I may have written about this before, but my parents are moving from my hometown to Williamsburg, VA. I'm very sad that they are leaving State College (best hometown ever!), but that is the way things go.
They have spent the past few months in a flurry of going through things, throwing out things and generally cleaning up in order to get the house ready for sale. This is no small feat for anyone, let alone my parents, who haven't thrown out anything since sometime around 1982. You think that I'm kidding.
Through this cleaning up/out process that Mom & Dad have been going through, I have come tor realize how people end up with so much STUFF in their houses. Its not just not throwing things away. Its the transfer of STUFF. From one generation to another. As my parents have gone through things, they put them aside for my sister & I..."Kim always liked this...This was Aunt so & so's & it should stay in the family...This was purchased for Kim as a baby & she should have it...". And so, as their house becomes less cluttered, I have (eagerly, mind you!) taken on the stuff that they have gotten rid of.
Don't get me wrong! I am very happy to have received these treasures, but I also realized this with a chuckle to myself. This, I think, goes along with hearing yourself sound like your mother, but that is a post for another day :)
OK, now to the good part, photos of those treasures....My parents are the reason that I love flea marketing & treasure hunting. They would take us to fleas on Sundays in the summer to just look around or to try to spy old food & candy tins, which they collected for some time. At the time, they owned a small candy & gourmet food shop, so it all went together. In addition, they also have several items from a butcher/grocery store that my great grandfather owned as well as 1940s & 1950s school books!
The books are pictured above & are just a part of what I received. Some of the others weren't of interest to either my sister or myself, so I'm going to sell them (having gained my mother's permission). I also got a stack of 1940s & 1950s National Geographics that were mostly of interest for the ads, but also amusing in their antiquated verbage. I'm keeping a few of those & recycling the rest.
Here are some of the lovely tins that I received:
I also returned with a great deal of office supplies (my father could have had an outpost of Staples in his study) and my old prom dress (surprisingly, I still think that it is gorgeous, despite being circa 1990).
They still have a lot of beautiful things that will come my way some day and I'm glad that they are holding onto them for the time being. But, its pretty neat to have things in my house that I grew up with for so many years.
