Wednesdays Treasures ~ The Hoosier Cupboard

 Here it is Wednesday again...the day I have set apart to share some of my collections or "treasures" from around our home. Throughout fifty one years of marriage you tend to collect a lot of things. In this day of so many people downsizing or becoming "minimalists" in their way of living, one can be made to feel like they must be a "hoarder" or materialistic if they have a lot of "things".  Well, I have struggled with those feelings, and when we made this last move a year ago to a smaller house, we honestly attempted to give away and/or get rid of excess baggage.  But the things that I have been showing you each week are mostly either family heirlooms or special gifts from dear friends and loved ones that have memories attached to them, and so they are just not that easily "disposed of".  What I came to realize was that I actually enjoyed having these pleasant reminders of dear ones who have gone on before us. They each have their own story to tell about the person who once owned these things and how they were very special to me or to our family.  To just summarily dispose of these "earthly treasures" would be like saying those people did not really matter to us or that their memory no longer had any value.   

Yes, I am well aware of the scripture verse that says: 

"19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Matthew 6:19-21)"

Well,  trust me, I know that when I leave this earth these things will all be left behind. Whether or not our children want to keep them is totally up to them. They may not have the same memories attached to these things that we do, so for them it may be easier to let them go. Believe me, I will be too busy rejoicing in heaven with Jesus and all those loved ones who have gone on before us...because that is truly where my heart is, to really care what happens to all these things that will remain.  But until then, I will honor the memory of those who have gone on before us and share these things that they left behind when they went on to their final reward. 

 So what I am going to share with you today is my husband's grandmother's, (a.k.a. "Nanny Martin"), Hoosier Cupboard.

If you would like to read the history of this cupboard, please click on this link to a previous post below:

https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2010/05/thoughts-on-restoration.html

I will summarize it a bit here by saying that we were able to purchase this cupboard from his grandmother's estate way back in 1983.  My husband had fond memories of playing in the drawers of this cupboard as a little boy, as he recalls it sitting in his grandparents' kitchen all of his life. 

His mother also had some special memories attached to this flat iron on top of the cupboard

And that round dent on the porcelain counter top below...

 She recalled that when she was a little girl she was trying to climb up to the top of the cabinet to reach that flat iron. Apparently it was a lot heavier than she realized, and she knocked it over and it landed on the porcelain top, making that dent. She was fortunate that it didn't hit her in the head and knock her out!

When we received this cupboard, it had many layers of paint on it...about six if I recall correctly. My goal was to strip it and get back to the original finish.  I hope you will take the time to read the previous post linked above to hear that whole story. It was quite interesting. And I was much younger then. I would not tackle such an ambitious restoration project today. I would probably opt to just paint over the six layers of paint and let it be a new color! But in 1983 the trend was to have everything back to the original wood. Today people are painting over everything...not sure I agree with that, but it is much simpler.

To give you a better idea...this little chair was also in Nanny Martin's kitchen, and it was painted much like the Hoosier Cupboard. 

You can see some of the layers of paint on here if you look closely. 

I decided to leave this as it was since now the chippy shabby chic is so popular.

Works for me!

I also  meant to mention the two aprons on the right side (below), were both made for me by my mother, and so they are also special treasures.

The apron on the left I think I got at a yard sale, but it is also very special

Of course, when Nanny Martin had this cupboard she actually used it as a real kitchen cupboard. It held her spices and baking goods and probably some dishes and pots and pans, dish towels, silverware and cooking utensils.  I use it more for "show"....it's more of a "museum piece" in the "Steiner family museum."  It holds many old collectible tins and kitchen items that have been collected over the years...some were inherited...some were given to me by others who knew I would like them for this cupboard. 

The sifter above with the green handle belonged to Nanny Martin. The red sifter belonged to my mother. The plates in the background also came from Nanny Martin's home.

The cute little cat handle cream pitcher came from my mother in law's home. The butter dish came from my grandmother's home. The red pitcher was a gift from my parents...

The sifters and spice caddy are original to the cupboard.

The wooden dough bowl belonged to Nanny Martin, as did the Rumford cookbook. Actually most of the cookbooks on this cupboard came from her home.

The dish towels also came from her kitchen...perhaps she embroidered them.

This "Homemaker's Chart" hangs inside the cupboard door with lots of helpful hints.

This is also her meat-grinder. It is rather old and worn and doesn't really work very well now, but I do have my mother's meat grinder that still works quite well, and I have used it often.

 Here is another link to a post that I wrote about all of the furnishings that came from Nanny Martin's house, including this Hoosier Cupboard: 

https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2018/01/friday-foto-friends-being-renewed-day.html

One thing I was thinking about, as even as we speak some people are facing a hurricane, others have recently had their homes destroyed by fire or tornado or Derecho (in Iowa). Our earthly home could be taken away in the blink of an eye, and all these things would be gone in an instant.  Here are some verses that speak to that:

2 Corinthians 5:1-2

1. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  2.  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven."

And verse 8 says:

"We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

That is how I feel about all of this...my eternal home is in heaven...a place not made with human hands, but prepared especially for us by God. My heart is in heaven, not here with these things. I look forward to that day eagerly. But until then, I am very thankful for these blessings that we have to enjoy, and I hope you have enjoyed this little tour today as well.

If you are in the path of that hurricane, please stay safe. We will be praying for you.