The first year she participated she was more of a backup singer to the main characters of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

She still was learning how to compose herself — especially after a devastating blow of not getting to be Mary. She wore a sad long face with puppy dog eyes that seemed to be transfixed on Mary’s flowing headpiece.

Oh, how she longed for that role, to hold the swaddling baby in her arms.

Lo, and behold, the following year she strategically placed herself in the momentous role of Mary. That was the year that they all received treats after their performance, and I got some great shots for the photo album as the chipmunk-cheeked candle lighter with the sucker stick hanging out of her mouth, dressed as Mary.

This year her height has placed her as Angel of The Lord. “I am the lead Angel, mom, because I’m the tallest and the three Wisemen (who are all little boys), bow before me — like they’re asking me to prom!”

There are many possible reactions a person can have to this statement. Mine is simple joy at this unexpected twist of a little girl’s expectations in her future.

Granny tip for combining Christmas with prom in this giving season: As you are hauling Christmas decorations out of storage, cleaning out closets to make room for winter sweaters, go ahead and grab those dreamy prom dresses. Give them to ECKAN to make another girl’s dream come true on this special right of passage. Prom Boutique is in February for local high school girls to receive beautiful new and gently used formal dresses at no cost.

Check it out at: http://www.eckan.org/prom_boutique.html

In baseball triple plays are rare. In thrifting it’s even rarer, but when it happens it is worth celebrating with a warm bag of peanuts and an oversized beverage!

Last week it happened to me. I found myself shopping in the quaint little village nestled between three lakes otherwise known as Garnett.

Garnett also has something else going for it. A nostalgic square. With a three-story antique store, a natural food store, several unique gift shops and a new coffee shop, it is thriving now more than ever. Nestled in all this commerce is the good old ARC Thrift Store.
The ARC Thrift Store is run by fellow Granny-type volunteers. The gem of the store is that anything not marked is $1.50. This makes it enticing to do a quick browse every week or so.

Last week, I snatched a complete outfit, new with tags. The dress was a knee length cotton design with a modern bold flower design, the bonus was the loose-fitted calf length leggies that came with it.

Here’s the the Triple Tag Play – it had the original store tag on it ($50), a Goodwill tag on it ($5) and here I was stuffing it in my cart for $1.50.

In case you’re thinking that dress must have been ugly to have been passed down so many times, I don’t think so. I received a near-record number of compliments when I wore it, and not one time did I reveal my cost. Sure, folks may have been being kind to the Granny in a $1.50 outfit, but my co-workers and friends are often brutally honest!

The only way this outfit could break it’s current record is for someone to buy it when I grow tired of it at my garage sale for a quarter!

Then, TAG – You’re it!