Friday, February 8, 2008

39/365 My grandmother's trunk

~This trunk sits in my foyer...and it isn't really my grandmother's trunk, but it is (I think) identical to the trunk my grandmother once owned.

~When I was little my grandparents lived in a small house in the country with a "pump house" where the water pump and washing machine were. The pump house was sort of scary, but it was intriguing because it was also the place my grandmother stored things, among them an old trunk full of old books. I always admired that old trunk and when I was grown she gave it to me. Unfortunately it wasn't stored properly and the bottom rusted out and it fell apart. I was always sad about that. So when I found this trunk at an antique store some years later, I knew I had to have it. Even though it wasn't hers, it reminds me of my grandmother.

4 comments:

Gawdess said...

Very nice shot and I loved reading the background story

Yankee, Transferred said...

Great picture, and "close enough is close enough" is my motto.

concretegodmother said...

i relate in two ways. i have my great grandmother's travel trunk in my living room, filled with quilts and old books. the trunk is a mess, really -- quite falling apart. but the paper that lines the inside of the lid is gorgeous and old-fashioned. and so we display it, despite its wear.

my grandmother's basement used to scare the hell out of me. the left side is the part we played in -- old junk, school castoffs of the aunties, musty-smelling books; just plain fun. but the right side contained not only the washer but the gaping only-sometimes-covered hole of the sump, which either backed up and spewed foul-smelling soapy water (ok, spew might be an exaggeration) or yawned darkly, threatening to swallow small children who got too close to the edge trying to peer in. terrifying!

sorry for the epic comment, but your post resonated. :-)

RageyOne said...

great photo and story to go with the photo. i love old things and it is great that you found a trunk that makes you think of your grandmother.