Category: Random Musings

59 Candles, 59 Things – part thirty one

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

Thirty ninth thing: As the next part in this series, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention wine as being one of the things that make me happy.  Anyone who knows me can attest to my abiding passion for it. In almost every photo of me for the last 20 years, I’m toasting someone with a glass of red or white.

It wasn’t always so. In my (ah hem) younger years, wine and I were at odds.  Part of the problem was the “wine” I was drinking. Keep in mind, this was in the mid-70’s and Boone’s Farm was all the rage.  Also, MD2020 “Mad Dog” left lasting impressions and wicked hangovers. I was certain that I would NEVER enjoy wine.

Fast forward to age forty: At a wine tasting in Traverse City, I tried dry white wines and  liked them so much that I came home with a half case.  A few months later a dear friend and I were dining at an upscale Detroit area restaurant, she ordered Merlot.  I decided to try it and this began my love affair with dry reds.  I soon joined three wine clubs and learned a great deal about varietals and what I preferred over time.  My passion for wines knows no bounds as evidenced below.

Just a few glasses of wine enjoyed in my travels, cheers!

For more of my series, 59 Candles, 59 Things, click on “59 Things” under categories.

59 Candles, 59 Things – part twenty nine

~ Spence's Girl ~ 8 Comments

Thirty seventh thing: My next entry in the 59 Candles series (of things that make me happy) is my maternal Grandma’s china, which I inherited when she moved into a small apartment years prior to her passing.

As a child, I fell in love with this lovely set of china as much for it’s beauty as for the many delicious family meals enjoyed at my grandparent’s table.  She’d purchased this set as a young woman, prior to her marriage to Grandpa.  With twelve place settings and multiple serving pieces, these dishes were packed up and moved countless times over the course of Grandpa’s career. When she offered them to me, I couldn’t have been more thrilled.  Her only request – could she keep two cups and saucers? Of course.

She lived in Florida and wasn’t up to travelling to Michigan but I would write her, describing meals I served to family and friends using these special dishes.  She always told me how happy this made her and that I likely used her china more than she had over the years.

When Mom sold her home in Florida and moved to Michigan last year, she downsized. A few months ago, she asked me if she might borrow a few cups and saucers from Grandma’s china.  She’d met new friends and wanted to be able to offer a lovely cup of tea when they visited.

“Of course” I said with a smile, reminding her that Grandma had once made the same request.  Grandma would be happy.

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The china was made in  Czechoslovakia

“59 Candles, 59 Things” is a series I began last May to commemorate my 59th birthday celebrating things that make me happy.  If you’re interested in this series, check out “59 Things” under Categories.  There is also a series I did last year called “Moving Mom” detailing the weeks spent helping Mom pack up her home in Florida and our road trip back to Michigan, one of the best experiences of my life.