Long lost art...

I have gone through a few boxes of miscellaneous stuff that I received a few months ago when my Grandma Shirley passed away. She was and always will be so dear to my heart. Her love and life inspired me when she was here and still touches me even though she's gone. She lived a very unique and yet ordinary life- from her birth to her death her life story is one I will forever treasure. Needless to say, as I look through some of the items she left behind I am so thankful for what a wonderful gift she was to me and so many others and I am so grateful for these miscellaneous items that connect me to her past. The are real treasures.

What you see in the photos above are just a few snapshots of some of the priceless items I feel lucky to have. In an old unmarked envelope thrown in with a box of recipe cards and old piano books and sheet music I came upon several letters that were saved from the early 1930's. Many of them were cards and notes sent to my great grandma on the birth of her little girl- my great aunt Phyllis. What I love about the cards/letters {as you can see in the top photo} is that they are hand-addressed with only a name and city and state. And they made it to their destination clear across the country! How amazing is that?! No zip code necessary, I guess! Things have changed in 80 years, I guess. =) What I really like about the old letters is seeing the handwriting and reading about the 'important' things that were worth writing home about. In one note from my great grandma's sister there is talk about the weather, what was in the oven for dinner, politics and the thought of looking forward to playing tennis and golf. It's easy to forget that there was a time when letters to weeks to be received and that chatting on the phone was impossible! We have it so easy with internet and cellphones, don't we?!

Among the treasures I also found a wedding invitation from my great grandma Lydia's wedding. It dates back to June of 1920- that's nearly 100 years ago! I can't believe it was just stuck in an envelope with no markings on it. It should have easily been in the trash and long lost by now. So that makes it even more exciting for me to have found it.

There's a full and much-loved/used composition notebook which was used to keep recipes and other newspaper clippings inside with practical household tips. You know something is old when many of the recipes are about pickling things and also some that include rabbit and chicken livers! One of the recipes I found has "over 100 years old" scrawled across the top of the card. It's mixed in with other recipes dating from 1967 to 1974. So that makes this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe about 150 years old! I plan on making a batch just to see how they taste. There's also a cake recipe with the notation "Used for Genie's 5th birthday" next to it. Genie is my mom. I can't tell you how fun it's been for me to find such a book rich with memories, notes and lots of speckled splatters from the cooks as they went about their baking.

It got me thinking how some of the greatest treasures we have and will pass on aren't necessarily the things we spend a lot of money on, but instead the things that mean so much are things that connect us to past generations- to people and their lives. I have always loved getting and sending letters. I love to add lots of handwriting to cards I send- especially as things move more electronic and digital these days. I love writing notes in my journal and on scrap pages. I hope one day they will be treasured by people whose lives I've touched and left behind too.

In the spirit of that, the bottom photo is one of some sweet Valentine goodies I received from my {online} friend, Debee. Here is a link to her fun blog. She is so creative and has great photos to look at- check it out! Anyway, I thought I would have a little giveaway- I'll make up a little something with the things I got and some other scrappy things I have in my collection and I'll choose a random winner by tomorrow. I'm in the mood to send something handmade- somewhere. If you want a chance to be the recipient just say hello in the comments and feel free to tell me something you love about the past. I think it's more than time to bring back the fleeting art of handwritten mail. Wouldn't you agree?!