... a treasure box ...

Last week, I came across this darling vintage sale when I was running into town. The first thing I saw was this cute jewelry box in a beautiful teal blue ... and because the price was right, I snatched it up.

It had four generous compartments and a mirror ... and a tiny key tied on to a pink satin ribbon. It was begging to be filled and I was in the mood to just putz around so I began looking for things.

I found a bag with vintage paper roses.

Then glass tubes of beads that belonged to my mom. They have tiny, cork stoppers. And then I began to remember.

I had a box in my closet that held a lot of things that belonged to my Mom. And yesterday was the anniversary of her death ... it felt right to fill my treasure box up with those small things that belonged to her.

The box  held items that were pretty much a history of her life ... a photo from when she was first married as well as her ID card ... her thimble in it's velvet box ... things from 4-H ... agates ... religious pins and crosses ... bits of lace and sewing supplies.

The more little trinkets I found, the more I had to rearrange the box. A pin from AQS ... and a Sunbonet Sue pin ... another from International Quilt Festival from 1989.  Her membership cards for Minnesota Quilters all the way from the 1980s through 1992, when they stopped.

There were some things that were too big to fit in the box.

But others that were just the right size!

I had to stop and catch my breath when I came across my sister's birth certificate ... tucked in side the program from her funeral.

But I finally had to stop completely for the day when I found a bag of postcards from my Mom's last trip ... and slipped inside was the diagnosis for pancreatic cancer.

So I tucked in a photo of Grandma and Grandpa Waldoch and another of my four sisters on Pat's First Communion Day. I'll add more to my treasured box as I find things. It so great having my Mom memories all in one place.

Love ya Mom!  Miss ya ... Helen Dorothy Waldoch Meehan ... July 25, 1912 ... October 11, 1992.