Strange things you've kept

I have a little knitted baby bonnet from DS3, who was 4.5lb and was the only one that fitted him. Also a baby hairbrush.

A length of lace sold to me on my doorstep when by a gypsy when I was 21. I had 3 small children, little money, but the gypsy was old, with a lined and kind face. She told me that I would move to a brand new house very soon. We did move from our old and quite dilapidated house to a brand new house within 2 or 3 years.
I had trimmed pillowcases with the lace and when they wore out, I cut it off and kept it.

I wear my grandmother's wedding ring (she married in the 19th century and never took it off)) which Mr absent placed on my finger with my mother's blessing when he and I married. Much sillier, I still have the name tag that hung on my dear long-dead dog's collar.

I have a selection of baby teeth removed by the fairies. They are all muddled up so I don't know which belongs to whom . I have various lopsided pottery items lovingly made by DDs, 3 of my elderly teddies all missing parts of their anatomy , my childhood collection of foreign dolls and enough artwork to paper the whole house - and that's only a fraction of my 'collection'. I am moving soon so will have to be ruthless .....,

I'm not sentimental particularly, but I do keep things longer than I should simply because we have a lot of storage space. When I lived in smaller houses I was much more ruthless about disposing of things. Now and again I have a major sort out and then shortly afterwards wish I'd kept something I've thrown away.

Yesterday I went looking for some pretty Jesse Tree ornaments I made over several years with a children's club at school (I thought I could use them with the residents at the care home) - after a fruitless half hour of searching I gradually remembered I threw them out just this summer thinking that I wouldn't use them again.

I don't keep anything. No sentimentality at all.

Being a,sentimental soul I've all manner of junk treasure stashed away. The weirdest being my own baby teeth, I discovered them when clearing my mum's house after she died and couldn't quite bring myself to chuck them away after she'd saved then for all these years!!

Luckygirl your comment re gallstones reminded me that I still have the IUD responsible for child No.3. It was returned to me post-partum in a jar! One day, it will be made into a necklace for said daughter!

My moth-eaten, bald, 85 year-old teddy who was the recipient of all my childhood angsts, fears and tears. He first belonged to my eldest sister and was gifted to me as I was a war baby and toys were in extremely short supply.He wears a red needlecord coat and a pair of knitted red knickers and his paws and toes are covered with some sort of white (now grubby) patches.

Objectively he is a wreck and ready for the bin but emotionally I could never part with him and although he sleeps peacefully in my wardrobe, he does come out now and then for a look round!

A tea cosy my Mum knitted. Bright pink and blue. Will I ever use it? No! Would I ever part with it? No!

My DD's first bra - 28AA - it's like a ribbon on straps, but she loved it - she is 42 now!

I also kept my qallstones in a jar for 28 years but finally heaved them before we moved in July.

I have quite a few things, my mother's and grandmothers jewellery, various first toys and a doll I had for my 5th Christmas, 60 years on. I'm sentimental and can't get rid of things

I have kept one little shoe. It was one of my son's first shoes navy blue with a little foot ball on the side, but where the other one went I'll never know. I also have one of my childhood dolls. A baby doll of the type that was strung together with elastic. She's all in bits, as the elastic gave way years ago. I have no idea if she'll ever be mended. Her name, by the way, is Christine.

I kept every birthday card that each of our 4 children received as well as those they made for us. These were bundled up yearly and filled many boxes and drawers. Last week, we decided that it was time to cull these as our kids had no interest in them. My husband & I spent a whole weekend going through all the cards , remembering, chuckling and then putting them in to recycle. We kept only very special ones handmade by the children to us.

My favourite is one for my 40th birthday by our child No. 3 during her horse crazy phase. It is entitled " 'Tis a pity you're not a horse" and inside, "but I love you just the same!"

I have a set of dominoes that belonged to my grandparents. My grandad and I played with them when I was a child over 60 years ago. Happy memories.

How could I forget the coffee table that H made at school woodwork classes. It's actually quiet good, though of course the style is very '60s, H went on to be a cabinet maker. We used it when first married but It now lives in the cupboard under the stairs as H won't let me dump it.

I have my late mother's sun hat which she used to refer to as her "Thora" ( Think it was a reference to Thora Hird the actress. ) Also have a little cardboard basket made by my daughter about 36 years ago wouldn't part with either of them for a million pounds.

Thanks NanKate

One good side effect, no appetite. I've been meaning to skim off 7lb before Christmas now's my chance. Every cloud and all that.....

Haven't had a sherry since the MiL passed. We used to call in at the local hostlery on the way back from shopping when she lived with us. I had then to manoeuvre her wheel chair down a steep hill and across a main road to get us home.

I tell you, it was touch and go sometimes

I have a spectacle case that DD made me in a needlework class. At the time she made it, none of us wore spectacles. I thought I'd lost it earlier this year and was quite upset about it, but it turned up! Also a small enamelled RAF sweetheart brooch that my son gave me one Mother's Day. He said I'd earned my wings!

What a sad and happy story Anya.

Hope you are feeling better. I know you are a bit fragile at present health wise.

NanKate

Oh, Anya, how lucky was that?

I still have a letter-rack my DD made during her one term (I think, or it could have been a year!) of metalwork. I keep bills and odd bits of paperwork in it and could never throw it out.

I have a tiny pair of Y-fronts owned by my DS who is now 42. Also an empty red plastic talcum container that was my mum's. I can't throw either of them away.

I wonder if my DS will keep anything of mine. Perhaps a empty sherry bottle .

My mother married her childhood sweet heart and a week later he sailed in the Firedrake was torpedoed and lost at sea. I partly blame this for her fragile mental health. She received his war medals posthumously.

I was very upset when I thought we'd lost them in a house fire last year as they are all we have left of this young man. Happily they turned up in a box of things rescued by the insurers.

In my airing cupboard I have posters that my son had on the walls of his room when he still lived at home in our old house. I rolled them in brown paper when we moved and they've stood in the airing cupboard for at 18yrs. Who knows why but I can't bring myself to thrown them out.