It's been pretty awesome.
- Christmas in Maine, check.
- De-Christmasing upon our return, check.
- New Year's Eve party, check.
- Gatherings with friends, check.
- Impromptu brunch at The Gallery, check.
Since we've been home, we've been hanging out, reading, purging and cleaning (in my case) painting, playing online games, streaming old shows (in Ali's case) shopping and cooking (in Jeff's case.) It's been low-key but super fun.
While getting ready for NYE, I remembered that we came home from Maine in July with a collection of Avon lead crystal glassware with an etched hummingbird motif. I ended up with it because my mom had left me with a collection of the stuff, and sets+ of another Avon glassware collection went home with Jen and James.
What's funny about the glasses is my parents didn't drink alcohol and Jeff's folks weren't big drinkers. I don't think the glasses were ever used, and most were in their original boxes, the little stickers proclaiming their bona fides were still on them. The Maine ones were handy in the basement, but my mom's have languished in the attic since we moved here circa 1998. There're plates, bowls, a bud vase, a pitcher and a platter as well. Salt and pepper shakers too.
Jeff had gotten into the attic checking to check on a troublesome roof leak, so I asked him to bring down my mom's hummingbird glass just to see what we have. With it, he found more of another set of glassware from Marian that I'd seen used on an old Mad Men re-run. It took me a few hours to inventory everything, repackage and store it downstairs where it'll be easier to find/use.
He also found a box of dishes labeled (he claims in my hand writing): "In case of divorce." His outrage blew down from afar like sparks on the wind, but Ali and I thought it was hilarious.
I have no memory of that box, and he didn't open it, so I don't know what's really in there. I suspect it's his old dishes, or maybe Mrs. Reed 1.0, because I know where my old dishes are. They're set aside downstairs for Ali's first apartment.
Today, Ali and I decided we'd cook dinner -- primary item French onion soup -- and while we were getting things together, Jeff remembered that while he was on his tour of the attic, he'd seen a set of bowls and a Dutch oven he'd bought when he lived in Europe. We sent him back up; they're beautiful and perfect for our soup. But their arrival will mean a trip to Goodwill and a goodbye to other bowls we've used for years and have the chips to prove it.
My goal is to donate or scrap at least one item for every new thing that comes into our house this year. Discovering "new" stuff already here is a bit of a wrinkle, but I'll cope. The purge is definitely on.
On a prednisone high, I cleaned Jeff's work area down in the basement and lightened a bit of that load. The workbench had been littered with all kinds of crap for months. Projects that will never be finished, containers of things opened but not returned to their spot, pens, packing material.
That corner is just about the last vestige of stuff left by the former owners mingled with some of our own junk. If you ever need a screw, a nail, a washer, a tool, old doorknobs, wall anchoring supplies, sandpaper, etc... we probably have what you need no matter the size or color. Some of it dates back to the 1950s. Nails and screws, man, they don't perish. Seriously. Amil Gelb was a keeper.
Clearing some of it away is a tiny step toward convincing Jeff to make that corner a wine/beer/liquor cellar. All of that will have to find its way to the garage or shed. Even on prednisone, I'm not up to that task
Yesterday, we took a trip to a Vintage store near our house where the first Saturday of the month, everything is half off. Even in a purge, bargains must be reviewed. The most flagrant purchase was Ali's. "I'm so tired of being short on campus," she claimed as she clutched a pair of 4-inch boots to her chest. Doubtful she would realistically wear them, I tried to dissuade her but gave in.
She put them on in the car as we finished our trip with the library, Target and Lowe's. She and I went to Target and then walked over to Lowe's to meet Jeff. On our walk, she said, "When we went into Target a group of ladies looked at me and said, "That girl is going to break her ankles." I just turned up my headphones.
I laughed, remembered my days of always wearing heels, and said, "They're just jealous. Heck, I'm jealous."
She laughed and said, "Right?! I saw my legs in these things. I'm never taking them off."
Right now, the house is full of cooking smells and music. I sou-cheffed for a while, then Jeff took over, but now it's just Ali puttering around in the kitchen, me on the couch and Jeff downstairs with a game on.
It's our last day together unencumbered with other responsibilities. It's a good day.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment