Second hand treasures

We can't go to Mom Heiselt's without being loaded down with more stuff than we can carry. This year we had to upgrade our economy car to an SUV to get all of our new treasures back to Brooklyn. Here are a few of the reasons why:Lots of issues of Communication Arts from the 70s. These belonged to Micah's dad, who was also a designer and illustrator. Many of them still have strips of paper where he marked things he liked or whatnot. I love to look through them, not only to see the cool pictures, but also to recognize the things that were really influential or that are coming back in today's designs. And of course I like to try to figure out which pictures Dad Heiselt might have had in mind when he marked the page.

I don't know anything about this clock other than that it looks really cool. It was over at Grandma Holben's place, which is being emptied out to be sold. As you can see, it is a planters clock, so it is supposed to help you know when to plant various vegetables in your garden. We don't have a garden and our first attempt at growing things was an utter failure (in Hawaii, no less, where the problem is generally keeping things to a manageable level of growth . . . don't ask me how we managed to kill things). We're hoping that one day, when we own a bit of earth, this clock will inspire us to try again and get it right this time.

You can never have too many books, right? Most of the books we came back with are art books. I like the idea of having them around to promote additional artistry in the family. Maybe Simon will follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and be an artist. Best nurture the boy as much as possible. We also grabbed a treasure from 1949 called "How to Pray and Stay Awake" by Max B. Skousen. I feel like Mr. Skousen already knows too much about me.

And where are we going to put the new (old) books if we don't have a new (old) bookcase? This beauty belonged to Micah's grandparents. The only way we were able to get it home was because it is sectional -- each shelf is a box. I love having these little bits and pieces from our family. It makes me feel less disconnected from everyone, even though we don't have any family really close. And it helps to fill up our still empty-feeling apartment.