Monday, April 20, 2020

WHAT TO DO WITH FAMILY MEMORIES


It all began with the fact that I needed to find my marriage certificate...a 1967 document.  What are the chances that I have one on hand...ziltch!  But I decided to take a look at the family boxes of memories from my grandma and mom that I have been carrying with me for years.  (Just in case you ask, no luck, but I did find a certificate in a very unusual place!)

Anyway, the boxes were out and torn apart.  I took a look at everything and thought, well, they're out so I might as well decide what to do with everything.  But the big question:  What do I do with all these family memories?

Yes, there were pictures and those were easy to keep.  But what about journals, cookbooks, and a giant variety of this and that.  The other big question is 'who would want all of it?' 

So, I decided to bite the bullet and actually figure out what to do with it.  The first question I asked myself is if it was something I wanted to keep?  The next question was if there was something others in the family or extended family that they may want?

And then what about the things that I chose not to keep - paper, mostly.  I decided that the best way to treat these things were to burn them in a fire pit rather than stuff them in a garbage bag to throw away.  Thus, my burn box...

The one rule I had was that I had to make the decision on everything.  I would not just throw items in the burn box unless I read them.  On the recipe collections, I am going through all of them and pull out ones that were interesting and unusual or very old...
And I am going to put together a book with these recipes...on line.  For instance, I always loved my grandma's raw apple cake but could not find her recipe (if she even used one).  But I found an old recipe, hand written, so I will keep it by first typing it into file and take then a picture of the handwritten recipe to add to the file.

I don't think this will go fast, but on the other hand, I have a ton of time with this 'stay at home' regulation.  A good way to take care of a project that I have been meaning to get to for years and years.

Hope everyone is doing well...
Keep safe and stay well...
Remember 6 feet and masks...
Talk with you tomorrow...