Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Charmed, I'm Sure


I've been continuing with my Swedish death cleaning, very slowly, but steadily. If I find myself with 10 or 15 free minutes, I try to use it to clean out a small space. Yesterday it was the hat cupboard in the armoire in our bedroom. I was doing fairly well until I got to these little boxes, and had to stop and take a closer look.


This is my charm bracelet. My grandmother (my father's mother that we rarely saw because she traveled a lot) brought it back for me from Copenhagen, and I remember thinking I was so sophisticated because I had a charm bracelet from Denmark with a toggle clasp.


It really is a reflection of my life growing up - a microscope for my keen interest in science, a baton from my time as a majorette in high school, and my years in Girl Scouts from Brownies through Seniors and then as a troop leader.


My mother's charm bracelet is loaded with movable charms that I love, like Jonah in the whale,


a real compass, a Bible that opens up to the Lord's Prayer inside,


a boat with a swiveling fisherman,


a harmonica that you can play (a little bit) and a flexible fish.


My mother was a postmaster at a tiny little post office for many years, and I remember being thrilled to find this opening and closing mail box for her birthday.


My sister and I were always amazed that my father had found our exact house as a charm for my mother's bracelet. We didn't realize that it was really just a standard split-level house, but it was fun to see our bedroom window over the garage in charm form, just like our real house.


We spent lots of time on rainy days looking through our mother's jewelry boxes, trying on her "fancy jewelry", and playing with the movable charms. This wishing well was one of our very favorites. It used to have a handle that turned to move the bucket up and down. Sadly, it got broken (let's just say my sister did it because I would never do something like that), but ...



all I had to do was open up the Happy Birthday cake to see that the candle and broken wishing well handle were still safely inside.

Not a lot of cleaning got done, but the trip down memory lane was wonderful.

16 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful and meaningful charms. I have my mom's charm bracelet, I should post pictures and share my memories of it as well although it's not as extensive as yours.

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  2. Oh my goodness, those are incredible!! I wanted a charm bracelet in the worst way back in the day -- the collector in me! I was always so fascinated by the charms (still am)! Wow.

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  3. Oh, Bonny! That is SO awesome. What wonderful memories -- and THOSE CHARMS!!!! I have my charm bracelet still -- it was started by my aunt when I was a little girl (she worked in a jewelry store). Like yours, my bracelet is a representation of my childhood. My mom had a charm bracelet, too -- my sister has it now (she never had a bracelet of her own) and I know she cherishes it. Thanks for sharing your bracelets! XO

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  4. This is just so amazing! These charms are just fantastic! I love when Death Cleaning hits a treasure trove, and this is so much that!

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  5. Now you have me wondering what every happened to our charm bracelets. I'm sure I probably threw mine away. My mom and I both had silver charm bracelets. My sister had a GOLD one.

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  6. These are so very precious, Bonny. I always wanted a charm bracelet, but it was viewed as too expensive when I was growing up, and then when I got old enough to buy my own, I knew it was a totally impractical piece of jewelry for me since I am constantly working with my hands. But it is a history of the person who owns it, and I think they are a beautiful, one of a kind piece of curated art. I love these so much! Thank you for sharing them with me.

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    1. I haven't looked at the bracelets in years, and don't wear them, so they really are tangible forms of memories. I hope that you have something similar to hold and enclose your memories and history, even if it couldn't be a charm bracelet.

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  7. I had a charm bracelet that my grandparents gave me and I collected charms throughout my teen years. They were very popular at that time and I wore mine all the time. I remember taking it to the jeweler to have new charms soldered on. After reading your post, I want to get mine out and spend some time with the memories each of the charms holds.

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  8. This is so GREAT! I still have (and sometimes wear) my charm bracelet. Like yours, a chronicle of my growing up. I have never seen moveable charms before - those are so cool. What wonderful memories Bonnie!

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  9. How wonderful to come across something that evoked such memories. I know the feeling of finding such a treat. I also cleaned a closet and came across my mother's journal from 1962, the year we lived for the summer in Santa Rosa. So many memories came back to me, but reading how the summer was for my mother was eye opening.

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  10. I love these! It makes me want to go looking for my charm bracelet. I wonder where it is?

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  11. What treasures! I loved the guided tour down memory lane, learning a few things about you/your family and charms (I had no idea about the moveable kind!) I hope Swedish Death Cleaning encourages you to keep treasures like this - maybe with a printout of the blog post(?) so the boys will understand.

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  12. How fun to see these treasures. I have a similar Girl Scout charm on my bracelet. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

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  13. I would never ever get rid of that stuff. My mom had a charm bracelet but not many charms. I wish she did!! I have some of her jewelry and wear it every now and then. Mainly at Christmas and Easter, just like her!!

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  14. I don't come from a line of sentiment so there were no charm bracelets in our world! I always wanted one too. What a great way to spend your 10-15-50 minutes. I like Mary's idea!

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  15. I never had a charm bracelet when I was growing up, and I always felt a bit jealous of those who did. Your photographs are wonderful!

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