(Vintage) Keys to the Past...

 Hello friends. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

We had a great weekend along side our visiting relatives.  We ate and talked...and ate and talked...and ate and talked some more.  But the best part is that I understood their English accent....:) I look forward to spending more time with them. 


Today, I wanted to show you a couple of photos of one particular place I love visiting...

While it's a bit chaotic (okay, overwhelming) when you first walk in and it may look like piles of mess, the nice lady who owns this little shop has a method to her madness.  She knows every nook and cranny of the store, can find anything/everything within seconds and if you're so inclined, will tell you a little story about each item.  

She has been doing this for the past 50+ years and admitted things can get a 'little' cluttered at home.  We came to appreciate why after a couple of our attempts to purchase items were met with 'I'm not in a rush to sell this' or 'I don't think I want to sell that today'.  Perhaps they held a story so dear to her that she could not let go or perhaps they were given to her by a beloved relative...I'll never know.

She confessed that she had brought some of her husbands old cameras to sell but soon took them back home because she could not part with them.  I wondered how many times she had tried. 

I can somewhat relate to 'collecting' as I have always had a tendency to do so in the hopes of making something else out of it at a later date or 'just in case one day I need 100 bottle caps...(?).  So I can understand how continually bringing 'finds' home or failing to get rid of jars, tp rolls, bottles, old frames (insert your own here) can begin to take over your space.  But as hubby can attest, there are times when the cleaning bug hits me and I purge all those items without thinking twice about it. 

Amongst all the treasures we saw that day, I spotted these keys.  Reluctantly and prepared to once again hear 'I'm not selling those today', I asked her about them.  She quickly picked them up and as her fingers inspected every groove on the keys, she admired them.  Was she replaying their story in her mind?  Was she suddenly taken back to the moment those keys had become hers?

She told me that the large key was her favourite and the smaller one was made of brass so it would probably cost more.  She fiddled with them for a moment and told stories of well made things of the past, 'unlike things of today' she smiled.

'I used to have more of these', she continued 'but people seem to like them'.  I was preparing myself to hear her say 'not today', but as if she was giving me a part of her she extended her hand and handed me the keys.  "Thank you" I said. "I love them, and will take good care of them..."

I meant it.  I love these beautiful keys and will probably hold on to them for years until it's time to hand them over to our grandchildren, who will hopefully give them to their grandchildren and perhaps one day, these keys will have a story to tell.  Suddenly, I understood her reluctance.

So friends, here's a quick question for you.  Are there things you can't seem to part ways with?  Do you think it's unhealthy to be so attached to certain material things? 

I look forward to reading your responses.

Have a great day!

much love,
Lucy 


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