Ebay Winner's High

Fourth post in 24 hours. Sorry to suffocate you guys but I HAD to post today. This is my birthday gift from my sister E. No, it's not my birthday...we've had enough birthdays around here.

I didn't even post on Hubby's birthday, which was between the two boys' birthdays...mostly because he forbid it. (I should have though, just to show off the Lemon Curd Cheesecake I made him.)

I have been searching for this particular punch bowl for about 14 years now. My grandmother

left me a set of wonderful punch cups when she passed away. The punch bowl had long since been broken, but I love all things old and they were lovely, so she left me the remains of the set. They are an odd square shape that I'd never seen before. For the last 14 years I have checked estate sales, antique shops and the like for something similar. No luck.

Thinking about her recently got me interested again, and this time with the internet at my disposal I was actually able to put a label on my treasures. They are Hazel Atlas Depression Glass, from the Williamsport Prism Cut Collection. According to what I've learned they were acquired from the Sears & Roebuck Catalog in the 30's, as most old wonderful things have been known to originate. Armed with an identity, it didn't take me long to track one down. Actually, I tracked down plenty of them...at not so pretty prices. Several days went by and I found a small obscure link to an ebay offering. This lady in New Jersey was selling "a large heavy glass bowl I found in my Nana's attic". She had no idea what she had. Sadly, I did not inform her. The bidding started at $0.99. I was the winning bidder at $3.25. It cost more to ship the doggone thing that to buy it!!

I know from looking that the original set also contained a smaller bowl that could be turned over and used as a stand for the bowl. According to what I can find, those are pretty much extinct, but I will keep on looking. I was so thrilled to finally find it! My sister E was visiting and insisted on paying for it as a birthday gift even though my birthday isn't until August...well the fact that I screwed up my paypal account might have spurred that decision, but I love her for it anyway :)

It arrived yesterday right as I was leaving for work and I couldn't wait to post some pics of it! I've placed the three cups I have unpacked with it to show what the set looks like together. I'm just so happy to have the set now. I have to go out in the garage to rescue the rest of the cups from the boxes and dust. I think I'll have to throw a party just so I can use them :)