A Dish Best Served Warmly

After months of planning and re-planning, Christopher and I finally got the chance to get together with Katie and Kris and roadtrip up to St Joseph (about 90 minutes northwest of here) to have a "Private Garage Sale" at another cousin's house.

You see... I have the rare good fortune to have a cousin-in-law who is a potter. And a very good potter, at that. He has been part of our family for 30+ years, and since he joined the family many of us have begun collecting his wares. If you ever make it over to our place for dinner, you're pretty much guaranteed to have at least one thing served from a Loso dish. And, while Jim Loso, the potter, is currently in Omaha at an art festival (I'm not sure, but I think he's here this weekend), Jean Loso (my cousin) offered to host the four of us as we came up to do some shopping.

** Relativity Sidenote ** Although I always refer to Kris and Katie as my cousins, they are actually my "first cousins, once-removed." My actual cousins are one generation older than each of them. Jean, on the other hand, is my first cousin. She is also Katie and Kris's aunt. Theresa (whom you'll meet in a couple of paragraphs) is another of Jean's nieces -- and one of Kris and Katie's cousins (another of my first cousins, once-removed). Confused? If I had a diagram it would probably work better. Or, for that matter, if you had spent 40+ years going to family reunions with this bunch, it would be old hat. ** End Relativity Sidenote **

Christopher and I picked up Kris and Katie about 9:30 this morning, and started our roadtrip. We spent the next hour or so of the warm, sunny, early-fall morning in the car talking and chatting and laughing and telling stories. We got to look at their pictures from the Breast Cancer 3-Day, and made it to St Joseph in what seemed like no time.

We chatted with Jean and another cousin, Theresa, for a while, then dove into the garage for about an hour of "shopping." It was amazing. Shelf upon shelf of gorgeous pottery, porcelain, and Raku. Browns and greens and black and white and blues. From the practicality of mugs and casserole dishes to the most amazing art pieces. There were some "A-ha!" finds, and some "wow... look at that" moments. But, mostly, there was a lot of conversation and catching up.

We finished our business, then headed to Kay's Kitchen -- a diner about a block away -- and had lunch (3 out of 5 of us had Tater Tots!), and talked for another hour or so before we had to part ways and head home.

Here's the thing... When I got my first piece of Loso Pottery it was a kind of rite of passage meaning that I was finally adult enough to get my own pottery -- a green-rimmed warm-brown popcorn/salad bowl. Over time, I've collected more pieces, but I still have the remnants of that first piece -- and it's still my favorite. (Yes... remnants. I dropped it during one of my moves, but I couldn't say good-bye to it.)

I know it sounds over-dramatic, but I think that what will be most frequently served in these pieces is memories. And the ones that come from a perfect fall day like today will make using these new additions even more enjoyable.