Mom's Tiny Treasures, Part 2

Dear Diary,

My mother wasn't an overly sentimental woman but she save these little mementos of her childhood.  I learned to play Jacks when I was young and always used hers. (I have her marbles too.) The little rubber ball is gone but I've replaced it and keep them together.  I especially like the cast iron puppy, a Scottie I think, and remember it sitting on mom's dresser.

My extra photograph is the tiny cast iron wood stove she had.  I don't know if it is from her childhood or if she got it later but I love it and it sits on the shelf of my wood stove.  (I found some small lumps of coal in my cellar and added them.  This house, up until about 1985, was heated by coal.)  She had a cast iron bank too but one of my siblings got that I think. 

These small pieces are part of the archaeology of my mother's life.  The things she kept with her;  which were precious to her in some way.  We all have our own archaeological "footprint" and it says so much about who we are and what is important to us.