Nostalgia at its best...Tablecloths

My picnic basket blog last week kind of leads into tablecloths, at least it makes sense to me! Mom always took tablecloths on a picnic to cover the picnic tables that were available at the roadside rest areas, State Parks, Ohio Caverns or wherever we found a picnic spot.  I think there may have been some type of plastic tablecloths available but of course they were not of the throwaway variety that we use today.  And why buy something when you had tablecloths that you received on your wedding day.

You did not want to put food on a "who knows what had been on it previously" picnic table so Mom covered it with a tablecloth. We collected rocks to put on the corners so the wind wouldn't blow the cloth over our food. Now that I think about it, how sanitary were the rocks?

I enjoy using old cloths to set my table for company and I even enjoy ironing them. I have some pretty ones at the Green Awning Gallery for sale. Here is one I especially like that I incorporated into a display using the greens and blues of the fabric.

Stop in at the Green Awning Gallery August 23 to August 31 and mention this blog and receive 25% off any old linens including doilies and runners. Until then....

Nostalgia at its best...Board Games

Yesterday I set up a display of old games at the Green Awning Gallery. Some I played as a child, remember pick up sticks? I have a vintage set complete with instructions. I am fascinated by a game displayed called Mr. Ree. We played Clue by the hour and this is the forerunner of Clue I think. The game pieces and cards are fun as they are probably from the 1950's.

We played Touring, Flinch, Rook, Authors and I Doubt It. And of course Monopoly. Mom let us keep a game going on the card table for days. I enjoyed that game as a child but for some reason I do not like it as an adult. We did not have TV so the evenings were spent playing games. We had some disagreements but we learned how to be gracious losers for the most part. It was a healthy way to learn that we do not win at all we attempt in life. 
 

We played Bingo but not for prizes or money like they do now! Also, I have a metal Weaving Loom in the box with some cotton loops. My sisters and I made a lot of pot holders. And who didn't play Table Tennis on the dining room table on those cold winter evenings? 



I played hours of Snap and Old Maid with my younger siblings. We did not have TV or all the high tech games children have now. I think we were just as happy and probably more contented.
  

Games included in the display that I did not play are Parcheesi, I've Got a Secret, and Name That Tune.



I would love to hear your childhood memories about the games you played so stop in at the Green Awning Gallery and tell me about them. Until then....

Nostalgia at its best...Picnic Baskets

 Hot summer days remind me of picnics and wonderful food that my Mom prepared for our family and placed in her picnic basket. Homemade buns filled with succulent slabs of ham, potato salad that can never be equaled  by anyone but my sisters  , baked beans, watermelon (I still do not like melon but when I was a child you ate what was served!),layered chocolate cake and other delectable treats were pulled from the basket.

Seems we do not picnic so much anymore but I keep memories near by using my Mom's picnic basket for storage.  It is the one on the right and I treasure it.  It was a wedding gift to her and Dad over 70 years ago. I got the bookcase at a garage sale and it is in the entry of our house. The baskets are filled with things I just can't part with.

The picnic basket Tom and I received when we got married 43 years ago is among these that are on my back porch. They store craft items and things that I  might need some day.

I have a couple of metal picnic baskets on top of my fridge and keep extra paper products etc. in them.  A small house means you have to be creative with storage options. I counted 17 baskets in use throughout my house! Several are filled with toys for my granddaughters and are easy to carry wherever they want to play. 

I attach tea dyed shipping tags to list what is in each basket. I am sure you can come up with some good uses for picnic baskets.  Share them on my blog.  Until then.... 

Nostalgia at its best...Chair Accents

It's Wednesday already, what can I blog about? I   walked through my house this morning looking for inspiration.  I noticed an old crocheted pillowcase that I was using on a guest bed as a sham had a rip about halfway up. I did not want to discard the crocheted end as it is so pretty. I cut the end off so that  it fits on the back of a sewing chair I had in the corner. I will hem it later but you get the idea. The Green Awning Gallery has some pretty cases for sale.

Years ago, I found this piece at a garage sale.  When I went to pay for it the lady asked me if I knew what it was. I told her it was for a chair back. She informed me that I was the first person to know what it was. I put it on the rocking chair that my Mom used to rock her nine children. The chair was from her Mother so it has a lot of sentimental value to me, especially as I was named after my Grandmother Kathryn.

One more chair back covering that I have enjoyed is a small pink "dickey" that I found at another garage sale. It is just a fun addition to a small desk chair. I am always looking for more as I have a sister who wants them for her home.

You can make a chair back adornment from an old runner that isn't perfect.   Many have beautiful embroidery, tatting and crocheting on the ends. Cut off the end that is good,fold it in half, sew right sides together and turn it right side out and you have a beautiful chair accent.  The Green Awning Gallery has some beautiful linens you could adapt to fit a chair. I love when you stop in and show me things you have made.  Until then....