~Remnants of a Bygone Era~

 Hello dear friends~

I recognize there has been a pause here.

It has been wild and crazy as of late.

It is harvest season if you weren't aware :-)

Here that means kitchen work after work,

piles of produce staring at me from every direction,

hissing canners, humming dehydrators, and endless dishes.

I evidently went a little overboard this year planting

so now we have a bounty 

of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and beans.

Actually, I only planted 1 (that's singular) cucumber plant

and have received over 100 cucumbers, and it's still producing!

Needless to say by the time I sit in the evening,

I am whooped.

Last weekend, I had to go pick up something from my folks

who live about 1/2 hour away.

I decided to take a back road 

and ended up stopping at an estate sale.

I found treasures.

William & Cassie 

There were a few shelves of books 

which always draw me to flip through the pages.

Well, I found a few gems from the later part of the 1800's.

They have seen better days, but were family books.

It makes me sad that such things are sold out of the family 

to which they belonged for the past 100-150 years.

Cassie shown above was the grandmother

of the woman who's estate was being sold.

Here, let me share~

Some of the books belonged to this baby's younger brother

who was the father of the woman who passed.

Cassie's book from when she was 10 years old.

This book was from Cassie's father, the great grandfather of the woman who passed.  I can't believe her children didn't want it!

I love that this one has a coarsely handmade fabric cover.

Through the address and the correlating obituary,

I was able to find a short lineage of the family

which I have printed off and will keep with the books.

At least if they are sold off at my estate,

there will be some account of where they came from.

Also among the wares for sale

were these beautiful whites.

(I have not washed or pressed them yet 

as I want to take my time and be careful with them.)

It probably sounds silly to some of you,

but I love the tattered apron.

I imagine it began as the "good" apron

then got demoted with age but perhaps

had sentimental value since it was kept and handed down.

I don't mean for this to be a sorrowful post,

but if you have family mementos,

I would like to suggest that perhaps you go through them now

while you have options.

Talk with family members and find out who might be interested

in protecting the family heirlooms.

Also valuable would be to add a little hand written note

as to the memory of it and its origin.

I sure do appreciate the quality of olden items

and the stories of the hands that held them,

but I can't be a museum for them all.

This might seem a little odd for a blog,

but I would love to hear (read) if you have a special

family item and the memory that accompanies it.

I think those who ponder through this post

might also enjoy reading it.

~Blessings~

And if you are interested in my latest YouTube posts:

This is the Utilities: Easy to Extreme series.

Cut Electric Costs

Save on Water, Sewer, and Garbage

Save on Electronics & Services

~Sentimental Clutter~(before and after)

Being the nostalgic one of the clan,

plenty of items seem to come this direction.

For the most part, I am really grateful.

Over the past couple years though,

I have been on a mission to declutter.

It has been getting better and better.

It's when it comes to family items

that I tend to struggle.

My Uncle Joe passed away about 20 years ago.

Somehow, two foot stools he made ended up here.

They have been moved from one spot to another

gathering yet another layer of dust and debris with each shift.

Fiiiiiiinally!

I have come to the point that these things

(not just the foot stools)

need to either be used or move on.

My memories of him do not center around these foot stools.

He was a kind man, but I think he would call me foolish

for feeling like I had to keep them as I have.

These two little gems are not identical.
(I only got a picture of one at a time.)

The legs are different and were evidently covered

let's see...maybe 1972???

What would your guess be?

I decided to pull the rusty floral off and recover them.

We don't have much white in the house

and would probably use these in the living room

so I applied dark walnut stain to the painted legs.

Stain over paint (low sheen) created a very suttle look.

One has a plain wooden top that will need to be recovered;

however, the other was a suprise.

It had a finished black top.

After regluing the legs that were loose,

I decided I liked that one just as it was.

Imagine, they have been floating around the shop

for a good ten years at least,

and all it took was about ten minutes to have a wonderful

usable foot stool.

After regluing the legs, it is sturdy enough to stand on.

I really just want to use it while sitting in my chair,

but I also like the idea of sturdy.

I suppose the real point to all of this is,

if you have something that you are saving to pass down

to someone, maybe see if they want it now.
Items that are stored for decades are not being appreciated.

If I would have been offered my great-great grandmother's

entire dishes set when I was needing dishes,

I might have enjoyed them.

Now that I have inherited them, I don't need them

but feel obligated to have them.

(Any ideas on that one would be appreciated:)

My latest goal is...

I want it all gone by the time I die.

I hope it's not "things" that I am remembered for,

but life and love.

How nice would that be for my kids - 

just to have the essentials to deal with when I'm gone.

Ma's dentures, coffee cup, and quilt.

Pitch the dentures.  Argue over who gets the cup and quilt - done.

I know it's not that simple,

but I'll keep trying.


PS: I liked the black top on the one foot stool so well,
I decided to do the other top black so they will sorta match.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches