When my Aunt Sophie got to where she couldn't sew any more, i got her inheritance.....6 pickup loads of fabric, thread, yarn, and all matter of craft items.
Now that my Uncle Johnny is gone, my son, Larry, got his inheritance from him. haha I have been helping him for the last 2 days to transport all that 'stuff' to his place.
Uncle Johnny was a hoarder....a pack rat....a dumpster diving man of the nth degree. he didn't care if he needed it or not, if someone threw it away and it was still good, it came home with Uncle Johnny. his basement was the supreme man cave. after 50 years, there was only a narrow path through the piles.
Monday we filled my truck and his....
We filled every bucket, box, tub and milk crate that we had. old tools, wooden canes, dozens and dozens of coffee cans filled with nuts, bolts, nails, screws, hinges, etc. Fishing poles, old picture frames
Of course, Larry was in heaven. he says he had dreamed of this.....someone's old basement full of 'stuff' that he could have. my cousin encouraged him to take it all. they had been cleaning this house out for almost a year and were finally just tired of it. they sold the house and told Larry everything that he didn't take was going to the new buyer. we had 3 days to take what we wanted.
Uncle Johnny worked with leather. there were many boxes of leather pieces....and rabbit hides.....and patterns to make things. Very old beer cans, still with beer in them. haha a little gardening bench, glass shades for lamps.
And who doesn't have an old hot dog machine in their basement. My cousin says he brought this home from the stockyards, where he worked for all his life after getting out of the army. now mind you, he never owned a car, so he took 2 buses to work every day. so, that means he carried this hot dog machine home.....on buses. hahahaha
Tuesday, we went back with my truck.....but we rented a 16 foot Penske truck to take with us ...it was much simpler than going back and forth. we decided to do it all in one load.
Uncle Johnny made wine....from fruits, from veggies, from anything. there were dozens of bottles of wine in that basement. Larry's wife, Andi, wanted some of the pretty bottles, so we were opening them up and dumping the wine down the drain. Phew!!! some of that wine was P.O.T.E.N.T. no, we didn't taste it....we just smelled and it about knocked you out. some of the dates were from 1976. hahaha
If it was good to have 1 of something....it was even better to have 100 of them. there were almost 100 wooden canes. Uncle Johnny would paint them up and give them as gifts. they came from the stockyards, too. they are very sturdy and were used to poke cattle to get them moving through the chutes. i imagine he brought one home every once in a while. bless his heart. there were many grapevine wreaths and trees....many gourds....many bird houses....many everything.
The first thing to go onto the truck was the cherrywood dining room furniture. table with 6 chairs and china cabinet with silverware drawers attached with covers. i don't know why any of the kids or grandkids didn't want it, but we got it. and a wooden desk...and many metal shelves....and 4 metal lockers. boxes of rugs, some still with tags on them. A hunting bow...and 1 arrow...a trash can....a wooden barrel, and on and on
By the end of the 2nd day, we were all hurting, some of us bleeding, some with smashed fingers, all with sore backs. we could have gone back the 3rd day for a truck load of lumber.....there was a little shed in the back yard full....and a room in the basement full....and some in the rafters of the basement. but Larry said he was done. so, we locked up and drove away. Larry has enough stuff to make his art projects for years.
He showed me a dragonfly made from silverware and a seahorse made from a bicycle chain. awesome.
I am taking me a day or 2 to rest up. i walked up and down steps at least 100 times each day....didn't matter which way you were going out of the house...there were steps. I was all sweaty and filthy and tired. i got home .... got on the scale....and had only lost 1 pound. hardly seemed worth it. hahahahaha
