Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Happiness in a Clear Glass with Red Wine

Antique-wine-glass-18th-cen

"The glass shattered. Red wine flew. The white wall transformed: Rose polka dots bloomed."

I recounted to Annie when she asked me how Chelsea's birthday party went.

"Was it a wine glass?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Was it a clear wine glass? Was the wine red?" She continued.

"Yes." I looked at Annie strangely, wondering why she was asking me for the details of the wine glass. "Does it matter I asked?" Knowing by the sound of excitement in her voice that something was up in her bag of historical tricks and trades.

She beamed, smiled a mile wide, and laughed out loud, "You know what that means?"

"That I have to repaint my wall? Or that you have a secret to cleaning red wine stains?" I guessed.

"Nooooooooo, it means you will have a year of good fortune and happiness galore! In Provence, it is a sign of 'Bonheur' when you break a clear wine glass full of red wine at a party. What wonderful, good news! Chelsea will have a fortunate year!" She clapped her hands appreciating Chelsea's good luck.

"I love it, Great! Yahoo Chelsea!" I added. Then I folded my arms in front of my chest, put my head to the side, made a funny face, and said, "Great! But do you know how to take red wine stains off a white stone fireplace?"

"No."

"Oh, lucky me." Then we both laughed, shrugged our shoulders, then toasted each other with our tea.

Comments

22 responses to “Happiness in a Clear Glass with Red Wine”

  1. Katiebell

    I must smash more glasses of red wine! … just think of the stains as arty distress Corey. xX Katiebell

    Reply
  2. Shelley Noble

    Char-Ming!
    Absolutely charming vignette! More! More!

    Reply
  3. jend’isère

    Leaves those stains on the stone. Not that you need to be reminded of your aready lucky, happy lives.

    Reply
  4. Paulita

    So, does Chelsea’s good luck take luck away from someone else, like Corey? Hmmm. I hope you both have a terrific year.

    Reply
  5. Jeanne

    I love you
    I love your Annie Stories

    Reply
  6. willow

    Delightful story and GORgeous pic!!!

    Reply
  7. The Pliers

    Vinegar & water, according to a man who has made a living carving French limestone for a living for 60 years, is the least noxious.
    Next level of seriousness, diluted Clorox & water.
    But your probably know that already.
    You need to repeat the process because
    généralement ça ça s’en va pas de premier coup
    Third level, take du plâtre de Paris ou plâtre à mouler, put it in an assiette creuse, add Clorox 50% and water 50&, mix to good consistency, not watery, and then smack it on the fireplace where the stains have taken up residence, let it dry (at least one hour) until it is nice and hard, it should come off by itself, but you can encourage it with a painter’s spatula, and, in theory, it can have absorbed the stain out into itself.
    You can repeat that process, too.
    Fourth level, opération de choque, you can do the modeling paste process but upon applying it to any resistant stain, you can mold it with your fingers, create a little crater over and around the stain, and then put the diluted Clorox/water mixture in the crater to pass through again. However, afterward, the surface of your stone, if it is not brut may have to be repolished or rebuffed or resanded for a rough effect to get back the initial surface that you had on your fireplace.
    If you need a new fireplace, I know a guy who does them in his sleep…
    Anyway…

    Reply
  8. Rhonda

    and all these years I’ve been afraid of breaking a wine glass….I must share this with others.

    Reply
  9. Vicki

    Annie is a trip…hope you all have a very happy & lucky year!!!

    Reply
  10. Candace

    I use white wine to get red wine out of carpet. Has anyone else read that tip?

    Reply
  11. Betty M

    Try vinegar. It works on everything. Hi Annie. Nice to hear from you again.

    Reply
  12. M-Noëlle

    Sparkling water first and then “pierre blanche” !

    Reply
  13. Star

    You are so fortunate to have Annie in your life. She’s a real gem 🙂

    Reply
  14. Marilyn

    I didn’t know I would have good luck if I brought a clear glass with red wine. I must go do that now. Annie comes up with the cutest stories. Wonderful luck for Chelsea this next year! Wonderful luck to you in the cleaning.

    Reply
  15. Carolyn Mallin

    Happy Birthday, Chelsea!!! Sounds like it was a good party.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Corey.
    And a special Merry Christmas to precious Annie. Annie, you could move to Kentucky U.S.A. My next door neighbor is selling their house.

    Reply
  16. parisbreakfast

    TO REMOVE RED WINE ON PAINTED WALL:
    Mix equal parts bleach & water in glass dish (I used 1/3 cup of each). Dampen a clean cotton rag/towel and wipe the red wine on wall. Let dry. The red wine should be gone. BTW, the wall paint was in the white/off-white/cream hue range. Also, to protect floor/carpet from bleach, before cleaning wall I laid on floor a large grocery bag that I mask-taped to baseboard; for good measure, I then laid an old towel on top of bag.

    Reply
  17. Elizabeth Harper

    What a great thing to find out both about the good luck and the directions for removing the stain. I’m glad stopped by to see what was happening in your world.

    Reply
  18. Julie Ann Evins

    Annie is a star ! Jx

    Reply
  19. Carol

    Happy Birthday, Chelsea, it looks like I don’t need to wish you a wonderful luck filled year!
    Love, love, love, Annie; her stories and your stories about your friendship.
    Good luck to you though, Corey, with the removal of the wine.

    Reply
  20. Maddy

    Bi carb of soda rubbed on dry then use a sponge soaked in soda water to rub away, it should all bubble up and become frothy. Also lemon juice is said to remove stains like red wine too.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family and I hope you have a fantastic 2010.

    Reply
  21. jend’isère

    Just thought of adding…that wine could greet Père Noel, though he does not enter through chimney in France.

    Reply
  22. anne

    Love it.. just think how many of us are going to be doing this … Can you imagine the hubbies faces… “oh don’t worry love, we will have lots of luck and good fortune” “What have you gone off your rocker” ha ha ha…
    Thank Annie for me, really cheered me up…

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions