A Table for A Tablescape

 One of the main reasons I haven't been around to show a tablescape? NO TABLE! 

 

Around and about 1989, we purchased a new table and chairs. A scant few weeks after they arrived, I had a pot that caught on fire on my stove. Thinking quickly - I grabbed the pot off the stove and placed it on my brand new table - thereby marking it forever with a nice round hole. Not  a deep hole; it only burned about half way through the table top before I grabbed it again and placed it in the sink. We had five children aged 5-12 at the time and the chairs held up remarkably well with the climbing, tipping, and foot resting . But eventually they had to be replaced and I managed to purchase some lovely vintage ones at an auction.

 

Meanwhile my grandmother's mahogany table and chairs rotated into my possession. Unfortunately they had traveled a hard route and needed numerous repairs. The veneer needed replaced, the leaves were warped, the joints need glued and on and on. As much as restoring the table was my dream, I do not have the talent to do the work and the estimates I was getting exceeded the price of a new table and chairs. I had already given my original table away and sold the chairs at a yard sale, so a decision needed to be made.   

My dear sweet husband is a Union Man and refuses to make a large purchase unless the goods are Made In America. Preferably Union Made in America.  After several weeks of searching, we found this very difficult. The lovely furniture that was originally made in the Carolinas is now imported from overseas and sold from there. We found one furniture company that imports the wood from Russia, the furniture is made in China and the furniture is sold from North Carolina.  And the quality does suffer. After many road trips to many furniture stores, we eventually decided to have the set we wanted made by the Amish.  We were told it would take four to eight weeks; we actually received the furniture in ten weeks and it is everything we ever dreamed of! Gorgeous and sturdy enough, not only for our children, but for our grandchildren, too! The pedestal design allows for three leaves when the occasion warrants. I was pleased to find that the table with two leaves fits nicely in the dining room and allows all eight chairs to fit easily around the table. The Weaver family did a remarkable job!

The table and chairs arrived just in time for a February tablescape! Since I just spent all that money on the table set, I was glad to find all eight placemats at the Dollar Tree! The green matches the walls in my adjoining living room and ties the rooms together. The bottom red plate is Pfaltzgraff, purchased when the outlet stores were still open. The adorable scallop edged pink granite -look plates were a Pfaltzgraff find, too - along with the cupcake custard cups. The mittens were from Hallmark years ago and the adorable bowls from former co-workers. The clear glass heart shaped candy bowls were my grandmothers.

By the way, do you like the color of the dining room? Since we had All That Time to wait for the dining room table and chairs to be crafted, I managed to talk my dear sweet husband into a new paint job! Sparkling white ceiling and trim, and I am calling this shade Geranium Pink. I am totally in love with it!

 

To fancy up the room, I stayed up late one night and hand stitched up this felt Valentine Banner.

 

My daughter-in-law was so taken by it she asked me to make one for her, too.  (The darker splotch on the wall is a test for a new dining room color - I think it will look terrific).

Thanks for stopping by! I am going to try to visit all the other tablescapes at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/whimsical-valentines-day-tablescape-alice-in-wonderland-style/   It has been a very long time since I have been around to see you all and I am really looking forward to seeing you all again.

The Picket Fence

Wow, almost a year since I last posted. Too much life still happening, but I do check in at least weekly to go through my blog roll and see what everyone is up to!    

We had a monster wind storm last night and this is what my picket fence looks like this morning. All damage to this section just due to wind. I am grateful I have power (some don't) and grateful no one seems to have been injured (although the buzzing of the chainsaws at houses surrounding me for the last 8 hours may cause me to start banging my head on a hard surface). Lots of trees down, some will be up to 48 hours with no power, children have the day off school, and limbs and wires everywhere, play sets and trampolines crushed. .



The back three side sections were attacked by a flying trampoline. These are not my lawn chairs, either.

 

We had a horrific tragedy in a neighboring community this week. One of those things you think can only happen in big cities or in a movie. Something that the town will never forget and something that families will never recover from. And an innocent person who got up that morning, sent her kids to school and husband to work and then went to work herself, at a business we all frequent without a second thought is lost forever. And a confused and tortured soul, someone she had never met before, gone, too - taking any explanation for this tragedy with him.

No profound thought. No solution. Just life.

I began this blog about three years ago. I loved to collect dishes and was amazed to find a community of "tablescapers" who loved to set a beautiful table as much as I did. (Thank you, Sam, who showed me the world of blogging from her desktop)

I would visit these blogs and find my way to other blogs of moms and grandmothers and wives and widows and women - all with some same and some different interests.

I found blogs with wonderful photography, blogs with amazing writing skills, blogs that shared homemaking, blogs that shared quilting, blogs that shared recipes, blogs that shared struggles, blogs that shared triumphs. Blogs that promote a service (Hi Colorado Lady) that makes me smile.

As with most of us, life started to happen. It was harder to find time to write, hard to find time to decorate and take photographs, hard to join parties and visit each site.

I had decided I would try to take time to begin blogging again. And as I began my post, I discovered I have run out of space in the photo storage.
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I am taking it as a sign. It's time to end.

I am keeping my page. Who knows? I might decide to start blogging again someday.

I also want to keep my blog roll - I love to visit each of you and check in from time to time and see what you are up to.

So I am not saying good-bye - I am saying, "See you later!"

Miss Merry

Small Town - Just Like Me!

 I live in a small town. My parents lived in the same small town. Now my children live in the same small town and they are small town, just like me (apologies to John Mellencamp!) One thing I love about small towns is their traditions. The tradition of the Pet N Pup Parade in my small town has been around for more years than I can track down. I remember attending the parade when I was young and I think I remember my mother telling me she remembered the parade, too. The premise is simple - dress up your pup or pet (and yourself) and march in the parade down Main Street. 

 

Attendance was down a few years ago. The parade had always been held in the Spring and Spring in Ohio can mean very cold weather, wind and rain. Not much fun for children and pets. Someone had a bright idea - let's move the parade to Autumn and  - since it is closer to Halloween - maybe people will be more willing to find costumes for the pets and kids! It worked! Participation is at an all time high! The parade is the kick off for the day long activities - The New Autumn Leaves Festival! 

How cute are the bride, bridesmaid and tiny groom? 

It's Alice in Wonderland, a Cowgirl and a family of Bees all in one photo!  It was a lovely sunny fall day to show off the kids and the pets!



Last Year's King and Queen of the Parade. Each year, since time began, one boy and one girl are selected as the Pet N Pup King and Queen. they wear the large crowns and velvet cloaks and ride in convertibles in all area parades. It is quite an honor! AND both win a bicycle. I can remember drooling over the Schwinn, showcased in a store window when I was a kid.  Still First Prize - one girl's bike and one boy's bike!

 Do you see the Lego blocks on the far side of the street? That is a friend's daughter and her little Lego children. The red Lego won the boy's bicycle!

Dog and Daughter in Hula Skirts. Don't you love all the dads and moms in the parade? It is a real family affair!

You can't have an event without a controversy! The original winner of the boy's bicycle was the adorable Charlie Brown walking beside his sister pulling the adorable Woodstock in the wagon. But when "Charlie" got on stage - he was a she! And Princess Leia had already won the girl's bike! Next year entrants will have to be color coded pink and blue!

This entry (you can barely see past the newspaper's photographer) was my favorite. Hopefully you can spot the little police office leading his convict pony!  Yes, the ponies were the end of the parade (I think we all know why!). It is such a fun event and I am so glad that I was able to introduce all four of my grandchildren to the parade for the first time.