New Year's Eve

We started the day slow, and late for us. Up at 8:30 instead of the usual 7 am. I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast while Larry loaded the van, because today we went to Marietta to restock our booths.

The rain fell in buckets, steadily all morning. Everything is soggy. As one friend said, thank goodness it rained because the mud was getting dehydrated. It has been a wet, wet year, and ending on the same note.

We went to town first, to meet up with a young man from whom I was buying some glass to re-sell. Turns out he's an avid and well-known collector of Viking glass (made in New Martinsville, WV) and is writing a book about the many colors Viking produced over the years. We had a fascinating conversation (for glassaholics, anyway) right there in the grocery store parking lot, in between rain showers.

Next stop was the bank to get some cash. I know I am superstitious but I did not want to go into the new year with no cash in my pocket. But the ATM didn't work. No problem, we thought, we'd just go to our other bank. Oddly, same problem there! So I ended up walking into the bank to get cash. It was an odd coincidence that both banks had ATMs that did not work, and perhaps an apt wrap to a year where money was tight and not as easily come by?

Another stop at our Ravenswood booths to pick up a teapot a friend wants. We were pleased to find that sales had been good and there were many "holes" in our spaces there.

We took the river road north instead of the interstate, and as usual the drive was beautiful and fast. There is not much traffic along this two-lane that borders the Ohio River, making it one of our favorite drives.

We restocked our booths at Marietta--the antique mall was fairly busy when we got there but things slowed down after 3pm. I made some good changes and we took out a small dropleaf table and two chairs that our granddaugher Grace needs for her apartment at college. We had sold a barrister's bookcase this week so we had some space to add new items. I rearranged a lot of stuff to be more visible, added a few new things, and we did some much-needed dusting.

When we were finished, we stopped at the Lafayette Hotel's bar & grill. It's often our "treat" when we work at our Marietta booths--the ambience is so welcoming and comfortable, and the view of the river is just perfect. The food and service are excellent too. The place was full of people celebrating the new year's arrival. A couple who were just married were taking pictures in the lobby and later came into the grill. We bought them their first drinks--who wouldn't?

Next stop was the grocery store--mundane, I know, but I needed cabbage and black-eyed peas for our New Year's dinner! The store was full of happy people buying last-minute supplies for their New Year's celebrations too.

Then it was home. I took care of a few things--finishing up laundry so we didn't start the new year with dirty clothes, sweeping the floors so that would not be done on New Year's (because that would sweep our good luck out the door), cleaning up the kitchen so we start the year on the right foot, etc.

We lit the fire in the fireplace and put in our last DVDs of Mrs' Brown's Boys. The DVDs are hilarious! Quite bawdy and profane, but so funny! The fire gave us fits--the wind is strange this evening, blowing from two directions at once it seems so there were many downdrafts that poofed smoke into the room. We don't ever have this problem as Larry built the fireplace and it draws beautifully--but tonight, it was wild. I had the oddest feeling that it was my son Jon, coming home to this place where he was raised. Jon has been gone for 8 years, but that feeling was so strong...

Now it is nearly midnight. I've thought about my goals for the year, and Larry and I both discussed what we wanted to accomplish in 2019. We will burn our troubles in the fire as we have done for so many years, and welcome in the new year with open arms and lights blazing throughout the house. The doors will be open to let out the old year and let in the new.  The wind, I think, is the wind of change and I am sure the change it brings will be for the good.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Addendum: Midnight. All across this long ridge, guns and firecrackers announced the new year--the way we do things here. We may not be able to see our neighbors' homes, or see their lights, but they, like us, are awake and celebrating. Larry called one of our neighbors, who recalled a New Year's night when a relative thought it would be a good idea to toss some .22 rounds into the fire. People were diving under tables and beds, shots went through the ceiling and roof...well, we don't get quite that crazy here, but Larry did bring out the shotgun and fire off a few rounds, and the firecrackers I bought that would not go off outside made some nice popping noise in the fireplace! My bubbly is almost empty, so it will soon be time to say good night and good morning to the dawning of another year. Sleep well, friends!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.