Thursday, August 30, 2018

Three on Thursday

Carole is staycationing this week so there may not be an "official" ToT linkup and you can go here to read more Three on Thursday thoughts! I've got three things, so today I'm going to share with you three meaningful objects in my home that I often take for granted but have recently cleaned and now feel a renewed appreciation. (How's that for a long description that I couldn't shorten?)


Back in January of 2002 my mother was quite ill with metastatic breast cancer. Hospice had told us that there wasn't much more time, and I was making the drive to my parents' house every day as soon as I put the kids on the bus. I wanted to do something for my mother, but she wasn't eating, speaking, or responding at all, so I wasn't sure what that "something" might be. I stopped at our local florist, and was lucky enough to find a small pot of daffodils in the depths of winter. I also got this daffodil cache pot, and these graced her bedside for a few days until her death. The pot has had a place on my kitchen windowsill ever since then, and eventually became a place for the wishbones that the boys loved. I think of it a holder for extra luck if we might ever need it, along with some bittersweet but loving memories of my mother. 


Ryan had a digital photography class in high school, and he had to do a final project. Ryan chose to take a discarded book from the library and alter it to present his photographs, bits of text, thoughts, and drawings in a unique way. We were working out the typical teenage son trying to become more of his own person/mother not learning how to let go relationship struggles, and I was truly touched and grateful when he gifted this to me. It has a place of pride on the mantel, and I recently spent a very pleasurable hour looking through it. I wish I could show you every page, and I wish Ryan was here so I could ask him what some of his drawings mean, but it is a very special and loved treasure.





Lastly, here is another very special and loved mantel treasure, this time from Justin. 


When Justin worked in Texas, it was on a very remote ranch, so he had to find creative ways to entertain himself in the evenings. One of these was knife making. He didn't have forging equipment, so he made knives from metal he found around the ranch, like old files. He was looking around in an antique store one day and found this vintage Ford ratchet wrench. It used to look something like this:


and Justin crafted it into this:



John has always had some sort of vintage Ford car or truck in the process of restoration. Sometimes they even get finished, so Justin thought John would appreciate his own custom vintage Ford knife for his birthday, and of course, he did! I love and appreciate Justin's creativity and generosity, along with the sewing and leather-working skills he practiced to also make the sheath. 

I'm not much of a housekeeper, but I am glad I was motivated enough to dust and rediscover these things I love. I hope you have plenty of your own beloved treasures and appreciate them, dusty or not. 

17 comments:

  1. Those are definitely special objects - family heirlooms for sure!

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  2. Oh, Bonny! Those are treasures, indeed! Thanks for sharing them - and their stories - with us. XO

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  3. What fantastic (and unique!!) treasures! I love the beautiful sentiments each item holds! But, that book... wow, so brilliant and creative!

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  4. Such memorable memories from family! It gives a warm and fuzzy feeling to be proud of creative children.
    Don’t we all wish that such a memorable dusting, enticed us all to do more dusting, sorting, and cleaning?

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    1. I do love that warm and fuzzy proud mother feeling, and I bet I would dust much more often if it helped rekindle those lovely feelings. :-)

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  5. The fruits of your labor are wonderful! Thanks for sharing today Bonny!

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  6. Thank you for sharing your wonderful treasures with us! The best objects are the ones that tell stories about family & friends.

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  7. It's very special to have things like this in your life that allow reflection and memories. Thank you for sharing them, Bonny. You have very creative sons!

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  8. What a beautiful post about some very special items. (That knife is amazing!) You've motivated me to take a look around my own home & spend a little time with my own little treasures.

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  9. Oh, that book reminds me of something similar that Maddy did for Christmas one year... two books called "Ways That I'm Like My Mother" and "Ways That I'm Like My Father." Treasures, for sure! I've been doing some cleaning/culling/organizing and have also run across some treasures -- it's the best reward!

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  10. I like your treasures and the stories that go with them. They are all wonderful. The pot with the daffodils touches my heart. I love the way you linked three generations. Oh and dusting - what's that? I think I forgot how. :-)

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  11. That knife is AMAZING and what a thoughtful gift.

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  12. what wonderful stories those objects tell ... It's cool how both boys' personalities come through in their creations. thank you for sharing them with us!

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  13. Each of those treasures is indeed a treasure; the story of the pot touched a sweet spot in my heart (my mom also died from MBS). Your sons are very creative. Thanks for sharing these timeless treasures.
    Cheers~

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  14. Those are some fantastic objects and I would love each of them!

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    1. Thanks, Helen! My renewed appreciation for these treasures made dusting worthwhile. :-)

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  15. You have such interesting keepsakes. I've never seen a Ford wrench (certainly one made into a knife) and I've never seen a daffodil pot. Both are all the more beautiful because of the memories they hold. I've wanted to make a book into some sort of journal, but have never quite got the project off the ground. Thank you for sharing your unusual and unique treasures, Bonny.

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