Growing older

After many hard years of sickness and every increasing fraility my Mother has gone into a rest home. Mum is 78 but after living an extremly hard and busy life filled with lots of traumatic and good events suddenly old age hit her like a ton of bricks and she seemed to age overnight. Ive gotten used in the last three years of my Mum growing smaller weaker, less able and her mind growing frail too. The yesterday we started the cleanout of her home as it goes up for sale. There were a few of us and it hit me hard how the lifetime of memories are suddenly there laid out in front of you. trinkets, the photos some long forgotten, the clothing and ornaments, my own long lost things some huge in value some huge in sentimental value. I found Mums wedding dress thrown in a black sack with moth holes and musty smelling and knew that i must preserve what I could of it for the future generations. I was pondering how amazing it would be to find my grandmothers dress that during the great depression was of blue velvet and no doubt cut up for other things when used. Then suddenly there it was. the bodice and a lock of hair kept by mum all these years and now handed on to Mums youngest sister. I thought how wonderful it would be 100 years from now for my great greats to see this wedding dress from the 50s. And so today it lows in the wind and I am reminded just how beautiful it is. mum designed it herself on the idea of a flower and its petals. There is a large chunk of tulle missing from the front and now I must find a way to preserve it ensuring that no further damage is done. Any ideas. When i look at this dress and see the wedding photos dug up yesterday I am reminded how young and vital Mum and Dad were then, newly married their children not yet born. All the highs and lows out before them. And now Dad is dead and Mum is so very frail. Life after all I thought is about the living of and the memories captured. it was a very poignant day.

This leather suitcase is from the dusty bottom of my fathers closet and I grabbed it, polished it up and filled it with my rag and porcelain dolls and a lap quilt. Im not sure how old it is but I think it came from my grandfather. i love it. i found other precious things too. A silver cigarette paper holder from 1950 with my dads name and date engraved. (I hated my Dad smoking. He gave up cold turkey after a massive heart attack when he was fifty. never again after a lifetime did he touch another cigarette from them on. No nicorette or helplines then.he had massive will power!!)

Gardening:

Today I swilled some more of my horse manure soup on my strawberries and my spinach. The weather is so springlike here. it is lovely to be out in the garden planing the growing season now. The girls think the fact that i collected horse poo as they rode then bagged it up took it home and made a soup from it with water in a bucket is just too awful!! They might not be eating eating of our own strawberries this year!

Frugal living:

I have been so slack and my bank account shows this. Really high power bills. I know it is winter but still. The last two days have seen me hanging things on the clothes line and them actually drying y days end. now thats a lovely feeling to have. Good on the power bill the clothes and my soul!! i am beginning to cook more too. Just too many takeouts and buying processed food of late...watch this space!

Crafting:

The last installment of the mystery block of the month from Susan claire arrived yesterday. I am now sewing the rows together, but I didnt take too much notice of the faric and so my look is a tad more scrappy than the finished look on line. i will post pictures when finished. Am I happy with it. I dunno. I am driving it through the sewing machine at top speed to see what it looks like all finished and with the borders on it. Susan Claires looks great though!

I am off to put some nan read on..told you i was going to be more frugal. Unfortunately its frugal by necessity this weekend.....

happy simple living folks

Love Cherry