This morning I was digging into a trunk looking for more table linen items, mostly napkins or things to be used as napkins. This is full of all sorts of stuff, including things like a whole bunch of fancy antimacassars. Any of you need to visit your dictionaries for that one? Surprised I knew it? I did. They are the small and often crocheted or tatting lacy pieces of cloth that go on the arms or backs of chairs to keep them clean (the cloths themselves were regularly laundered). Meant to keep the macassar oil that was used on the hair off of the furniture or clothing.

Your bit of trivia for the day.

I thought I knew everything in this trunk, it was packed in 1984 by my friend Emma. I knew her from my years in college when I worked up in the mountains each summer. We stayed close friends and I knew she loved antiques so I flew her to Connecticut to help with my great aunt's estate. She boxed up glass, crystal, silver, and tons of textiles. This trunk is her last surprise for me - down in the bottom under the rolls of Irish linen and antimacassars were two heavy boxes, mostly silver spoons (plate) but a few old family gems brought from Ireland. I'm sure she picked these up and put them in the trunk unexamined, and now I'm finding the pieces my great aunt and her sisters and mother used and ordered (lots of Betty Crocker coupon orders of various silver plate patterns.) I visited Emma with my son in tow last summer - and found that she has Alzheimers. She remembered me, but after I introduced my grown up son it didn't register that he was the little boy she was asking me about. I'm sure my son saw my face, my realization that this friend is slipping away. This needs to become a thoughtful essay.

SRS