General Chat

Had this sent by a very good friend,who knows,like her that I throw very little away!!

A Keeper

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, work shirt and a hat; and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other It was the time for fixing things: a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.


It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy All that re-fixing, re-heating leftovers, renewing; I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.


But when my mother died, and I was standing in that clear morning light in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes , what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it, it's best we love it.. And care for it... And fix it when it's broken.. And heal it when it's sick.


This is true: For marriage... And old cars... And children with bad report cards... Dogs and cats with bad hips... And aging parents... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep, like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.


There are just some things that make life important,
like people we know who are special... And so, we keep them close!


I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper,' so I've sent it to the people I think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send this to those people that are 'keepers' in your life. Good friends are like stars... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there!

I am a Keeper :))

You all know what a hoarder I am lol!

Lizxx

I am the worlds worst (or is it best?) hoarder. I cant get into one of the spare bedrooms for boxes of 'junk' piled in it.
Huia.

And the other spare bedroom has a lot of boxes of stuff around the walls, but at least there is room to get at the bed (just) if we have somebody staying.
Huia.

Huia, I knew we were kindred spirits lol
Lizx

This is lovely Brenda, and so very true.Thank you for sharing it with us.

Eileen x

Hello Liz, deffo kindred spirits.
At present the lounge floor is half covered in boxes of stuff that I dragged out of the first spare room to go through them in the hopes of getting rid of a lot of junk. I did manage to take one box full of plastic stuff to the monthly local recycling day.
Only another 200 or so boxes to go. Hope I live long enough, I would hate to leave so much for the children to deal with.
Huia.

this is lovely brenda

says it all

the important things in life

the way i been brought up , the way i am

Island...
Us hoarders were brought up to waste not,want not,and although it may seem junk to one person,it may not be to another.
This last week,I have had 17 of my family here to look after,and it's been...Grandma,have you some elastic to put on my pirate eyepatch...Have you got a button like this in your tin...have you got a box that this will fit in...Have you got a plastic container to put these little toys in...etc.etc.
I do know that to clear up after deceased relatives is hard.I have done it,but I do loathe waste of any description as do a lot of my generation who haven't had it as easy as today's generation.

I wasn't getting a you Island,and must own up to wanting a clear out myself in the garage,but it is inherent in our generation that ...don't throw it away as I could have a use for it.....I have bits of material that are probably no more use to anyone and my Oh has loads of videos that we never watch,and he has been a collector of books,miniature liqueurs,stamps,records,etc that he won't get rid of.
As for cluttered homes,that is different,the war time theme of hoarding meant that we keep things for a long time,looking after them so they will last,not like todays throw away trend.

Brenda x

Years ago my OH was always on at me about the stuff I kept, but occasionally he would ask if I had......whatever and I always came up with something that suited his needs. I am getting a bit more ruthless now, but as we are both reaching our dotage I dont expect we will find a need for the things I throw out. I hope. The trouble is that I spend far too long on here instead of doing the necessary. I sometimes panic in the middle of the night with the thought 'what if I wake up dead in the morning'.
I have been looking through a few things this morning. My OH would have had me going for a walk with him, but I told him I had too much to do. With his cerebral atrophy he often interrupts what I am doing so it is not easy to get rid of things. But I try - in fact I am very trying.
Huia.

I deleted the last one as I had submitted it twice.

Huia, I posted on here a minute or so ago, and it isn't there lol
What I was going to say was, and hope I haven't added it to the wrong thread lol, my son is terrified I will pop my clogs before I sort out all my junk, in the house, here and in storage facilities. I know he would miss me, but he would curse me more, if I leave everything to him. I have arranged for a cousin's daughter to be an executor on the understanding she helps my lad sort everything out, and my bro, an accoutant, is the other executor so he can do all the financial and official stuff.
Hope I can sort most of it out tho, there are things I have forgotten about and would love to see again and use, and lots of things that I planned to do or use when I retired lol
This computer has taken over tho lol, so I have to be ruthless when I can get round to it lol

Huia, good luck with all your plans lol
Lizx

I have spent the afternoon looking through some of my junk for things I want to take to an antique show on Saturday.
I have a lot of old Girls Own Annuals that used to belong to my mother and grandmother. One is dated 1887.
I found one of two flutes or piccolos that used to be played by my granddad and/or his brother. Not sure where I have put the second one. It will be somewhere 'safe'.
I also have a lot of paintings that my other granddad did. He was an amateur but 18 months ago I saw one in a Kiwi Folk Art exhibition. The owner had bought it in an auction, so I would like an idea of what they are worth. Some are not very good. Not that my sister and I are planning to sell them, but we might want to insure them. We were advised by the owner of the gallery which held the exhibition to keep the collection together. I have made laser copies of them all so I have a 'catalogue' of his works, or at least those that I have in my care. I know a late cousin had 2 more and my youngest sister (now dead) had one, but her OH doesnt know where it is.
:((
Huia.

Huia,and Purple,
Having all my family here this last week,I said to my daughter and granddaughter when they were in the kitchen as I was dishing up a meal.don't throw any plates or dishes away without looking underneath to see if they are collectibles,and that goes for other ornaments and books etc.
I have been thinking of doing an antiques fair,but it is a bit difficult as my Oh is on oxygen 24 hours.I have done them in the past,but will need someone to give me a hand.May get around to it when daughter is here,but she lives 90 miles away,and son in Melbourne,and later in year have to go to Spain to sort out a property there that we haven't been able to go to for 18 months,and we have personal things there.It's not a problem ,just a challenge,and I am determined to get on with it.
Good luck with your antiques fair Huia,you both sound like persons after my own heart.lol.
Brenda x

Island,
Sorry if you have had a bad time,and do understand.
I have had that with my Oh's aunt and my mother in the last 6 years,so do know how you feel.In fact I have loads of things here that were my mother's and can't bear to get rid,including her 90th birthday cards,and she had kept birthday cards from years and years ago.I sorted them,and kept the ones that were personal to me,like from my gran etc.I filled a shopping trolley with the others,after going round to lots of charity shops who didn't want them,and found the Cats Protection League where they were so glad to have them and different societies ,like mentally handicapped,for them to cut out and make things with.
I have just made a cover for the barbecue that we used a lot last week out of and old waterproof big mackintosh that was never used.
In my early married days I had a seasonal business,and if we had a bad year,I even made clothes out of my old ones for the children,and a teddy out of velvet curtains,and emptied eiderdowns to make pillows etc,so you can see where I am coming from,and even though I certainly don't have to do that now,that sense never leaves you and you always think,what could I do with that!

Brenda x

If anybody has a spare round tuit I really could use one.
I have a lot of material I have bought over the years to make clothes, because there have been some years when I have not liked anything in the shops. I just need to get rid of my computer and get started on cutting out (well, some has been cut out) and sewing. I could then throw out some of the tatty old things I am wearing round the house!
Huia.

Brenda, my mother died 15 yrs ago and I still havent gone through all of her stuff.
Huia.

Huia, yet another similarity, I too used to make my own clothes, and have lots of fabric around, mostly furnishing stuff now tho. One day I will get round to using it.
Lizx

I have a round tuit coaster and an ashtray from years ago when I used to smoke occasionally.

Lizx