, then I drove home.

The next day, I ventured out to run an errand, and stopped in a quaint shop called the Pepperberry, which offers crafts, gifts, and shoppe type things. I only make it there once in a great while, and the shop has tripled in size since I last saw it. There was a cold, windy rain outside, and as I opened the door, a little bell tinkled, and I stepped into a magical world of wonder.

The warmth rushed past, pulling the door shut behind me, as a woman with a big warm smile welcomed me to the shop.  She invited me to have a cup of hot cider as I looked around, telling me to take all the time I needed. I'd already caught a whiff of the cider, along with all the other scents that filled the air - cinnamon, vanilla, evergreen, light potpourri, and the like. It was a lovely mixture, and not overpowering.

There were little lights everywhere, as well as Christmas trees and decorations. There were ornaments of all sorts - old fashioned, sparkled, garland, figurines, Santa Clauses, little animals, fancy, plain, large, small, cute, odd... There were many types of sweets - hard candy, chewy candy, caramels, fudge, licorice, nuts, cakes, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, and even a large chocolate moose on a stick. To go along with that there were numerous drinks -
teas, cocoas, coffees and ciders, which of course must be accompanied by cups and saucers, mugs, glasses, teapots, and decanters. That was followed by plates, bowls, serving dishes, platters and utensils, as well as towels, napkins, tablecloths, potholders and aprons.

There were things made out of glass, china, silver, plastic, wood, fabric, papier mache, and who knows what else. I saw Christmas stockings hanging everywhere of all different fabrics, colors, shapes and sizes, amidst stuffed animals of every type, from very small to very large - bears, rabbits, moose, reindeer, dogs, cats, birds, mice... And of course there were innumerable amounts of angels, Santas and snowmen - not to mention tons of dolls with beautiful faces and lovely dresses. And candles and potpourri of every fragrance imaginable. There was also wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, cards, books, cassette tapes and CDs. Everything you need to make it through the holiday season, and beyond. A gift for every situation. There wasn't one spot that wasn't filled with something wondrous.

And to top it off, they had things to commemorate and celebrate the year 2000 millennium. I picked out a wine goblet that said Celebrate 2000 on it, and was filled with candle material that looked just like sparking champagne - believe it or not. I also bought two boxes of silver English crackers that say '2000' on them. (Maggie should know what those are. They sort of resemble firecrackers, and are filled with little goodies, sort of like Cracker Jacks. It's British tradition on Christmas/New Years to pull one apart with another person, and it 'snaps' as the goodies are set free to be enjoyed by all. And there's a paper crown inside also, that you're supposed to wear during the festivities.)

I made my way over to the cider and poured a cup. As I turned around, another very friendly woman handed a decorative canvas bag to me to use for my shopping. I thanked her and slipped the handles over my arm. While trying to carefully maneuver through the shop, I managed to spill half of my cider directly into the canvas bag. Now what do I do? Should I tell them? Would I have to buy the bag? I certainly couldn't put anything IN it, because it was now all wet inside. I just continued my shopping for a while, holding anything I picked up in my arms, while the empty bag hung there. Sales clerks kept asking if they could set things aside for me, than they say, "Oh, you have a bag for your things." I'd nod and smile, as they tried to figure out why I wasn't using it. Finally I pulled someone aside and explained, and she said, "Oh, that's alright! That's so sweet of you to mention it. We wouldn't hand out those bags if we didn't expect things to happen to them. Is it dried out yet? Sure - go ahead and use it!" I smiled. Silly me to worry.

I will tell you I was there for over two hours. I purchased several things to use as gifts, including a Christmas Jack in the Box, only this one has a bear. Very old fashioned looking... I just might keep that for myself. And they wrapped everything up in pretty Christmas bags with handles and colorful tissue paper. I saw things I would have loved to buy for all of my Angel friends, but alas, my bank account doesn't stretch that far. In fact, it doesn't stretch at all come to think of it. I finally forced myself to walk back toward the front of the shop, and as I opened the door, I was certain I saw Tinkerbell swish past. Halfway out the door with my arms full of goodies, I stopped and turned around for one last look. What a wonderful, magical place. It actually brought a tear to my eye. And I turned and walked out into the cold wind.

By now it was dark, but the streets were brightly lit with Christmas lights, and I almost forgot about the cold wind in my face. I quickly stopped in another gift shop called The Angelic Rabbit. Well actually, it was Ms Bunny who insisted we go in there. And then one last stop across the street at a huge antique shop, which was in a historic building that went on and on and on like the Catacombs.

My final purchase for the evening? A pair of crutches. Crutches you say? Whatever for? No reason. They're a pair of small wooden crutches - in excellent shape - made in the mid-1800's. And they were the only thing in the shop I could possibly afford - $45.00. Must not be a popular item I guess. But since I recently bonded with crutches myself, I took a liking to them. I brought them home and set them in the corner by my fireplace, and I like to imagine them to be Tiny Tim's crutches - just right for the Christmas season I think. And with that, I was off to dreamland....


November 27, 1999