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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Monday, February 11, 2013

Treasures old and new...

Yesterday I went for a visit to see my folks who live about an hours drive
and to catch up with my older brother Dan who came
for the day from the Mainland.
It's always good to see each other and these visits I treasure
since they are too few and far between. Life is busy and
it's not always easy to co-ordinate every ones schedule.
While my mom and I sat having tea, she brought out a few
things she wanted to pass down to me.
The first was this locket which belonged to my
Great Uncle Bill's mother-in-law.
 It was a graduation gift from her parents.
What beautiful engraving it has!
 I remember my mom wearing it with love.
Inside she has a picture of Great Uncle Bill and my dad at around the same age.
 The picture of my dad on the right, was taken on their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, Ontario...
 My Uncle Bill is gone now but when he was alive,
him and my dad were the best of friends.
He was my mom's favorite uncle as well, hence the
significance of the photos she carried in the locket.
She then gave me another locket which belonged to my Great Aunt Thora...
My Great Uncle Len gave it to her during the war.
We're not sure if he sent it from overseas or had someone give it to her here...
She  also gave me this photo of my Great Grandad Cairns...
She wrote a little note on the back explaining that the picture was taken just before he went
off to fight in WW1. He looks quite pensive....justifiably so.
 The frame was a gift to my mom after graduating from nursing school in 1971.
 These are the stories that begin to fade in time when people grow old and pass on.
Then my brother came to the table and brought with him a belated birthday gift.
He is an art lover and is always searching out beautiful and interesting things for me.
Here is the gorgeous card by Diane Kremmer called "Watchful Eyes Under Sickle Moon"..
To go along with the crow theme, this beautiful big mug from Mexico and my favorite tea...
Something else he brought was a handmade tribute album of pictures of my late sister Tracy...
 As he does with all of his projects, he spent many hours printing old photos onto
special paper and adding his own cut out birds and designs to go along with the pictures...
My last post was about losing and finding things in the thrift shop and so will some
of these items become lost in time. The stories will have gaps and question marks someday.
But for now I will keep them all close to my heart and tell the stories as best I can.
Keeping the past alive.
These photos in the silver locket dated 1942 are self evident.
I'll wear this with love on Valentines day for Len and Thora.
 



6 comments:

Cobalt Violet said...

I love lockets and these are such treasures. I love visiting with my grandmother and her telling me about different items and where they came from ... the stories behind them. I need to write things down though! Over time I forget things that I always think I'm going to remember!

Megan Elizabeth said...

Lovely items - it's so special to have pieces like this passed down.

And I just love the crow art!

Megan

Anonymous said...

such beauty in handed down memories and you are such a keeper for these! love the photo album, the care and the thought put into it.

Mairéad said...

These are wonderful treasures especially as you know their stories and will be able to pass them down.

Willow said...

What a beautiful post of precious thing near and dear to your heart ! Lovely to hear the stories behind the lockets. Fabulous mug from Mexico, oh how I would enjoy tea in that , and loving crows I adore the design. Was quite neat to see the card from Diane Kremmer as I have always been a fan of her work. Wonderful post I totally enjoyed it . Thanks for sharing!

Mary said...

What a beautiful post you've made here, Kerry! It brought a few tears to my eyes, though i don't know the people in these photos. The lockets are lovely, and have such wonderful memories and such importance attached! I've been fascinated with lockets and the treasures inside since i was a small child. And i love crows! :) What beautiful gifts.