Cookie Jars

Well, I have good news! Martin seems to be doing better. His doctor put him on steroids again, and when he is on steroids, he does not have as much trouble breathing or sleeping. Funny thing about steroids though, they make you hungry. Martin is hungry all the time! For the first time in our 39 years together, he is out-eating me. His tummy is showing the results of this noshing, but I don't care. It is good to see him get some relief. He is so sweet too-let me tell you what he did for me. As many of you know, I love cookie jars. I truly do, I don't know why, but I always have. After Bobbie Jo died, my cookie jar craving came roaring to the fore. It was perhaps the way I dealt with my grief, or at least I think that is what happened. At first, a cookie jar here, a cookie jar there, each time reminding me of Bobbie Jo-and I found such comfort as each cookie jar took it's place in my home. Then, the cookie jar habit sneaked up from behind and I began to look for them everywhere. Cartoon characters, kitchen items such as apples, strawberries, cakes, and other jars that brought back wonderful lifetime memories. I found one that was an old chevy with a flat boat tied to the top of it. In the boat was fishing gear, and a picnic basket was tied to the back. Believe it or not, we actually tied a boat to the top of a chevy more than once, and had a cooler tied to the bumper! It was a great to take the family fishing. Then, I found a New York Taxi, that reminded me of the taxis we used to ride in when Martin first went into the service. There are so many, such as the bubble gum machine cookie jar, the sundae cookie jar, the "cookie cola" which looks like a large bottle of coke. My sweet nephew bought me a school bus and a cactus, both of which represent a part of my life. Martin finally told me he had had enough of the "cookie jar craze" and it had to stop! I agreed to try, but it was so hard. There were cookie jars to be found everywhere! Then one day, I came home from a trip with Becky, and what do you think I found? Martin had found a cookie jar that he felt I could not do without. He was so tickled to have found it at a garage sale, and put it in the living room to surprise me. Next thing I knew, he was on ebay, and with great excitement, showed me many cookie jars that he really liked. We haunted the thrift stores for cookie jar treasures, getting some great bargains. My dear sister in law found some as well, and other loved ones gave precious cookie jars that they had bought on a trip, or had seen at a garage sale. Each of these cookie jars are precious to me, each jar gives me great pleasure when I look at them. Well, as you can imagine, I soon ran out of room for my treasures. Dear Martin bought some curio cabinets at a garage sale to display them, but that didn't last long. He then custom made a 14ft long shelf to match the cabinets and put it on top of them, so that it went all across the room and above the large window in the dining room. He had already made a beautiful shelf with a railing to go above the bay window in the kitchen, and I had put some of the cookie jars on a bakers rack. Some of the cookie jars, such as the cars, the fishing ones, the gas pump, and other "manly" representations went out into Martin's "man cave" on a long shelf above the pool table. Like I said, each jar has a special meaning. My grandchildren and other loved ones who love to look at my cookie jars have often remarked, "Gosh Nana, what are you going to do with all of them?" I got the wonderful idea to have each child choose a cookie jar for a wedding gift for when they later marry. They love that idea, and I am covered on wedding gifts for a very long time. So, to get back to the statement, Martin is so sweet, let me tell you what he did for me. I found that cookie jars were beginning to overtake us. My dining room table was becoming covered, and I found I had to juggle the space in the curio cabinets to store them all. I had recently been given a really fabulous squirrel on a stump and had found a "thinking puppy" jar. Although I love each jar, I don't like to have them just placed helter-skelter because I want them displayed to their best and I don't want them to get broken. Yesterday, he called me out to the garage. To my extreme delight, he had built yet another 13 ft shelf for my cookie jars. We put it up over the window in the living room, and were able to place 23 lovely jars on it. There is even space for two more, but I will see what happens. See, Martin gets it. He knows that the cookie jars are more than just "dust collectors". I get such joy when company comes and takes pleasure in recognizing a jar that their grandmother had, or a cartoon character from their childhood. It is wonderful just to sit and look at the cookie jars, and bask in the memories that each represent. Please come and see for yourself. I think you too, will enjoy visiting my cookie jars. I am not as compulsive as I once was over cookie jars, indeed, the ones I get now are gifts or something really special. On mother's day, Martin gave me a lovely rhineocerous covered with flowers. He paid a couple of dollars for it in a thrift store, but to his surprise and my delight, I had the fabulous opportunity to tell him that in the collectors book of cookie jars, the price should have been over 200.00! I really love that rhineocerous! Well, you may wonder how I can have a cookie jar craving and still be an Ant. Like I said, I have really cut down on buying them, and they seem to come from others who know how much I love them. There is one cookie jar and he is called "Smiley Pig". He is very collectable, and VERY expensive. He was very popular during the first part of the 20th century. Usually he is priced starting in the mid-200.oo range going all the way up to a few thousands of dollars. I will find him somewhere like a thrift store or garage sale, and it will be all the sweeter because I will pay very little for him. You wait and see if I don't! Meanwhile, I will love and enjoy all the cookie jars I have now, and surround myself in cookie jar joy. Oh, did I tell you how many I have? Last count, 186! Love, Nanasee