Tag Archives: Jeremy

Box of things

A box of various items that I am relucent to dispose of has just resurfaced. I’ve written about some, but not all. Maybe more of these items will find homes.

I’ve already written about the gnomes, so I’ll leave them be for now.

I thought I’d written about the porcelain Wade figurines that came in boxes of Red Rose Tea back in the 1970s, but cannot find it in a search of my blog. I believe I had more at one time, but all I have is a rabbit, a hedgehog, and a leopard. I don’t know if I got them in England or when I returned to the States. Of course the hedgehog is my favorite.

Wait! I found another — a bird and this one says Wade on the bottom.

These two resin faces were made by Jeremy when he first visited the States. He crafted them in the art room at my high school. At least I think that’s were he made them. I had the clay mold he poured the resin into at one time, but that’s understandably long-gone.

This small compact was given to me by Frances Lide. Its needlepoint cover is in good shape, but the mirror inside is not. There’s still face powder inside! I think I know what I’m going to do with this. (Note that after I took the photo I cleaned up the mirror and it looks much better.)

Three black stones, two polished and one that might be some manufactured material. It looks like it has a seam and feels lighter than the other two. I think I will add these to the stones on our fireplace mantle. At least the polished ones.

Two tiny bottles. One is made to look like a Heinz ketchup bottle (it’s actually a pin for your lapel) and the other like a Coca Cola bottle. I don’t know where the Heinze ketchup bottle pin came from, but the Coca Cola bottle has been with me for decades. My Barbie doll used to drink from it. They are about 1.25 inches tall.

A very tiny toadstool. I should be using coins to compare the sizes of these miniatures, but the is about half an inch tall. It is possible that Clare made it for a terrarium she gave me. As you can see it is very detailed.

A Celtic cross that, I believe, was also part of the terrarium Clare made me.

A bird made out of plastic or bone (hopefully not ivory) — possibly some sort of pheasant. A gift from Frances Lide. It’s about 1.75 inches long and .75 inches high at the head. I remember exactly when Frances gave it to me and where I found it at her house. For some reason I was looking in a drawer of her sideboard in her dining room and it was among other items. She asked if I would like it since I liked birds.

A plastic vial containing bits of heather, including rare, lucky white heather and a tiny seashell. I picked these up on my first trip to Scotland with the Burgoynes.

And finally a piece from a crystal chandelier. I probably picked this up at an antique store, but I remember talking to Frieda, an elderly next-door neighbor when we lived in Alexandria, about how beautiful these were when they refracted the light and made sparkles on the walls and ceiling. This one doesn’t make rainbows, just sparkles.

Two Personal Shrines

I’ve just come across two framed shrines that meant something to me in my younger years. One I put together, one was put together by my mom.

The first is a collection of a photo, a pen and ink drawing and some pressed flowers. I made it while I was dating an Englishman. The photo is of Jeremy as a toddler. The drawing was made between the time we met in Elgin (March 1974) and the time I visited England (June 1974). It depicts a tree on a lakeshore beside a stone circle. I’m not sure about the flowers — the one below the photo was something special from Jeremy’s father’s garden — an alpine plant of some sort. The two on the other side — one looks like a pansy and the other might be a bluebell.

The second framed shrine was given to me my my mom after they cut down my climbing apple tree. It was probably a Christmas present long after I’d moved out. I was very much attached to that tree. I named it Charlie after a neither asked if it was a Jonathan. I spent many summer days in the tree, often writing in my journal, always gathering strength. It’s no wonder I had my high school graduation photo taken with Charlie — it was truly a part of me.