I adore this story, Kim - the part about your nickname and the history of the pickle ornament. Fascinating. I'd never heard of the pickle ornament before.

And, isn't it funny how people get food nicknames? I once worked with a woman who was in her 80s and still going strong. She was a petite, feisty lady, not even 5-feet tall, who drove a full-sized canary yellow Hummer! It was a birthday present to herself when she turned 80. Her nickname was Noodle. That's what everyone called her. It went back to her premature birth. The nurse said she looked like a wet noodle. She wasn't expect to live but, of course, did. Her father would say, "This is our miracle noodle." It stuck. She was forevermore known as Noodle.