Seven Things Week 5

In which my family torpedo efforts to date.

Nanna moved towns, and then into a nursing home, in the last 18 months. Most of her things are stored in my aunt's garage. Aunty Margery took advantage of our staying with her over the long weekend and insisted I go through Nanna's belongings, adding bags of her own crafting materials. She insisted as I was packing the car to leave on Monday morning.

In this week are 4 boxes of family photos, 3 boxes of linen, china and kitchen stuff, 2 garbage bags of spinning fibre - possibly Optim which Marg used to stuff teddy bears, 2 garbage bags of fabric and other craft materials and equipment and 1 jewellry box stuffed with mostly hideous costume jewellry, old buttons, receipts and membership badges.

I spent 3 hours on Monday winnowing in the crudest of ways. Mum and Marg were utterly
unable to make decisions about the disposal of their mother's possessions. I had to be ruthless and pretty much kept it together until I found a box of china on each piece was a sticky label with my name in Nanna's handwriting.

Being a holiday I couldn't take the discarded items away and fear it will still be there when next we visit. As it was the car was packed to capacity and a little beyond. It would have been better to pack a trailer with the discarded material and drive it to a larger town a good distance away. I may still have to do this.

So now there's all of this stuff is in boxes and bags under my house. I've promised myself to go through one container a week until it is all sorted. Geez, if it is hard letting go of your own stuff, the responsibility of disposing of a loved grandparent's possessions on behalf of an entire extended family is impossible. What is still to come, though, are my grandmother's knitting needles and patterns. They are still somewhere in Leeton.

I have no idea how to enumerate this stuff which was both unexpected and, largely, beyond my control, so I'm not even going to try. I'll document the items that come in as I sort through. So far I've dealt with the craft stuff, most of which went to Mum (tapestry and embroidery materials, 8 ply wool) or I've earmarked for others.

Seven things may slow down a bit with this extra responsibility.

IN (40)

• 1 shoe-shine box from Salvos at Leeton $15 and I love it. No-contest, it had to come home.
• 2 bags of wool from Salvos in Temora $6 for ~800g chunky natural yarn. Mum spotted this and made me beg for it. Cow.
• 26 Patons patterns from Salvos Temora, Salvos Leeton, the woman Mum went to school with who has a stall at Yanco markets and the St V de P stall at the Yanco markets.
• 1 large bundle steel dpns - yet to be sized and sorted $1 St V de P Leeton
• 6 jumpers. 4 to unravel for yarn from St V de P Temora and 2 to be washed and sent directly to the women's refuge. They were having a $1 a bag day for all winter clothes. These cost a total of $2.
• 1 bag of alpaca? blend 4ply Salvos Leeton $1 ~140g.
• 2 bags spinning fibre
• Interweave Knits from the newsagency in Temora. It was the only one - how lucky was that?

OUT (17)

• 1 straw hat - yes another one. I hope I've finally got rid of the breeding pair. SALVOS
• 1 pair olive suede ballet flats. I adore these shoes but they rip my feet up something chronic. SALVOS
• 1 pair binoculars. Have had them for years and NEVER used them. My nephew thinks these are great. GIFT
• 5 pens. Promotional gifts off to work for leaving on the reference desk. DONATION
• 3 pairs earrings SALVOS
• 1 bracelet SALVOS
• 1 brooch SALVOS
• 1 pedometer - I had two! SALVOS
• 2 jewellry bags GIFT
• 1 pair bedsocks GIFT

SHAKE-IT-ALL-ABOUT (4)

• 1 Short Circuit scarf finished and given to Nanna (pictured)
• 2 TTWCs. A Your Rights At Work beanie for our Union Organiser and here's The Shopping Sherpa with the Ten Canoes Hat from the Anny Blatt rescued from the skip last week.
• 1 pair Clafoutis bedsocks. Initially for me, Mum decided the yarn was rather lovely and that her circulation is far worse than mine!

IN 40
OUT 17
nett out -23

SIAA 4