The Link That Holds It Together

   I shared a photo of some wooden chains with some friends of mine and never dreamed that it would garner so much attention.  The chains are hand carved antique pieces that I acquired from the old farm place where I grew up.  As a kid, I remember being in awe of the handiwork involved in creating the chains and feel blessed that I have them now.  The wooden chains were a quirky addition to the a "museum" also know as our house.  The Little Bayou House has always been filled with oddities of this sort and I would not have it any other way.  I am, after all, the "Keeper of Weird and Wonderful Things" or so I have been told.  I feel it is one of my duties to protect items such as this simply because (at one point) they were nigh on tossed on a burn pile.  (We won't go there but I am glad I was able to rescue the chains.)

  These particular chains were given to Pop by some very sweet old ladies way back before I was born.  Pop took up handyman work to supplement the meager money he made as a farmer.  In fact, this was just one of his "other jobs".  He had many to support his family.  The chains stayed in the old farmhouse as long as I can remember before coming into my possession.  Granddad had told me that these were made by sailors of long ago. I figured he would know as he was a sailor himself!  He claimed that sailors needed something to occupy their time on the long voyages so they took up carving among other handcrafts.  Each chain and its pendant are carved from a single stick of wood.  The links are movable and the pendants have small carved balls in them that are also loose.  

  In this day and age where everything is mass produced and cheaply made, it completely awes me that folks had the talent and patience to create such fantastical works of art simply to make use of their idle hours.   Some will claim that the chains are useless but I beg to differ.  The are works of art.  These fine pieces are here to inspire.  They are here to make us dream of times when things were well-made.  There are here to make us realize that we should have patience and do things to the best of our ability even if there are those who think we are of no use.  Folks, take the time to really look at things and delve into the idea behind them before being too hasty of passing judgement.  

It Ain't Happenin', Folks!

  At the urging of several friends, I have been doing a purge of the Little Bayou House.  It had gotten to the point that it was about to explode with stuff!  I promise.  I have been purging.  Slowly.  It is not my nature to chunk stuff in the trash haphazardly.  I do it methodically.  Each and every item is sorted as to "Keep" or "Trash",  It is easy to toss things that I never use.  Those are an instant toss.  It is easy to toss new things. Yep, I am weird like that.  But it is nearly impossible for me to discard some of the weird and wonderful treasures that fill the house.  Ia ain't happenin', folks.  Forget it!  Nope.  No way.  My weird things stay.  They are a part of me and, no matter what others think, these treasures stay put.

  Today, I was laid up a bit.  The knee was giving me fits after being on the 10 ft stepladder for hours and then pushing the lawnmower for several more hours.  Things have to be done and I am not one that likes to ask others for help. I would just rather do the chores and be done with it.  Anyway, all of this lolling around gave me time to, once again, adore one of my treasures!  An album of old family photos has endeared itself to me for several reasons.  First, I adore the album itself!  It is a celluloid cover with an adorable little girl in a flower painted on top.  The thick pages are held tightly with a lovely brass lock on the side.  The workmanship is incredible! Inside is the other reason that I adore the album.  Dozens of antique photographs of family members are being protected from wear and tear by the album.  These family members were from the time when little boys wore dresses (until they were about 4 years old), families were large and little girls posed by huge pieces of furniture!  It makes me happy to flip through the album and admire the dresses of the elegant ladies and to see the debonair gentlemen in their suits.  In short, I just love this weird and wonderful treasure.  So it does not get tossed the wayside.  Later, if my kids wish to destroy it, that is their prerogative but I am not living their lives nor are they living mine.  The album stays.

  Oh, did I forget to mention that, although the album is filled with family photos, they are not my family??  In fact, I have no clue just who these fine folks are, but, then again, they are someone's family and need to be loved.  The album has been around here for so long, these dear folks have become "like" family, so there it is! Tossing it ain't happenin'!