Shelling in the Attic

Sometimes you get something special from the strangest places.  If you read my blog, you know how much I love Sanibel Island.  My family has a long history with Sanibel.  My Grandma took my mom there in the 1940's - mom remembers going over to the island on the ferry boat before the first causeway was built. Mom said, "I was first there in 1948 or 1949, not sure which it was. We had to take a boat because there was no bridge on the causeway. I think we stayed at the Island Inn, but not sure. It was just an old hotel."  I've been going there on and off since the mid 1970's.  Mom reminded me that those were the days you could pick up live shells and boil them to clean them. We did that the year we were all down there in 1974. Island Inn had a shell cleaning shack in the back with a stove and pots to cook them in.

Last week my mom remembered that after my grandma died in 1976, my mom had taken all of grandma's Sanibel sea shells and had them on display in their house for many years.  By 1989 mom was tired of dusting them so she and dad packed them up in a huge box and shoved it into a corner of their attic where it's sat, forgotten, since then.  One day last week mom sent dad up in the attic to bring down the box of shells and last night I went over there to paw through them.  The first few things I unwrapped from the brittle, yellowed newspaper dated 1989 was this huge horse conch, almost 10" long, a lovely piece of coral and assorted smaller shells....

Look at the colors on this one.....

This basket was my grandma's.  Mom said she and dad found the 2 giant sea urchins and the sand dollar in Oregon, but all the rest of the shells were found on Sanibel.  There's several starfish and a nice size sea horse and a piece of sponge.....

There are a few shiny cowrie's in there too...

Anyone know what this is?

Or these two shells?

Or these?

As I'm digging frantically through the box I kept saying, "Oh, what if there's a Junonia in here?"  And guess what - one of the last things I pulled out was this!!!  Happy dance, kicking up my heels, doing hand stands and cartwheels .....  OMG!!!!  It's almost 4" long and in perfect condition...

Just look at these two beauties!  Two shells that I have been wanting for forever and could never find.  And to think that my grandma found them almost 50 years ago and picked them up herself.  Well, that just makes them all the more special.  And they were stuffed in a box in the attic for the last 25 years.  Cripes!!

You just never know when something special is going to happen.  What a nice, unexpected gift.  Thanks Grandma!  I feel like she just reached down from heaven and gave me a hug.