The Owners' Manual - Issue 12 - Winter 2018

KELLY BEAUDREAU-HWANG (Meriden) I received a special gift for my 35th birthday. I have always loved Stickley furniture and the arts and crafts style. My dad was very involved in antiques and knew how expensive authentic Stickley furniture could be. He saw a news article about a small Stickley side table that sold at auction for a small fortune. He researched the table and made an exact replica and gave it to me on my 35th birthday. Now that he is gone, having something he made with his own two hands for me is incredibly special.

KATHY RODO (Meriden) I love black cats so have rescued many from shelters over the years and always have two or three at a time.We rescue older cats and do not take the kittens everyone adopts.Within a few months, two of my cats that I had for 19 years and 10 years both passed away. I was so devastated by this and it was a very hard time.After saying for years, we wouldn’t get a kitten, my husband went to the Old Lyme Shelter and adopted me a little black kitten and brought him home and gave him to me as a gift. I named him Cubby and he is the love of my life.

SUSAN DOUGHERTY (Hartford) My favorite gift is a necklace that was made for me and given to me last Christmas. It is a beautiful necklace made from my parents wedding rings. They both have been gone for many years and I miss them dearly every day.When I was given this gift, I can’t explain the emotions that I felt. Happy, grateful, sad but mainly LOVE especially for the person who made it for me and the people that gave it to me. Of course, I have received many wonderful things in my lifetime, especially things given to me by my children. But this gift is probably the most meaningful gift I have ever received.

DAN CASINELLI (Bridgeport) A few years after my grandfather passed away, I may have been about 15 or 16, my grandmother gave me my grandfather’s gold wind up pocket watch. He had received it as a gift when he was young and only used it for special occasions. He kept it in the original box and it remains that way today. I had a lot of great memories with him and that item keeps those memories and good times alive.