Everything from two walls has been shoved over so as to make room for the desk and vanity arriving on Thursday. This picture represents only one portion of what has been shoved over:
Treasures were found! Not pictured here....My father's wallet! He died in 1998, and his wallet had fallen behind the bookcase pictured below and inaccessible for two decades. The amount of money in the wallet was sufficient enough for me to exclaim, "Merry Christmas from Dad!"
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| The rectangular box contained 78 rpms, bound volumes of In Britain (1960s), and two volumes of a set of the KJV Bible, dated 1792 and printed in London — all found in a closet which hasn't been opened in over two decades. We found a home for the 78 rpms, as well as 33 and 1/3 rpms from the 1960s and 1970s; we donated the magazines to the public library. What to do with the Bible? We need to find an antiquarian-books dealer. |
And miles to go before we sleep....
It's an ongoing battle. I feel your pain because we've been doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteSOMETIMES IT HELPS TO KNOW THAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN THERE TOO. I HOPE THAT PROVES TRUE IN YOUR CASE, DEAR FRIEND.
ReplyDelete________ Spring Cleaning ________
Stripping down the curtains and the blinds ––
Pulling beds and chests away from walls ––
Rolling up the carpets often finds
Infinitesimal trinkets none recalls
Needing, knowing, losing, throwing out.
Gifts unearthed by springtime’s household squalls
Clog the cleansing process, as we scout
Labyrinthine halls within our minds ––
Eavesdropping on the ghosts wo lurk about
As though they might make sense of the designs ––
Noose-like –– that we weave throughout our lives.
Implacably though, each separate pattern binds
Now to Then, and often what derives
Glides into our consciousness –– like knives!
~ FreeThinke, the Sandpiper - Spring 1997
Very nice!
DeleteThank you! I wrote it a lng time ago, but I think it's germane to AOW's current situation. Most of us have been through somethng like this at least ince n our lives.
DeleteI've had to move, I think, NINE times, and it's never easy, but it CAN be instructive.
A King James Bible printed in London in 1792 might have genuine historic and monetary value.
ReplyDeleteI think it migwould pay to have a recognized authority in the field appraise it. The Librar of Cingress should be a good place to start.
It's often hard to sell such things to advantage, unless you had documented proof it had been the personal property of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin. ;-)
IF it gets appraised for a really impressive sum, it might pay you to DONATE IT to a recognized museum or university library, then take a hefty tax deduction.
If it turns out to be worth only a modest sum, please consider selling it to ME. I'm pleased to own a number of antiques from the eighteenth and early ninteenth centuries, so your Bible would be highly respected here, and fit rght into my family.
Just a thought . . .
God's word only appreciates in value. :)
ReplyDeleteWhere it counts.
Delete...where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
While it's perfectly true that "Man does not live by bread alone," it's also true that Man still NEEDS "bread" in order to sustain himself in this eartly life.
DeleteMost of us are not yet ready to join the World of the Spirits.
I trust God to make that decision for me.
};^)>
Finding the treasures takes the drudgery out of such work. We've been in our housel less than two decades and its is amazing the amount of junk we've collected.
ReplyDeleteI just unloaded a big stack of records, some belonging to my dad, most mine. I had forgotten how much of a punk fan I was...
I also had records of children's stories that were passed down through the ages to me. I had hoped to find a hipster grandfather who owned a record player and would cherish the albums and enjoy playing them with his grandchildren, but there's no market nowadays, so we gave them to a friend who makes money selling second-hand stuff.
I love your finding your Dad's wallet! Of ALL things to have dropped like that in a secret, special place to be found years later. I don't believe in coincidences anymore, AT ALL, and I like to think that's a little 'nod'! How wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a couple bedrooms that are storage rooms....
ReplyDeleteYou must be one of the few that have their Dad's wallet.
I feel your pain AOW, having moved in August (my very last!) me and the misses must have made 10 trips to the Salvation Army or the dump. Hated every minute while at it, but now, looking back, what a relief and boy do we thoroughly enjoy the efforts of our labor. As well as our new abode!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you!
We have been here at my grandmother's house since June 1972, when Mr. AOW and I got married. Some of the finds we are dealing with go back in 1947, when my grandmother, my mother (single at the time), and my aunt and uncle bought this property. Every closet, every cabinet, and every corner of this 1300 sq.ft. house are packed to the overflowing.
ReplyDeleteSome items yet to be gotten to I will put up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, and the Neighborhood network.
Today, we will tackle the linen closet. Lots of giveaways and throwaways there, I'm sure. And many keepers, too.
I haven't found it yet, but my grandfather's bedpan is here somewhere. I kid you not!
I once grew geranium in a dark blue agateware bedpan. It thrived beautifully.
DeleteThere's a good use for nearly everything, except used Kleenex and toilet paper.
};-)>
I met my wife when her Aunt Ginny, who was living with my widowed mother, died of a heart attack. This was in Tucson, and my future wife, whom I had never met at that point, lived in San Diego. It somehow fell to me to phone her and inform her of her aunt's death.
ReplyDeleteAunt Ginny owned a house, which she was donating as a residence to Chinese scholars at U of A, and the task of clearing it out and preparing it for sale fell upon SWMBO to be. The task took over a year of traveling back and forth, as Ginny was not quite a hoarder, but close.
Meanwhile I was taking care of her car, picking her up at the airport, taking her out to dinner from time to time "only because she was alone in town," etc. My friends are like, "Yeah, right. You're a nice guy, but you're not that nice," and claiming I was smitten, which I denied. Obviously they were right, as I am now married to her and live in San Diego.
Anyway, she could not just look in a box and decide to throw it out, because good stuff and junk were all mixed up. In one carton full of junk was a Squash Blossom necklace worth a couple thousand dollars. It was a hard time, in some ways, but apparently I made it better in other ways without really meaning to.
It's sort of typical really, because I still often don't know what's going on.
Nice story! The best things that happened in my life were not planned. They just happened, often without me knowing what was going on.
DeleteEven if you re smitten, you still showed saintly qualities, Jayhawk.
Delete"Aunt Ginny" didn't leave you a penny, did she, Jayhawk?
Therefore, you were either a sucker or a saint. I prefer to think the latter of you. and after all you DID get the wife you wanted out of it, didn't you?
If you've had a happy marriage, I'd say that's more than adequate compensation for your protracted good deed.
And now it's time to start wishing you a wonderful Christmas Season.
We've been married for 23 years now, and marrying her was the best thing I ever did, so yes, amply rewarded.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete________ GET HAPPY ________
ReplyDeletePack up yur troubles; c'mon get happy.
We're gonna take all your blues away.
Sing Hallelujah! c'mon get happy
Get ready for the Judgment day.
Sing Hallelujah! c'mon get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand.
Sing Ha;leujah! c'mon get happy.
We're headed for the Promsed Land.
We're standing by the river,
So deep and so wide.
It's oh so peaceful peaceful
On the Other Side.
Sing Hallelujah! c'mon get happy.
We're gonna chase all your blues away.
Sing Hallelujah! c'min get happy.
Get ready for the Judgment Day!
~ Harold Arlen - made famous by Judy Garland in Summer Stock (1950)
WORK for the NIGHT is COMING
ReplyDeleteWork, for the night is coming,
Work through the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work 'mid springing flowers.
Work when the day grows brighter,
Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man's work is done.
Work, for the night is coming,
Work thru the sunny noon;
Fill brightest hours with labor -
Rest comes sure and soon.
Give every flying minute
Something to keep in store;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man works no more.
Work, for the night is coming,
Under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more;
Work, while the night is darkening,
When man's work is o'er.
~ Mrs. Harry Coghill
Progress and 'treasures' found are always good. And I hope good memories of your dad!
ReplyDeleteI do not feel so bad about my garage now. At 10x20 it can't hold much (I park my car in it!), but when my car was out for some work to be done in it I managed to fill half of a one yard bin with cleanout. And that was pushing the limit of what I wanted to do!
ReplyDeleteWe did a massive yard sale with my mom when she downsized from 2000 sf + 5 attics, basement & garage with loft storage to 1600 sf and a small shed 20 years ago today. It's cathartic but still a slog. And one I remember well. Prayers with you and MW as you dig out 3 generations of history.
Baysider,
DeleteMy apologies!
For whatever reason your comment above was trapped in the spam folder.