Sunday, June 10, 2012

Treasures


My mom had been bugging me for some time to "come and get your crap" and I kept saying "yeah, yeah, just throw the crap out, I don't want it." Thankfully she persevered.

Mom has a big house with a big, dry basement. Because of this, all her three lovely children and their assorted sundry children, former husbands and heretofore unknown acquaintances have stored their junk there. I was the worst offender. Because of my marriage break-up and multitude of moves I had a lot of boxes in that basement. As far as I was concerned, if I hadn't used anything in those boxes for the last eight years, I didn't need it and therefore didn't want it. I am NOT a hoarder. I detest yard sales. Generally speaking old junk makes me gag.

So –

"Mom, just take the damned crap to the dump! Or leave it there and I'll take it to the dump!"

"But Cathy, there's some really nice crap in there ..."

My mom, my lovely mom, was near tears.

OK. Fine.

Last week Dave and I went to my mom's house and collected all my "crap." What a revelation! There was all kinds of really cool crap in those boxes, crap I LOVE, crap I had forgotten all about, crap I wouldn't part with for anything, now that I remember I have it! I have had so much fun going through those boxes. Each item has a special memory or a story attached. In fact, I had such a good time that I thought I'd share my crap treasures with you!

The photo on top is a cheese dish that used to sit on my Grandma Hazel's farmhouse kitchen table. Grandma and Grandpa Hooper had aged cheddar cheese at every meal so the cheese dish was never put away. I loved that dish. Years later, after Grandpa died and Grandma was "downsizing" into an apartment, she gave a lot of stuff away, including this cheese dish. She gave it back to my mom, who had, I just found out, gave it to Grandma after she had babysat us brats one weekend many, many moons ago. I was probably still a toddler, which makes the cheese dish nearly 50 years old.  A while back Mom gave me the dish because I loved it so. Can you imagine me wanting to throw it out? Sometimes I'm such a fool.

Which reminds me of a story my father used to love to tell. He was also a great lover of aged cheddar cheese. One day he was at the farmer's co-op buying something for his hobby farm, when he spied a fresh shipment of artisan cheese in the co-op fridge. He wanted to know what kind of cheese it was, since it wasn't labeled, so he said to the teenager behind the counter, "Is that old cheese?" And the kid said, "No sir, it just came in yesterday."

My mom, who turns 75 this month (happy birthday, Mom!), is in the process of "downsizing" and is giving away stuff she doesn't use anymore. A lifetime of stuff. Incredibly sad, isn't it? We spend a lifetime accumulating "stuff," only to have to give it away again. Makes you wonder how important "stuff is in the first place. Anyway, without further adieu, some stuff:

I gave this teapot to my mom for some occasion many years ago. She gave it back to me last week. I just love it! The gorgeous colours, the whimsical cartoony characters – it makes me happy, just looking at it. As you can see our dog Misty was my photo assistant. She gave everything a sniff before the big shoot.

I just wanted to show you the evil grin on the mouse's face. Hilarious, eh?

Back when I was a smoker this was my favourite ashtray. How adorable is this? I remember buying ashtrays as souvenirs because they were "practical." Well, not so practical anymore – I've gotten rid of all but this one, which I believe is an antique. Visiting smokers have to use coffee cans on the front porch.

A long, long time ago when I was a reporter for the Port Perry Star, I did a story about a woman who was selling her creamer collection. Like my mom, she was downsizing into an apartment and was going to be selling the hundreds and hundreds of creamers she had displayed throughout her neat-as-a-pin house in Blackstock, Ontario. We had a lovely time talking and taking photos and drinking tea, so she let me pick out two or three creamers to take home. I loved this pink bunny – you pick it up by the tail and the cream comes out his smiling mouth.

When I got married the first time in 1986, my Aunt Judy worked in an antique shop in Goodwood, Ontario. Her gift to us was this antique cake plate in a brilliant blue colour. It is so precious to me – and not just because it's a beautiful plate ... mostly because Aunt Judy was a special kind of woman, all heart, and she died way too young. 

My mom has a tremendous collection of china knick-knacks, including many fancy miniature cups and saucers. This one came from China, before the days of Communism and, as well as being beautiful, it's old as the hills.

I remember Old Mother Hubbard in the parlour of our home in Midland, Ontario, when I was just a squirt. Mom also had an Old King Cole figurine. I have both now. She gave them to me decades ago because she thought they were "ugly." Not me.

My father was a railroad engineer with the CPR. I spied this bean bag doll in a gift store years ago and gave it to him on Father's Day. After he died Mom returned the gift to me and I have it in a place of pride on my bookshelf.

HA! I love this bobble-head salt and pepper shaker set. It's the main reason I got into collecting salt and pepper shakers. Whenever there's any kind of breeze the porcelain skeleton heads rock on their bony hinges, clacking against their bottom teeth. This is an old and extremely collectible piece. I think it was originally sold in a tacky souvenir shop in Niagara Falls. No, Laura Eno, you can't have it but I can will it to you if you really want...

46 comments:

  1. Did Blogger lose your post? We can fill in the blanks. Treasures: my grandchildren beginning to trickle in for summer camp at grandma's. It's grown to include little girls who have come to the street. I may have to build cabins.

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  2. Hehehehehe!!!! You're funny, Joanne, thank you! No, I hit publish before I even wrote anything!!!! Try it now!
    Grandma's Summer Camp - sounds like fun! Can I come?

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    1. I'm so embarrassed to say that I couldn't see the post either, so I clicked on the cereal ad thinking that was your treasure.

      karen

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    2. That cake dish looks awfully familiar — I think my mom has one very similar to it.

      I tend to think of those things as "old lady stuff" because when I was a kid, it was always grandmothers who had them. But we have a set of china from my grandmother… that never gets used, of course!

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    3. Well cereal is a treasure, that's for sure Karen!

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    4. "OLD LADY STUFF????" Larry Kollar, did you just say "OLD LADY STUFF?????" (He is in SUCH big trouble ladies - I dunno if a spanking is even enough in his case! Sorry, just finished 50 Shades of Grey ... spanking is on my, erm, mind these days....)

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  3. I take it you kept everything? One man's junk is another man's treasure, I heard that somewhere. You're right about buying stuff and then not wanting to part with it as it is attached to memories. I have a little glass sugar and cream set that I remember being in my mum's display cabinet she got it in a wedding gift so it must be 56 yrs old woh! Thats the first time I've thought how old it is. I go through phazes where I sometimes like lots of stuff around and sometimes clear everything away. Lovely post might do a similar one with my memories attached to my stuff.

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    1. You should, Anne! I'd love to see your sugar and cream set!

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  4. Nope. Don't like the last one, but I LOVE the teapot! It's gorgeous! Alice in Wonderland gorgeous.

    And you thought you had me pegged... :)

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    1. Geez, I thought for sure Jezebel, at the very least, would be coveting those bobble heads. Oh well, come for tea, Mizz Laura, and I'll pour from the Alice teapot!

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  5. The teapot is wonderful! I am in the process of letting go of stuff. Mainly because 1) I can't take it with me and 2) we're in a high wildfire zone this year and it may just burn anyway :-) But there are those keepsakes like the cheese dish and the teapot that I can't part with either.

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    1. How can you live thinking your home and everything in it might burn at any given moment in a wildfire? That's horrible, Susan! I sure hope the wildfire decides "enough wildness" and sizzles out asap. Geez!!!!

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  6. Cool crap! And since Laura doesn't like the skeleton bobble head salt and pepper shakers [I know, that's CRAZY! Right?] I call dibs on them. Unless, I don't know, maybe you want to pass them down to your kids or something. That would be okay I guess.

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    1. It IS crazy. I thought for sure that Mizz Eno, Queen of all things Jezebel-like, would go nutso for the skeletons... maybe we were confused, Tim. Maybe it's cabana boys she yearns for....
      I'll keep ya in mind for the shakers - my kids aren't all that interested in anything that's not video-game related.

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  7. Oohhh I so shoulda got snooping and scooped that cheese dish! lmao

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    1. I know, right? There's a LOT of snooping I'd like to do at Mom's house!!!!

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    2. Thanks for dropping in yesterday, Liz. It was nice to see you and Don and I LOVED the bike ride! (Shoulda been longer, though... jest saying....)

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  8. You're so lucky!!! My stepdad had cleaned most everything out of the tchotchke kind after my mom died, but I have her Noah's Ark cookie jar and I wouldn't part with it for the world! I love the bunny ashtray and the teapot, but the cheese dish is the best. They don't make any of this anymore, which is a stinkin' shame!

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    1. It IS a shame, isn't it? I love that whimsical old stuff. You have a Noah's Ark cookie jar? I bet it's gorgeous!

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  9. Hey, that is some really cool "crap." I wish I had that kind of colorful pottery hanging around my house, especially if it has great memories attached to it. And Happy Birthday to your sweet Mom.

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    1. Thanks Angela!! And I will pass your message on to my mom!

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  10. Quite a haul! I can't imagine how that mouse's grin could fail to cheer anyone up, no matter how blue!

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  11. I like curious old crap better than any new crap and I swerve into most garage sales. Very cool crap, especially the mousey cheese dish. Good thing you didn't send those boxes off to the dump before peeking!

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    1. I shudder to think I was fully prepared to do it. No wonder my poor mom has grey hair!

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  12. I think the difference between crap and treasure is the memories attached to it. I'm not a hoarder either, but I still have some fairly useless stuff that I won't throw out because of the memories it evokes. Glad you relented before it was too late!

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    1. Thanks Botanist!!! Sometimes I think it's the memories that are important, not the stuff that provokes memories – but as I get older and my memory becomes less reliable, I realize how important it is to have the things that inspire memories.

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  13. That platter is gorgeous! I am not a knick-knack person, but there are some things I just can't seem to let go of.

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    1. Isn't it pretty? Makes me want to bake a big old three layer chocolate fudge cake and stick it on top!

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  14. That's some wonder crap oops I mean treasures you've got there!

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  15. Oh my keyboard is mking typing mistakes again, wonder should be wonderful - now stop do you hear keyboard!

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    1. LOL!!!! (My keyboard is a trifle obnoxious as well!)

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  16. I'm so glad you decided to go through your crap. One man's crap is another womans treasure you know.

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  17. Love that teapot! :-D

    ....and you could always use the now-redundant ashtray as somewhere to store rings etc.

    But what I really covet from this haul are the chairs (yes, I know they're not part of your reclaimed 'treasures' but I've been trying to buy a couple of them and they're not cheap over here!)

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    1. Really? You love the chairs? That's funny! We have a LOT of them at our house. Dave's ex-wife worked at a place that made them and over the years they brought home a lot of kits with minor imperfections and put them together. They are beautiful, comfortable chairs, that's for sure. I'd send one to you if it wouldn't cost a king's ransom for shipping!

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    2. (they're called Adirondack chairs, aren't they? Cost a fortune over here, even in kit form, if you can even find them!)

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  18. LOVE the teapot. It's very Mad Hatter, I think. And that little cup is adorable too.

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  19. I love crap! the salt and pepper shaker and teapot are awesome

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  20. I collect crap too!!!!! And like you, I refer to them as treasure!!! Great collection. Glad your mom didn't throw them out.

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  21. Oh, you've made me want to open the boxes. Because you see, about 5 years ago my mom spent hundreds of dollars and just SHIPPED me the crap. She has a huge house with two people and I have a tiny house with 4 and I was thoroughly annoyed (why couldn't she hang on until I had more room, eh?) So the boxes STILL sit stacked where they will take less room than they would if I tried to unpack. Stacked, they annoy my husband. But if the contents were scattered, they would cause him to leave. But now I want to open them and see what's there... What great stuff!

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  22. I love beautiful crap too, I just don't have any place to put it! My neighbour up the road got so overwhelmed by HER crap, that she opened a little shop! It's fun to wander through these places.
    I enjoy your blog!

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  23. Our house is full of beautiful crap. Which is the reason why if asked I would have to say the ambience of our home is dusty. With a patina of cat hair to boot. I wouldn't give away any of our crap though and I think my partner would give me away before some of his crap.

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  24. you make me long for Buttonville.

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