An old puff

As I may have mentioned before, I am a hoarder, descended from a long line of hoarders.

Yesterday, Mrs Talpa decided to clean out the bathroom cupboard and chose a number of items for the dustbin. Amongst them was this old powder puff, made from blue silk and swan's-down, stuffed with kapok and ancient straw and equipped with an ivory handle. I think that I may have persuaded her that we should keep it. After all it was used to powder my grandmother after her bath when she was a baby. Then it powdered my mother and her brother, then me, then our own son and daughter, and on occasion their children.

#afternoon #sunday #swan #down #march #puff #silk-kapok