Thanks for the sympathy, but it was her fault, really. She had all these old family photos from the Old Country, immigrent documentation, phonograph records and "junk" in the house and she decided to stick all of these "useless items" into a shed which was right on the bank of the river. The shed was completely underwater, most of it's contents were washed away and what was left was mostly ruined. The house was untouched. It taught me a lesson about preserving that which is precious....and is probably the reason for my lifelong addiction to history.
Oh my. I cart all my stuff with me and keep it in the house, because aside from my own childhood possessions like phots and report cards, I really do use a lot of my grandmother's dishes and my mother's stuff. I like to be surrounded by keep sakes.