Back again. This time not with a book review. The reading is going slow. For the moment I am reading
The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester. It is a historical novel set in the beginning of the 20th century. Trapeze artists disappearing and then there are the suffragettes. More about this later.
I am on my way to Sweden again, so planning my packing. Most things that will go from here have already been transported. Now we are starting looking at what we have in the attic! Yes, I guess you know what that means. Many things that has been hidden up there since we moved in 18 years ago. Since both me an my husband had reached a rather mature age by the time we decided that it might be a good idea to move in together, we had both collected a few personal stuff along the way. My husband is more of a squirrel than I am, so I am afraid he has a few more boxes to take care of, but there are a few for me too.
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| One pile of memorabilia |
To open these boxes was really a trip down Memory Lane. The boxes contained memorabilia from my working years abroad. A lot of invitations, brochures from various events and photos, opened up a forgotten world for me. All of a sudden I was transported back in time and people's name and faces appeared to me again. Some I must admit I could not place at all! There were letters I have forgotten I had. I did not read them, just looked through them quickly. They will be read on a cold, stormy night during the winter. The time covers more or less beginning of the 80s up until mid 90s. It was a time when we still wrote postcards and letters, and I am so happy to have saved them all.
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| Dolls on the way out! |
I sorted out a few things, one just can't save everything. Now at least they have been put in order, and I will probably do some kind of journaling to preserve them, rather than just keep them in boxes. I had a couple of bags full of dolls I bought in Russia and other places. Unfortunately, they were of rather low quality, so I just saved some of the typical Russian dolls.
It has been a great exercise. I still have a few boxes of photos, not to talk about all the dia slides. They will also be sorted and turned into digital ones. Well, I will not lack things to do in the near future. The great thing is that many of my friends I have found again on FB. That, I think, is the great benefit with this app.
When my ex-sister-in-la was in high school in the mid-1970s, she went on a class trip to Russia. It was very unusual at the time, and the matryoshka doll she brought back for my daughter was the first we had ever seen.
ReplyDeleteYour post brings back lots of memories! :-)
That must have been quite unusual to go to Russia in those days. The matryoshkas are wonderful and you could find them everywhere. I think they are still there today, but more fanciful or elegant. But I like these original ones.
DeleteThere is nothing like a move to force a bit of cleaning out. Maybe more than a bit. But what fun things you have found. I fear that would completely derail my efforts and I'd be reading and reading! I've been helping a friend get ready for a cross country move here and it was a big poke in the ribs to remind me that one day I may have to do the same. Maybe not cross country but much smaller and starting now is better than doing it under pressure. I don't envy you the task but do envy the hours of pleasure walking through lovely parts of the past.
ReplyDeleteIt is useful to do a little bit of cleaning. And lovely to find surprises and things you have totally forgotten you had. You are right about we having to move to smaller places as we get older. There are a lot of things to take care of. I found that when I retired I wanted to do less and just enjoy the good things in life. And enjoying doing all the things we did not have time to do before.
DeleteNothing like an old clean put. I have caught up with school classmates on FB. It is useful for that and has been fun. Happy moving and decluttering.
ReplyDeleteOne should clean out regularly, but it is definitely a good time to do it when you are moving houses! FB is really useful in the sense that you can find old friends again.
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