Treasure - The Old Trunk

The old steamer I opened yesterday used to belong to my father. His initials were right there, at the top handle. It stood almost four feet high and was almost a foot wide, and it was the suitcase he took with him for many years, even though it weighs a ton. 

The top of the trunk had my father's initials attached. The
trunk itself was large and very heavy. 

For many years I kept my mother's old designer dresses and materials inside this. When I needed something for a costume ball, or she needed unusual material for a Halloween costume, the trunk was what we opened. I guess I switched it to a different use after college, because it didn't contain fabric or old dresses any more. 

It's hard to get a sense of how big the suitcase
was, but it stood probably almost four feet tall. I want
to throw it out, but I'll have to do that in the large
garbage bin at the shop. My home garbage collectors
would charge me extra for such a large item. 

Opening the suitcase (and it opens from the top, where the initials are and hinges in the center bottom), I opened it to memories of college and Mexico. Two large carpets and a serape were inside the suitcase. Hoping against hope that the moths hadn't ravaged the items inside, I pulled them out. 

Carpet number one, folded in the middle. The
outside should be a brighter white and the inside is
actually a deep blue. Stylized candles frame
the long sides. It's handwoven from wool yarns
and is really quite lovely. I always liked these. 

The carpets were large area rugs that Mom had bought during our first extended trip in Mexico. We spent a lot of time travelling around the country and my "brother", Peter, joined us for a lot of it. Although he was British, he had lived in Mexico City for most of his life and spoke Spanish fluently. Mom relied on his bargaining skills to get the carpets at a good price, and he bargained them down to about half of what the shop owner originally had requested. For years the carpets were in our Aspen home. 

Although the first carpet (the folded one) wasn't quite
as moth-eaten as the second one, I still trashed both
of them. I have a house full of lovely things, and don't
really want to introduce moths into my home. 

After I started college, Mom gave the carpets to me and I had them in my dorm room and a few other homes when I had the room. When I didn't have the room, they were stored with Mom. Although I was hoping I could salvage these, I couldn't. The moth damage was intense. I trashed both of them. 

The serape just makes me smile. It's happy and
colorful and whimsical. I don't know if I'll end
up keeping it. The moths have to be toast before
I allow it into my life again. I'm willing to give
this one a chance, though. It's now in a bag with
mothballs, and we'll see if that works. 

The serape was a little different. Although it too was damaged, it didn't matter as much. I have it in a plastic bag with mothballs, getting a serious dose of mothproofing for a while. I figured if the "Man With No Name" had a hole in his serape, it wouldn't matter to him, as long as he killed the attacker before a second hole appeared. I'm killing the attackers - small, nasty insects who want to eat my serape. If necessary, I'll trash this too, but I want to give it a chance first. 

Clint Eastwood's serape was more useful, but mine
is more colorful. LOL

On Sunday I'll go through the rest of the boxes. I suspect I'll toss almost everything - if I haven't missed the things in 40+ years, I probably have learned to live without most of them. Have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow - probably shivering a bit as we dive into our first cold temps of the season.