Buried Treasure and Library Books

After looking over big-ticket items that we need to get rid of before a move (which, thanks to Craigslist, are already out of the house!) my next stop is always boxes that still remain packed from our last move. In this case, that means they have been sitting untouched in the garage for nearly 4 years. We did a pretty good job going through everything after moving into our Connecticut house (especially after having "lost" our Crock Pot in the move and finding it packed up with the old computer and labeled as "books"), but there is still a stack of boxes in the garage, collecting spiderwebs.

Prompted by the need for our references from our last move to Alaska, I went on a hunt the other night. It's amazing what we have forgotten that we own. While much of the boxes were filled with college textbooks (really, will I ever need my Organic Chemistry book filled with old exams?), I also came across several trash/treasure items. Included in a box of old middle school yearbooks were 2 full books of mini-discs for the mini-disc player that The LT just had to have while in college (and which never became the next big think as was hoped at the time). I also found my own baby book, complete with a family tree and tons of photos. One of my best finds was this book:

As you can see from the inscription below, it was given to my paternal grandmother, who I spent a lot of time with growing up, when she was 14. She gave it to me when I was 11.

We had this selection read at our wedding. The script I wrote for my brother to read along with it was still in the book.

What a find, especially because Grammy B is currently 83 years old and living in a nursing home under Hospice care. This is one of those things that belongs with us in the car rather than entrusted to the movers who had no idea what they were doing when they packed it up with my old clarinet and porcelain dolls (which also probably need to find a new home).

And, amazingly, I also found exactly what I was looking for. The kids had been asking what Homer looks like, so I wanted to find these books to show them:

One of the most important things for trip-planning is the Milepost. I found out 2005 copy, which was from our move from Kodiak to North Carolina. Unfortunately, our 2003 copy, which had more notes in it, is MIA. I think one of our Coast Guard friends borrowed it, but we never got it back. If you are the one who has it, please let me know!

For those of you who don't know of the necessity of the Milepost, it is a publication that is updated annually and includes mile-by-mile information on all of the highways leading to Alaska. We will of course be getting the 2011 edition but are waiting to see if the new ship sends it to us before forking out the $30 ourselves to get a copy.

Of course, after digging out these books, there was not a Homer photo to be found. Luckily, the kids and I have recently graduated from the fiction to non-fiction section of the children's room at the library, so we were able to find plenty of information on our weekly visit today:

Hopefully these books will give the kids a broader idea of what Alaska will be like, since right now Little Man only tells everyone, "We are moving to Laska. They have volcanoes!"