More Stuff

How much costume jewelry can one woman own? In the case of my aunt, an awful lot. Pick a holiday - she had a pin or necklace or earrings to celebrate. Pick a stone - she had it. She kept them in plastic cups, ice trays, and pill bottles; in old jewelry boxes, old clothing boxes, and rolled up in towels. Stacks and piles and tray-fulls.

Among the costume stuff, we found some gems. My great-grandfather's Masonic pin. A couple of 14K and 18K pieces from Scotland. A real ivory heart. We need to get to a jeweler to help us separate the gold from the brass, the crystal from the real stones.

After we had gone through a lot of the 'big' stuff in her second bedroom, my sister-in-law and I started going through the jewelry. We figured on maybe an hour, separate the good from the not-so-good, decide which pieces, if any, we wanted as mementos. Two hours later, we still hadn't gone through everything, and we already have a large box for donation or a 'trash and treasure' sale. More tomorrow.

SIL and I made a lot of progress - as long as brother and dad were not in the room. She and I were fairly ruthless about things we knew had little or no sentimental value and were able to get them into donation or trash piles. But the minute those two got there, it was s-l-o-w city, examining everything, opening books, unfolding afghans, unboxing things that didn't need to be unboxed. When we found them doing that, we quickly found something else for them to be doing, preferably somewhere other than in the condo. For brother, we kept sending him out to the donation station. For dad, we eventually sent him to his girlfriend, who conveniently lives in the same development.

Tomorrow - more dresser drawers, more jewelry, finish up the kitchenware. DH will spend time with dad going over financial stuff and paperworky things, prepping him for finding an attorney who specializes in probate. In the state of Florida, unless there is no real property at all, you apparently need a lawyer to help wend your way through the paperwork. The good news is that the fees are pretty well set by the state. The bad news is that it takes at least $500 just for filing the papers; that doesn't include the lawyer's fee. Well... that's how it goes.

Thanks to everyone for your emails and comments here and on Facebook. I may not get a chance to send everyone a personal note, but I really appreciate all the kind words and warm hugs you are sending my way.