Shapes

For fun this week I've decided to join in You Capture, run by the fabulous I Should Be Folding Laundry (and is that the best blog name ever? Methinks so!). This weeks theme is Shapes. As soon as I saw it, my mind's eye flashed up these:

I am such a sucker for 50's costume jewellery brooches. I am not safe trolling through the brooch listings on eBay if there is a credit card anywhere in my immediate vicinity. I can only attest to my supreme amounts of will power that my collection is no bigger than what is shown above. That and having a mortgage. Bwahahah!

There's just something so amazing about the shapes. I am a particular fan of the flowers and sunbursts - they are the ones I tend to be drawn to the most. But my absolute favourite would have to be the black floral cluster. This was given to me by my aunty on the day on my Nana's funeral. Just before the service began my aunt quickly went around to each of the female grandchildren and presented us with a brooch each. I cannot even begin to describe how glad I was to have something tangible to remember my Nana by.

You'd have liked my Nana. She was funny and kind and considerate. She had a great way of ever so slightly widening her eyes and raising her eyebrows as you were regaling her with your latest tall tale (but you could tell in her mind she was thinking "Reeeeeeealllly!"), and when you had finished she would never fail to offer you a lolly from the crystal dish that was always sitting on her coffee table. She was a woman who always wore a dress or a skirt, each outfit adorned with a carefully chosen brooch from her collection. It was only in her last years that she began to wear trousers (pink tracky daks!) and I think that, more than anything else, made me realise that she was tired, and ready to go on.

Every time I wear my brooch, I think of her. Card shark (as long as the cards were Euchre), knitter extraordinaire, mother of 6 scally wag boys and one right-hand-man girl, beloved friend to many and - on a really hot stinky day - shandy lover. If my life is filled with as much joy and friendship was hers was, then I'll die a happy lady. And Nana? I'm really looking forward to seeing you again.