It's amazing the things you discover as you begin to clear out someone else's home. There is much which needs to be graciously overlooked and dealt with appropriately and then you also find curious old treasures. Trying to find the line between old worthless 'stuff' and intriguing possessions is a difficult one, which is made both easier and harder once the owner is no longer here.
I find my self looking back over the old black and white photos to see if any of my young mother-in-law was wearing any of the dozen hats and fascinators discovered in her hat box - and I haven't found any yet. I didn't even know about the existence of the hat box until just over 12 months ago when she had to have a particular hat (the one with all the little fur tails) to wear to my son's wedding, the same hat (and accompanying dress) which she had worn to her oldest son's wedding in 1983. She and I spent hours looking for the hat box and nearly left her old seaside home without locating it. Once found, she briefly looked through her memory hats that day as we quickly gathered the right hat and headed back into our home town an hour away. And that was all. Life moved on.
Many finds remain intriguing mysteries, other my husband knows the story behind them, like dozens of Fowlers Vacola preserving jars retrieved from the boat shed. These have been scrubbed are now happily in use in our home and a local florist as vases.
Each week we make another trip down to continue the huge task of house sorting, and when time and the weather allow, we enjoy a little time at one of Iluka's wonderful beaches before heading home.
Life continues on amongst sorting my mil's affairs. Early morning walks are still a pleasure, before the heat and humidity of the day linger long. Quite a few new fabrics have been added to my Etsy shop over recent weeks, bringing variety as other fabrics sell out. An organic quilt from my Etsy shop has also made it's way to a new home this month. Nothing seems to mark the passing of time more distinctly than birthdays. Our youngest turned 10 this week - Miss E had a wonderful birthday and is a blessing to us every day!
Further details for some of these photos will appear if you hover your cursor over the image. :)
*** You may also enjoy my Instagram feed which I add to several times a week. You don't have to join Instagram to view - just click on the little blue square camera logo under my blog profile (top right hand corner).
Karen