California progress and people

My sisters and I went to California to visit our Mom and empty out her house in preparation for the final stages of fire damage remediation. This involved getting rid of so much stuff. A whole lifetime's worth, in fact.

We gave away furniture and tools...

and threw away that which was too damaged - or too valueless - to salvage.

Goodbye, Honda Fit. You served Mom well and will now help fund cancer research.

Goodbye, also, smoke damaged attic insulation. Not everything was sentimental.

This is how we left things.

There's still some stuff, but not like before.

Of course, the few remaining horses made the cut. 

They will be professionally cleaned by the Servpro team sometime next week.

Well, all except for this Family Arabian foal who I called Ripple. He went home with Tara, who is gifting him - after a bath - to a co-worker's child.

It's always good to see Tara.

Here's something else that we didn't throw away: a fifty year old bottle of Dom Perignon.

We talked briefly about selling it, but after all those years in my parents' basement, there was a solid chance that it was no longer drinkable. We decided it was better to treat ourselves, so we took it back to Nick and Joyce's house for cocktail hour.

Hmmm. That's not the right color.

Only Colleen was brave enough to actually taste it. Her face says it all.

Undeterred, we filled all the glasses and had a very nice toast, with lots of emphasis on living in the moment and not saving all good things for a future that might not happen.

Then we poured out all that expensive, vinegary champagne and made a new set of drinks.

Most of my recent California trips have been fairly traumatic, but this one was fine. It was a lot of work, but also, a lot of time with some of the people - and Lulu! -  I love the most.

Thanks, California family. I love you all.