Wednesday Treasures~ A Walk Down Memory Lane

Happy Hump Day everyone!  In the middle of a week that has started out pretty rough for everyone emotionally due to the outrageous events of this past weekend, I find myself gravitating towards more pleasant thoughts and memories, and revisiting happy places.  It's interesting that my mind was drifting towards the memories associated with this piece of furniture in our master bedroom...my "vanity".  

(Please excuse the clutter. It is what it is. I didn't clean it up for the picture).

I have written about the history of this vanity once before HERE, and so if you would like the whole story, please take a moment to go back and read that old post so I don't have to repeat it all here again. It really is a special story and well worth the reading.  The upshot is that this piece of furniture is the one and only piece that has been with us in our home since the very beginning of our marriage almost 55 years ago (as of this coming August 16th).  I had received it as a gift from my father for my 18th birthday, (again, I urge you to read the whole story referenced above), and it has been with us through many many moves (more than I care to number!) and a total restoration by me almost 40 years ago. It is amazing that it has stood the test of time and many trials and tribulations, and it deserves this recognition.

Thinking about this being the only piece of furniture that has stayed with us for all this time made me stop and think about what other things have been with us throughout all of these 55 years as well. I had to do some thinking and scratching my head to remember as I mentally worked my way through our home room by room and cabinet by cabinet.  Actually, this post is probably more for my own record keeping than for public consumption, but maybe you will find it somewhat interesting and entertaining. If not, well then, come back next time for something new and fresh. LOL.

So as my mind raced through our house in search of things that have been with us for all of these 55 years, I came up with the following items, which were all wedding gifts!

First, there is "the Wedding China"...you know, that pattern you pick out that is too expensive to buy all at once, so people give you gifts of a tea cup and saucer, a dinner plate or a place setting, a platter or serving bowl, the Sugar and Creamer set, the butter dish or the gravy boat.  Little by little we acquired nine dinner plates,  and odds and ends of the others parts of the place settings. Over the years of our many moves, only a few of the salad/luncheon plates were broken, which is a miracle in itself!  How often have we used this china that has been with us all these years?  Well, mostly for holiday dinners and some special company dinners/birthdays...I'd say it's been used quite a bit, but probably not as much as it could have been.  There are times that I've thought maybe I should just give it away, but then again, I remember that dear friends and family members gave us these pieces as gifts to start our life together, and so they remain with us as reminders of dear people, most of whom are probably no longer in this world, who cared enough to bless us with these gifts, and therefore I continue to keep them and use them in honor of those special ones.

Likewise, the crystal goblets...we didn't get quite as many of those and we have rarely used them because there aren't enough to set the whole table, but I love them and treasure them as gifts.

Now this is our "every day china", and we are now down to just 5 dinner plates and I think I have 3 salad plates.  We did have 8 place settings, but because this was used "every day" for many years, more of it has gotten broken over the years.  For more details on this and the other set of china, CLICK HERE to a post I wrote a few years ago after our 50th anniversary.  I guess this post is kind of redundant now that I think about it, but it was on my mind so you're stuck with it!

Again, still thinking about things that have been with us for 55 years...Corning ware! And yes, I still use it!  This was great stuff, and I'm glad it's still around after all these years.  Actually that one larger dish was my mother in law's, but it's probably just as old as mine.

That little glass jelly dish with the lid was a wedding gift from my brother Cliff and his wife Caryl. It has a gold rim around the top and a gold etched design on the side.  I did use it back in the day when we did more entertaining than we do now, but still, it is a special treasure and I am thankful for it and for my sweet brother and his wife, who thankfully are still with us.  My brother will be 80 this coming October...wow...we are all getting old! 

So often we receive wedding gifts that are beautiful, but not always practical for every day use.  Some things are just meant to be a special treasure to  honor our wedding day, and this is one of those gifts: (The plate with the "S" on it, not the tea pot,  which was my grandmother's)

The plate was hand painted by one of my hubby's Great Aunts...see below for the inscription painted on the back of the plate:

"To Johnny and Pam, With Love, Aunt Ruth and Uncle James Waters, 16 August 1969".

Although I don't believe I've ever actually used this plate for anything because I was afraid it would mess up the beautiful hand painted design on it, I have treasured it and kept it in our china closet on display for all of these years.  

Last but not least, my favorite cookbook:

As you can see by the inscription, it was also a gift from a Mrs. Ethel Byrd. Such beautiful handwriting! You certainly don't see that  today!  I remember this dear lady owned a store in our little town, "The Sewing Basket", where you could buy fabric, patterns, and all kinds of sewing notions. Back in the day, that was a valuable store in our little town, as most of us did a lot of sewing and made our own clothes.  I did make a lot of my own clothes during my high school years, but once I got married and went to work and then started having babies (all boys), my years of sewing kind of tapered off.  Maybe if I'd had girls I would have kept sewing little dresses, but it just wasn't as much fun to make little boys' clothes. LOL.  But I digress.  The sewing lady gave me a cookbook that I still use to this day. It is the same type of cookbook that my mother always used, so to me it was the "Bible" of cooking and baking.

I believe I have come to the end of the list of items that have been with us for all of these years.  Many things have come and gone over the years, some broken, some just worn out and had to be discarded.  But one thing has not changed...there are still two "old relics" that are very much alive and in use and thankful to still be here...my hubby and me!    Through all the trials, tribulations, moves, sickness and  health, ups and downs, we are still here, standing strong. Maybe a little more stooped with age, perhaps a little hard of hearing and often times forgetting things we shouldn't, but we are still here. I probably should have saved this post for our anniversary next month, but it was on my mind now, and one thing I've learned in life, do things while they are on your mind or you may forget all about it in the next moment.  

I am very thankful for all of the blessings of these 55 years...the good, the bad, and the ugly.   I know I've talked about material treasures above, but the real treasures are the blessings we have shared, the love we've given and received, and the bond that God has strengthened over time through it all. 

I shared a list of verses last week HERE in this post about aging, but here's one of them that stands out today for this post:

2 Corinthians 4:16: "That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day".

And now I am 'wearing out" in writing this post and need to go fix lunch and take a nap. Sometimes these ideas come to me when I am napping, so who knows what interesting things I will think about for the next post? Stay tuned!

Hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me. Do you have any "treasures" in your house that have been with you since the beginning of your marriage or even the beginning of your life or childhood? Perhaps you could share them with us sometime. I would be interested to see them, and maybe so would the rest of us!