It's been a few days, I know, but here I am. We all need breaks from the computer from time to time.
As I've mentioned, Gramma is in a nursing home because of her dementia. This past Saturday, I met up with my dad and V(his new wife) at Gramma's little apartment, and we began the task of packing up her stuff.
O_o
Even in a tiny little one bedroom place, that woman has a LOT of crap! OK, not all of it is crap, as I will lay out here in a moment. But she IS a hoarder. Her HOUSE is going to be a monumental task. Yes, there is still a house full of stuff-- like 50odd YEARS of STUFF. Did I mention she's a hoarder? Not the shifting mountains that could fall and kill you, like in the 'reality' show, but...yeah. She is a shopaholic, and then will let the items stay in the shopping bags, tags still on them, receipts still in the bag... and it just accumulates.
In the spare bedroom alone, I bet (and someday I will test this!) you can 'dig' down thru the decades. Put it this way. My biological mother left me when I was 3 yrs old, and Dad got the uncontested divorce probably a year later. There are STILL some of my mother's clothes hanging in that bedroom closet, TO THIS DAY. Mom left nearly 35 years ago. No, really!
There is a bed in there. Can't see it. There's some sort of faded area rug in there. Can't see it. In fact, there used to be a path from one door the other(as it was a shortcut to the bathroom from the living room) but no longer. Can barely open the one door anymore.
And we have to sort thru ALL OF IT, some day. Can't just toss it all in garbage bags(mildew damage--the roof leaks and the house has been unoccupied for at least 4 years) because Gramma likes to hide things.
For instance, Gramma closed her bank account and drew out all her money about 6-8 months ago. There is apparently still $1000 or more missing. Cash. We have no idea if it's stashed and hidden somewhere in the apartment, or if she spent it and can't remember(easily!), or if it was pocketed by someone visiting her(nurses, therapists, house cleaners... who knows.) In this economy and this low-income area, that wouldn't surprise us at all. $1000 can go a long way to pay bills or feed your kids.
The point is, we can't just chuck it all. We have to sort it all.
My husband, Sidewayz, began sorting thru little containers and cups and things on the table(a horizontal surface!) because, being a stasher himself, he knew not to discount what he could see on the surface. He found jewelry mixed with those squarish plastic bread ties. He found a cup full of change, mixed with sewing pins. He later, luckily, found an old cigarette case, (picture coin purse with the clasp on top, but a long purse) half full of silver dollars. This was under the bed.
She also is an artist. She has (as far as I am concerned, ALWAYS) painted. Oils & acrylics mostly. Being the only granddaughter, I am slated to inherit quite a bit of stuff. This typically means after someone passes. Well, art supplies don't store in one of those outdoor storage places very well. So, everything artsy was loaded in my car and now I get to look like a hoarder. :)
But it's fine. I've been wanting to get back to art for a long time now. I've been out of practice for far too long. Now I have an easel, about 10 different canvases (sadly, some are grimy with dust), countless paint brushes, pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, frames, and other art mediums I can't even list yet, as I'm not sure what they do. :) I'm set! Oh and paint. AND a serger? surger? machine. I don't even know how to spell it, let alone use it, but it's mine. Not to mention, once we start on the 'big house', a once-state-of-the-art sewing machine. (that will make 3 separate sewing machines for me, AND the se/urger. :)
I'm looking around and thinking I will need a 4 bedroom house just to hold my inheritance.
So, yay! I get to start painting and drawing and other artsy things that I never have the money for. That's the main reason I haven't been doing artsy things these past too many years. The cost! But now I think I'm set for a few years. But watch, I will find myself out there buying something I need for a project. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Oh, and some day, I will have a decent phone/camera so I can post photos like a real blogger.
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