For my Toes

Hi dear mini friends! It's been such a long time since I have had the chance to do anything mini... and thus, I have had no time to sit down and blog.

I decided today that I would at least share with you my next "plan" for tiny creating... when I will be able to implement said plan is another story entirely. Moving on.

I am afraid of my attic.  (This blog just took a drastic turn, I know. Bear with me, I will get to my point eventually, I promise.)  There are dust balls and cobwebs and tiny little furry creatures up there...not my idea of a good time.  When my husband and I moved into this home, we were in the process of heavy renovations (like-no-kitchen-for-three-years-kinda-heavy).  As a result, everything that wasn't a matter of necessity was placed in the attic, including *gasp* my miniatures.  As you may know by the creation of this blog, I have since taken my dollhouse out of storage.  But, there was more up there!  And so it was time to buck up and face my fear of the attic, for what was hidden up there is a treasure much too special to remain in storage any longer.

Several years ago my Grandpa "Toes" as I called him, passed away as a result of a tragic car accident.  It was an extremely difficult time for our family... saying goodbye to family is a sorrow that has touched almost all of us in some way. There is no doubt, the loss of our loved ones leaves a footprint of sad permanently on your heart.  Because I am a creative person (though I do much more than miniature for my creative outlet) I began to process this loss in a unique way that many of you will understand.

My grandpa owned a grocery store.  As a young girl, I thought that his owning a grocery store was almost as cool as if he were on tv... two words: FREE CANDY.  :0)  When we would visit my grandpa, he would take my sister and I to his Warehouse Market with him and let us roam free through the aisles of his store.  Oh, how awesome that was!  My favorite aisle was (of course) the candy aisle.  Remember the good ole days when there would be the bins of loose hard candies that you could scoop out and buy by the pound? Yup. That was this then-tiny-hiney's mother load!!  Grandpa knew we would make several trips down that aisle, and he knew that each time we would venture down one or two or twenty of his soft caramels would go missing.  But he never once told us no.  In fact, as a man who always had a piece or two of hard candy stashed in his breast pocket, I am certain he would have been a bit disappointed in his young girls had they not scooped at least a few sweet treats from the bins of his store.

I held on to the sweetness of that particular memory as I said goodbye to a man I love so dearly. And as I began to process the reality of his passing, I knew I needed to honor him as his love always honored me.

When I returned from his services I made a mad dash to The Mixed Bag, which was a wonderful miniature store near my home.  I wandered the store for quite some time, not entirely sure what I was looking for, but knowing that I was looking for something.  And then I saw it.  The perfect way to honor Grandpa Toes! The center section of the Street of Shops was just the right size to do a general store in honor of my Grandpa, the Warehouse Market, and my very special memories of both.

I brought home the kit, and proceeded to work frantically getting it built, mourning the much-too-soon loss of my Grandpa, and relishing in the vivid memories of him it helped me conjur.  It was my very first build without anyone to assist me, and though I struggled a bit, I made my way through it.  I finished the structure just in time to pack it up, move to our "new" home, and store it in the attic for eight years.

Which brings me back to my dusty, musty, mousy attic and a heart determined to finish what I once started... So I put on my big girl shoes, a pair of gloves and rescued my tribute piece from storage.

It is an incomplete project, as just the structure is built.  I have yet to make final decisions on how I want to fill my fun little general store, but I do know this... somewhere within its cozy little walls there will be a section just for candy.  I imagine it will be on a low shelf somewhere, what would be just the right level for a little girl to reach her bitty hand in and take a sweet little treat or two.  For I also can imagine that her Grandpa would be somewhere nearby, watching her unnoticed, with a twinkle in his eye, a smile on his face, and a heart full of love especially for her. 

In Loving Memory, Grandpa "Toes" Thomas J. Killworth.