Hoarder? Collector? Keeper of Memories?

 Did you know that the days & dates in 1966, 1977, 2005, 2011, and 2022 align?  

My father recently located a number of old calendars.  I immediately put the 1972 calendar on the wall thinking that it matched this year (2022).  However, I turned the page today and realised that 1972 was a leap year!  So the calendar is only useful January and February in 2022!  And what are the chances, but I am missing the years that I could use!  Darn!

I shall keep the calendar on the wall until the end of February 2022

Around every corner in our home, is a different memory.  EVERYTHING on display in our home has a meaning or memory. 

No longer are collections hidden in the cupboard.  They are on display for our enjoyment.

For years the badges were in a container in the cupboard,
but they are now on display

The bookcase below is older than I am.  Mum always had medical encyclopedias in it. Now it contains World Book encyclopedias.  My inlaws invested in these encyclopedias in 1972 to assist my husband and his brother with their learning. 

I am extremely grateful to my cousin for giving me the beautiful ruby block butter dish.  It is EAP Glass which was produced from 1850 to 1914.  This one is estimated to be from 1894. I suspect that this may have been a 40th wedding anniversary gift, passed down through several generations.  Perhaps a gift from my Great Grandparents Ambrose and Mary Walker (nee Mottram) to my Great Great Grandparents Alexander and Ellen Walker (nee Rowe) who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 20th July 1908.  Or was it a gift to Mary's parents, my Great Great Grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth Mottram (nee Gourley), who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 27th January 1915?

My father has made me two replicas of this bookcase for side tables in the loungeroom

Every time that I look at the pair of candelabra I think of a deceased friend, Bill Terhorst.   Bill was an engineer and very clever.  He learned blacksmith skills from one of his relatives and made two of these, with the assistance of my husband.  

The good luck charm was purchased in China while I was on a trip with my daughter.

Hand-made by Bill Terhorst.

The small tea-pot belonged to my Nanna.  Several of her grandchildren remember cups of tea being made in it.
The kettle with the green lid was always on our stove growing up.  The fruit bowl (full of knick knacks) belonged to my nanna also.

The tea tin was a container for cereal when we were children.
The canisters were purchased from Bendigo Pottery when we visited friends.
The coffee grinder belonged to my husband's parents (and is of German origin)
The scales were from my days as a bank teller before coin-counting became digital.

The crystal cabinet belonged to Great Grandma Walker and was given to me by another cousin for safekeeping.  It was one of the first things I saw when I walked in the front door of my grandparents.  Nanna always had jelly beans for us, hiding behind a picture on the crystal cabinet.

The dancing doll in the bottle is another beautiful memory of my nanna, who would wind it up for me over and over again when I was a little girl.

The above barometer is one of a large number of pigeon flying trophies. 
My father in law won the VHA Long Distance Average in 1977

The dining room is full of memories. These are only a few examples.
On our honeymoon, we were chased down the road by a vendor eager to sell his wares.  We ended up purchasing the hand-carved cobra walking stick for $5, to stop him from following us.
The ice bucket and trays are VHA pigeon racing trophies.
The cup was given to my parents upon my birth by the masonic lodge.
The crockery is part of a set that belonged to my maternal great grandmother, Mabel Pilgrim (nee Geyer), but it has been broken up and shared among the family.
The goblets belonged to my mother in law.  They were always on display in her wall unit

The purple lamp was used on the kitchen table by my grandmother prior to electricity.
The iron lamp was a wedding present to my Great Grandparents,  Ambrose and Mary Walker, from the bride's father, Samuel Mottram.
The copper picture brings back memories of my grandfather, Gordon Walker, as it was on the wall of my grandparents home when I was a child.
Just out of view is a picture from Disneyland, a scent lamp which a gift from past colleagues/friends, and an urn from a visit to Turkey.

The knitting machine and cupboard belonged to my maternal grandfather, Allan Scott, who purchased them when he returned from World War II, to make socks for the soldiers.
The piano accordion (in the case) was my mothers when she was a child.
The hat was from when my husband was in the army.
The handbag belonged to my mother-in-law.
Mum made the tablecloth with hobbytex

I have given you a small taste of our eclectic style.  Some may think that I am a hoarder.  Others with say that I am a collector.  But I consider myself to be the keeper of memories. I have a book of photographs of all the memorabilia, which includes a description of its origin.  If something happens to me, others will also know the significance.

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This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday 606.

It started with calendars but finished with memorabilia!

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