My Grandma gave me these gorgeous wine glasses at my bridal shower in 1891.
Or maybe it was 1991. Who can remember anymore.
I opened them and thought: wow these are awfully fancy for my $4.00 bottle of white zinfandel.
They are delicate and beautifully etched, with real gold on the *lipper* area.
They have survived all of our moves. {5} I have never used them, but they have a prominent spot in our china cabinet.
{sure wish I had cleaned the mirror prior to the photo}
The best part about these babies? My Grandma got them as a wedding gift from a family member…and they had already been in the family at THAT time.
Not sure exactly how old they are, but my G’ma already had them 50 years when she handed them down to me.
Someone actually captured a bit of this gift giving moment on video. I wish I could edit it somehow to share.
I love watching parts of that video ‘cause I can SEE and HEAR my grandma talking again. I miss hearing her voice so much.
And that is all I know.
Grandma always ended our phone conversations this way. Cause, at the moment, that is all she knew. Or possibly, she was tired of talking at this point.
*I made up the lipper area term, but it makes sense. Right?
Have a beautiful day, knowing whatever it is you know.
P.S. Something else I know: the thought of white zinfandel gags me now.
what a wonderful story! I recently found a framed piece of "art"? if you could call it that, that hung on the walls in the home I grew up in and graced my own walls for a while, it lives in the basement now but maybe someday it will grace the walls of one of my girls homes?
ReplyDeleteI know you miss her very much.
ReplyDeleteThey glasses are special. They are so pretty. You must drink out of them soon. What are you waiting for? : )
I have never had white zifandel. I wish I was cooler.
Aw, Suz! What a beautiful story! And, what beautiful glasses. I don't think I could use them either, given their history. What the hell is gonna happen when Linds and Lo get married? Are you going to split them up? The glasses, not the girls. I think their new spouses might split them up first.
ReplyDeleteI love them! I like your "lipper" area description of the glasses...lol...your grandma was the best...I always enjoyed the stories you told about her...all I know is that it is 14 degree's right now which is 44 degree's warmer than when I sent the kids off to school last friday and it feels so warm!
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday Suz!
Those glasses are beautiful! How sweet of your grandma to pass them on to you. We own several sets of glasses or dishes that were passed down to us from either my grandma or my mom and we do use them for special occasions. Using them just makes me feel closer to my family...
ReplyDeleteThose really are lovely! Now, to be perfectly pesky: which daughter will inherit them?
ReplyDeleteOh these glasses look fit for a princess; I'm sure that is why she gave them to you. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, they are just the prettiest and that is just the best story :) Maybe one day your daughters or their daughters will have an even longer story about these glasses :)
ReplyDeleteOoo...those are pretty! I'm glad you could hear your grandma talking. I love video. It helps keep the pieces of our memory together, especially the sounds, that might be hard to remember sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI have some etched drinking glasses and a pitcher that I inherited from my Grandmother. I took them to a dealer and they're depression ware. They're pretty simple, but they could be plastic and I'd love them just as much! :)
Hugs!
Those are absolutely gorgeous Suz. I'm glad you have them where you can enjoy looking at them and being reminded of Grandma. Something I do know is that nothing cleans the mirror on the back of a china cabinet. I do my contortionist act to clean the mirror and when I finish, it looks just like it did when I started!!!
ReplyDeleteThose are a treasure!
ReplyDeleteEven if you never use them, Suz, as you get older (like me) --you will appreciate all of that 'family' stuff. I never used to care about all of the vintage things passed down to me. In fact, I got rid of much of it all through the years... Sigh!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBut---just hold onto it since it belonged to your grandmother --and someday, one of your daughters or granddaughters can inherit it...
I know how much you truly miss your grandmother.
Hugs,
Betsy
These are beautiful glasses, and I don't blame you for not using them. Thanks for telling the story of how you got them from your Grandma.
ReplyDeleteSimply Beautiful.
ReplyDeletem.
I know very little, even though I'm a grandma. But I do know those wine glasses are special.
ReplyDeleteYour terminology is the best! Those are wonderful heirlooms and I can honestly see why you haven't used them, but the temptation to put your lips on the lipper area must be very, very hard to suppress.
ReplyDeleteawww, those are really pretty. you should try and find out the history of them. i just have to know. if i had stuff to dig up info on that is....my sisters got all that. lol
ReplyDeletethere should be some kind of markings on the glass i would think, if not, maybe an appraiser could help. your daughters are very lucky to have you keep all these treasures from your grandparents. that is a legacy, you should write down all these stories in case you should forget!! lol
Oh hon I think you need to start using those glasses!
ReplyDelete...and I don't know what is wrong me but I teared up when you mentioned that you missed the sound of your Grannys voice. Must go call mine. Hugs to you.
I have my husband's great-grandmother's silver. She thought I would appreciate it more than her own daughters--and she was right. And speaking of my MIL, she loves a fine glass of white Zinfandel!
ReplyDeleteI love the way your Grandma talked!
Beautiful glasses. Such a nice heirloom for you to have. I'm always so jealous of people who have such great memories of their grandma. (oh, that was a real downer, wasn't it?) :D
ReplyDeletenever? as in never? i'm coming over and we are going to have a toast to your grandma. love you!
ReplyDeleteand i'm so glad ou shared about making up the lipper part... i might have embarrassed myself by insisting that was what that part of the glass was called!!!!
xoxo
Those are so beautiful. Grandmothers are often the most precious persons in children's lives. I know mine were.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure you didn't ask for advice in this posting, but here is some: USE THOSE GLASSES, SUZ! Tonight, with Coach, pour a glass of what you like to drink now, and sip from that "lipper" area. Pour the girls some Martinelli's (or diet Coke or whatever) and toast each other! Those beautiful glasses deserve to be used, and you deserve to use them.
ReplyDelete*End of unsought advice*
Beautiful wine goblets.
ReplyDeleteMine would be coated in dust because I would be too scared to take them out of the cabinet.
They're truly lovely and I know how special your grandmother was to you (and you to her), BUT something disturbed me HUGELY about this post:
ReplyDeleteYOU'RE NOT USING THEM!
I understand if you don't want to use them when you're entertaining big crowds, but for you and Coach to have a glass of wine together? For you to drink your morning juice or your afternoon ice tea?
Suz, promise you'll try it - even on a one time basis. Your grandmother would smile.
I love this story of how you got the glasses. You know I love things with history. What a wonderful treasure to own.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd feel the need to dress up for drinking from them-- fancy.
Your grandma is so cute. So sorry for your loss. It's hard when we miss people so much.
sweetie, you must oh must use those beautiful wine glasses at least once, it's bad luck not to... plus I'm sure they were made for drinking and giving exquisite lipper pleasure while doing so, life is too short to put it on a shelf :-)
ReplyDeleteWow....you are lucky....this is for keeps
ReplyDelete