Barbie's Bunkhouse: Being Sentimental

So shoot me, I'm a sentimental fool. Over everything! I've come to realize this is why I'm a pack-rat. I hate to let things go, especially if something was given to me by someone special or something that was in my family. It has a story, it has meaning. I can't (and won't) throw it away.

 Now take this old potato masher. It was my grandmothers. It used to have light green, flaking (lead-based I'm sure) paint on the handle. I always took care when I used it, but I LOVED it, because it was hers. A few years ago, as a mother's day project, my boys cleaned up the metal, sanded the handle and applied a gorgeous clear-coat to it. You can still see the hint of green from the paint, and this baby is as good as new! I use it all the time now. And it's even MORE special to me because my son's brought it back to life.  And someday, they may have this in their home. Or my daughter will, because she is all about baking and cooking. :-)

And here is another one of my favorites. My grandmother's baking pan! My mother recently passed this down to me because she doesn't really cook anymore and she's trying to clean out her cupboards. Just like my grandma, I use this for everything! Now, I've used glass pyrex pans - and I must say that my lasagna comes out better and doesn't bubble over in this pan. And for being an enamel pan, it cleans up really well! I love how 'used' it is. You can see some of the blackish, burned on marks from things that have baked into the enamel. There's even a chip at one of the corners! To think that my grandmother cooked with love for her for children and husband, and later even some of her grandchildren with this pan. Something else, I will never get rid of. I will have to hand it down and threaten to haunt my children should they dare to throw it away!

Here is another Mother's Day surprise from my children. I loves wolves, which makes sense when every time I do a "spirit animal" quiz/test...it comes out as a wolf. When my kids were little, I used to take them to the zoo alot. I remember we went in the gift store once and I commented on how I loved that mug. Well, those boys must have remembered (my daughter was too young) because they told my husband, and he took them to the zoo and bought the mug!

I use this every morning with my coffee. No one uses this mug except me. It means the world to me for many reasons and I can see myself repairing this should it ever get broken. I take great care with it because I want it to last forever. I will cry if it ever breaks and can't be fixed.




so why all the sentimentality? I think that is what drives me to write the kind of emotion that I do as an author. I love love. I love being in love. I love everything about love and all the mush, gushy, sentiment that goes with it. I know you will find this hard to believe, but I have a heart-shaped pendent given to me by my ex still in my jewelry box. It has the letter B in the center. I've worn it a couple times, but it mostly stays safe in my jewelry box to remind me of that innocent all-consuming young love. The kind of love and emotion romance novels are built around. Of course, they have to include conflict - which is not my strong suit (obviously) just ask my CP! I just want my characters to be happy all the time and share their happiness with the reader.......yeah, okay, so that doesn't SELL a romance novel! LOL.

But my sentimental characteristic is a huge part of who I am and definitely comes through in how/what I write. Are you sentimental? Do you have something special you cherish? I know I'm not alone!!

And Happy Fat Tuesday!!!!