Love Those Blue Moons

Anna, second from the right

Every once in a blue moon, my long time friend, the honorable 'Ms. Anna' flies down from Washington state. This week she came down and invited me to the wedding of her brother Wally and his bride Carolee. The pair had something of a whirlwind romance and decided to take that eventful trip down the aisle. The wedding was intimate and full of love from various family & friends. The Reverend was a hoot - a genuine, fire and brimstone, preachifying preacher of the sort normally only come across in Lil' Abner strips. I never did heard sech speechifying a'fore and he really made you feel like something as special as yer hen laying striped eggs, was taking place. However, my favorite bit of the wedding was the ring barer - 4 or 5 years old - lay on the floor, twiddling the ring-pillow, for most of the ceremony.

Mid ceremony (note ring-bearer, bottom right

After the wedding the group made its way to a Roseville Cattleman's restaurant for the reception. That was nice, as Anna put it, that the guests didn't have to do any of the work. That brought us to think of a family wedding of Anna's that I attended decades ago. At the reception, Anna was in a community center kitchen with her aunts and sisters, preparing and serving meals for several hundred people. Anna came over to me that day, while I was wolfing down a previously unidentified speciality.

"Do you know what you're eating?" Anna looked quizically at me.

"Uh no," I said, I gulping down a delish mouthful,

"That's blood pudding."

"This is my second helping," I said sheepishly, "I guess it's too late to pretend I'm appalled."

Anyway, this wedding too was a lovely way to spend an afternoon - visiting with a good friend during one of her family's happiest occasions. Always great seeing 'Ms Anna', yaking about the old adventures and making up a new few ones to boot.

New Bright Shiny

Full House

Spent plenty of time in the Gulag Garden over the weekend; I was determined to get recently purchased plants into the ground, and I did - sort of. On Saturday, Jeannie came over with 'the next generation' of Bebe's kids (tee hee) - her grandson and her little nephews and niecelette. Her brother and his wife came and we stared at each other knowing we'd all met before, then I remembered. I'd attended their wedding many years ago. They've got two boys now so I guess their marriage 'took'.

Late last week I got word my other buddy Barbara was driving up to Napa Sunday to her Father's house. Her Dad, Dr. Hans, recently moved to an assisted living facility in Fairfield, which for me is even closer than Napa.

Shortly after I heard Barb would be in Napa I happened to discover - via Craig's List - in Napa a winery was holding a 'weekend blowout sale of wine barrels - only $10 each! I was floored by that - I've hunted barrels for months and the cheapest locally are priced at $30 and in some cases as pricey as $50 each. Cool that I could visit Barb in Napa and buy barrels in only one oh-so-economical drive. That was the sort of thing that makes it obvious that I was born in the Chinese Year of the Rabbit - the symbol of luck.

The sale was over the weekend, so I was worried they would be out of barrels by Sunday. No worries - a helpful winery guy loaded into my Honda, all it could hold - four 1/2 barrels and one 1/4 barrels. The man said he'd only just sawed the full sized barrels in halves and quarters that morning. The barrels were sweet with the scent of cut wood and Burgundy - ummm....

No Worries - Plenty of Barrels

I must say, my Honda smells teriff. After the car was loaded up I headed off to Barb's a few miles down the freeway.

Barbara and her sister Suzi are now getting their cousins and aunts and assorted friends (uh... that would be me actually) to pick out objects they might find useful or attractive that will also serve as remembrances of Dr. and Mrs Albertson (Hans is still alive & well enough).

Everyone is finding it melancholy and strange to pick among objects you know the Albertson parents gathered over the years. So Saturday it was just me and Barb, rummaged around the house. I opted to spend the night, which I hadn't planned on, so while we sorted through dishes, glasses of cut crystal and a zillion other treasures, we could yak, laugh, drink up port wine (me) and Bailey's Irish Creme (Barb). I am proud to announce only one porcelain vase was broken, and thank heavens it wasn't me who dropped it!

At 'Chez Claire' I cracked plastic tumblers are used exclusively, because frankly - I'm a klutz. The last time I had house guests I felt a tad embarrassed about my tacky tumblers. That will no longer be a problem. Bequeathed to me are a beautiful set of glasses; Black Forest theme - etched foxes, boar, deer, grouse, frolicking amid branches of oaks and pines. I will not use the glasses for every day use - they wouldn't last the weekend. Nice to think the next time I have company I can serve them up punch in classy glasses.

There were other treasures to bring home as well and over time I will show some of them in this blog, as they are unwrapped and placed next to my other treasures I've gathered over the years. Remember the line in the movie Jaws; 'You may need a bigger boat'? Well, considering all I brought home, I'm beginning to suspect I may need a bigger house.

Bugling Stag on a glass

A Friend Lost

Got sad news today. Once upon a time, when my parents and I moved to San Diego I had two good buddies; Joann, who lived up the street and went to a different school than I did, and Diane who was a high school friend. Over time her mother, Eunice Mock, Diane's sisters and my parents and I all became good friends.

My mother was always friendly and I wasn't surprised that she befriended Diane's mother. But I was totally surprised that my father became part of the friendship. In later years I decided that my father had a little crush on Diane's mother, Mrs. Mock, but who knows. She was a very amiable person and my father could be very amiable when he choose to! Anyway, soon it wasn't unusual for me to bring Diane home with me after school, and my parents would invite her and Mrs. Mock, Suzi and Heidi in for dinner. Daddy was the one who cooked usually and he was good at it; yummy baked salt cod with olives, tomato paste and rice, lamb chops with mint jelly, oxtail stew, all sorts of dishes he thought they might like to try - or whatever the heck we were having! Diane's family was going through a difficult time around then and come to think of it, maybe that was what softened every one's hearts. Anyway, whatever the reason, there was bonding. The whole time we knew them took place during my final year of high school, but it seemed like a much longer period of time - in a good way.

These days Diane, her sister Suzi, is now called 'Aveeda' and the youngest Heidi all live in Northern California & Yakima Washington. Mrs. Mock, Eunice has lived on and off in Yakima Washington, in Ukiah California with her oldest kid, James (who has since passed away) and recently, back in Washington.

Diane called me today and told me her mother 'Eunice' passed away during the night. I've only seen her a couple of time in the last few years, but she seemed as spunky as ever, though the years of course were wearing on her. I decided to mention her because she had an important role in my life. I will never forget I - still in high school, chatted with her one day and she said something like, '... and you'll do very well in college...' and I was like all 'what? Me? College?'.

Thing is, I had wanted to go as long as I could remember, because when I was very young I wanted to be a veterinarian. But I received no encouragement and frankly, the matter of fact way that Eunice mentioned the idea, gave me pause. She then said, 'Of course you'll do well in college!' and went on about it. She was the first adult that brought up the thought as if it wasn't stupid or only a pipe dream. That re-stoked my then floundering ambitions.

Thanks for that Eunice! While you're wherever you are now, I know you'll run across my mother again. Don't let my father talk your ear off, and hey, look up Irmgard Albertson while you're at it. I know you're all get along just fine.