Garlic Gus
When I would visit my maternal grandmother, "Jean", I would sort of take inventory throughout the house. There were certain things that I loved to look at in her beautiful home. The kitchen was one of my favorite places. I would look for my favorite salt and pepper shakers, see if Jean had plenty of 7-Up in the pantry (soft drinks were not allowed in our home), and check to see if she had remembered how much I loved bacon and soft boiled eggs... a quick look in the "icebox" told me, "yes", she remembered. But what I really enjoyed looking at was Garlic Gus. He was a little ceramic elf that sat on a garlic pod, holding his nose. I always made sure that Jean knew how much I loved Garlic Gus, just hoping that someday he would be mine. Jean told me how much she loved Garlic Gus... so much so that she stole him. What?? My grandmother was a thief? She was visiting her oldest sister in Ithaca, New York and commented on the cute elf that rested on her sister, Irma's, stove. During the visit she had teased Aunt Irma about how she was going to take Garlic Gus back to Texas with her. Somehow, Garlic Gus made it into Jean's suitcase and, sure enough, he ended up on her stove in Dickinson, Texas. Now whether or not there was an agreement about Garlic Gus or not, I do not know but Jean's eyes always twinkled with mischief when she told me the story.
On my last visit to Jean's home (by that time she had moved into an apartment) I realized that Garlic Gus had survived the years. I asked Jean to please put my name on Garlic Gus. I loved him! Rather than wait she said she wanted me to take him home with me then, so she could enjoy knowing where he had ended up.
Last year while on a trip to Minnesota, I found a couple of other elves, very similar in appearance to Garlic Gus. Jean's had nothing on the bottom of the piece to state who had made it. I had to buy the elves. Then a few months later I found two more in an antiques store here in Texas. They were not expensive at all. These were made by Hollywood Ceramics, made in California. Garlic Gus will always be displayed in front of the other pieces, but I thought it was fun to find elves very similar to him.
Garlic Gus and Friends
Come and enjoy the 94th
Three or More Tuesday at
The Gypsy' Corner!
I'm so excited to link up with
It's a Very Cherry World for
"Rednesday"
...especially since there is so little red in my home... and when I find
some I love to participate in "Rednesday"!!
