JenEllen: Yes, there is something very special about having keepsakes that you can use. Too many get put away so successfully that you can't find them. I think of my Grandfather often, because I still have his hammer. It's a very small hammer, just right in scale for a man who wasn't much over 5 feet tall. He must have used it a lot, because the head of the hammer is so worn that it isn't flat anymore. That makes it almost impossible to pound a nail in without bending it over. I have two larger new, "good" hammers that I normally use, but so often, I can't find them... either my wife or I have misplaced them. But, somehow, my Grandfather's hammer is always there in plain sight saying "Use me." And I do. I've finally gotten the knack of pounding a nail in without bending it, most of the time.

I also don't count keeping things as keepsakes because they are the latest collectible rage. My Father had a set of duck decoys (which he bought when they were already old, and paid 50 cents a piece for. After he couldn't go duck hunting anymore, they sat in a loft up in the garage. I asked Dad if I could have one, and I think my sisters thought I was nuts. He said, "Sure, I'll never use them again." So, I picked the best of the lot, with the paint mostly worn off, and kinda banged up. When duck decoys became the latest decorating fad, my sisters decided they wanted one, and even my Dad decided he wanted to keep one in the house. They had theirs sanded down and varnished with so many coats that they looked like decoupage ducks. Totally non-functional. If you ever put them in a lake, you'd probably scare all the ducks away. I still have mine, as beat up and worn out as usual. When I see something worn out and beat up, like your tea pot, I know that someone loved the thing and used it until it became a part of who they were. In my mind, that makes them far more valuable than something new.

Jerry