Precious Hummel

 My husband's oldest sister died on January 22nd. She moved to her Grace Village apartment about 5 1/2 years ago so we had lots of interactions. I greatly miss her as she was not only my sister-in-law but a good friend as well.

I heard about people asking for and taking some of her things. I asked myself what would make a good remembrance for me. I associated her with Hummel figurines because she had a collection, most of them gifts from her husband I believe. When she moved from her Warsaw condo to her apartment I helped her wrap in tissue and cardboard these Hummels. I never really studied them so had no particular figurine in mind, but decided I would ask for one.

Her daughter had taken them to Michigan with the goal of selling them. I asked for a small girl figurine. She brought 3 to the memorial service on February 5th, and I made my selection. 

Other than knowing they were manufactured in Germany and were child figurines, I knew little about them. I did some research on the internet.

My little girl is labelled Sister. Around the edge of the base is incised M. I . Hummel. The artist who had painted the children requested that her name be on the figurines to show she approved of the product. Berta Hummel showed artistic skills as a child and when she attended a formal art school she boarded with a group of nuns. She felt called to join them and took the name Maria Inocencia. 

Franz Goebel owned a family company which produced porcelain items including figurines. He was looking for ideas to add children to the line. He saw some of Berta's paintings as post cards. He then negotiated a contract with her (now a nun) in 1934. The receipts that were to come to Maria Inocencia were designated for her group of nuns. The first figurines were sold in 1935. 

When Hitler came to power, he allowed the Goebel company to continue production, but none were to be sold within Germany. He did not like the image of sweet children when he was creating disciplined youth corps. Around 1936 the figurines were for export only. 

From what I have read, I believe the Sister figurine was first designed in 1938. It was manufactured in different sizes for over 60 years. I know that mine was manufactured after 1963 as it has the trademark for the period 1964-1972. Inside the statue is the Hummel number 98. After that is a slash with the number 2. Those numbers after the Hummel number indicate the various sizes. My Sister is about 4 1/2 inches high; one of the smaller renditions. 

Hummels are still being manufactured. The numbers are at least in the 2000's now. I saw somewhere that the Sister was "retired" (the mold broken) in 1999. The most valuable figurines are the earliest ones, the larger ones, and those with multiple figures on the same base. There are lots of photos on ebay as people regularly try to sell them. I saw the Sister figurine on a base with Brother so there are not really 2000 unique children, but differing combinations.

American G.I. s brought Hummels to the United States as gifts. They became very popular in the 1960's and 1970's. They probably do not appeal to the current younger generations, but they do sell on ebay regularly but at much-reduced prices. The demand is not high now and the supply is plentiful.

Sister Maria Inocencia died of tuberculosis shortly after the war ended in 1946 (age 37). Her group of nuns suffered much because there was little revenue during the war and they had scant food and fuel. The sisters continued to supervise and approve the making of the figurines after her death and received payments. 

We are expecting 2-4 inches of snow tonight into early tomorrow morning. I see the grass is already coated so it has begun. I bought some tulips to cheer me up and remind me that spring is only 4 weeks away. 

New Kitchen Counter Tops

 When we moved into our Grace Village condo about 10 1/2 years ago the kitchen still had the original counter tops installed in 2008 I think. 

The flooring had been replaced at the same time we replaced the wood laminate flooring in our bathrooms. The washing machine failed to stop filling with water and overflowed into the hall bathroom ruining the floor. We tried to pick kitchen flooring that looked OK with the counter tops from the choices presented to us.

However, for over a year now the counter tops have been delaminating, i.e., the colored part separating from the base. Also, when we moved in, the seam where the counter next to the stove met the intersecting counter had separated. That reached the point of 1/8 inch gap by last year. 

We came to an agreement with Grace Village that we would share the cost of replacing the counter tops. I was allowed to choose from the samples at Copper River a laminate (not granite or fancier stuff). I chose a really light color because the kitchen always seemed dark with the existing laminate. I really like how this lighter-colored laminate goes with the almond appliances, the wall paint, and the wooden cabinets. I don't think it is the best match with the flooring, but it will do.

Here the seam is almost invisible which had not been the case for the 10 years we lived here.

My husband never liked the brown/gray laminate. With a legitimate reason for replacement, we changed, and he is much happier.

Palm Coast Florida Trip

My husband and I spent January 25 to February 3 at a 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo at Cinnamon Beach in Palm Coast Florida. I rented this through VRBO. One of his sisters spent part of that time with us. Palm Coast is about half-way between Daytona Beach and Saint Augustine. We flew into the Daytona airport and rented a car.

 An aside: I usually do not include photos of myself in my blog posts, but this was a birthday trip, and I have inserted a few.

This gated community is a mixture of individual houses and high-rise condo buildings. 

The condo building in the center was ours. We were on the 5th floor.

The view from our covered balcony. That pedestrian bridge is the one from which I took the photo of our condo building.

We were an end unit with a small view of the ocean from the far left of the balcony and from the dining area window and kitchen nook window.

One sunny day we saw an alligator in the lake, but there was too much glare to get a photo. There were signs all over the resort lake edges warning of dangerous wildlife with drawings of a gator and a snake. Posted no swimming of course.

There was a nice swimming pool, but the few days that were warmer and sunny we were busy doing other things so did not use it.

We had several walkovers within walking distance of our condo to cross over the dunes to the ocean's edge.

Our first meal in Palm Coast was at Mezzaluna in the European Village at the foot of the toll bridge leading across the Matanzas River to highway A1A and the resorts on the beaches. The European Village comprises buildings facing a central courtyard with shops and restaurants on the lower levels and residential apartments on the upper ones. 

Mezzaluna had red, green, and white lights reflecting the flag colors of Italy. We sat outside with vinyl "curtains" and heaters keeping us warm; it was a cold night.

The mushroom and pepperoni pizza wasn't quite what we were expecting. The menu had mentioned a balsamic glaze drizzled on the pizza, but we didn't realize that meant instead of marinara sauce. It was interesting but could have used more mushrooms.

I had in advance chosen the Flagler Fish Company for my January 26th birthday lunch. I had hoped to browse some shops and go out on the pier afterwards, but the slight sprinkle we experienced going into the restaurant became a steady rain as we left.

This looked like a shack outside and the inside was not fancy. If I had not read good reviews I might not have entered.

The specialty was fresh fish, not necessarily local because there were some more exotic species. I chose grilled seabass for my sandwich.

We started with a shared appetizer of fried green tomatoes. These were a little different sitting on a pureed tomato base and topped with cream cheese and chives. Quite interesting.

One of the reasons I chose this restaurant was because the online menu showed creme brulee. Alas, they had none. So I switched to Key lime pie.

The next day we drove north to Saint Augustine where we walked through the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is made of coquina, a sedimentary layered "rock" made up of decomposed shells and coral. It is soft so easily cut and shaped but must dry for a year or more before being used. Cannon balls tend to become imbedded and don't penetrate all the way through. The fort was constructed between 1672 and 1695. It never fell in battle, but the adjacent city was burned by the British in 1702.

It was a hold-onto-your-hat type of day. Before the pandemic there were re-enactments of military maneuvers, etc. Now you just look at the displays set up in the "rooms".

One of the earliest Jesuits who came on the colonizing ship.

We saw the tidal johns used by the troops. Built along the side of the fort so that when the tide was high it "flushed" the toilets clean. 

After a false start from the visitor center (my fault, I headed us the wrong direction) and backtracking, we entered the old city. We mostly walked by shops, etc. in search of the restaurant recommended to us in the visitor center, the Columbia. I have since visited the web site and realize this is a branch of the Tampa area original restaurant which was founded in 1905. I don't know the date of the buildings in Saint Augustine. It is aesthetically pleasing with lots of decorative tiles inside.

There were several dining areas, but since we did not have a reservation we were seated in a roofed patio/courtyard.

I had ropa vieja ("old clothes") consisting of shredded beef with onions, peppers, tomatoes which came with rice and grilled plantains. 

We split up agreeing to meet in the visitor center at a set time (or call the cell phones if more time needed).

There were boutiques of clothes, jewelry, leather goods, art scattered among eating establishments and fudge and ice cream shops. 

I have been having pain in my hips and find I must take rest breaks. One place where there was a bench was in front of the Pizza Time cafe. This claims to be the second-best pizza in the whole United States.

We visited a shop on the way to the visitor center for our meet-up. It was starting to sprinkle. On the way south to our condo we had steady rain.

On Friday we had sunshine, but lots of wind. We visited the Daytona Flea and Farmers Market. 

These were mostly large open-ended metal buildings filled with individual vendor stalls. The produce/food section was rather sparse this time of year though I bought a Middle Eastern pastry (knafeh?). I recognized baklava but the vendor convinced me to buy this dessert that looks like toasted shredded wheat on top but which really is shredded phyllo dough. His wife bakes them. That gentleman told me that he had more items including home-made pita bread on Saturdays. The market is busier on Saturday.

 I also picked out an orange. The elderly lady was addressed as Mrs. Pell by the regular customers. This was Pell Citrus. She gave me a smile and told me the orange was mine without charge and to come back someday when I wanted to buy lots of oranges. They did have big sacks of oranges, but this was priced individually in a bin. I thanked her; it was a tasty orange.

We ate at Cafe D'Amore Italian American Kitchen in the flea market. We ordered sandwiches on Italian bread but since I had taken a photo of the pizza guy in Saint Augustine, I took one of theirs.

I mentioned the Saint Augustine "boast" of Pizza Time; my husband googled second-best pizza in the United States and up came Pizza Time. This designation was by Yahoo I think.

This decoration next to our table was an old window frame mounted over wine labels and poster cut-outs glued onto the wall. Our sandwiches were so large that we took half of them home.

We mostly ate breakfast in our condo, but there was a small cafe nearby that had the best eggs Benedict that I have ever had. I am not one to make these kinds of pronouncements easily.

Rodie's had maybe 6 tables inside. Nobody wanted to eat outside because that morning was in the low 30's. However, the owner/manager who was wearing shorts stood outside greeting his customers and directing them to the inside tables.

Hand sanitizer in these days of COVID.

Sunday we had lots of sunshine again though cold temps. We drove an hour and a half to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Cape Canaveral. We had to use self-serve kiosks as the ticket booths were closed. We could have used some instructions on where to begin as there are multiple buildings. When we saw the IMAX movie was at 11:30 we decided to visit the gift store (not shop as it was huge) in a neighboring building as it was 11 a.m. I mentioned to one of the clerks that we felt lost, unsure how to go about visiting the complex. He was insistent that we should forget the IMAX for now and get a ticket for the bus tour which would start loading at 11:15. You need to see the "real" stuff he said. 

As the bus headed for the Apollo/Saturn V center the driver pointed out various launch pads including one with an Italian satellite that was to be launched that evening. We also passed the Vehicle Assembly Building. 

We did get back to the IMAX after lunch. You wear 3-D glasses and at times it seems like debris, etc. is coming right at you.

We also saw the Atlantis space shuttle, the last one used in missions to the International Space Station before the program was discontinued. 

We had a good time at Kennedy though we didn't visit all of the exhibits and buildings. There is a new attraction opening later in 2022. 

Our nephew who lives on Merritt Island called to tell us about an app where you could follow the countdown for the launches from Kennedy Space Center. Our condo faced south, but we saw nothing launched. He called to tell us a cruise ship entered the perimeter of the no-go zone and the launch was scrubbed just 30 seconds before lift-off. We were fortunate to see the Italian satellite launch the next evening from our balcony. Of course we couldn't see the orange "flames", but we saw the satellite clearly and the separation of the first stage.

Monday we finally started to have warm sunny days. My husband and I went to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park about 5 miles away from us. This property has the home of Owen Young, Time's Man of the Year in 1929. He received this recognition because of his involvement in WWI reparations negotiations. He was an executive of General Electric and instrumental in the founding of RCA. He and his wife chose to situate the house on the banks of the Matanzas River though the state park includes ocean property across A1A.

Mr. Young's wife loved gardening, and the rose garden she established is often a site of weddings. I was surprised to see at least half a dozen varieties in bloom this time of year.

There were azaleas and camellias blooming as well.

We had seen the oaks planted by George Washington (no not the president but a distant relative) while hiking earlier among the palmettos.

After a picnic lunch at a nice area set aside for that purpose, we headed for the ocean part of the property which is known for its coquina outcroppings. This was really the only time I was able to do much beachcombing. 

Our final day (Wednesday) we went back to Flagler Beach. We walked out on the pier where there were lots of people fishing.

I guess if you can't stop graffiti, you create your own.

Most of the shops were beachwear, but I found a gallery featuring local artists and artisans.

We ate lunch on the rooftop of a restaurant across from A1A listening to the surf.

The enjoyment of the day was marred a bit by the email from American Airlines telling us our Charlotte to Fort Wayne flight was cancelled. 

My souvenirs were a "token" from Castillo de San Marcos, NASA keychain which I took apart to put in our printer's box, and a few shells and a piece of coquina from Washington Oaks State Park.

Notice the countersunk hole in the shark eye shell (round tan snail-like item). Probably made by another shark eye mollusk. These creatures have a tongue-like projection with rows of sharp teeth to rasp a hole. Then a proboscis is inserted which injects acid to dissolve the prey. The victim is then sucked up. It is a mollusk-eat-mollusk world out there.