Ch. 268; Vol. 10

Carrie texted me late Tuesday morning…

“Just got a call from the doc. Blood tests came back. I’m officially infected with Lyme Disease.”

She added a smiley to that message. Who wouldn’t? The doctor had already been certain about the diagnosis, but now it was 100% confirmed. Four years without a complete answer.

I don’t always notice aesthetics. It took Mom pointing me back to the open dining room for me to notice the tableful of Grandma Snicketts’ old jewelry. Mementos of Hawai’i, forgotten keys, lariat necklaces crafted by Grandma herself – who knew she ever dabbled in jewelry… and then the endless stacks of clippings and ancient photographs in the garage. My genealogical duties called.

Puck was having a small obsession with what he called “household items”, harvesting knickknacks from all over the house and yard, which he dropped into a tin can from Grandma Snicketts…

“I would like to thank her for it, but she’s dead.”

Blunt.

So was Grandma.

Puck continued his wanderings and casual beggings, a walking warehouse…

“Have you… passed any household items, like… nuts?”

“You never know what you can do with household items.”

Or…

“Mom! Your eyes will shine right out of their eye pits when you see what I found!”