vintage memories

One of the really cool things about owning a 106 year old house is all of the stuff that you find in it, stuff left behind by previous owners, gems from their past. Over the years we have found all sorts of things in this house. When we bought it 7 years ago the previous owner pretty much packed a suitcase and walked out, leaving the house FULL to the brim with 60 years of life. When we started to sort through the mountains of belongings (and I do mean mountains the women could have been a featured guest on the show Hoarders) we found an old trunk full of cards, letters, pictures and momentous. It was full of the kinds of things we all save for our children. Things like First birthday cards, lockets of baby hair and pictures on Santa's lap. The remnants of a happy family and childhood memories. Several times we tried to return the trunk to the previous owner but she would only say she did not want any of it and to do whatever we wanted to with it.Neither Riz nore i felt right about discarding the trunk so for the last 6 years the truck has been tucked into a corner in our attack. We thought about trying to find the child that the cards and letters were addressed to but could never contact him. So for years it has just been up there holding the memories of a boys childhood. Fast forward to this past weekend and our spring cleaning project. We have been trying to purge the house of all the extra stuff that accumulates with a busy family. I was also pulling down some Easter decorations to decorate the house for the Easter season when I came across the trunk again. I sat down on the attic floor and began to look through it, it captured me again. It astonishes me that the previous owner did not want it or the contents back. It makes me wonder what could have happened to her relationship with her son that would cause her to not care about these memories. There were other strange things like this that we came across in the house her husband's World War II Diary, his writs watch, countless things that most of us would hold close and treasure. While I was going through the trunk I came across a stack of Vintage 1940 - 1950 greeting cards. Some of the cards were Easter cards others were birthday cards and still others were get well cards. They all had really cute vintage graphics of spring time on them. This gave me the idea to use them in my Easter decorations in the house. I gathered them all up and decided to string them together like a banner. I think they turned out pretty cute and in some way I feel like at least they are honoring the boy who they were intended for...

Sophia really enjoyed sorting these cards and helping me string them together. She loved how they felt and how they all sparkled with glitter. Some how these cards seem more substantial then the cards we buy today. They all have texture to them flocked or glitter adorning the images. They make me think I should always give really nice cards, you never know who will be looking at them 50, 60 or 70 years from now.

:)