Last summer my mom; aka “Lois” or “The Big L” made the transition from snowbird to permanent Florida resident. Translation, she had to consolidate the contents of her home in New Jersey, which she had resided in for nearly twenty years, and her condo in Florida, that she has wintered in for some twenty-three years.
As an octogenarian, albeit a very youthful one, with a philosophy that is the antithesis to the phenomenon that The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has become, my mom has acquired and accumulated many a possession over her eight decades in existence.
Indeed, her fondness for cobalt blue, and blue and white glassware patterns in particular, began when she was a young child. Her blue and white collection is nothing short of impressive, and literally every time I come across similar patterns, whether in a store or while thumbing through the pages of a magazine, I always think of Lois.
A collection such as my mom’s blue and white is certainly something to covet, and even pass down to family members—especially the hand painted items she carefully chose from impressive artisans, such as Royal Delft.
At the same time, whilst assisting Lois in packing up her wares, my husband, Lior Azoulai, and I also discovered some interesting items, not covetable as such, but that helped us laugh and enjoy moments throughout the stressful moving process.
By far, the item that stands apart from the rest is the green, glass head. My mom had this piece amid her emerald green glassware collection decorating her bathroom countertop. Before moving it to the packing area, I immediately snapped a picture and posted it on Facebook, “What every household needs…a green, glass head.” Aside from comments to my post, many friends made it a point to tell me in person how this post cracked them up.
While she decided not to move this piece into her new home, she went out of her way to find someone to adopt it, offering it to many, and enumerating its benefits. She finally convinced my nephew to take it, and suggested that he use it as a hat stand of sorts.
As if this item weren’t unusual enough, weeks later while perusing the aisles in a TJ Maxx, I found the long lost ancestors of the green, glass head.
Another noteworthy find amid Lois’s collection was a set of amber Bavarian-style shot glasses, which of course, I also had to post on Facebook. My post featured the picture below, and read:
My mom “Lois” is so well equipped that she can host a Bavarian themed party with these shot glasses!
Lederhosen required!!
They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…and admittedly, more often than not, much to my husband’s chagrin, I have tended to hold onto things, even seemingly odd things…just because. Indeed, I don’t think either of us will ever forget the look of horror on his face upon witnessing my chock-full clothing racks upon entering my tiny apartment in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn when we were first together, circa 1999. It is certainly fair to say that I had more clothing storage than furniture. By furniture, I am referring to my blue inflatable chair, large craft table for my TV, and for quite a while, my air mattress bed.
Can one argue that this is genetic or just inherent quirkiness?
