About an hour ago Paul got home from Richmond Hill, north of Toronto and dropped off a van full of stuff for me from my cousin who is moving from their apartment to a new condo in Toronto. Lots of treasures and some not so much but they sure did make me laugh out loud when I saw what was in some of the boxes. Some things also made me shed a few tears that were my Grandma's and my Aunt Elsie's.

The first box I opened was a box that held figural tea pots. A pig, an old fat woman in a kerchief, 2 bears pushing a brown car, and a goose with an apron. There was alo a big red nutcracker cookies jar, bag of figural tea pots from Red Rose Tea and a smaller figural tea pot. I will put a few of the tea pots on top of my cupboards where I don't have anything ontop of them yet.

The next box held 2 big wooden pillar candle holders which stand about 2 feet high. I might put them near my fireplace. Also in the box were 2 porcelain faced and hands old fashioned Father Christmas' in robes - 1 gold robed and 1 crimson robed. I'll probably give those away. Also in the box was a miniature 20" Christmas tree which is perfect because I have been buying miniature Hallmark decorations this week because they were 75 percent off. Also in the box were a couple of handmade Christmas pot holders surround my lace that were my Aunt's.

I opened a box and just started to laugh. I don't know what my cousin was thinking I would do with these things but they are definetly going out in the yard sale except for maybe one that I will keep. Animals made out of immitation Christmas tree materials - that green stuff and they are heavy and solid. 4 teddy bears, 4 reindeers, 2 dogs I think, I'm not sure and they each have bells around their necks. The bears don't have eyes which make they weird looking. What do you do with these things? I could put a couple of them on the porch - like the little reindeer. Bwahahaha, they just struck me as funny and where did she think I would put them. LOL When I first opened the box I thought it was a garland. There were also 2 wreaths in the box - one that I had made for my Aunt. I was happy to get it back.

Another box held a Christmas centre piece with a hurricane lamp holder and candles.

Three boxes held Christmas decorations of all shapes and sizes and some special Bombay Co. decorations that my Aunt bought before she died. I lost some of my Bombay Co decorations last year when my tree fell so it was nice to get these. Lots and lots of decorations - some big, some small, some new, some old and some that I remember seeing on my Aunt's tree. My Aunt Elsie, my cousin and I go crazy with tree decorations. I think I might have to put another tree up next year because mine is pretty much full right now.

One small box I opened up had more decorations but 3 of them made me laugh. They are ostriches with shoes on and lots of white feathers. LOL Another was a pink fish with big red lips and pink feathers on the tail and fins. LOLOL

Another box contained pictures of small botanical prints that hung in my Grandma/Aunt's house. They were 2 framed glass floral prints which are old and the glass is broken on one of them and the other are botanical rose prints. The box also held decorative Christmas plate and a couple of thing which I will hang on my kitchen wall. One is a porcelain oval plate with 2 yellow budgies that stand out a bit and another yellow porcelain chicken type mould thing. Also in that box was the matching china rooster that I have on my fridge now.

There was a box that held a small cast iron old fashioned toy stove that was in my Grandma's house. It is heavy and has a door that opens and has pots and frying pans that sit on the burner type holes. It also has a chimney. I was a teenager when my Aunt was given that stove and wished I had it to play with when I was a young girl playing with my Barbies. LOLOL Also in that box was a long decorative heavy wire basket for holding wine bottles or bread.

There is a big zippered bag that has two round table skirts for one of those small round glass topped tables for a bedroom. It is pretty pink rose material and a pink topper.

There were two boxes that made me shed a few tears. Pretty things from my Grandma's china cabinet. Pretty bone china egg cups, crystal sugar and creamer and sweet sauce boat and a litle serving tray, small crystal bud vase, small bone china jam pot with a lid that has tiny flowers on it, 2 bone china flower pieces (roses), tiny bone china cream and sugar, 2 little bird salt and pepper shakers, 2 large crystal salt and pepper shakers, and my Grandma's Gladstone Staffordshire dessert service with cups and saucers, dessert plates, cream and sugar and a serving plate. The pattern I always thought was daffodils but it looks more to be a yellow wild rose pattern.

I think my cousin got mixed up over the crystal stuff I wanted her to send me. LOL Ever since I was a child my Grandma told me that the thin Scottish rose and thistle crystal glasses and wine goblet set would be mine but since nothing was written down my cousin inherited everything when my Aunt died which was okay. I had hoped when she said she was sending the crysal it would be that set but it wasn't. Oh well, I'll be getting it someday anway, I'll just have to wait a bt longer for it. LOL

I really appreciated her sending me some of my Grandma's beautiful things and unwrapping them brought back tons of memories of me helping my Grandma dust the items in the cabinet and of my Grandpa showing all the beautiful things my Grandma had to any stranger who walked in the door. LOL

There was also a huge box of hardcover books about the Royal Family starting with King George and the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret all the way up to Princess Diana books with Prince William and Harry. There was also a big picture book of Birds of North America.

Some boxes contained other knickknack type of things, figurines, silk vine pieces, and a set of Normal Rockwell mugs and even the fake fruit that sat on m Grandma's kitchen table. LOLOL Even the grapes that I took out of my Mom's mouth whe she had Alzheimer's. She thought they were real grapes ad popped a couple of them in her mouth. LOL

Oh yeah, Martha sent a beautiful trifle bowl too.

There is more stuff I can't recall right now but it is all spread on every surface in my kichen and living room. I put the banana and tropical fruit boxes outside because I won't have them in my house because of possible spiders, bugs and eggs. My grocery store owner brother said to never bring those boxes inside the house. LOL

I wish I had decided to keep the big china cabinet instead of giving it to Paul now. Darn. Ever since bringing the old sideboard down from the attic there is too much furniture in the living room. Wonder if he will switch? LOL Nah.

Now I have to find a place to put all this stuff and I will take pictures but they won't get posted for a couple of weeks until I get near a computer.

Anne