The Runaway Barrel

  While cleaning house today, my vacuum cleaner bumped into a small barrel and sent it rolling across the floor.  After retrieving the runaway keg and replacing it on its stand, a thought rang through the brain.  My kids get me the oddest gifts!  Yep, this aging barrel was a gift from my oldest son.  He and his family live on an tiny island way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but somehow he managed to come across this little oddity.  After thinking it may come in handy with his occasional "brewing" he tested it for leaks.  Sure enough, it was not watertight nor any other liquid-tight.   It could not be trusted to hold his brews so what else was there to do other than....send it to Mom.  (I actually received this as a Christmas gift!) 

  The little barrel rates right along up there as a favorite gift with the likes of a broken antique typewriter and a zoetrope from my daughter and the clock-repair kit from my youngest son.  Each year, they outdo themselves with the oddities they find to send to Dear Old Mom.  While a lot of mothers would be miffed or, at least, confused at receiving such things, I am as happy as a lark with the gifts.  Why would I want any of the above?  Well, they are things I can use!   My kids know that I am always in a big search for items to use as props or decorations for the Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou and, when they find something unusual, they nab it for me!  I have the best kids!

  The little runaway barrel would have been a perfect prop for last year's hunt since it was pirate themed but I am quite sure it will find its way into some nook or cranny in the next hunt come October.  I am not sure where...or how it will be used but it will make an appearance.  There are so many possibilities that my head spins!  The runaway barrel had perfect timing, too!  Our plotting of the next hunt has begun and the search is on for props!  October will be here before I know it so I have to get a jump on things!  Well...I have this barrel...now, how can I use it??