Bibelots, Gewgaws, Curios, Tschotschkes and Doodads, a Lot of Unnecessary Stuff of Sentimental Value

One room in my home is filled with unnecessary but (to me) fun or pretty stuff, and I have "papered" the walls and decorated the bookshelves in this room with these many and diverse things.  Having lived such a long time, one does tend to have eclectic collections of bibelos, gewgaws, curios, tschotschkes and doodads.  I don't want to hide them away in drawers, forgotten, so I have chosen to put them on display.  I am the only one really interested in them, so I am very grateful to have enough space in my home for "a room of one's own," to quote Virginia Woolf, where I have free rein to decorated as I please. 

And now, after just stating that no one else is interested in these, I will proceed to bore everyone out there with some little details . . . 

An overall glimpse of one small area on the east wall of my little study/office/reading room.

 

A mirrored display shelf that was my mother's.  The various houses were also hers.   The green plate on its decorative wooden stand was one of a matching pair brought back from China just after WWII by my dad who was there with the US Navy.  My paternal grandmother purchased the ceramic angel in honor of my birth way back in the 1950's.  The three pitchers I acquired here and there.  The small tin box was originally a gift from my mom, a Christmas stocking stuffer. 

 

A collection of Christmas books.  I used to have twice as many but culled them down when we made the big move from one city to another several years ago.  Believe it or not, I do actually get rid of a lot of books, knick knacks, and other things every so often.  Actually, paring down and simplifying are two activities I enjoy very much.  Maybe you don't believe me, seeing all this stuff!  My mother loved crafting; she made the woolly sheep and the green Christmas wreath magnet you see here.  The pine cone I found on a walk.  The miniscule red woven basket I bought at a church bazaar.

 

The wooden box belonged to my maternal grandmother.  I have no idea what it was originally used for.  I just liked the design, and no one else was interested in it.  It's been with me for over 40 years now.  The glass puffin with the tiny fish in his belly I bought at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.  I once had a membership there; it was close to my workplace, and I'd go over on my lunch break to de-stress from the hectic work environment by watching the fish serenely swimming about in their various displays.  The blue and silver fish I purchased at a gift shop in Langley, on Whidby Island, in Washington State.

 

Sometimes I use the tops of picture frames as shelves for little doodads.  Here we have a hummingbird's nest; a bronze bell from China in the shape of a lady (my dad, again); a pink ceramic box shaped like a tea table, with a tiny tea set on top, complete with red roses in a vase; a vintage crystal salt cellar once considered essential for the well-dressed dining table; a blue glass heart; a pewter box with dragonfly design; and an angel with a choir book in her hand.  Mostly gifts from various people over the years.

Thank you for coming along on this little tour.  I could show a lot more, if anyone is interested.  But I understand if not.   One person's treasure can be another person's junk!  I will just say (no doubt already obvious to you all) that I do not like bare, sparse, empty rooms!
 

Far and Wide, Across the Years

Just a small corner on one shelf among all the bookshelves here . . .

An old-fashioned glass pop bottle (you recognize the brand, right?  Even though it's written in Hebrew?) that I brought home with me from my first visit to Israel in 1974.  It was empty for years but I filled it with pancake syrup a couple of decades ago so that the beautiful Hebrew lettering would stand out.

A small oval icon of the Incarnation (Madonna and Child in western terms) that my Orthodox Christian Godmother brought me from a monastery in Greece a few years ago.  

A glass box full of small white moonstones that I gathered along the shore of a lagoon near my home when I was still in high school about 1966.  

Some books waiting to be finished or started, the authors mostly from countries somewhere across the sea:  Serbia, Russia, Mount Athos in Greece . . .  

 It's a well-traveled little corner, spanning the years of my life, while also wandering across several countries far and wide.  My own international wanderings are limited to Israel, Jordan, England, Wales, and France, all so many years ago.  These days I wander around the world only virtually; my traveling days are over.  But I am quite satisfied with that.  

 

Great-Grandmother Lulu's Ring

My paternal grandmother's mother, Lulu Kettering, was born in Pennsylvania in 1878 and died at the age of 52, long before I was born.  However, a ring that she owned was passed down to me many decades ago, which I have never worn until recently.  I admire the setting and the little oak leaf motif on the band.  I wonder what this ring meant to her, and if she likes that someone still keeps it.  I don't think it has much value, except sentimentally.  While I never wear purple, lilac, or similar colors (which I love, but they are very unflattering to my coloring) there is one skirt I own with some touches of purple.  I remembered Lulu's ring, and wore it in her memory.  She must have been petite; I have to wear it on my little finger.

Lulu is on the left, her brother Clyde, and her sister May.  I recall the adults telling stories about "Aunt May" and how she somehow managed to always have sugar, coffee and cakes to offer her guests during the WWII time of food rationing.  She sounded like quite a character.  She was married to a photographer and so we have some trunks full of old family photos scattered throughout the family.

A Memory

 

On February 23, 2006, four co-workers went up to the roof of their office building to watch the historic moment when the RMS Queen Mary 2 arrived in Long Beach, California to salute her predecessor, RMS Queen Mary, which was retired from service in 1967 and permanently docked at the Port of Long Beach where she continues to exist as a hotel and museum.  This is the view I looked out on every day for 22 years as an office worker/secretary/administrative assistant.  Not a bad place to make a living!  Those who have met me know which of these four ladies is yours truly; for those who don't, I am the tall one.  In fact, I still am the tall one, but certainly not this young looking anymore.  We are all long-retired now!