The Toscany Vase

It’s a strange looking vase. Hand blown. Clear purple. And kind of lopsided. It’s shaped like a round bubble, blown from a bottle of bubbles using the flimsy plastic contraption in the liquid.

It sits on a pedestal. It’s open at the top, with a matching bubble lid, complete with a pointy handle that resembles the Great Gazoo’s helmet on "The Flintstones."

The lid really doesn’t fit. It’s always been wobbly. The two foot tall piece of art still has a “Toscany Hand Blown Glass” label on the bottom, just like the day it was purchased at Andrews Hardware, in the gift section, in Downtown Jackson.

It was given to Mom by her coworkers. I was due to arrive soon, so Mom decided to leave Vanity Fair and stay home while I was a baby.

So that makes this odd vase about fifty-eight years old. I guess it’s an official antique now.

Mom never really knew what to do with this piece of art. It really didn’t match anything she had. It just always sat on a desk or shelf, collecting dust.

Until my Grandmother came up with an idea. She decided it would be perfect for flowers. Fur flowers. Yes, the lost art of faux fur flower arrangements was once one of my crafty Grandmother’s favorite things to create.

I even helped her make them. A square of faux fur, a Styrofoam ball, a needle and thread, some floral wire and tape, and a spray can of Aqua Net, and you were set to create a lovely arrangement of hairy flowers.

And Grandmother decided lavender ones would perfectly match the purple Toscany vase.

In no time, Mom had a beautiful arrangement of fur flowers. And Grandmother had made use of the vase Mom never knew exactly how to use.

It was a sight to behold, sitting on the Early American console stereo that ran the length of the living room wall. That is, if you liked a fur flower arrangement in a lopsided vase.

I treasure the vase now. It’s filled with years of movie stubs, concert tickets, Mardi Gras memorabilia, matchbooks and other memories. I think I’m going to dump it all out and stir up some old memories.

I’ll let you know what I find.

From the mind of me.