Saturday, January 29, 2011

Goodbye January

Today has been a beautiful day here in East Tn. Yesterday was too and I have been so thankful.  I an so glad you have stopped by, welcome and  come on in Through My Back door and lets enjoy a little visit. Oh, I forgot, the coffee is on and I'll get you a cup. I always enjoy our time together and am so happy you've dropped by. I never knew there were so many nice people out there, and I just feel blessed to have gotten to know you.
I don't know about you but January has been a hard month here in the south. We have had cold temperatures and lots of snow. I like a little snow, but don't like to be snowed in for too long. I shouldn't complain, because when I was reading blogs today, oh my goodness I have never seen as much snow, as some of you have! Never the less, I am not feeling bad about January leaving. I hope February is kinder and much more gentle. But if not I will just have to grin and bear it!.
Today I thought we might talk about blanket chests. They are just so utilitarian. They not only look pretty but you can hide so much stuff in them. I am going to share a few with you that are special to me.
This is an East Tn walnut chest. It was made about 1880ish and is all pegged. It is full of childrens' Christmas books. Is that too much information? I have collected them for years and my grandchildren all have read them over and over. We are now starting on the greats. It sets in front of the couch and is a good foot stool.lol

This is my favorite one. There has been some controversy over whether it was made in upper ET or in Virginia. I don't know. It is 1800's too and is Walnut, cherry, and has maple panels, and is all pegged. It holds out of season clothes.
This is cherry under the paint and is dovetailed. One day I will get it stripped. It is one of my two New England chest and is about 1880.  I can't think of the name of the town it is from but they called it The Rocking Horse town. I love it and it is full of seasonal decor. The drawer holds napkins and place mats.
This is my other New England one and it is a little rougher than the others. It is also the oldest by around 20-25 years.(1860's) It is cherry. I have it full of holiday decorations.
This is a small one made of pine. Could have been for a child or could have been a tool  box, but there is no place for a tray or anything.I am almost embarassed to tell you what is in it. Old magazines! Early Country Living, Country Homes, Early American Life's, and Country Sampler. Also Colonial Homes and some other defunct magazines. I am NOT a hoarder, but there is so much prim eye candy in those I just can't throw them away. YES I do get them out and read them some times.
This is not really a blanket chest, but a meal bin.It is pegged too. I hide my computer paper, the printer, and the computer in there when I want my house  to look really prim!
 I have shared all my little hiding places with you today. If you don't have a blanket chest, you need to get one. They can hide a LOT of things and are nice to look at too.
I want to show you my heart bowl fillers before you leave.  I bought these from Dolly. she has a blog I think it is called Dreaming of a Primitive Life or something like that.
I am so sorry I don't know the right name.
 These are so pretty and smell so good too. Well I hope you enjoyed yourself today. Time sure passes fast when you are visiting with friends, so thanks for coming Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty

Monday, January 24, 2011

There Is A Little Kid In All Of Us

Good morning everyone, I don't know about where you are but its sunny out my back door today. It isn't supposed to be all day, but hey, I'll take all the sunshine I can get anytime. It doesn't matter whether it is rainy, snowy, or cloudy out side, it is always sunny Through My Back Door. I learned years ago it takes more energy to be unhappy than happy, and I need to conserve my energy.lol Any way come on in and get your coffee, or hot drink of your choice and lets visit. I think conversation flows more freely with coffee. I don't know, it just makes it more friendly? Don't you think?
Today I want to share a few  childrens' things. I have downsized my collection over the years, but these are some of my favorites. I hope you will enjoy them as I have.

This is a little stepback cupboard my husband made. Olivia was four when she found one like this in a magazine and insisted he make her one. She would call periodically to see if he was working on it. Of course she got it and he built one for each of the other 3 granddaughters and me as well.
 It is full of  tin childrens' goodies as well as some tea sets.I love it.
This is my ironing board and childrens' flat irons. I don't know if you can see them, but I have a pot of old clothes pins on the left. Some of the little irons are worn like they had really been used.
Part of my blue Willow tea set. I love tea sets as you have probably guessed.

This is one my late brother in law gave me. He found it in an old house he bought.
A wagon and a scooter from the 40's, but I think they are cute.
A shelf of goodies. The book is an old reading book about Aunt Betty. The little box is a crayon box. The picture of the old school was painted by my talented daughter Deb.

This is an old (1800's) linsy woolsey dress. It has beautiful hand work. I often think of the mother who stitched that for her baby.
This dress was mine and was made by grandmother. The little shoes and socks I bought back from a customer, many years ago.
These are the newest in my collection and these are priceless. They were worn by my grandson Curt when he was two or three. I always loved him in these red shoes(he loved them too), so when he outgrew them they were  given to me. When he has a son I will give them back. He is now going on 24.
I am so glad you came Through My Back Door today where life is good.
betty
I just want to say thank you for all of you who have joined me.(I read where someone called her followers, joiners , and I like that.Can't remember where I read it, but I really like that)  cannot believe 95 of you are on this journey with me. It absolutely humbles me. One day I will share why I started blogging in the first place. Thanks to each of  you I now call friend.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blues Are Playing in Blogland

Goodness the skies are dreary outside, but Through My Back Door it is cozy as can be. The coffee smells so good, I know you'd like a cup with me. It makes it for such a nice visit, don't you think? I've been reading blogs and forums today and there is a lot of talk about The Blues. No not the music nor sad times but the color blue. Some of the girls have such beautiful items in so  many pretty shades of blue, that it made me look around my house for blue things. You know I had more than I thought I did.  I was surprised because I love red and mustard. When you think colonial decorating I think you automatically think red, mustard, and blue. Do you remember the houses in Country Living and Country Homes back in the late 70's and in the 80's? All that blue! Any way back to the blues here.

This was my Grandmother's blue bonnet. She made it out of feed sack. It has a hole in it where I hung it on a chair knob for so many years.
This pie safe looks gray, but it is blue.It has the original paint on it and it has faded over the last almost 200 years.


This is another blue pie safe. This is not the original paint, but Deb painted it a couple of years ago. It is the least favorite thing I have. Don't have a clue why I felt the need to share that with you!lol


This is the sink in the bathroom. It is in a new cupboard, but it too is blue.

This is my favorite blue firkin. Just a few more blues.







This is one of my favorite things. It is an early stenciled candle box, dovetailed front and back.





That is it for the blues Through My Back Door.
I posted the other day about all my hearts. Well I found some more after I posted. So I will share them

 Hey there is some blue in there too!

 Well I am so happy you visited me. I hope you enjoy our visits as much as I do, for I love it when you come Through My Back Door  where life is good.
Before I leave today I want to remind you, it is almost time for the Country Sampler Home Tour magazine to come out. A friend of mine from a forum I belong to is going to be in it. Her name is Karen Gerhart,aka CatskillMtnPrims. I think her kitchen is on the cover. If you get a chance be sure and read it. Her home is beautiful and crammed full of goodies.
betty
I think our next visit we'll talk about childrens' things. do you love them like I do? I hope so.









Friday, January 14, 2011

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Welcome Through My Back Door. I am REALLY happy to see you. I have been snowed in until yesterday, so company will be nice. You know the routine by now, grab a cup of coffee or  I'll fix you the hot drink of your choice and lets just talk. It will be so nice to have you visit. A friend of mine Karen, from APP forum  and I have been talking about hearts. I don't collect hearts, but I do like things with hearts on them. She feels the same way so I promised her I would show her some of my antiques with hearts as well as just some other things.
I am sure you remember this from my wall of memories. I just love this. It says it all. We found this at a flea market in Ohio many years ago. There were two of them and my friend Kim bought the other. She still has it. I'm sure they are out there, but I have never seen another.

This crock bowl has hearts all around it. I'll show you a close up, as you can't see this very well. I found this at a yard sale in Newark, Ohio a couple of years ago.

I really enjoy this old bowl. I use it whenever I can.(I happen to be one of those people who think you should use as much as you can of your antiques).The next picture is a pressed back chair my grandparents started housekeeping with. Yes, they used them at The Farm. This is the only one we have. Can you see the heart? This sets at my computer table and I sit in it if I am not using the laptop in another room.

These hearts are carved by a friend. He is the one who has mentored my s-i-l and carved the shorebirds on my corner cupboard. I really like them because they are so PRIM!

They hang on the key of my German Cupboard all the time.
The next is a cultery tray that I just had to have. It came from my favorite antique store in Clinton, Corner Antiques.




I think this is the last of my antique hearts. This is an old butter pat. Another Ohio find. Below are some lamps that stay out all the time with hearts on them. Just some random
pictures I hope you enjoy.



I'll show you just a few more random items I have with hearts on them.


So my friends that is most of the hearts I see in my home everyday. I hope you enjoyed your visit today.I always appreciate your comments. I want to thank my friends over at The Primitive Pantry for making me home of the month. I especially want to thank  Libby for making the beautiful slide show. Thank you Libz!
So remember Home Is Where the Heart is and I thank you from the bottom of my Heart for coming Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Home

Good afternoon and welcome Through My Back Door. I am so glad you stopped by for a visit. I have the coffee on as usual, but if you prefer a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate, I'll fix it for you. It is really cold here in ET and I love having company on days like this. Don't you? It seems to me you can just have the best conversations when its cold and you can snuggle in. Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything else? Lets talk a little about decorating. We all love our homes and our homes should be all about love. It really is the people in our homes that fills it with love, but living with things we love, help make it a home too.I have nothing in my home I don't love. Every thing I use is something I just love. Life is entirely too short to be cluttered with just stuff. That being said I'd like to tell you about my wall of memories. Every picture on this wall has meaning for me. I'll start with the cow weather vane. It is tin and was on top of the dairy house on my inlaws farm. The clock my husband and I bought years ago and we just liked it. The picture below was painted by my cousin Laura. It is my grandparents house. The one where THE Mirror hung. The house is no longer standing, but I see it everyday, on this wall of love.

The heart is a damper out of an old Heart of the Home cookstove and that is what it says on it. I think that says it it all. The picture beside it is of The Farm, where the pitchers were used. My mother is a little girl and her pet lamb is beside her.(That is why I collect sheep) The big picture on the left is of the old Knoxville Market House. I went there as a child with my grandmother. I remember it always smelled. The little picture beside it is the old Southern Railway Depot. My husband worked for Southern and that depot holds happy memories. The last picture is of a water wheel. Why a water wheel on my wall of things loved? I live on a creek and back in the 1800's  there was an old grist meal up the creek  and that wheel was part of it. My boys, I am sorry to say used to ride their bikes in it.  (I about croaked when I caught them)lol The RR bought the property and removed the wheel. I hated to see it go, but my cousin gave me this picture. You see everything on that wall has a place in my memory.
I don't decorate much between January and Easter. I will be putting a few heart objects around later this month. Most of my heart items are out year round, you just don't pay that much attention to them . My next blog will be on hearts.I can't do a blog on things you love without posting a picture of my favorite dog. He is the keeper of my back door.


Well I guess that is enough today. I hope you will look around your home and find all the things you love. May your days be filled with joy and may you find joy in things you love, when decorating your home.
Thanks for coming Through My Back Door where life is good, I hope you enjoyed your visit as much as I did.

betty

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Two Pitchers, A Lamp, and A Chair

Good morning and come on in Through My Back Door, where the coffee is always on and waiting for you to come visit. I really am glad you stopped by this morning. Don't know if you have heard or not, but we're expecting more snow tonight and Friday. Can't do anything about it, so I'm going to sit back and just enjoy it. If you drop in we'll just have a good time chatting and eating.
When I took my Christmas decorations down and did some good cleaning I thought of some of the things that are truly special to me, as I was cleaning and tweaking. I have come to the realization, it is the simple things I cherish the most. That is where the title comes in. I was an only child, and on one side an only grandchild, as my mother too was an only child. I have been blessed to have a lot of family treasures. My children and grandchildren have now become the caretakers of a lot of items, however I still have a lot of things, some which wouldn't be worth much monetarily. That's okay. Today I thought I would share a few items that are precious to me.

Two pitchers. The white pitcher on the left was used by my grandmother to keep cream in the springhouse, when they lived on "the farm". They talked about "the farm" all their lives, even though they hadn't lived there in years. I never went there as they had sold it and moved to "town", long before I came along.  Any way they had a spring house to keep stuff cold and this is what the white pitcher was for. I put daisies in it in the summer. The blue crockery pitcher, was my grandmothers too. By the time I came along she had given it to my mother. That pitcher held ice tea every meal of my life at home. (I came from a long line of tea drinkers, even when it wasn't fashionable) Sometime along the way it was given to me, I can't even remember when I got it. I used it for years until I realized I didn't want it to get broken. Now it sets on a cupboard with yarrow in it. Every time I touch the handles of these 2 pitchers, I feel my mother and grandmother's hands before me. They are just plain simple pitchers, but priceless to me.
The Lamp belonged to my great aunt, who was my grandfather's sister. I always admired this lamp even  when I was a little girl. For several years she lived in an apartment connected to my grandparents house. She made the BEST cinnamon rolls you would ever eat. Back to The Lamp. When she married, The Lamp and the clothes on her back was all she took with her into her marriage. A few years later, she left her husband and took her daughter, their clothes and The Lamp with her. This was early 1900's and people didn't leave their husbands then, so there was no dividing assets. Many years passed and I was married and visiting her, and as usual commented on The Lamp, when she asked me if I wanted to buy it. She was in her late 80's then, and of course I said yes. It isn't as prim as I am now, but it will always have a place in my house. It is also priceless to me.
Now the chair. A plain simple little chair, built over one hundred years  ago, by my great, great grandfather for his wife.

When I found this chair in my parents barn, close to forty years ago I was thrilled to death. I was also furious it was in the barn. My mother did not share my love of old things, like she did the love of family. Anyway it went home with me but it didn't have a seat in it.  It did have tons of different paint colors on it. My husband stripped it, took it and had a seat put in it and it has been in our home ever since. If I had to take only one thing out of my house in case of fire, it would be this chair. My great grandmother was an itty bitty woman and she used this chair. The seat had to be replaced again a few years ago and my husband did it. This chair is my most favorite thing. If you rub your fingers along the bottom rail you can feel where other feet have worn it over the years.
Another thing that was given to me by another great aunt was this little flat iron, that had belonged to the same great grandmother. It and the chair had been in the same house because they had been painted every time the kitchen had been. This little iron had been used as a door stop.

These are just simple things from my past, my mothers and my maternal grandparents. I treasure them more than gold.
I hope you have enjoyed the visit and sharing a few of the items I cherish.  I am sure each of you have things you love that brings memories rolling into your mind when you see or touch them. That is  good.
Okay last blog. I posted a terrible picture of my granddaughter Beth and her husband. The time before I posted one of Curt. So by reposting good pictures maybe I am out of the DOGHOUSE!!!!!
This is Beth and Ryan. They live in Il and don't get to come home as often as we'd like.
This is Curt and his girlfriend Lindsey. She lives in Missouri and we don't get to see her as often either. Curt is in Nashville.


The last one is Amanda, Clay, Andrew and our newest addition Mollie Ann, who was over picture taking at this point.

That is three of my grandchildren and my two greats. I am thankful to have the treasures from my family, but these are some of my TRUE treasures.
Thanks for visiting today and letting me share some of my favorite things. Please continue to come visit Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty