Sunday, July 15, 2012

Now & Then...






On this beautiful Sunday, while I was cleaning, I realized that...

Religious items touch my soul...

Having gone to St. Mary's of the Assumption Catholic grammar school & having lived on the same block as my church & my school...the nuns & priests were our neighbors. As children, we (my sister & brothers), would play in the church parking with our friends. We were social kids always...talking to the priests & nuns.

...Do you think we may have been bothering them???  ;)

Just the other day, my sister, Lorraine, reminded me of something...

One Sunday...my brother, Louis, my sister, Lorraine, & I went to Mass & during the Homily, Monsignor Cleary, asked me (I was the oldest & maybe about 9 or 10 years old at the time) why we weren't at Mass the week before???  I stood up & said "We didn't have any clean clothes". OMG...I lied to the priest...in church no less !!! In the cobwebs of my mind I thought...I dreamed that...but NOOOOO my sister reminded me that "YESSSSS" I did say that !!!

Another incident occurred, when I was in the second grade. It was the day before I was to receive First Holy Communion. I was so nervous & I was playing in the parking lot of the church. I must have been telling Monsignor Cleary all my fears about receiving First Holy Communion, because he took me into the Sacristy & let me taste the host...What a relief it was to find out that it actually tasted a bit like Styrofoam.

There are so many incidents growing up on the same block as my school & church. Another occurred 20 years later...My first grade teacher, Sister Lucy Ann, was also our neighbor's daughter. She was by far my favorite teacher & I always tell my sister, Lorraine, that everything I learned I learned in first grade.

On a different note...

Thank You Sister Lucy Ann !!! 

Well, twenty years later, when we opened our store (Town & Country Gifts), who comes walking into our store...my fist grade teacher! She just so happened to work for the bank across the street from our store. It is such a small world!!! I found out that she never became a Nun...She never took her final vows. She had gotten married & divorced & remarried.

I wondered, but didn't ask...

Was she still practicing the Catholic faith ???

Well, maybe because of all of these events & the happy memories of childhood...religious items are near & dear to me & my sister, Lorraine.

So today, while cleaning I took a few photos of some our "Favorite" vintage religious pieces:

Madonna & Child...


St. Francis Planter...


St. Anthony Planter



Holy Family Plaque...



Serenity Prayer Plaque...


Finding Comfort,
Kathleen Sforza
Lorraine Sforza Razzano

eBay Stores:
Lorraine's Favorite Finds (vintage, retro, & antique items)
Kathleen Rose's Collection (new items)

Blogs:
Kathleen Rose's Collection
The Savvy Sisters

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

New Beginnings...


WOW...


Time sure does fly !!!






We blinked & before we knew it a season had past.


Last time we posted anything was in the Fall !!!


& now it's Spring !!!


We've planted some seeds & we're ready to grow.


We've embarked on a new adventure...


& we've enlisted the help of Lorraine's husband, Joe...








We started this out of necessity...


After being laid off last June, Joe has been unable to find a job in this economy.


Like everything else in our country...we do not embrace anything old, although, Joe is not "OLD" he is 53 years "YOUNG".


This doesn't just apply to people, it applies to objects as well.


We have no respect for things from the past.


We tear down history & replace it with something new.


Maybe it is because we are a young country, but we need to learn to respect our country's history. When we visited the Mediterranean, we saw how their history is so woven into their culture. The people there all seem to respect architecture, art, as well as older people.




Winery in Tuscany


With age comes wisdom.




So, enough with the rant...we have decided to try & save things from the dump.




We will clean out a house, an attic, a basement, a yard, or garage & instead of dumping it all, we will try & sell or donate the contents.


After all...


You know the "Old" Saying...


"One person's trash is another person's treasure".


or


As we would say...


Mixing the "OLD" with the "NEW" is what "WE DO" !!!


Preserving History...
Kathleen Sforza
Lorraine Sforza Razzano


Town & Country Gifts
1213 Castleton Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10310
718-447-8237


Visit our eBay Stores:
Lorraine's Favorite Finds
Kathleen Rose's Collection


Blogs:
Kathleen Rose's Collection
The Savvy Sisters