Hi everyone, I haven't posted in a long time because, well, it was always about by grandma and they are both long gone now.
But this Fall, my Dad and uncle finally bit the bullet and went to visit the storage locker they filled up after they sold her house a few years ago. They haven't been able to face it until recently I guess. Too painful maybe, and I do understand. But I guess it was time!
I'm delighted to say that I've been gifted with so many of my grandma's "treasures" and now they are no longer stuffed into old cardboard boxes or hidden in a musty old locker: they are out in the light of day and in near daily use and I feel like some part of our old family life is back alive again. Shall I tell you what I was given? Yes? Oh good, pull up a chair :)
First and foremost: her good china service! It's white and aqua and with a little gold border. And her Birks silverware set, in their little individual Birks blue felt pocket things that keep them from tarnishing. It was on the table for every christmas/easter/birthday/anniversary dinner we ever had as a family for 40 years. This Christmas, and this Fall for our wedding supper, my husband and I set the table with this, and some of her crystal, and my Dad said it felt like she was there at the table with us in a way. I'm using her good dishes as our daily set. Every day, damn the torpedoes!
Next, the dining table and chairs itself. Goodbye tacky old set, hello Grandma's lovely big dining table. Every meal, every day :) I'm so happy it's back in the action.
Next, her neat little buffet thing on casters that has a fold out top, and inside we keep all the silver and crystal.
Next, and very special to us, her little olive dishes. These weren't anything very special but whenever she had us over for a special dinner these would be out and always with the same things in them: olives stuffed with almonds, carrots, celery sticks.
Next: a silver chain with a silver walnut pendant. I thought it was old pewter because of how black it was but I gave it a good scrub just in case and it gleams like anything now. Walnuts had a special meaning for her since 1950 so I wear it and think of her.
A few other odds and ends. I wish I had her special dish that she used to serve Scotch Eggs in, but we haven't found that yet...
Sorry if this was super boring to read!!! But I am delighted and the only thing that would be better would be to be able to "go home again" but we all know we can never do that, haha :)
(Oh and on that note, I have not driven down her street since her house was sold. I have heard it was sold to a house flipper who did a tear-down job and rebuilt some kind of McMansion and I can't bear to look. I'd rather her house stay the same, in my memory.)
Enjoy them!
sjp - olive dishes (i think?) are just her little cut crystal dishes with little compartments for "pickies" as she used to call them. Nibbles, I guess.
NeedHelp - she would indeed. She was a sentimental lady herself!
Daughter - yessss the rolling pin! I hope you make biscuits with it too :)
One is one of those 'chains' of minks where it's the 'whole body' and the mouths are little clasps that grab the tail of the other mink (am I making any sense?) It's beyond glamorous and totally ratty. Also a full mink stole which smells like a wet cat.
The girls ADORE the stories of their GGGrandma. She was a kick in the pants, for sure.
I have my grandmother's dining room set. We never found the table pads and it is obvious she didn't use them -- she paid bills and wrote letters on that table and some of what she wrote can be seen in the surface of the table with just the right angle and light. So, I have my grandmother's handwriting and signature on that table! To me, it is a treasure!
Folks have told me that I'd increase the value of the set (apparently it is quite valuable) if I would have the table refinished. No way! My mom was once telling me that when she dies, I was supposed to get her dining room set and my sister was to get her bedroom set. Mom said, "Then you can get rid of that old set from Nanny." I didn't tell her, but I will never get rid of that "old set from Nanny."
Your Grandma is with you everyday she was before but now you can feel it so much more.
Treasure that and the feelings that come with it.
You are building memories upon memories
Enjoy those treasures and tell the stories that go with them that's important.
Her favorite meal will taste so much better on the plates she served it on!
MidKid, that mink stole with the clasp teeth sounds AMAZING, right out of a storybook. Wow!
GreyGrammie, i know what you mean about thinking about the value of some of these old pieces of "good furniture..." but I'll tell you my experience with this. We were considering actually trying to sell them this Fall, because we already had our own dining set... and absolutely no antique dealers in the city would touch them! They all told me the markets are flooded with "old brown stuff" and nobody wants it, it's just unsellable, no matter how good quality it is. This was quite an eye opener for me! The dealer just looked at me and said "so is it oak, or mahogany type stuff?" and when I said I thought so, she sadly shook her head. "No one wants it, sorry."
So we thought, ok great! We'll keep it! And that's just what we did.
But I have their memories. No one can take that. I found out when I went thru my moms items, my great grandmother helped a lot of people in the community. She helped them get jobs, loaned money and was a very good person. She would give you the clothes off her back. I had heard this as a kid. My mom kept christmas cards from a ton of people from the community thanking my great-grandmother for all her help.
Enjoy her items, they sound great. Your lucky. Dont just use her China for special occasions. If your afraid of damaging those items, use it once a week. Enjoy.
If you want to pretty up your table, a nice tablecloth can make make all the difference. I love putting a great table cloth on at Easter, 4th, Thanksgiving. Very festive. And more homey.
Glad you get to enjoy her items every day lucky you. They sound great!
There is a big used furniture warehouse, near me. They sell items like your grandmother's. Those items don't stay there long. That person just didn't want to sell that. They might want small items that sell faster In their store. Easier for cash/carry. The warehouse near me, just sells antique furniture. I think you have to be raised by people who love vintage/antique. I love going there.
Let us know if you get more items. Lov hearing about that.
I have started using some of my mom's stuff recently - the most recent is her "meatball" pot...it's an old, green enameled non-stick dutch-oven style pot that she would put the meatballs in after she fried them up. It's gotta be at least 50 years old, I remember it from waaayyyy back in my childhood! But it makes me smile to use it.
I feel the same about using a radio one of my beloved Uncles sent me as a gift, shortly before he died.
The radio is old style. Still, I love playing it because it reminds me of my Uncle and in the same odd way as you mention, it makes be feel as if he is still near.
Maybe he is.....in spirit.
Sorry to hear about the house tear down. I agree, that can be traumatic.
Sending hugs.
My mother has a beautiful rose teapot we use every holiday. It is so special. It sits in our china cabinet proudly displayed. How special our holidays were with that teapot and homemade pie made from love.
We still have our childhood table in the dining room, it is old and still in good condition. My mom has an old end table from when she got married that is simple and lovely. My dads favorite shirt is hanging in my moms closet and my brothers hat is hanging in the stairway they both worn these often and it is heart warming to look at them and remember days gone by.