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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A dirty little bottle...

                    
"Another story...ho hum!"
                                                  =^..^=

It's becoming quite ordinary that, during our construction, we dig up a little something that came through the house fire of 1975.

This little perfume bottle was possibly my grandmother's; although it was not like her to fancy up with perfume or any other fragrant product. I like to think that she may have put a dab or two on just before Old Man Bulger picked her up for church on Sunday mornings. We, the grandkids, visiting over the summer holidays, would wave good-bye to them as they headed out the drive-way, the oldest of the bunch left to be in charge. Oh, good grief, I would have hated to be that poor cousin that was run ragged and given lip for the hour and a half gran was at church praying for our souls.
I was, thank God, one of the younger ones and never had the job of being left in charge.

The old ceiling-to-floor china cupboard along the wall in the summer kitchen held tea-cups, glasses and plates and was also home to the home-made hermit cookies that were stored in an old biscuit barrel. They were kept for when we deserved a treat which, basically, was never, in my opinion. lol

Gran was out the drive-way but a minute and the scrumptious cookies were devoured. Then we were off to goodness knows where; wherever the wind took us, knowing full well, we had that one hour and a half to do as we pleased. Cousin in charge would be yellin' and cursin', demanding we stay inside where she could keep an eye on us. "Just colour at the table." she'd say.  But, we'd head out and play in the out-buildings, the old coop or hang upside-down in the apple trees in the orchard. We'd try to lose someone in the hay field under the pretense of a 'hide & seek' game. We'd 'drop in' on neighbours, anger the rooster and see who could out-run him. We'd fight.
I guess it was all pretty innocent as no grandchild died.

I still remember the old black car that they drove in. Watching from atop the wire fence, first you would see the car amongst the dust on the road. Then it would disappear for a moment, only to re-appear again at the top of the hill just before they turned into the  driveway. We'd have time to all be sitting on the front porch like The Walton's, waving as they turned in between the lilac bushes. Cousin-in-charge would be inside, walking the floor, red-faced and ready to burst.

This dirty little bottle, whether it be my grans or not, opened a flood-gate of memories of those hot, summer Sundays spent with my cousins. I feel very lucky to have these wonder-full memories and now to have found a little treasure to cherish.

hugs, Deb

15 comments:

  1. What wonderful memories!
    You described the action perfectly. I was the oldest of my sisters and when Mom and Dad left me in charge I was constantly pushed to the limits of my endurance.
    As soon as the parents left we would get in the candy dish. Then when they returned my youngest sister would run and tattle and of course I was the one who got in trouble. LOL!
    It's so nice to have such enjoyable childhood memories from 'those days'. What child of today is going to look back fondly and say, 'I say around all day every day and played with my Smart phone'???

    Audrey, do you have happy kittenhood memories? I bet you do. Oh, you're still a kitten, you say!

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  2. Deb, I don't know if it's just my laptop or not but there are pictures missing from your sidebar.
    Is anyone else noticing this?

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  3. Sweet memories and more to come!

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  4. A lovely story. I always find it amazing what will trigger a memory. Such nice memories you have. Just imagine what your Grand Little Ones will tell about the Mouse House :)

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  5. Oh the memories! Yours remind me of playing at my Grandma's house with my cousins! We weren't bad but we weren't good!!

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  6. Love that story, Deb. I too have memories of spending days in the country or at the beach with my cousins. I wish I had memories of my grandparents, but they all passed either before I was born or when I was very young.

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  7. Funny how memories come back like that. Weaverpat's note I can confirm- at present I'm not seeing all the images on the side bar, but it might be the tech I'm presently using.

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  8. When I worked at a fast-food restaurant to put myself through college, a man walked up wearing an aftershave or cologne that threw me into a series of childhood memories! From scent! I can imagine how it felt for you, Deb, with that cute bottle! And Audrey, be kind!

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  9. That is a sweet little bottle! What will you do with it?

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  10. Fabulous story! Amazing how memories come alive by small things!

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  11. What a great little find! I've been finding all kinds of bits and pieces of pottery and dishes lately, since we had outer hydrants installed and trenches dug, turning up the earth. I always wonder who they once belonged to!!

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  12. Wonderful memories!Thanks for sharing them. We were a handful as youngsters too...five children in four years, the first two, twins! But we weren't bad...just busy exploring our world :) That little bottle looks like a vanilla bottle used for baking.

    the critters in the cottage xo

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    1. Oh, I like that possibility. She was always baking.

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  13. Love those childhood memories at your Grans house, Deb! How sweet to find the little bottle....I can remember almost the same kind of visit to my Grandmother's, too. There were five of us little girls and also, many, many cousins. As long as we stayed out of Nana's gardens, we could do as we liked. Now a new generation can play at your Gran's house, making sweet memories of their own....xx Karen

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  14. Those wonderful memories! The treasures unearthed in your memory by this tiny bottle unearthed in your land.
    I wonder if you took it to an antique shop that deals in bottles they might recognise the shape and identify its contents. I love these little mysteries.

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