Ugly footstools

Yesterday I went to an auction at my great aunt and uncle's place. Uncle Homer passed away a couple of years ago and Aunt Erma passed away last month. Uncle Homer was Papa's brother and I loved him so dearly. The two times that Tater and I took those two to the City for their school reunion are some of my most precious memories. Uncle Homer was an amazing wood worker - cabinets, tables, furniture, you name it, he could build it. And build it well. Mom told me that if I wanted a memento I needed to come to the auction, so yesterday after I finished filling in at Mom's office, Kady, Princess and I headed to Fairland.

As soon as I got there, I got my number and Mom told me to bid on a handmade treadle sewing machine table. I hightailed it down to the end of the row where the action was and managed to get the table for $17.50. I love bidding at auctions. I'm a big chicken, though, most of the time and don't get caught up in the excitement like most people I've seen. I was tickled pink about the table and after the crowd moved on, I browsed around to see if there was anything else I wanted. I saw a pair of foot stools that looked familiar, so I went to Mom's table to ask her a question. She confirmed what I thought - they were my great-Granny Glenn's footstools.

I can't tell you how many times as a child that I sat on and played on those footstools. Tater and I would sit on those things and watch the news at noon while we ate tablet after tablet of Vitamin C (it's a wonder we didn't OD - we thought they were candy) and alfalfa sprouts (it's a wonder we didn't get the runs as many of those things as we ate). Oh, they're not very pretty - covered in a green and cream patterned plastic - but those footstools are a piece of my Granny, a piece of my childhood. I got nothing of Granny's when she died, not one thing. Am I bitter? Yeah, pretty much. But going into that whole thing would take way too much time and frankly, I have a feeling that certain family members read this and would know I was talking about them and boy, if I thought the tension was thick already.... (No, Cousin Stacey, it's not you, lol.) Let's just say that I am not one to easily forgive and forget when you mess with and disrespect the people I love. 'Nough said.

Okay, so after that little digression..... I got the foot stools. One for me, one for Tater. I didn't even think they existed any more, so what a wonderful surprise for us.

I almost bought a piano yesterday, too. The only thing that stopped me was that I could hear Paul screaming, "What were you THINKING??" and could almost envision the bursting of blood vessels in his neck and forehead and I just wasn't sure I wanted to deal with that. I was sick after the bidding stopped, though - it sold for $250. But again with the bursting blood vessels and stuff, so it worked out. Even when I told him I had considered buying it, he got all riled up, but after he calmed down he told me that if I want a piano that bad, his mom has an old upright at her house that probably wouldn't take too much effort to get. I'm just not sure my living room is big enough for that beast - it's HUGE.


Wow.


Ever have one of those days where you can't think of a thing to write in your blog?