Get your ow
n diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

Sentimental Journey
8:43 a.m. - 2003-01-12


Saturday I went over to Jason's to start the task of going through my mother's things. January has already taken lots of her clothes and enjoys wearing them. She and Jason were talking about how that might have seemed wierd but was strangely comforting. I don't mean that Jason wears her clothes, but after Chas died, he kept a pair of his pajamas and wore them. We had to go through all the drawers carefully because towards the end of the Alzheimers, she would take things and stash them in wierd places. For example, Melissa found a gold bracelet in the hosiery drawer.

Jason set up a large table in the living room and would bring out a drawer at time, which we would go through. She had lots of fashion pins, and I am the only one who likes retro stuff so I got all of those. We divided up the jewelry and went through mounds of papers and photos. Jason is in a mood to get rid of everything, which is common, but has to be tempered because he may be sorry later. Right now the sight of things is associated with the pain of loss, so he wants them gone.

January and Melissa are much more tough minded than sentimental me. There was a whole drawer full of the birthday banners and they just threw them all out. I saved the one with my name on it. Jason found his baby book with notes from Mimi and a little lock of his baby hair and didn't want it! I saved that too. There was also a bag with the braids of the three girls that my mom had saved after she cut them off when we changed our hairdos. Those were headed for the trash until I became "Keeper of the Hair". Who knows, I may want to clone January some day.

While looking at old pictures I found out that Chas had once had a big ranch outside of Brawley and grew melons and other things. Because they had always lived in town, I did not know this. I asked Jason what had happened to the ranch and he said there was a family squabble over the ranch and money between Chas and his siblings and so Chas up and sold the ranch and divided the money between them just to get rid of the hassle. Some years ago my cousin Casey went down to Brawley and talked with the historical society and got some great pictures, so I would like to do that too. What's the sense of being descended from a pioneer family if you are ignorant of their history?

Now it is Sunday morning and I have finished my exercises. The day stretches before me. He is at the office, as tax season has begun. I will sew and make a pot of soup and maybe go to Costco to get some salmon. He said we would go see Harry Potter today but I think he forgot again. It looks like I will just wait for the video (I mean DVD). I must confess that I bought more fabric yesterday because the store is having 50% off the lowest ticket price and I found more raw silk (paid $1.44/yd) and some lovely Ramie twill (paid 44 cents a yard!!). I will have to go get it out of the back of the CRV and prewash it. I better start sewing faster.

I haven't knit much in a few months. I don't know why, but now I feel like it again. I want to design several cardigans on the machine and get busy again. It occurs to me that it would be easier to pin my lovely pins to a sweater. I would like to make a black sweater with black and white border treatments, maybe check or herringbone, and cardigans with lace panels up the front, and a bedjacket for sitting up in bed and reading, and a flyaway jacket for wearing over summer column dresses. Think I will go look at my yarn...

previous - next




about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!