Sunday, November 24, 2013

Forgotten Treasures


It is really difficult to get much done around the house when it looks like this outside.


It was incredibly clear day - so clear that it looked like we could reach out and touch Santa Cruz Island which lies 20 miles off the coast.


We didn't even get our walk in because we just visited with neighbors while watching KC and Lulu play on the beach.


But, I was a good girl and put in my daily 2 hours of work in the attic - stopping to smile at memories evoked by little things.


 All bears are corralled together in baskets.

The two bottom bears are from my "bear making days" decades ago and the Boyd's Bear on the right is evoking tears as I am writing this.  

My mother bought the bear at a Hallmark store the last time she ever came to stay with us.

When mother passed away, I insisted that I have it to remember the fun week we had together.


I was looking for this sweet picture of my father at about the age of 3


to use on the label for the root beer we made last week.


I brought down my grandfather's rocker that has been used for 4 generations of my family.

Unfortunately it has a broken leg, but it will be repaired and painted before December 1 to use in my Christmas decor.


I found a long forgotten copy of A Christmas Carol that I always assumed was a gift to me from my mother because I was supposed to be born in December.

From the inscription on the inside, I see it belonged to my Aunt Kay who just had her 89th birthday two days after mine.

And, the address on Primrose Avenue was the house where we lived when I was born.


I had forgotten about this old (really OLD) book belonging to my father's Aunt Irene and brought it down looking for some ideas for place cards on our Thanksgiving table.


I don't know the history behind the collection of these advertisements.


They appear to be all sorts of different advertisements.


I have no idea the age, but I know they are OLD because Aunt Irene died when I was a child and


she probably put the book together when she was a child growing up in Kansas.


Some nickel silver forks will be added to others already in a kitchen drawer to use on our holiday table.


The search for my grandmother's china to use for Thanksgiving is what made me start the attic organization in the first place.


We placed the china in the attic in October of 1997 when we moved to our cottage and I was really nervous when I opened the box and only found plates, bowls and saucers.


A trip back to the attic and a crawl into the lowest portion of the ceiling produced 2 more hidden boxes filled with the rest of the dishes.


Through the upcoming holidays, I will look around me and be grateful to my family of hoarders and all the forgotten treasures hiding in my attic.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

Under the Table and Dreaming - Sunday Showcase

Nifty Thrifty Things - Nifty Thrifty Sunday

Kathe With an E - You're Gonna Love It

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Twigg Studios - Show Off Sunday

I Should Be Mopping the Floor - Inspiration Monday

49 comments:

  1. Interesting pics, thank you for sharing... I still wonder what that was all about, dressing up young boys to look like girls for the 1920's era photos. I have been told it was a fashion trend but never got the details.

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  2. I adored all the old photos of things from the past...so much fun to remember all the different times and styles...love the old book and love the fact that you found the rest of the dishes, so cool...they were waiting for you..

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  3. It must have been fun finding all these treasures in your attic. It will be nice to use family heirlooms for your thanksgiving dinner and reminisce about past gatherings.

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  4. Some very sweet treasures Carol. Thanks for sharing! I look forward to seeing the rocking chair after you paint it.

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  5. And these are the best treasures ever!!!! I feel a strong connection to the things in my home that belonged to different family members that are now gone. It makes me feel as though they are here with me. Your picture of your father is beautiful! What a doll!!!! And I love that you are using it for your label! The china is stunning and I can not wait to see how you use that rocker! And the Christmas Carol book...outstanding friend!! Outstanding! All the best and what a day you all had on the beach!!!

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  6. You have one awesome attic!! Are you sure you want to paint the little rocker? Maybe just a coat of sealer and a holiday cushion?? I love it just the much-loved way it looks.

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  7. Carol,
    You found some sweet treasures and wonderful memories up in the Attic. It was fun to stroll down memory lane with you. Thanks for sharing. Loved LuLu and KC on the beach.
    Kris

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  8. You are so fortunate to be in possession of your wonderful family heirlooms, Carol! The illustrations are fabulous and your rocking chair is a treasure.

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  9. Your father is adorable in the picture! And your grandmother's china, my goodness, I'm so glad you're getting it down from the attic to use. My wedding china is supposed to go to my granddaughter some day. I've told her parents to wait until she falls in love with it to give it to her, eventually she will love it. I know that I would love to have something of my grandmother's.

    It is so much fun to find treasures in the attic!

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  10. What wonderful treasures you have, and all things with wonderful meaning. Your father was so cute when he was a little boy - I love his curly hair!

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  11. Your attic really is full of treasures of all sorts. There's no attic in our home, but lots of storage in the basement. What a darling little boy your father's picture reveals.

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  12. What fun to come across things you haven't seen for a while, beautiful china and old books are always good to look at, the pictures are always lovely.
    Merle...........

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  13. Well, they hoarded some lovely treasures for you didn't they?
    ...love the old picture of your dad, and the little advertising pieces.
    Pat

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  14. Isn't it wonderful to have so many things with so many precious memories? I'm sure glad they saved all of those goodies for you!

    Judy

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  15. Carol, I smiled as I read through this post and thought of myself as a child. I used to love to crawl up in the attic and go through the trunks that had belonged to my grandmother. There was something magical about being in the attic.
    Glad you found the china. It is so pretty. I know you will set a gorgeous table with these pieces. Love the book of vintage illustrations. What a treasure trove! Have fun!

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  16. Goodness, you have an attic FILLED with treasures, what a wonderful trip for you down memory lane, your aunts book and the Boyd Bear. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful memory making Thanksgiving

    Carol

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  17. Très joli post!
    Merci de ta visite et de tes gentils commentaires sur mes pages, tous les nouveaux blogs m'inspirent pour ma peinture!
    Very nice post!
    Thanks & Welcome for your comment and your next visit to my blogs.
    Have a nice day! Cath

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  18. What wonderful treasures, Carol! The bear from your mom is so sweet, and the chair is a real family heirloom. I am envious of your beach photos, as here in the Midwest we got down to the single digits last night, brrrr!

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  19. coming from a family of non hoarders, this post is fabulous, carol! love seeing the family treasures, and a peak of the beautiful water! happy thanksgiving to you!

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  20. Isn't it nice to look back on the objects that we held so long ago, the photos that held US so long ago?

    Happy Monday dearest Carol! Anita

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  21. Hi Carol,

    I love your last line; TOO funny, but true, isn't it? I mean, what if member of your family hadn't collected all those lovely things and photos, you would not have had the pleasure of opening up boxes of beautiful mementos that brought back so many sweet memories, and have shared them with us! I love the picture of your dad; what a beautiful child!

    Happy thanksgiving to you!

    Poppy

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  22. Wow, you had riches in your attic! The advertisements from the book are amazing. And the childhood pic of your dad to use on the labels is perfection. Well, it's in the 20s here, so think of us while you walk on the beach today :)
    Mary

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  23. What amazing family treasures! It is so nice to have these things at the holidays! Have a great week!

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  24. How fun it must have been to find those beautiful treasures.

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  25. You found some interesting things! And the china will look lovely on your Thanksgiving table. I too was in my attic today, and found a box of baby clothes I hadn't looked at in years. Special ones saved from our babies I guess. Maybe it's time to see if they have life left in them and pass them on. Can't wait to see your finished label!

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  26. I enjoyed seeing your treasures! Oh, and the root beer label is brilliant! How cute!!! But here's a question: How does your homemade root beer taste? My husband LOVES root beer!!!

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  27. Wish my family were hoarders! Treasures indeed.

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  28. How fun to come across such fabulous treasures that may have forgotten about for a bit. The book, A Christmas Carol, is so beautiful. Great walk down memory lane.
    Mary Alice

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  29. I am the hoarder in our family and if I hadn't 'stored' things as a teenager, I would have none of the wonderful things that I own now, that used to belong to my mother and grandmother.
    You have re-discovered a wonderful collection of things and your Aunt Kay's hand-writing looks just like my grandmothers, who was also called Kathleen !

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  30. What a neat trip down memory lane! I know you will fill closer to all of them by just having these things insight,

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  31. Thanks for a glimpse at the beach. Are you kidding me..a 4 generation rocking chair..that is Fantastic. Love your Grandma's dishes and literally pictured you crawling along retrieving them.

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  32. You are so fortunate to still have these wonderful family treasures to enjoy. Such sweet memories.

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  33. i love my mom for that reason - she has so many antiques - i wonder where they will end up when she passes??!! because we don't have a huge home??! what will i do? they are family past down - what is a girl to do??! i love the rocking chair reminds me of the one i rocked in as a kid. ( :

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  34. Oh what precious memories! I love the picture of your father and think the label is amazing.....how fitting. This Thanksgiving we are having some of John's family and half of our children so the china we all spent every Thanksgiving at John's house will be in use. His Mom has been gone three years now and she gave us the China about two years before she died.

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  35. so many great treasures! i really, really love the rocker and how special that it has been in the family so long!
    keya

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  36. What wonderful treasures ~ Enjoy!

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  37. Great treasures! I love the rocking chair. And it's so nice you took that beauticul china out of boxes. It belongs to the light. Your table is going to be amazing.

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  38. Hi Carol, so many sweet mementos bringing back lots of beautiful memories. I wish I have an attic to store all these nostalgic things. Being a hoarder has its positive side I guess. I love the baby picture of your dad ( I thought it was your mum).
    Enjoy Christmas decorating. Thank you for stopping by.

    Have a good week.

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  39. Your treasures are wonderful. The picture of your father is really interesting. Such a sweet story about the bear. Old books are so nice too. The dishes will look great on your table. We are having so many here for Thanksgiving it will be paper plates for us. But at Christmas it is usually a much smaller get together so I use my grandfather's silver and real dishes.

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  40. Lovely treasures, I too have many from great Grandmother's and Aunts-some are still in boxes. I am actually collecting silver now for my own family-I want them to have some treasured boxes to sort through from me-
    Jemma

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  41. Your treasures are awesome. I love the picture that you featured of your father . Just so sweet. YOU mentioned that you lived near Santa Cruz ? ? that is where my family is living. I might just get to see you one day ..xoxox HUGS

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  42. We found lots of treasures in our attic a few weeks ago, I haven't had a chance to write about it yet. It was lovely to see all of your treasures,The photo of your Dad made me smile I have a similar one of my Dad too!
    Sarah x

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  43. It's so wonderful to have memories that make you smile!

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  44. I'm the pack rat of memories around here. When my mother in law passed and they went thru all her stuff they started tossing pictures. That killed me. That was their history. I dig some out to keep plus a few other items that they tossed. Loved your trip down memory lane and such sweet mementos.
    Have a blessed Thanksgiving

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  45. Carol, this post really spoke to me. These are the things that are important to me - these treasures that have come to me from my family members. I do not have many, since I was the youngest grandchild on one side and among the youngest few on the other side. However, I treasure each piece and I am so thankful for each one. I really enjoyed seeing each one of yours. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!!

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  46. What a wonderful post, so full of memories.

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  47. It is wonderful you hold on to these memories. Your grandmother's china is very pretty, and it is your grandma's so it is very special. I love heirloom like that. I look forward to see how you will fix the chair. I hope you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving!

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  48. Although I came by to wish you a happy holiday, Carol, I was drawn to this post as soon as I saw that beautiful rocker and the old pictures. It's wonderful you have these mementos and memories that make you smile. I've been writing the story of my grandparents and their journey to America on my blog and it's great to have that history.

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