Cleaning out the Attic...Baby clothes

Usually, when I start a project, it leads to a jillion more. Focus is not my strongest trait, ok? I start with the best of intentions, but somehow my ambition gets re-directed. I said that to say this. Today I put away the Christmas tree and all the ornaments. Actually, I only started to put away the Christmas tree.  That took me to the attic for a box, and that made me notice another box, tucked back under the eaves.  Well, this is "sort something Saturday", and boxes all need sorting, right? Besides, it looked intriguing--more intriguing than putting up the ornaments. So, I ended up with a couple of boxes to sort, and managed to condense them into one. Meanwhile, I got to see all my stash of baby clothes once more.  Now, I'm a grandmother and not likely to ever  have another baby to raise, but I've held on to these for the memories. See, here is the ceramic duck my sister made for Elijah, the one that sat on his dresser until he was in seventh grade when we suddenly realized that he was really too old for it. Until then, it had just sat there with the cars, and planes, and trains, and Nintendo games, miraculously surviving without a crack or a chip, and that claim we couldn't make for Elijah.

There was a hand crocheted jacket from an aunt far away.

And a cute, little sailor suit worn by Elijah in this picture.  I remember that the photographer teased me, saying that I'd certainly not think it was so cute when my little boy grew up and wanted to be a sailor.











There were dedication dresses, and an adorable little bib, made and embroidered by my mother.












Here's a close up. It's amazing how few stains it has, considering how much we used it. (gotta love that double knit fabric)

My sister made this dress for Clay. I couldn't find a picture of her in it, but I remember her little face peeking out of that bonnet. The ruffles and flowers and little puff sleeves were far beyond my skills and patience level.

Here's Clay in a purple dress that was handed down from her older sister Carina. I don't know why I don't have it, unless it's in another box...way back under the eaves. Hmmm.

This little white sweater was simply my favorite. All three of the children wore it in turn, and I know it spent at least a few years on a doll.

This little dress survived in beautiful condition in spite of the fact that it was white, with lots of smocking and embroidered flowers around the neck. I have a snapshot with Carina wearing it. It's not the best when it comes to resolution, but I can't resist her expression. She's about two months old here...and six weeks in this one on her Grandmother's couch in Arkansas. I found one of those little shoes, but not the other.

My children didn't wear this yellow, checked dress; I did. I know. I know. It's old. It's over fifty years old, but just look at the teensy little rick-rack and the pockets. I'm not sure what I kept in them, because I could only have been a couple months old at the time, but they are cute.










This baby quilt was just an old one my mom made for my little sister and brother. She was going to toss it away, and, for once, I objected. It was made from scraps she had left over from all the dresses she had made for me and my four sisters over the years. We remembered wearing that fabric, so, of course, I had to bring it home. Now my grandbaby can enjoy those same prints, and that's a weird feeling, but a pleasant one.





The toys belong to Clay. That's her first clown, and a cabbage doll pet cat or lion or turnip maybe.

And there were more clothes that I didn't recognize; my instinct says they must be my granddaughter Mim's little clothes. Maybe next time she visits we can drag them out again and tell her how cute she was.

This music box was Elijah's. We bought it when he was going through a "Martin the Warrior" phase. It still plays and I know it's going to end up beside the duck in Blaze's Baby Bedroom....up high...out of reach, so it can survive another few years and decorate another person's attic.

Pecans

I knew we would have a bumper crop of pecans this year, but it never dawned on me how many. These are from the most recent windstorm, and--I think--they're the last of the crop. So far we've collected over fifteen five-gallon buckets full, or aver 525 lbs worth; I think there's another three in the back yard right now. All that is from one tree. We've had some shelled and given most of the others away. If we were squirrels, this would assure our next few winters. Ah well, time to stop talking about it and go collect them.

Update:  It took me about thirty minutes to collect 1300 pecans and that didn't come close to filling a five gallon bucket. Hmmm. That means we've harvested about 30,000 pecans from this tree so far.