Among My Souvenirs

Good morning and come on in Through My Back Door. You know where the coffee is and the mugs, so help yourself, get a doughnut, and come sit and visit. How many of you reminisce and think of good times(or bad) and just get all weepy? Well I spent an evening down memory lane and I laughed some and cried some, but mostly I was grateful for my memories, or souvenirs, as  I am going to call them. I look around me and I see so many happy memories and like I said some make me smile  and some make me cry. My little pedestal that fits perfectly in the corner and holds a light was one my Maternal grandparents started housekeeping with. All the years I was growing up it set behind my Grandma's chair with a chalkware eagle on it. I have no idea what happened to the eagle. My grandparents had a lot of oak as oak was the thing to own in 1910 when they married.

I gave Deb the oak sewing machine and Dodd the oak sideby.(A drop front secretary with a glass book case on the side). In case you are wondering Doug got all the cedar furniture my parents had custom made.  He uses it until this day. The oak pedestal and an old press back chair they started housekeeping with is all I kept n the furniture line. The chair has a heart in it.

I am not a lover of oak. I know it is favored by a lot of people but I love cherry and walnut. (You have read about my little Mr. Whitaker from Cumberland Gap, who was a furniture maker and came from a line of hand crafted furniture makers.) Well, he told me years ago to only buy cherry and walnut and I listened.lol He said in a few years and that was 40 years ago, you won't be able to buy American walnut and cherry and he was right. It is mostly foreign woods today.
I see Curtis everywhere I look. He built this house except for a few things we hired done by professionals. The children, mostly Michael, helped. Doug was in the Marine Corp, and Dodd was in college and working on weekends. I did a lot too. It makes me happy to see things he built and did. It was a terrible loss when he got sick and alzheimers set in. He could do anything. Furniture restoration was his passion. He would say the wood spoke to him. I believe it did. I have seen people carry things in pieces and he would restore them and you would never know. So many things he redid sold at Heart of The Country in Nashville. I see the pieces he refinished here because some one painted them green or white and I love that he did restore them to their original glory. I am afraid some of the pieces people are painting today will never have that opportunity again and be stuck in black, or white paint.lol

Both of these dressers were painted with green enamel when we bought them many, many years ago.The one on top is signed and dated under the deck.

This blanket chest was white. It had been setting in a work shed and still has rings on it where an oil
can set.
I see things that fellow bloggers have sent to me. Marie, Trace, Marshal. Frank and Pam,andAngela, just to name a few. I think what a blessing to know people like that.Angela, Frank and Pam I have met, but the others we are on line friends. But we are more than that. We pray for and with one another, we cry together, and we laugh together. I am so blessed with my souvenirs.

I love this picture Marshal sent me. We call her Mother. He also sent me gourd eggs which I love.
These make me smile when I see them and think of their kindnesses.

Then I see my Nannie and Papaw in the mirror in the bathroom. The Mirror. I would grab it first in case of a fire and my little chair my great, great, great grandpa made next. They aren't anything to anybody else but I treasure them. Two of my favorite souvenirs.

My Daddy is present here too. My dinner bell and my cowbell are so special. He loved finding me things and bringing them in.

Again these make me smile, not sad.

My Mother is everywhere. I remember how excited I was for her to see my wood floors. When she saw them she shook her head and said," If that is what you want I guess it is OK!" lol(She thought they we SO ugly) She lived next door to me and many days when I came home from work she had come down and done my laundry and cooked supper. My grandchildren still miss her until this day too. She was a wonderful Grandma and great grandma. She loved music and could sing so pretty. Debbie and Olivia sing like her.
Please don't feel sad after sifting  among my souvenirs, I am not. I love having the memories. They make me smile.Why don't you spend some time sifting through your souvenirs and see what memories they evoke? Have a few tears and a few laughs and then count your blessings.
I am blessed to see so many souvenirs around me. My children and grandchildren have made me feel so loved and I love seeing them come Through My Back Door. You know what? I love seeing you come Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: Spring is here. We may have some cool days yet but it is here
PSS:I am excited my cousins are coming from Mi. and we are to go see my Aunt in Va. We have never traveled together and it should be fun. Also some of their old friends are coming to see them while they are here.
PSSS: You know how I love Rottweillers. To me there is no other breed like them.I promised my children I wouldn't get another(in a moment of weakness) therefore I don't have another dog yet. I have followed a blog, written about life through a Rotts eyes. It has been through the eyes of Ruby and Bart, and recently Otto. Well Bart died last Friday. It was so sad and brought back having to make the choice about Dasko. Say a little prayer for Lisa. It is so hard when we lose our fur babies. Check out her blog  rottrover

Spring Always Comes

Good morning, come on in and have a cup of coffee. It is Kona this morning and I am sorry there is nothing sweet, but I didn't get home from my trip until yesterday. I have to go to the store today, so if you want to come back tomorrow there will be something sweet. Renda and Dodd invited Deb and I to go to Pa with them on their Spring Break. Our destination was Hershey. We left Saturday and what a wonderful time we had. You all know we stop at any and all antique shops along our travels. What fun we have and often times find some wonderful treasures. Our first stop  was a huge success for Dodd and Renda. They bought a beautiful bonnet topped tiger maple high boy. Just spectacular and I will show pictures later. They got it at one of our favorite shops off the interstate in Wytheville, Va, called The Station. We love this shop as they have some wonderful antiques. It is a must when we go that way. A little farther up the road we found a nice little shop in Salem, we had never visited before. Well there, they found a Walnut corner cupboard and a wonderful old blanket box. So there is another road trip in their future to pick these items up. Deb got a gorgeous chippendale mirror at The Station too, that they will bring home to her. We had so much stuff coming home there was hardly room for us.

There was a box of china under the snacks between Deb and I. We were so happy Olivia got to come over and spend 3 days with us. If you remember she is doing an internship in Sen Corkers office at the Capitol. I bought a lot of pewter, some redware, and a farriers box. Deb and I also squeezed in a trip to our favorite clothing store Chico's. We went to lunch at the Hershey Hotel and that was a high light. Their food is not only presented beautifully but it is delicious. I think we tried everything, I just didn't try the duck, as I have had it and don't care for it.

The lobby of the Hotel. They have shops, although we didn't buy anything, but the lobby is left just as Milton Hesrsheys wife designed it. It is a beautiful hotel and the food was wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone going to Hershey.
We found a great little town and it was full of antique shops. We spent a full day there and that is where I found a lot of my goodies. We ate lunch in a drugstore/lunch counter. I had Ham loaf which was very good.
Olivia is not an antiquer, so she spent a lot of time sitting in the car playing her ukelele.lol  She didn't mind at all. She had definitely gotten better when she flew back to DC.
I will show you some of my goodies.

Not that I didn't have enough pewter candle sticks but these were priced just right.

My first full set of pewter measures.

Pewter sconce. Not sure they will stay there as I think they may be too small with the chargers. Time will tell, but I have other places to put them.

Another pierced light. I love these things.

My wonderful old farriers box. I love this and it is so worn. Have no idea where I will use it.

See how worn the handle is. The man who sold it to me was so nice. His wife had survived a stroke and anyuerism and he was so grateful to God.

Found some redware made under this name. Renda researched and found it was a husband and wife and it had shut down in 2002, I think. Anyone know anything about this? It is beautiful redware.
Well I am so glad you came along with me today on our trip. We antiqued everyday and all the way home. One of my favorite shops along the way was the huge shop in Bunker Hill, W. Va. They had some wonderful things and we all left there with goodies. Deb found a set of brown and white Clarice Clift, china, by Tonquin there. lol I loved Cross Roads shop in Hershey, and the BootLeg Mall in Columbia. The lady who ran it was so nice. Burning Bridge in Columbia was fantastic too. All in all it was just refreshing seeing so many wonderful things. I found a heart mat in  Columbia, that I loved but it was way above my pocket book. The shop had some wonderful antiques but some exorbitant  prices. Especially on things I wanted.lol
I will leave you with my favorite picture and am so happy you came Through My Back door where life is good, and spring always comes.
betty

We were clowning and I think this sums up our trip.
PS: Nothing has been done to the house as the weather was so bad when the work was to begin. It will be a while now, as the kids have plans for a few weeks.
PSS: I am so thankful for warm weather. I know you all are too.
PSSS: I am thankful for each of you who come Through My Back Door whether you leave a comment or not. As long as you visit I will continue to blog.

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail

Good Monday morning and welcome Through My Back Door. I know its Monday, but I don't want to do laundry. I would rather visit, so come in, get a cup and help yourself to some coffee. It is still Cracker Barrel, but we do have Kona on hand now for a later visit. Found some the other day.
It is so good to see you this morning, but it was really good to see when I looked out my window, the ground. Still snow on my driveway, but not nearly as much. This weather has been something. Deb and I were talking about how bad February was, but we concluded we had nothing to complain about. We had power through out, plenty to eat, and lots to do. So, with that said, I am so happy to see Spring around the corner. A few bunnies have been hopping around too. I think bunnies and sheep in early spring.

I did my mantle completely different this year. Sat back and looked at it for a while and went back to the original and just added a couple of bunnies and a Deb Peterson pinkeep. Do you do that?
I have cutesy on the table for now. Don't know how long it will last eaither.

Well that is just a bit of Spring Through My Back Door where life is good. Thanks for coming to visit and have coffee with me this morning.
betty
PS: I have a couple of trips coming up. One this month and one next. This month we are going back to Pa. Next month going to Va.
PSS: I said my word this year was kind. I am trying to be kinder, as it is so easy to get caught up in things not so kind. How about you. Do you have a word?
PSSS: There has been no renovations through my back door, due to the weather. It was too cold to have  hole in the back of your house.lol It will get done.