Special things, part 1

We had a great day yesterday at my friends De house. We took down a trailer load of toys clothes and kids stuff etc for her and had a lovely lunch by the pool with some other friends.
The kids had a great day playing and swimming. We also exchanged Christmas presents for the kids, just in case we don't have time to catch up in December.
We have now cleared out a lot of the bags and boxes of stuff that have been piling up in the foyer.
We now have to order our storage container and when it arrives I will be able to stow all the things we are not taking to Jakarta. I have just found out that our local council needs to be notified if you put a container on your block (we live on 1.5 acres, 6000 msq) and a $165 fee.
Once all the storage things are packed we should have a few weeks of normal living. I have one more quote from a shipping quote to come through and then the company can choose which one to use. The good thing about the removalists is that you do nothing ( if you pack it can't be insured) you just leave everything and they go to work.
Our property has been listed on the Internet for rent, as they have listed our address I can't supply a link, but I will upload the photos I took later.

I am about to start on packing up my formal lounge room. I am not taking anything from this room. I have been guided by the thought of " could I bear to lose this". If something got lost or we had to leave suddenly, I could replace most things; they are after all just things.
A few things I want to have always and for the kids to inherit one day.
I am going to take photos of them to remind me of my treasures while I am away.

This is my Dad's mother's China cabinet. Catherine died when my dad was very young, so we have very little information about her. Mum had this china cabinet in her lounge for years and never really liked it. She gave it to me when GJ and I were first married. We changed the ugly original gold and khaki flocked fabric on the backing and have loved it.



On the top shelf is the beautiful Shelley coffee set that my Maternal Grandfather bought my Grandmother at the start of their marriage. It was bought just after the Depression and was considered to be wildly extravagant at the time. When we were little, very occasionally we would be handed one piece to hold and admire, but never to use. It is a art deco style. When we were packing up my Grandfathers house after he died, Mum turned to me and said "put this in your car". I was in shocked, delighted and awed all at the same time. I knew how much she loved this set, yet she gave it to me. It has had pride of place in my china cabinet every since. I have never used it. I firmly believe in using things, but this is too special to risk breaking.
The wine glasses on the sides at the top and bottom were engagement and wedding presents. They are hand painted around the edges.
The middle shelf has a lovely selection of lead Crystal that GJ'S dad has given us. GJ's mum loved and collected Crystal and when she died GJ's sisters inherited it all. My FIL has been giving us sets for special occasions.
The bottom shelf has GJ's collection of Carlton ware that he inherited form his maternal grandmother. I opened the cabinet the other day and left the door open for a minute...my little helper was straight in it picking everything up and pulling it out...My first reaction was to bellow across the room, but I didn't want to give Ben a fright in case he dropped something. I casually walked up and took the things off him, he was very sheepish, he new he wasn't allowed to touch.


Here are GJ's precious things LOL. We can not take any alcohol with us to Indonesia. GJ has been getting quality bottles of scotch and Cognac duty free as gifts for quite a few years. He enjoys a quality "scotch on the rocks". GJ is not much of a drinker though, he only drink 2-3 times a year, so his collection has been building steadily. I think it tastes like medicine, very uncultured I know LOL. Tan Tan and Robbie are going to help him taste test over Christmas, but the rest will have to wait for us to return.