Tuesday, May 28, 2013

WDM, IA - Kahlua, Fran and Ollie

Gary and I have a lot to ‘get rid’ of. We will give away lots like clothing and linens. We will store lots for the home we’ll have next. And, I am trying my hand at selling some things. I sold a camera recently on Craig’s list and that went pretty well. So, I’m primed to try some more things. A long time ago, my mother gave me part of her collection of Blue Bubble Depression Glass. She is quite a collector and not only had her set of Blue Bubble but had a set for my father of Windsor Depression Glass. And, then she started a set for me. I think she just liked to buy things for cheap in antique shows.

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I got so much from my mother and, though I’ve tried, I just can’t keep it all. In the end, I’d rather keep my mother’s wry sense of humor and her love of life than her Depression Glass.

Last fall, I tried to sell these pieces to a local collector but was told that Blue Bubble was too popular back in its day and now was not as collectible as rarer items. So, I offered to give it away but left for Arizona before we had made arrangements to do this. Now, it is ‘do or die’ time. I tried to contact the Club again but couldn’t get through their ‘junk’ sensors. (Thanks) But, there’s always Craig’s list. I took this picture, wrote my ad, uploaded it and wrapped the pieces back up in the 1985 Sunday Boston Globe newspaper. (Obviously, it’s been a long time since I’ve used these pieces since we left the southern New Hampshire area in 1985.

2 hours later, I got an e-mail from someone who’s interested in buying. She loves Depression Glass and her daughter is a ‘Glass-o-holic.’ She thinks she got a great deal since she probably would have paid more for these 77 pieces in flea markets. I think I lucked out because not only did I get paid for these but I got them to someone who will appreciate them as much as my mother. A win-win.
We’re also trying to use up some of the things we’ve got in the pantry - like the vodka. Huh, vodka in Nancy and Gary’s home? As you probably know, Gary and I are teetotalers and drink nothing more lethal than Crystal Lite. And, that’s when we really want to party. However, I can enjoy Kahlua and have a great recipe that I got from a friend many, many years ago. And, how many times have I made this recipe in these many many years? Twice. The last time I made it for us was back in 1996 when we lived in south Des Moines, right down the hill from Terrace Hill where the governor lives. I made it in December, put it on a ledge going down to the basement to age and, slowly but surely tippled through the year until I looked in October and - whoo-eee - the bottle was 1/2 empty. Oops, better not make that again.

The second time I made this was in December of 2005 when I still worked at Wells Fargo. I thought this might be a great gift for a few people and made a large batch - with a bit left over for myself.

When we travel, we take only what we will need in the RV for the months we’ll be gone and leave everything here. Now, we’re moving into the RV shortly and need to condense since we won’t be able to keep anything here in a local ‘home.’ I still had a 1/2 bottle of vodka. What to do? What to do? How about making a 1/2 batch of Kahlua? I had some Taster’s Choice coffee (which I had bought for the original Kahlua), bought some distilled water at the grocery and I was ready to cook away. I mixed the coffee and the distilled water, reached for my sugar and - oh, no. I have only 1/2 cups and need 1 1/2 cups. Hmm - Hey, I’ve got some brown sugar - how about using that? It’s sugar, right? What’s the harm? It’s only for us. And, I did. Pretty good. Now, I just need to let it age and I can tipple all this year.

IMG_0032-2013-05-28-14-57.JPGIt’s raining again. When the weathermen interrupt Dr.Phil for weather reports, you know it’s bad out there. There are three of them and they’re tag teaming through this. When one runs out of energy and needs a drink of water, another glides in to take over. Iowa had a drought going into this spring and that’s old news. Now it’s the flooding in the fields. Not only do we have flooding but we’ve got some flash flooding now. The rain is coming down in sheets and I can’t see the trees across the pond. The downspouts look like rivers and the sidewalks look like lakes. I’m expecting to see geese floating down the sidewalks soon.

We’ve also had some hail in our storms. Above is our deck with the lots of dime-sized hail.

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