Annie

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By the sound of the knock on my door, strong, steady and sure, I knew it was Annie.

Tilting her head to the side she said, "I thought you had died. I haven't seen you in over a week. You know you spoil me with your daily visits…. so if I do not see you, well, then I start to think in my head– certainly she must be dead."

"I am here," I said as I hugged her, apologized, then said, "Wait until you see the inside of my house. You won't believe it but you will understand where I have been."

She said, "Oh! Why did you paint it or change something?" But as soon as I opened the door wide she saw that my house had transformed into a warehouse. She squealed like a kid when she saw the Busy Blonds packing (as I call my blogging buddies).

Instantly Annie was pointing to things she liked and noticing the fine details of the collection. She never once claimed any of it to be junk, or old, or worthless. Instead she beamed with curiosity, I admire that quality in her: To find joy in the everyday, to find newness it what she has experienced well in her ninety years, to live the day to day moments with gusto.

Annie beamed, "Life is certainly filled with surprises."



Comments

37 responses to “Annie”

  1. Good morning!
    What a sweet dear friend Annie is!
    I love the picture you took of her (and it is so tidy in that spot of your house, the pink blanket a darling!).
    Here, it has begun to snow: Big fluffy flakes dancing from the sky.

  2. Annie is still beautiful after all these years! How divine! Glad she found delight in your found treasures…
    Joanny

  3. Julie Ann Evins

    Thats very heartwarming Corey. What a tribute to Annie not to call any of the finds junk – after all she will have seen a couple of generations get rid of that stuff and replace with new. Luv Jx

  4. How lovely it must have been for the busy blondes to meet Annie. She is an absolute treasure.

  5. Annie is certainly straight to the point…maybe you should remind her that if you had died , she most certainly would have been “invited” to your funeral…
    Hope your house is back to normal soon, when are those blondes leaving?

  6. We all need an “Annie” in our lives. Love her…..

  7. I adore Annie…you are blessed with such a beautiful friend!!!

  8. It made me smile to hear the words coming from her mouth that you were thinking about here a while ago when you hadn’t seen her for a few days. Still finding joy in the world no matter your age…what sage advice. And what a role model on how to live.

  9. Corey,
    Thanks for the “Annie Fix.” And I love starting my day with your true stories.

  10. I was wondering what Annie was up to…worrying about you, isn’t that just so Annie?! Love the photo of her. She’s my role model for how I want to be when I’m old. Oh wait…I am old, maybe I should be like her right now!

  11. What a sweet blogpost, thnak you so much for sharing it. very lovely picture too.

  12. Life is full of surprises, yes it is, Annie. What a precious woman.

  13. well,
    i have ‘an annie’
    who lives across the street from me
    and
    i feel so fortunate
    and am a better person for her.
    🙂
    now,
    if only
    i could knock on your front door
    and see your treasures there!
    aren’t we in the best of luck
    that you share so many
    of them
    HERE!

  14. How nice to hear from Annie again. You are so fortunate to have her in your life.

  15. Jeanette Mc.

    I’ve missed Annie.

  16. oh this is so sweet
    thanks so much Corey
    you always brighten my day

  17. Annie is a delight! What a special friend you have. I know you treasure her dearly.

  18. Bonjour Annie! Bonjour Corey!
    I think I’ve caught up with your brocante adventures, and I have this to say: If I could ever visit you and spend a day going to the brocantes, I would give you first dibs on everything!

  19. What I so dearly miss with my mother gone are all the wonderful stories she would tell of her life growing up in the 20s, 30s and 40s, her adventures as a young (18) wife striving to creatively decorate their tiny apartment above a bakery, about antiques she found in France on several of her travels in the 70s and 80s…
    Give Annie a hug and a sip of cognac!

  20. What a treasure you have, Corey! Love Annie’s full head of beautiful white hair. Such joy to have such a wonderful neighbor and friend.

  21. Oh, how happy I am that Annie is doing well. That’s a lovely picture of her. Give her a hug for me,won’t you?

  22. I love to hear all about Annie
    Tell her I said Merry Christmas
    Love Jeanne
    Blessings to you all♥

  23. I want to be like Annie when I grow up. She’s so full of life.

  24. Annie so reminds me of my Mom. That is exactly what she says to me when I don’t call her as often as she likes. What a great time you have been having!
    Nancy

  25. jend’isère

    Wonderful that you could catch up with your friend the old fashioned way and not through technological means. You were so busy keeping us up to date, it is nice to share through conversation.

  26. (sigh of relief) I thought you were going to tell us she had passed…

  27. I love it when Annie shows up at your house and in your blog! (:
    Btw, I got your package of French Ephemera last week… and am just now grabbing a moment to say Thank you thank you Corey! It was all tied up with a perfect blue ribbon and a few extra lovlies inside! Merveilleux!!! How did the offer work out for future offerings? xxVicki

  28. I wonder what Annie thinks of your bloggy life and the fact that she is known in all sorts of unlikely places like, um, the boonies of central Texas. What a dear friend, to delight in the treasures of friendship.

  29. That Annie is such a dear! Give her a hug for me!!
    Jill

  30. Corey,
    You have been a very busy lady- brocanting is hard work even if it is fun. So glad to know that Annie is doing well- I know how special she is to you- she appreciates your many talents and celebrates your uniqueness. We all need friends like that.
    I hope you and yours have a wonderful festive season and that everything that you got on your brocanting trip arrives safely in his new home.
    Warmest regards,
    Anna

  31. Nice to hear that Annie is well and her curiosity got her moving to find out what you were up to. Being interested in life and people I think is the secret to living well as we age. I still LOVE that picture of her in the chair but todays might be gaining fast!
    Happy brocanting and visiting Corey, Annie and all!

  32. Ahhh, an Annie story! 🙂 She’s such a joy to read about. How nice to see your brocante warehouse through her eyes.

  33. She is so sweet! I really wish I could meet her.

  34. Loved seeing Annie! Please wish her a Merry Christmas!
    It’s amazing that you all gathered so many treasures and managed to have a great time in the process. Thanks, as always, for sharing your glamorous adventures. Perhaps they don’t seem so for you at the moment, but I’m sure you’ll all have such wonderful memories of the past week.

  35. Your dear Annie is the French version of my dear Rosa.
    So pleased to hear of both !!!

  36. What can I say, Corey? I just adore Annie and love that we share a name. I want to be an old woman JUST LIKE HER.

  37. Reminds me of my Grandma, who is 96. She is the most wonderful person in the world to me. And she has treasures galore, including a big cupboard filled with her hats, circa 1940-1965–and they have my name on them!

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