Buried Treasure

Vacation is over, and husband and I are back to home improving again. Oldest son’s room is now on the agenda. His room will be painted “Butter” which is a soft shade of yellow, and I will use blue accents. I found some buried treasure while moving stuff around to paint this summer. I uncovered a collection of blue glass that I had forgotten I had. It is funny how when you get one or two of an item, then, people assume you collect it and start giving you more. My grandmother gave me a blue milk glass candy dish and another blue glass vase. Then, my mother-in-law gave me two blue bowls. It was all stashed in a cupboard over the refrigerator along with some rum that I think was leftover from a cruise early in our marriage. I think I will leave the rum hidden, but the blue glass is coming out in the open to be displayed on a shelf in oldest son’s room. The shelf that used to hold his trophies and treasures. I like blue and yellow together and think that room will be quite bright and pretty when we are done. Speaking of bright and pretty, we found another old treasure while cleaning. When my grandmother died about twelve years ago, a cousin’s wife claimed an antique lamp from Grandma’s belongings. The problem was that the cousin lived in California and could not get the lamp home on the airplane. So, I kindly offered to store the lamp until they could figure out a way to ship it home. Over the years, the lamp base and the shade got separated. The base was shoved into the closet that holds our air conditioner, and the shade was turned upside down into a too small box in the top of my closet. There was no packing or protection around it and over time, the metal frame flexed and three welds and some brackets that held the glass in place broke. A few months ago, I rediscovered both pieces and decided it was time to stake my claim. After all, it’s been twelve years. Cousin and his wife are now divorced and have probably long forgotten the lamp. Husband used some JB weld and silicone glue and fixed right up. I cleaned all the dust off the base with a toothbrush and will do the same for the shade as soon as the welds are set. In the meantime, I found the perfect spot to display it. Everyone who sees the lamp comments on how valuable it must be. To me, the value lies in the memories. Every time I see it, I think of my grandmother. And my cousin, who lost out by not acting sooner. There’s a gift waiting for you, too, a priceless gift, the gift of salvation, but you have to accept it in order to make it yours. It will brighten up your life much more than an antique lamp ever could.