While I was in the Nation’s Capital, Joan received a phone call from her male parent (with whom she has not spoken in roughly 4 years) to tell her that her step-mother was pregnant with twins and to invite her to lunch.

Joan took the opportunity to ask them to deliver her “stuff”, which had been stored in less than ideal conditions for a good many years.

Today, Don and I visited her to collect those items which had saved the very thorough cull.

Though Joan would not let me bring home the photographs for fear that I would tear them up, I did manage to score my brownie certificate which was contained within the boxes – for reasons unknown to any of us.

Precisely why I affixed the “Smile, God loves you” sticker to the certificate has disappeared into the mists of time. It may have been because I was utterly delighted by the colour and design. And I still am! And how about the “welcome to” typeface in the certificate? Fabulous!

But enough of me, everything contained within the boxes needed a good airing, cleaning and proper storage …

There were dollies:

Bessie, Joan & Joe/Frank cabbage patch dollies

And dolly clothes made by mummy all those years ago:

And a Very Large Box full of dollshaus furniture (which we thought had been discarded).

Yes, that large box. You can just spot a wee Persian Carpet.

And a cross-stitched birth sampler, with which I whiled away the long hours while confined to bed rest in late pregnancy:

There were also many trophies, which I (of course!) will keep, but one wonders if they will ever leave the box again.

And several other treasures, including a chucky doll destined for Heather and badges (including one from Bessie’s fave AFL team from the year she was born), brooches (there is no other name for them) I wore in the late 80s and a very incomplete coin collection.

And many, many postage stamps! But those are for another post.

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