Found some treasures

I am slowly going through our basement, gathering stuff that belonged to my parents to donate to S. Army/sell/keep.  Guess which piles are the biggest?

This will probably be a long process because
1) I don’t have a deadline to get it done
2) it’s overwhelming
3) there is so much stuff
4) it’s overwhelming

When we moved here, we had recently moved my dad into a retirement apartment, leaving most everything my parents owned still in the house.  60 years worth of everything.  I’ve thought of my mom so often as I’ve gone through cupboards and boxes… she wasn’t a saver but my dad insisted they keep everything because “it was perfectly good”.  So now I am sorting through things like this:

Do you remember watching for the water in the percolator to change from clear to dark?  No filters, though, so you usually had some grounds at the bottom of your cup.  Love this burnt orange model from the early 70’s!

I texted this photo to my brother because he’s the only other person who would remember the camping trips we took this on, dispensing watery lemonade from the edge of the picnic table.

Along with the hair dryer with the blow-up cap, we had this beauty – one of the first hand-held models… with Jet Design! 

There were boxes and boxes of old appliances, toys and my mom’s significant basket collection (including one shaped like a crab that I didn’t take a picture of). 

An antique shop vac with attachments, old fan covers, Christmas decorations (don’t worry – I kept the good ones) and lots of books.

Then I found a box I hadn’t known was in the cupboard. It was full of sheet music – some of mine, some of my mom’s and some of my mom’s mom. 

I took piano lessons for about four years and this was one of my favorite movies so I had to have the sheet music (along with Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head and Tie A Yellow Ribbon).  I doubt I could actually play this with anything but one or two fingers but this full of such teenaged angst - it was a tear-jerker of a movie.

These were just a few of the ones my mom had.  I never heard her play these but I wish I had!

    


Have you heard this song? 

She's got freckles on her but she is nice
And when she's in my arms it's paradise
All the sailors give her a chase
'Cause they love her navel base
She's got freckles on her but she is nice

Most of the sheet music was purchased by my mom during her 20’s and was from the popular radio hits of the late 40’s.

But some of it was from her childhood when she took lessons.  Here is one of those, from 1939.  Mom was 12.

Then comes the reeeeeally old stuff that my grandmother used.

Cecelia Fitzpatrick – Sept. 28, 1918. 

Gramma was 15 years old then.  I still recognize her handwriting!

I know some of you who know about my unsentimental ways are assuming that I gave away everything but I did keep all of the sheet music and quite a few personal items than mean a lot to me.  I am a purger but I’m not completely heartless. 

We had the S. Army come to the house to pick up a huge load and we are making trips to the local drop site with additional things we’re finding.  It’s humbling to have the guy who unloads your car of a whole pile of old stuff that I am just glad to be rid of say, “Thank you… and God bless you!”  

This cost me nothing.  And I can’t picture anyone actually using most of it.  But then again, maybe someone with very muscular arms needs a working hairdryer!

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