Where we’ve been …

We have been away from blogging over three and a half months this time around. Little did either of us know what these three months would hold, it has been scary, sad and life changing. Lessons learned and circumstances we are choosing not to share at this time. Please, understand this is not meant to be rude, uncaring or unfeeling to any of you still reading. Life is precious and short and health, family and love are definitely first…Always.  We both want to say we have missed you kind readers and friends and truly appreciate you all and how we were welcomed in this blogging world. With all that has gone on and is still happening, we both have agreed that we are very uncertain about returning to Word Press. All we as “Twins Forever” want you all to know that if we are unable to return is… Thank You to each and every one of you for taking the time to read our words and get to know us. God Bless you all…

Hugs from Autumn and Gabby

International Tiara Day is Here!

Wow, was this ever a good find…International Tiara Day! In my opinion we all deserve a tiara to call our own to wear it gladly and proudly. Give a royal wave to match our sparkling tiaras and treat ourselves like royalty, if only for this day. I actually bought my Mom a tiara some years ago, since we all call her lovingly “The Queen“. Of course it’s not some real jewel encrusted tiara, but it was the thought that counted! She laughed so much and smiled as she placed that tiara on her cloud of curls, it made her happy. It was the year we lost our Dad, almost 9 years ago now, and she sure needed something special. Mom still keeps her tiara in a place of honor and wears it every so often, too and some of the little nieces think she has got the coolest one. When visiting they all need to try on Nana’s tiara, even though they all have one of their own.

Tiaras have become somewhat of a tradition in our family, and no none of us has a real one! So here it is International Tiara Day and I do hope each and every one of you kind readers get a tiara to call your own! Just drop lots of hints to your family and friends, somebody is bound to get you one. Or maybe not…So be prepared to go off and buy one of your own! I hear tell one of the Dollar type stores is the best place to get a nice one, without spending lots of money. You can find some seriously nice ones for a mere few dollars or so, go check them out! It’s where Autumn and I picked up ours, we found some awesome tiaras I do need to tell you.

It’s an idea, I hope you girl readers do treat yourself to a tiara and you can celebrate in style, for today and any time you want to. Trust me, it will make you smile and you will feel like you are true royalty and hopefully your friends and family will treat you the same! I just had to share this not marked on the calendar holiday…Just remember, we are worth a tiara. Now, please do make up your mind to have one and if you are crafty…Well, then you can create one for yourself! Happy International Tiara Day and now I am off to go fetch mine…I only wore it  for an hour or so today, I’ve got to log a few more hours.

Oops, I will have to call Autumn to make sure she has hers on, too…She just can’t forget to prance about for a while with hers on and I bet her darling man will notice, too. He already does treat her like royalty of course, so I bet she already does have hers on! 😉 🙂

The Twinnies and the Canoe Trip

I happened upon a picture of a canoe in a magazine I was reading. That’s all it took and my mind was going back to a wonderful and treasured memory. Autumn’s and my very first canoe trip when we were very young Twinnies. We must have been maybe about 7 years old and the trip was with our Dad and beloved Uncle Tony. It was such an anticipated trip and Autumn and I had been told a couple weeks in advance. Dad was probably sorry he shared the happy upcoming event too early, we about drove him crazy with questions! When was the day we were going? He patiently pointed out the day on the calendar and marked it with a big red star for us, too.

Still, Autumn and I had other questions, did anyone doubt it? Needless to say, when the big day arrived the pair of us were just literally jumping for joy! Yay, off we went to pick up Uncle Tony and on our way to our much loved Pine Creek for our canoe ride! It was maybe a half hour drive from our house, enough of a car ride to have both of us Twinnies being overly chatty.

I know, that sure never changed kind readers…Autumn and I always have plenty to say it seems. We also loved singing with our Dad, so we had a song or two with Uncle Tony joining in also. Autumn and I only bugged them a couple times about when we would get there, how much longer? Anyway, we arrived at where the canoe was docked and got on our life jackets with Dad’s and Uncle Tony’s help of course.

We Twinnies got another going over about water safety, we were taught quite early about it all. But Dad went over it all one more time, just to be safe and sound he explained. Wow, the sights and sounds when floating along on the water! The water so clear, you could see all the underwater treasures! The birds singing happily, those beautiful and awesome mountains surrounding us. Autumn and I were being well behaved for us, we only got a warning about trailing our hands in the water.

Oh yeah, we had made up a song about the water, the canoe and after singing the same couple verses for too long…Well, Dad asked us nicely to give it a rest. The canoe trip was truly such a magical experience and so wonderous to us Twinnies we weren’t going to do anything dumb to mess it up for ourselves! We might have our moments, but we were no fools! The ride ended much too soon for Autumn and me of course because we would happily have ridden for hours. It was a magic day, one that sticks in my mind as so special and happy. Dad and Uncle Tony are both in Heaven now, so the memories are a joy to have.

Do any of you kind readers have any memories of an adventure like this one? If you would like to share, it would be great hearing all about it! 🙂 PS The only small mishap of this perfect day was after docking the canoe Autumn and I got our socks and sneakers wet stepping into the very shallow water. Never fear, our Mom had packed extras! 😉 🙂

Your Angel on Earth by Gabby

First I have to say, *I did not write this! It’s something that is beautiful to share though and it needs shared. How did this story come to be in my possession? That’s a very nice story in itself, about 15 or so years ago…Our Dad found it and made copies for all of us 6 daughters. I think that was such a beautiful thought and a loving thing to do, a living tribute to our Mom. That’s the way Dad was…He loved our Mom very much. Even though we honored and loved Mom, Dad wanted us all to have this special reminder. Since our Dad is in Heaven now, all I keep thinking is how proud he is of us 6 daughters. We all look after our Mom when she lets us, (She can be a bit stubborn) we all love her to pieces. It isn’t always easy for her and I despise evil cancer for taking our Dad away. Dad and Mom were joined at the soul, a feeling I understand all too well. One of the saddest things Mom said to me 8 years ago, after we lost both Dad and Dave (my husband). Mom said never did she ever think her and I would end up widows, losing them both to the same evil cancer & 40 days apart. I digressed a bit, but I wanted to get it all said. So, here  is the beautiful story  now to share with all of you kind readers. Some of you maybe already have read this story. To us it was magic because “La Famiglia e tutto”, that’s in Italian, in English it means “Family is Everything”. So please do enjoy this story and let Autumn and I know your thoughts if you would like to share. 🙂 The title is of course “Your Angel on Earth“. The author is unknown.

A child preparing to be born asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?” God answered, “Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”
The child paused and again addressed God, “But tell me, here in Heaven, I don’t do anything else but sing and smile, that’s enough for me to be happy.” Your angel will sing to you and also smile for you everyday, and you will feel your angel’s love and be happy.” “Oh,” the child said “and how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t understand the language that men speak?” And then glancing at God the child asked, “What am I going to do when I want to talk to you?” God softly touched the child on the head and said, “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.” The child then asked.”I have heard that on earth there is evil. Who will protect me?” “Ah,” God answered, “your angel will defend you even if it means risking her own life.”

The child said to God, “But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.” “Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you,” God explained. At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly, “God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.” Sweetly God looked at the child and whispered, Your angel’s name is of no importance. You will simply call her MOM.”

Thoughts on Snow and Snowflakes… by Gabby

It’s the time of year…Snowflakes, as well as snow are on my mind. Well, living here in PA that’s winter times gift to us. Our gift last night was a few inches of snow, more is expected tonight into tomorrow. Isn’t that a nice way to look at snow and snowflakes in general?  Call them blessings, gifts and embrace the whole snow concept…That’s what I have vowed to do. I was thinking about how each and every snowflake is different. Just like people, every snowflake is an individual. No twin snowflakes, what a disappoint that was to find out let me tell you! Isn’t that a rather amazing thought of no two snow flakes being alike? I think so, not that I have ever chance to analyze any snowflake. They really do melt when you have them in your hand, they land on you face and just disappear!

Thank goodness for those good facial creams, potions and lotions. I kind of think snowflakes are just a bit magicial. When Autumn and I were young we would stick out our tongues to catch a taste of a snowflake. I now, they don’t taste like much of anything. But when you’re young, you embrace these things. The twinnie and I would make up flavors the snowflakes tasted like…We had very good imaginations, what can I tell you? It was one of those wacky little games, asking each other “what does your snowflake taste like?”

Thankfully our parents knew we had just been gifted with those good imaginations. They always went along with the game, never correcting us, what a joy to have Dad and Mom. Other parents might have been stodgy and simply no fun…Making us stop the snowflake tasting game at once. You know, some parents would have done that…I feel sorry for those types. Stifling and stopping all the ponderings, wonderings and all of young minds.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on snowflakes…Do any of you kind readers have any snowflakes thoughts? If so, please share because…Sharing is always fun! 😉 🙂

Memories of My Grandparent’s House… ~ by Gabby Angel

Driving by the place where my paternal grandparent’s house once stood…So many memories came flooding back. I was used to seeing the huge empty space where the house stood for so many years. The house had been sold, both grandparents are gone and in  Heaven now. The beautiful house and land was sold to a seemingly normal couple, until they decided to separate. Then, unfortunately the husband decided to torch the house. Rather than haggle over ownership, that was his not too wise and drunken decision.It was truly heartbreaking to see the empty shell of what was left of the house.

So, for several years the land has been vacant. But driving by today, I noticed a foundation was laid and a house was being built! I hope it’s a nice family and that they are happy, loving people. The land itself is just so welcoming and holds wonderful memories…It calls for people who love life and each other. I remember so many times when Autumn and I walked the greenhouses, hotbeds and all with our Grandpa.

He had such a magic touch with plants of any kind and also flowers. He was well known in our area for the best of produce, he just growing things and it was how he made his living. Nobody ever knew what he did to grow such things…He had a secret ingedient and he never divulged what it was! We twinnies loved hanging out with him, he was just very special and such fun. We were his bambinos and of course we could do no wrong in his eyes.

Our grandparents were both Italian, they were our Dad’s parents…Oh my goodness did they love lots of family around, a good party and happy times had by all.Our Grandma loved to cook up a storm, creating her own magic and sharing her food made with love. So many memories of outside parties and picnics, good food, great music and just an awesome time. The whole area surrounding the house was filled some relatives lived and neighbors who were like family, too. I just know Autumn and I have happy fun-filled memories and we will be watching.

The family who is taking ownership, they need to treat it with the love and care it calls for. I don’t know why… But I have a good feeling they will be. Something just tells me those Grandparents of ours are watching closely from Heaven and approved this family!

Twinnies Make a Gingerbread House… ~ By Gabby Angel

It’s not easy, let me tell you that! I was remembering last year when Autumn and I made one. It was lots of fun, kind of confusing…And we even had a kit! How embarassing is that to admit? We are both fairly handy and somewhat crafty, but for some reason it was kind of tougher going than we’d expected. Not as easy as Mom made them look, that’s for sure.

Wonder if was the twinnie combination…Did we laugh too much and not get serious? Probably, we made it more difficult than need be. It was so much laughing, making a mess all over my kitchen table, somewhat on ourselves even! Of course we also debated a lot. ;). The good news, it turned out very nicely after all was said and done. It was so much improvising and changing things on our part, but a fun project for a few hours.

I know, I don’t think it takes people that long…Our youngest sister got one put together so quickly. That was a couple years ago, she made it sound so easy and she had the two little nephews helping her! What prompted this memory? Well, I was looking at this year’s latest gingerbread houses. Some looked easy, some weren’t even made out of gingerbread either…How weird, isn’t that the whole point of a gingerbread house? 😉

Anyway, Autumn and I were talking about my findings and if we were brave enough to try one this year. Sadly no, we decided against it. We twinnies know we just couldn’t stay focused.Both Autumn and I have the need to create…But this year neither of us has that much time to spare.

I was again pondering and wondering…How many of you ever made your own gingerbread house? Did you find it easy, or did you have a hard time of it? Did you use a kit or make it yourself? Oh my goodness, I do ask far too many questions don’t I? That’s what I’m here for it seems, I am curious that’s all…So is Autumn. Again, if any kind readers have a gingerbread house story to share, please do! Maybe somebody had suggestions to make it quicker and easier, that would be quite welcome to hear also. 🙂 🙂

A Rather Silly Christmas Memory… ~ By Gabby Angel

I know, a weird title isn’t it? This one is just begging to be written, silly and somewhat funny. The idea for this one came from seeing a neighbor of mine wearing a Santa Hat. I know, my mind works in mysterious ways…I just can’t explain it. Anyway, this one is the wacky and kind of bizarre things people put on their heads during the Christmas time. Santa hats, those cute little sets of reindeer antlers, elf hats…You get the idea, right? This is not meant to be insulting or hurt the feelings of those who do enjoy doing this.

I for one will not be decking myself out in any such thing…It will mess up my hair for one! That was a joke, the real reason is I just cannot pull off the look. OK, I will be honest…It brings back some childhood memories. You have to understand, Autumn and I have some highly amusing sisters. I know they would both just have a fit I shared this one…But I will be hoping they don’t see fit to read this one.

One year, when these sisters were of quite young ages they both fell in love with sets of those reindeer antlers. OK, so they were good at sweet talking Dad and Mom into each being given a pair. Autumn and I being older, were of course far too dignified to wear such things. We humored the little sisters and told them they looked cute. Big mistake…Since they had been told by others how adorable they looked, too. They took to wearing them non-stop and I am not kidding either, it got seriously irritating…

For one thing they took to prancing around like they thought real reindeer might do. It was just too much sometimes, they even made up cute reindeer names…No, not any of the normal ones either. They christened themselves Princess Jingle  and the other one Princess Bell. How original is that? We weren’t supposed to laugh at that! Oh come on, they named themselves after a Christmas song! Dad and Mom went along with it much better than the twinnie and me. Well, until those little sisters refused to answer to their real names anyway. All the prancing, the silly names, wearing the reindeer antlers 24/7…You just had to be there, so annoying.

Anyway, the reindeer antlers were taken away until they decided to turn themselves back into little girls. They both sulked and pouted…But after not quite a full day  they gave in. Dad and Mom were staying firm and those little sisters knew it! They agreed to go by the rules, the prancing and fake names were under control and peace was restored somewhat in our household. It was a very strange year, that’s all I have to say and Autumn will agree! 😉 🙂

Happy Birthday… ~By Gabby Angel

I just had to write this one and dedicate it to youngest little sister and Dad. Having talked this over with Autumn, we both agreed we needed to acknowledge this special date. Which would be December 7th, first our beloved Dad’s birthday and also our youngest little sister.

They loved sharing the same birthday. Dad always teased M. by saying she was the best birthday gift he could have asked for. When we lost Dad to cancer 8 years ago it was so sad to hear littlest sister M. say she hated her birthday now. Thankfully the last couple years has been better and she seems to be able to enjoy her birthday.

M. is the sweetest and so loving, gentle, spunky and she has the best sense of humor. Yes, she is the baby sister of the bunch, but she truly still looks so much like a little girl. It’s easy to want to shelter her from hurting, she is so gentle and loving. M. was born when Autumn and I were almost 13 years old. So, she did grow up with the both of us always wanting to protect her and look after her.

There are way more positives than negatives I could ever say about M. She is happily married now and has two adorable little boys, the cutest and most amusing nephews they are, too. Anyway, M. was so used to sharing her birthday for years with our Dad so of course things are very different. But like I said she is doing OK, although it’s difficult not worrying about her.

Mom would make Dad his favorite cake, German Chocolate and M her favorite chocolate cake with peanut butter icing each and every year. M. loved it when they each got to blow out their birthday candles. She always insisted they blew out those candles and made their own wish at the same time. They opened birthday gifts together, again because M. insisted it was the way. Dad was such a sweetheart always going along with her wishes, because he was just that kind of awesome type Dad. He is so very missed and always will be…He loved Mom all six of us darling daughters and we all loved him back.

Dad was the kind of man who everyone liked immediately, he had a sense of joy and magic around him. His love and zest for life, making sure each day was lived to the fullest. Always encouraging, gently nuding and so good at helping others. He was a blessing to all of us and any life he touched, we all hold those memories close.

Dad would encourage M. to have a wonderful birthday…He will be watching from heaven to make sure she does have a beautifull day. I know M. knows this, so we will all make sure little baby sister has the most Happy Birthday…After all, Dad is watching and we don’t want to disappoint him.

The Year of the Hippie Snowman (and Woman) ~By Gabby Angel

There was a light dusting of snow this morning when I woke up. I have no idea what made this memory pop into my head. My mind is a mysterious place…I will be the first to admit it! Anyway, the year of the snowman  and woman we turned into hippies! It’s is a fun memory to tell, so I will get to it.

Back when you’re young, you just love looking forward to creating something out of snow. For some reason the cold doesn’t bother you in the slightest either. So this one morning, we woke up and had gotten a nice couple feet or more of snow. Autumn and I must have been 11 or 12 years old. Our friends and favorite neighbor boys came over to fetch us twinnies to get outside and create some special snowman.

Alex and Tim were just always the greatest with their imaginations, so this was going to be awesome fun. We all headed to our backyard, playing around and throwing a few snowballs first. Tim and Autumn started this, so we had a small snow battle but got down to business. We all decided to have the coolest and best snowman on our block. How lofty that sounds, but we all were competitors in our own fashion. The snowman came together so nicely, it was so big! At least it seemed like it was, but we were young. Autumn insisted we make a Mrs. Snowman, Tim agreeing as always with his buddy. OK, it seemed like a fine idea we all though…Let’s really go for it! On we worked, before long Mrs Snowman joined Mr. How to decorate them? We talked among ourselves and hit on a fine idea, too I must say.

We twinnies raced inside our house to gather a few things, the boys took off for theirs to do the same. Gaining our parents permission, who got into the spirit of things…What a fun set of parents we had. Soon, the twinnies and the boys were out in the backyard. The Mrs. Snowman had a floppy hat for her head, we had used some yarn for hair, button eyes in place.  Mom had donated a flowery old blanket for her fashion attire. Autumn and I fashioned her a nice getup, slipped the Peace sign in her hand and she was all done. Yes, she was a knockout!

On to the Mr. Snowman, he got a nice pair of sunglasses and a colorful headband. Adding button eyes, he also got draped in an old blanket. We fancied it was a fetching looking poncho and added his sign that said Love. They were all complete, we stepped back to admire our handiwork. By now both sets of parents, our sibilings, too had gathered to congratulate us on a job well done!

Yay, they all loved Mr and Mrs. Hippie Snowman and his Woman! Both Dads took pictures, one of them ended up hitting our very small town newspaper. Thrilling the twinnies and boys beyond reason! We ended up the talk on not only the neighborhood, but also of our little town. That makes me laugh out loud, thinking back to that year…Smalltown celebs we were for just a short while anyway! 😉 🙂