Yesterday - and Today

 My first mistake yesterday was in getting up. The second was staying out of bed. I'll just give you a few examples of why pulling the rugs over my head, stuffing my fingers in my ears and singing "La la la la" loudly would have proved far more sensible.

I got up and wandered out into the kitchen where I immediately felt crunching underfoot. The night before I had torn open a sachet of sweetener, spilling it on one of the benches and the floor in front of it  - as I thought. We'd cleaned up but unfortunately without the main light on hadn't noticed it had spread rather more widely due to the fans we had on to heat the house Not a great start but after twenty or so minutes of sweeping, washing and wiping the kitchen was again pristine. Phew - and I hadn't even had my coffee yet. 

The next step was to feed and medicate my cat who needs daily meds due to a health problem. I got everything ready and took it into the laundry where he eats - and the smell of cat pee was overwhelming. Somehow he'd missed his litter tray, hit the wall behind it and drenched it and the floor around it with a copious flood. Another twenty minutes later and order was restored. Still hadn't had my coffee. Dammit.

We finally got to have breakfast and I went to the computer to pay some bills. The bank website wouldn't open. Okay so I'll try again in a few minutes I thought. Nope. And again. Zilch. Again - nada. by now it was 10:30 AM and I won't tell you about the rest of my day except to say it did not improve at all.

I have to confess that I was more than a little wary about this morning - but it turned out to be far more interesting and enjoyable.

The kitchen was clean, my coffee was delicious and when I went to the bank site it opened and I could pay my bills. Pisces went off to get the car serviced and I decided to tackle a couple of boxes that had been sitting in my office since my father passed away some years ago. I had packed one at the time so I knew it held some family history information and memorabilia that I thought needed better storage away from the ravages of silverfish which are far too common around here. My decluttering has freed up a lot of plastic storage tubs so this seemed a good solution and I had a lovely time going through all this. Nothing is particularly valuable so there'll be no going to our local equivalent of Antiques Roadshow and finding we're suddenly rich but it tells a part of the story of one side of our family and that's important.

The other box I knew nothing about - it had just been handed to me already sealed up when we did the final clear out - and it turned out to be full of surprises.

What was in it had obviously belonged to my mother. Some of it I remembered from my childhood but some was a complete mystery - like the collection of teaspoons collected in their travels. There was a brooch I had never seen her wear - a shiny red bird completely at odds with her taste, a locket with a photo of my father aged about twenty, assorted brass paper weights, trinket containers, the glass beer mug in the photo on the left - Mum never drank beer in her life, some tea cups and saucers from a tea set that had belonged to her aunt according to the note with it (the cup and saucer in the rather blurry photo are from that), a toy china tea pot she had as a child, and some fittings for an old Aladdin lamp, plus odd souvenirs. 

There was also a whole collection of odd china and old fashioned cut glassware  (the glass sauce jug with its saucer shown below are just some examples) like those I remember from visiting an elderly great aunt as a child. Aunty was a traditionalist and visits to her house were like stepping back in history - to a time of kerosene lamps for lighting, a Coolgardie safe to keep things cool and with no refrigeration meat preserved in brine. It was fascinating and a little daunting I have to say but I am glad to have experienced something that most of my contemporaries haven't.  I already have an Aladdin lamp inherited from her so the fittings may yet come in handy. 

The oddest things were a woman's lace decorated cotton nightdress and knee length underpants. Whose they were and why they were kept I have no idea. There were notes with some of the other items, too, but not with most so, important as they must have been to her, I know nothing about them.  

Despite the gaps in my knowledge it was a lovely way to spend a day and I intend to use some of the china and glassware. It seems a bit sad to leave it all packed away again or to send it off to an op shop. I'll have a talk to the younger family members, too, and we can decide what should be done with it all.  Who knows some of them may find it as interesting as I do.