Buried in the Sand.

   Finding a half-buried head while meandering about the hillside is not one that most folks would relish.  It could be most disturbing, to say the least.  I did...and I did what I normally do with my "finds"...I poked it.  Then, my investigation went a bit further and I wound up toting said "head" back to the Little Bayou House with me.  It is a good thing that I am not like "most folks" as life would be horribly dull!

  Down behind the canebrake, there is one small area that is almost like a sandy beach hidden beneath the layers of pine straw.  At times after a hard rain, the "beach" is exposed and anything hidden under it can be easily seen.  To clarify, this sand was washed ashore by Hurricane Katrina, so in all fairness, anything unearthed could have also been in that tidal surge.  But...today, it was a head and I am now in possession of this "gruesome" item and plan to add it to the shelf of curiosities of other Bayou finds.

  Now about that head!  The head is made of porcelain and is about one inch in length from the broken neck to the top of the pate. Although scratched, the facial features are still there which is what attracted my attention, in the first place.  (Hey!  That "rock" has a face!) I am thinking that this (at one time) was part of a lovely antique pincushion doll from the nineteenth century.  As to the origin of the doll, there is no clue as to whether she washed ashore on that same tidal surge that brought the sand or if she belonged to someone that lived here long before my grandpa came into ownership of the property just after the turn of the century or if she was one of the dozen or so that Mom had given to me so many years ago.  (I lost those in a housefire some 40+ years ago.)  If only the little doll could talk...errr....maybe that would not be a good thing, though.  A talking, decapitated doll may be a bit much but...she might be able to provide some answers!  In the meantime, I shall just have to ponder of her life before being buried in the sand.

Curiosities? Needful Things? Junk?

   Finding long lost treasures is always exciting but, on the other hand, finding a tin of junk is often merely a bepuzzlement.  What do you do with the oddities that have been stuck aside for so long that they become treasures from a time past?  Are they still treasures?  Are they now junk?  Should those items be kept or coldheartedly thrown in the trash bin?  Oh, the conundrum of those of us who have been deemed to be hoarders.   I sort of "inherited" a bunch of "treasures" from the old farm place, although, many did not originate there.  Mom held onto many items that came from old houses in Biloxi.  Pop was always doing some home repair work as a side job and often folks would have him empty out spare rooms, garages or sheds.  He was to haul off what they discarded.  He did.  He brought it home.  Mom saved treasures!  I inherited said treasures.  These have been sitting in the Little Bayou House for some 30 yrs since.

  As the long needed repairs are still being done on the Little Bayou House, I have found such treasures.  The one in question of today is a tin that once held mints. The tin, itself, probably has some value to collectors.  It is labeled "Katharine Beecher" and, at one time, held butter mints...or "The original butter mints...since 1931".  I found it amusing that the tin held "4 strengths of mint...colors...white, pink, green and yellow".  Perhaps the color represented a strength.

  The cannister is only the vessel that holds a myriad of treasures.  It is filled with broken or odd pieces of jewelry, small household items and other unusual, unidentified items.  While the collective worth of the items is probably questionable...what is the value?  Yes, there is a big difference.  Worth pertains to the monetary cost of an item, whereas, the value is more of an emotional attachment or the usefulness of an item.  So..when looking at the cost...the combined worth of the tin and items is probably not much.  The value, as far as emotional attachment, is probably nil.  BUT!  That usefulness may trump all as I have a profound interest in creating art pieces with such oddities!  It is my idea that the pieces can be turned into something useful and, yet, retain the original beauty.  The pieces shall not be altered beyond recognition but shall be showcased for the craftmanship of the original artist.  These, and many of the other "treasures" held in the Little Bayou House, are soon to become pieces that celebrate the past. 

  Ahh, yes!  I am the "Keeper of Weird and Wonderful Things"!  The Little Bayou House is a "House of Curiosities and Otherwise Forgotten Things" where folks can wander off into a place that often mesmerizes and overloads the senses with wonderment.  Yes...those things have been mentioned by visitors and I am good with it.  I figure if I cannot (and do not want) have the cookie-cutter style and boringly bare house that others find so appealing, I may as well surround myself with the mysteriousness of the unusual.  I am not opposed to those who love that style but it is not for me!  Mint tins, old jewelry, loudly ticking clocks, musty, old books, unexplained implements and artisan pieces make me happy.  Dangle pendants from the lampshade!  Fill shelves with artifacts!  Display early photographs of family members (even if they are not family members but photos that have been around so long they have become "like" family).  Celebrate history by preservation.  Enjoy whatever it is that makes you smile....whatever "speaks" to you.  Why not be happy?  Why even try to please others? Be yourself and do whatever it is that makes you feel good.  Life is too short.