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