What's Up? Magazine

“Love is Blind,” says the inscription on the tiny case that holds a miniature set of eyeglasses, one of 39 charms on a charm bracelet Jeanne Hendricks inherited from her late mother. “As a child, I would take my mother’s charm bracelet, look at every single charm, and play with it as if it were a toy,” recalls Hendricks, who was seven or eight years old when she received her own bracelet. The bracelet she began assembling as a young girl now has 26 charms. “Every time we took a trip, we would buy a charm,” she says. “And when my father traveled, he brought charms back as souvenirs. I think he started the bracelet for my mother when they were first married. My father fought in World War II, and he loved buying jewelry for my mother. Her charm bracelet enabled him to bring back keepsakes from all the places he had been,” she explains while handling both bracelets with love and admiration.

Today we communicate with text messages and email by using smartphones and computers, making pen and ink a thing of the past. But less than 75 years ago, things were different. As recently as 1957, the United States Post Office was still using pens and inkwells. In June of 1957, they switched over to ballpoint pens.

“There are two things I collect: horses and egg cups,” explains Davidsonville resident Sabine Joyce. “I started collecting egg cups twenty years ago. No one wanted them anymore.”

Whether you collect items associated with vintage cars, or the cars themselves, the upcoming Concours d’Elegance event provides a wonderful opportunity to admire exquisite cars and raise money for the St. Michaels Maritime Museum. For more information, go to their website at www.smcde.org.

“We live in a throwaway society” is a statement that gets bandied about when describing the lifestyle of the late 20th and early 2lst centuries. The mantra, “Throw away the old and buy the new,” smacks suspiciously of Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World. Yet, in seeking to stay connected with the past, trivial items are often saved: ticket stubs, greeting cards, theater programs, etc. These insignificant mementos of everyday life can provide clues about the recent and distant past.

Even with surgical advances to correct vision, and innovation such as long-wearing contact lenses, lots of people still want to wear eyeglasses. They can make a fashion statement and they can also add a new dimension to an otherwise drab appearance. Even if you don’t need prescription lenses, take comfort in the fact that with spring and sunny weather it’s important to wear sunglasses. The right pair can create an aura of mystique, glamour or personality.

It’s worth a lot of money but needs polishing periodically. It looks elegant on your dining table but you can’t put it in the dishwasher. It’s available in some lovely, unique, antique designs and patterns, but if you are trying to match up a set you may not be able to find what you need to complete it. Silver—it’s a precious metal with some positives and negatives. But the good news is that, whether you sell your silver for scrap or buy additional old silver to expand your collection, as a desirable element used in jewelry, art, decoration, and industry, silver will always be recycled.

The Chesapeake is a boating region. While boating enthusiasts often debate the merits of owning a sailboat versus a power boat, they most likely agree on the pleasure they take in being out on the water with the sun on their faces, and—if they are sailing—the wind at their backs. Many Americans can only dream of owning a boat—and even those who do own a boat may pine for a bigger and better one. Boat owner or not, it is fun to imagine. Another way to appreciate boats, powered by motor or sail, is to collect miniature ones.

I was nine years old when our family visited Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. I remember it vividly because everything was so different. There were no cars. You could only arrive and leave by boat. And there was no electricity. As the sun began to set, our hostess would start lighting the kerosene lamps. The flame lighting the wick inside each glass chimney flickered and cast a warm golden glow on the room. Outside I would hear the whirring buzz of the insects through the screen windows and feel the slight breeze of the wind rustling through the trees. The kerosene lamps made everything look romantic.

Folk art can be many different types of things—such as a wooden box or an embroidered sampler. By definition it is art created by someone who has not received formal art training.