Family Heirlooms

For years, I have watched my mom collect things. Most she bought just because she liked them. She was given a vase from my dad's mother. Nana's story told how this vase was brought to America by her husband's mother (Christine) around 1900.  

But Google lens, which isn't *all-knowing* all the time, shows it made in Philadelphia around 1911.  

Do you have your own family heirlooms with similar stories attached?  It's kind of like the Barbie clothes I found.  The story behind them is lost, mom doesn't remember where they came from, but it would be easy to say "my mom made them", even though she didn't.  Does an embellished story make it better?

Here's the vase according to Lens:

The story is false, but I'm keeping the vase!

Are You Thrifty??

When I worked retail, I was amazed at how much stuff is bought each day.

With the cold snap today--- it was 37 degrees!!! --- I grabbed a lap blanket to keep my legs warm while I had lunch.

And I remembered the origins of this one.  The grey squares used to be my Grandma Clara's coat.  When it became outdated, or outsized, she cut some squares and crocheted them together to make this warm blanket.  The quilt on my bed growing up was also squares of clothing I wore growing up.  

People were quite thrifty when they needed to be!  And that impresses the hell out of me!  We could be doing better at these kinds of things. And should.  

Barbie Doll Art

"Barbie, named after Ruth Handler's daughter Barbara, debuted at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959, as a teenage fashion model. Created by Mattel, Barbie allowed girls to imagine the future with an adult figure, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon with accessories, friends (Ken), and diverse careers, evolving from a symbol of glamour to reflecting social changes."

I was a part of all this.  

Dressing my Barbie in fashions mostly sewn by my mother, I had a handmade case to hold 3 dolls on one side, and a place to hang clothes on the opposite side, sort of a portable closet! Dad made them for me and my sister. 

We played Barbies a lot! But as I think back on it, I enjoyed building the "homes" and creating furniture out of boxes and scraps more than I liked having the dolls act out playing house.

While cleaning out a closet, I found an old baby wipes tub with crocheted Barbie clothes dated 1966.  They were hand made, but when I asked, mom doesn't remember who made them. I didn't even know she had them!  Now, how can I make them into art?

So I jumped online, ordered a shadowbox frame and mounted them inside.  Nifty!!

A Cold Drizzle

Its a cold and drizzly Wednesday, which makes it harder to get things accomplished. 

At Moms, I dragged home a large box of paperwork to go through.  And tossed another box full of mail she had been keeping for years.  I boxed up all the shoes she doesn't wear,  but I couldn't decide about the rest of her clothes.  Still more to get done. 

Once I got home, I sorted the mail, shredded the bills, and created a file of medical bills for taxes.  This was a 90 minute "project"!

But with it so chilly, I decided to settle in with a movie, and happened on "Birdcage" on Tubi .... always a fun watch!  Although I prefer the streaming platforms that are commercial free .....

Where does the day go when its cold and drizzly?  All I want to do is curl up and nap!

Evening Walk

When you're trying to do the right thing(s)  and they arent working the way you want them to, doesn't it make sense to switch it up? 

How many of you made a resolution to "lose weight"?  Such a common one, and frankly, harder to do than other things.  For myself, I never make that one because it fails, making *me* feel like the failure.  Lousy feeling!

I cut out processed foods, sweets, snacks. I started fasting 16:8 and lost the first 20lbs even thought it took me six months or so. But I haven't been able to do much beyond that.  Sure, I've probably lost another 10 lbs .... but its the same 2-3 pounds up and down for the past six months. Grr.

So my switch is going for a walk after my last meal of the day, which is usually 3-4pm. That works for me very well, until my "mom issues" interfere.  She wants me to visit, like today, ended up sitting there watching TV while she dozed off.  Even taking her out to the courtyard to get some sun and she was dozing off.  Mildly frustrating if its just once or twice, but it is common.  Taking care of her needs, my needs and packing up her house is stressful.  Makes it harder to *do me*.

Hence the switch ..... a walk after my last meal just might help!!  Even if it just reduces stress.  So switch it up -- changing one thing breaks the old patterns!

Gotta love Arizona sunsets!! 

Avoidance

A night of restless sleep, and an internal debate: shake it off with a neighborhood walk or a trip to the gym? 

A neighborhood walk won out.  Hazy clouds this morning, with rain coming tomorrow.  Its cool, 55 degrees, but I slipped on a jacket. It came off half way through my walk! A small ache in my foot, but I powered through  - hope I don't regret it tomorrow!

They say "when you aren't sure what to do, do nothing."  Maybe my walk was more avoidance than doing nothing. I have a lot of things here that have come from moms house; I need to find a place for it all, even if that means its boxed up for the time being. 

Avoidance.  Maybe tomorrow.

Organized Hoarding?!?

It all seems a little weird and surreal. I'm.  here at mom's packing up her house, her mementos and her memories.  Some of the stuff I'm keeping, and a few mementos for the grandkids.

The weird and surreal is that she isn't dead, just living in a small apartment.  Small compared to a 3 bedroom house.  At first, I was not going to tell her what I'm doing, but then a little slipped out and we talked about sharing things among the family. 

For the most part, she seems to accept that it has to be this way.  Other times, she will ask me to bring her something, telling me where its at.  At her old house in Cali.  She lived there nearly 60 years and knew where everything was.  Things started slipping after she moved.

But what surprises me (but only a little) is that even though things are "put away and organized", they really aren't.  She could certainly qualify as a hoarder.  There's a small dish of safety pins not just in her sewing drawer, but in the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom.  Same with rubber bands and clothes pins.  I counted 52 kitchen towels. And there must be 25 or so tablecloths.  I don't think she's at the point where she can laugh about it though! So I don't say anything.

It took me an hour and two 39-gallon trash bags to gather up the plastics with lids to donate, and another baggie of mismatched items to recycle. And that was just in the pantry! 

And all this has me wondering ..... what will MY daughter be saying or thinking when she finally goes through my stuff??  Eeks

There's a fine line between collecting, keeping and hoarding.

Choose Fun!

When did things change to a point where we are overly busy? What shifted us to the mindset that we have to do more? And more still? 

In my 20s, (and 30s) I worked for a forklift dealership in the service department. But when quitting time came, once a week, every Thursday, we all gathered at a local "watering hole". It was where we all talked, and yes, we talked about work issues. But we also talked about families, sports, politics or whatever else came to mind.  We laughed and shared and enjoyed each others' company. 

But somewhere along the line, it seemed more important to "get things done" than it was to find a little time to spend with friends.  Spending time with friends seemed like a luxury. 

We've started combining chores and pleasure, rather than one or the other.  We have become unbalanced.

Most parents want their kids to have it "better" than they had it. In elementary school, I didn't have soccer, ballet and music lessons.  I only had music lessons.  My parents didn't drive me to and fro between lessons and practice for several activities. And frankly, I walked to music lessons around the block.

As a retired old gal, I thought this would be  "my time" to do things I wanted to do. But somehow, we are all caught up in an overly busy life. What shifted?

There's a lot of talk about having a balanced life. At work, we were often asked if we felt we had a good work/life balance.  But that never took into expectations into account. We go to work earlier, stay later, to get things done. And yet, there is always something else needing to be done.

We need to make better choices. We don't always have to "get everything done".  Choose the fun things over work every now and then! 

Medicine Mishap

Phone calls that come late at night are never good!  Last night, at 11pm, the home my mom is at called.  I didn't hear it, I keep it silenced because Mom calls and sends texts at all hours.  I checked my phone just before midnight and listened to the voice message:  there was an incident with moms meds, but she is fine. I just wanted to let you know."    Well.  How do you go back to sleep after that!?!?!

My mind wanders to and fro, from what the hell did mom do?  To what kind of medicine mishap??  Sheesh.

I waited until 10 to return her call, she probably worked overnight, and yes, I woke her up.  It was a mixup of pain meds, but mom was fine. Dashed over and yes, she's fine.  Lol.  Talkative as all get out ..... I'm sure an after effect!! 

Elder care isn't for wimps!!!

New Day, New Year

The first day of a new year is almost as exciting as the first say of a new school year!

There were so many things to look forward to: a new teacher, new friends, seeing old friends, new things to learn in a new phase of life. 

How does that translate into something when you're older?  Its easy to wallow when each day isn't so different from the last. But maybe we just need to find a different viewpoint, engage ourselves in something new and different, find a new focus. 

I ordered me a fancy paper punch online, and have started a kind of journal. Every day, I have to use a little imagination and punch something out.  To be honest, since this is new, I sometimes do more than 1!

I mean, we get cards in the mail, most people don't keep every card. Now I can punch a part of it for memory!