Oh, dear lord. I really want to go home migrainey.

When my grandmother died, my mother got distinctly grabby - took the jewelry, had the stones pulled out and put into a single new ring. A really ugly one, to add insult to injury. My sister and I salvaged some of the old settings and are working on getting new stones to put in them.

Ours didn't really have anything of monetary value that wasn't given to the kids years ago. Dad's got Grandaddy's guns. I'm sure all the old quilts went to my eldest aunt, and eldest uncle probably got the family jewelry.

I've got a coin collection of my father's that I have no earthy idea what to do with. His other collections (Reader's Digest record albums and Jim Beam bottles, oy.) didn't amount to much.

Where does one find trustworthy help to evaluate coins? He's been gone for 13 years and I've yet to figure this out.

How did you define it, Raq?

"Uh, pause, it allows me to talk to the engineers using only movie quotes."

My step-mother took care of the whole inheiritance problem by giving me my mother's stuff as Christmas presents. @@

It's just my brother and me (and we both have strongly voiced intent to keep it that way for the actual divvying up, no partners or kids involved) so when, a million years from now, it comes about, I don't expect it to be fraught. But we've seen it modelled really well when our grandparent estates were taken apart, so the idea of drama is kinda foreign. They were very stereotypical midwestern: Oh, you simply must have this. Oh, no, I couldn't. You really should. Maybe M would keep it for a while. Please, take it!

It was kinda funny. The other side was just the two siblings, their partners, the house, and a shitload of wine and threats over who would have to take home the ugly (but worth a lot!) crystal table lamps. I think they sold those.

I have laid first claim to Grandma's pictures and original letters. She has given me first claim to my great-grandmother Juliana's wedding ring, which is this gorgeous white gold Art Deco ring. I love it.

I'm also co-executor with one of my stepsisters on my mom & stepdad's will - we are to sell the property and divide everything, with half to me and half to them. That could get nasty - I'm very attached to the property, as that is the house I grew up in. Hopefully it won't come up for a very long time.

Unrelatedly, is there a French or German word for feeling happy and melancholy at the same time? Happiness at the present situation, but keenly missing the past? Something?

If I was told "Here's all of Mom's stuff that's left over, do what you want with it," and I find something that can go on eBay--some old cameras--am I justified in keeping any money from the sale for myself (and Hubby)?

I've never been privy to a household being divvied up, so I can't imagine what it would be like. When it comes to stuff of my parents--well, I also can't imagine what would be left of one parent's after the other one has outlived them for a while.

I also can't imagine keeping much of, say, my dad's, even if it's willed explicitly to me unless my mother insisted I did. And then I might try and get it left in their house anyway.

Well, except cufflinks. I do need some cufflinks. And any knives, and that drinking horn that matches one I have.

Other than that, I'm good. And I want that shit even if he doesn't leave it to me. Not like ma or sis would.

My mom is still trying to get me to take home one of grandma's silver tea set things. The thing is, I don't really have any use for one, no place to put one, and it really has no sentimental value. It's weird.