Une fleur de l'amour d'un jardin en France

A few more treasures from yesterday's journey to the past.......

At left, a photograph of my mother's family at a wedding.

To right, and unknown photograph found buried at the bottom of a 

candy box full of lace hankies.

At center, some amazingly beautiful vintage trinket...and my favorite of all, a cameo.

(I am quite enamored of cameos!)

The ecru lace you see behind is sewn to a scarf of black tulle.

The label remarks:  made in France

I had thought to stumble upon a stack of love letters but so far I haven't.

Only this one, preserved with a rose.  Dated 1944

My father says that it was "given to me by a French woman who picked it in her garden"

He also says that he "kissed this flower before sending it"

At this time, my parents were married.

Ahhh...the lost art of the romantic letter......

EBB would be so proud........

Une fleur de l'amour d'un jardin en France.

Oui.

*sigh*

I'm Not Crazy...My Mother Had Me Tested......

Since yesterday was such a wretched day of trying to sort out my Mother's long life, with her still in it, 

it made me laugh long and hard when I stumbled upon this certificate!

For those of you who are fans of the sitcom BIG BANG THEORY

(and I am a HUGE fan!  brilliant, by the way!)

you'll REALLY appreciate the joke!

So, for those of you who might have suspected......

"I'm not crazy.    My Mother had me tested."

See?  It says so right here!  :)

(Though, little did they know, they had a Bedlamite in the making!)

Find something to laugh out loud about today!

It's good for the Soul!

Pilfered Lace

The enormity of what I have just done has hit me like a wrecking ball into an unsuspecting wall of brick.

I have pilfered my Mum's hand crocheted lace.

Well, not even her lace, but my grandmother's lace.

And since my Mum will be 101 on this June 5th well, then that's some pretty old lace.

I have coveted this box of lace for ages.  Ever since my Mum started handing it out to me, piece by piece, like special candy treats.  She's been doing it forever.  Since the time I first moved to my own apartment.

Every now and again.....she'd gift me with a piece of  crochet lace from the box.

Endless excitement on a day like that when I possessed another piece to display!

(I was, perhaps, the only 20 year old with furniture sporting antimacassars!

  You gotta admire a good antimacassar!)

The ritual brought to me a love of dear, old things, painstakingly crafted by a woman I never met.

Grandma passed before I was born.

But, still, I have always had a picture in my mind of that faceless lady bent over her work of an evening.

And then one day, Mum stopped.  Stopped gifting the lace.

She said to me one day:  "Now you have to wait until I'm gone."

And of course, I promised.

And now, now I have broken my promise and pilfered that lace.

I hadn't meant to.  But, one thing leading to another and Mum, nearing 101, just isn't able to stay in her home any longer.   Nor my daughter's either.  And the goddess knows my poor daughter gave it her all.

But, it wasn't meant to be.

 Another promise not kept.

I wish I could bring her these lovely pieces and pretty up her room.

But, Mum's not the woman now to appreciate the lovely and would be all the sadder (and madder)

 that I had touched her things.  The upset would never be equal to the beauty.

She would find, now, no comfort in this lace.

I laugh out loud when I think of a character on a  favorite television show, Sheldon Cooper of Big Bang Theory-  "A home?  We'd never put Meemaw in a home!"

You say that.

  But circumstance is a harsh mistress and Mum now

 resides in a care facility and her home to be scattered to the four winds in hopes that her long loved belongings will be honored by the people who take them.

That's one promise I can keep.

~MF 2012

The French "Appel" Pie Adventure

My Mum...in her 80's......

Gee....I wonder where I get my love of garb?   ;)

Nature vs. Nurture.  Hmm.

Ah, 'twas a bittersweet weekend this past.

My Mum, who will be 101 this coming June 5, had to recently move to a care facility.
We'll call it that.  It pains me to write the NH word.

The Goddess knows, we tried, against all odds to keep her with the family, but some things just aren't meant to be and one comes to realize that facility care offers a host of things that no human on earth can provide in a home setting.  Kudos to my daughter for holding out until the bitter end and medical care made it necessary to move her.  There is no way in the world I would have lasted a day.

So, with that said, there comes a host of other, even more daunting tasks.  The tasks of cleaning out her home.

There's naught for it and it must be done.  No other way around it.
But, if she were passed then I might feel differently.  It's a bloody knife in my heart as I go about the tasks that I promised her I would never do until after she was gone.

Crappy daughter, I.

There are many (many!) days ahead of sorting and deciding but I made a bit of a start this weekend.
I thought that I'd share a few of the more treasured things I found and remembered fondly.

***********

I have no idea what the pin on the left actually is but I do know that I shall wear it proudly upon my pirate hat!  The wee knife to the right is also on the piratey side!

I can sew the wee knife to my pirate garb and always be ready for a sandwich!  ;)

Going out on a limb, due to the look and age, but will say that this was my grandfather's pipe!

Remember......Mum is 100............   

I love these!  I played with them sooooo many times when I was small.

Who knew.......Mum was the original Steampunk Girl!   ;)

I adore cameos in any and all forms!  

And the wee mag glass will go nicely with my Vic garb!

Ok.  THIS is wild!  Clearly my Mum was corresponding to someone in Paris!

This begins in English and is a recipe for "French Appel Pie" 

The next two pages are meticulous instructions in flawless handwriting-in French-

for the pie!  It closes with sending more the "next time I write."

I'm actually rather excited to see if I find any more from this person!

A "French Appel Pie" Adventure!

Vintage beaded purse.  I was real good up until I opened it and smelled the inside.

It smelled the way my Mum smelled when I was little............

The Dog is mine....but the derby was my grandfathers!

It's sooooo old!  Fragile.  And I adore it!

The sales tag inside is handwritten and reads:  3052 Blk $2.00 51/4

The sewn in leather tag reads:  Bains, Oswego NY

There's so much more to do.

Torn betwixt wanting to honor everything and knowing that decisions will have to be made.

And....facing the 'lock box' wherein all my adoption information lies............

which is what, essentially, this blog is all about.........

But, I shall smile, because to do otherwise would be a failure to celebrate my Mums

long and wonderful life.........

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me......

it's appreciated knowing that you are all out there to urge me forward....share a smile.....or break my fall.......

or perhaps peel a few *appels* with me along the way..........

Let the French *Appel* Pie Adventure start!

(with a humble nod to Maurice Sendak...who loved an adventure!)

(Right after this nap..........)    ;)

addendum:  My bloggie friend, Jinksy, just sent me a link to the bird's foot broach!
Amazing!
Thanks, Jinksy!
Bird's Foot Broach