Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Happyfatchick]

Ok my peeps, coming in for a landing to check in.  

Thoughts on Amish funerals:

1 - honestly, you could interchange a funeral and a wedding as far as the actual service goes.  I’m not kidding.   

2 - we really are a hodgepodge of the same gene pools banging into each other.  My BFF is my second cousin JC.  He’s a guy but I introduce him to everyone as my very best girlfriend.  Our fathers were double first cousins (you need a map, a chart, thumbtacks with strings and a couple dna kits for this exercise...).  Basically, we had the same great grandmother (I think) and then there was some double dipping somewhere along the line.  (Listen, I’ve been living this my whole life, and I still have to have a piece of paper and a pencil to work it out).  We shared the aunt who died, but coming in from 2 sides of the family.  It’s so weird, I know.  

3 - all this co-mingling has made for some very interesting humans.   There truly is a plethora of mental issues - but learning disabilities and psychotic ones.  The LD type issues are widely known, the psychotic ones only generally are known within the actual Amish communities.   And EYE issues.  I have relatives I hate  to converse with because I am never certain they are (indeed) talking to ME.

This was never more apparent than at this funeral for me, for some reason.  I had an uncle J who looked like my dad, but was just a happy, pleasant man.  Daddy was pleasant and social enough, but uncle J was funny.  Would stop work any time, any where to tell or receive a joke.  And would put his hands on his knees and guffaw.  Happy guy.  He did all right farming: pig farmer.   Well, and pigs.  Pigs everywhere.  Pigs in pens on every available inch of ground, and he had a lot of ground.  (The SMELL!!!  THE FLIES!!!)  his family adored him.  J was sort of haphazard at keeping things clean.  His barn always needed tending and paint, his layouts were a bit sloppy for the Amish.  He got talked about.  Pigs, I’m just saying.  His wife, unfortunately, was also a bit subpar for the Amish and she got talked about too but we didn’t care.  She was sweet and a good match for uncle J and his pigs.  They had (I forget... 13?) children, all of whom are older than me.

Another other uncle was by marriage.  My dad and his wife were sibs.  OK.  This uncle (uncle E) was craaaaaaaaay cray.  He was certifiably a nut job.  Scary crazy.  His eyes were perpetually sunken back, and he had HUGE dark circles around his eyes.  Like a marquis on his head “watch out, look out, crazy coming through”.  Stared at me like I was an alien.  Had the WORST habit of leaning way too close so that the brim of his hat would nearly touch your forehead.  Creepy!  He was a widower, she was a widow and the day they married, they stepped in with FIVE children between them.  He molested his daughters, he abused all of them, he was mean and a loose cannon, and everybody was terrified of him.  Bad childhood for all.  One of their children was E Jr, and he got allllllllll the cray cray uncle E had to offer.  I can’t think of another of the children who got the mental deficiency, but Jr. did.  He is 6 1/2 feet tall, string bean, creepy sunken eyes, and a MOUTH BREATHER.  as he gets older, the hinge gets looser and the mouth just hangs wide open.  And we still  call him Little E.  Yes, we do.  My husband says “WHY DO YOU CALL HIM THAT??  He’s SEVEN FEET TALL!!!”  Pretty much all of them had terrible childhoods.  

So im standing in a circle of uncle J’s daughters, catching up.  I look around from face to face and these women are happy, rosy cheeked, well adjusted to their lives. They laugh, they tease, they carry on normal conversation.  

Conversely, I look over at uncle E’s children.  Their father is gone many, many years now.  They’ve all moved along, married (or not in many cases) but are living the life expected of them.  They are serious people.  They smile, but never belly laugh, and to get the smile is work.  Hard working, dedicated:  not happy.  

My theory being this:  not one of these adults from either family have been exposed to any kind of therapy.  The majority have never worked in public.  Never had the opportunity to move the burden of their awful childhood.  They play those cards close, the Amish.  It is SO easy to pick out which ones were troubled and never grew out of it from the ones who were happily stomping barefoot through pig poop.

for some reason, this time it was very apparent (the difference), and very sad.  

4 - there is MUCH spinsterhood in the Amish community.  “Old order” Amish, and the variations more primitive than that are dying out.  They are more secluded geographically, the children more sheltered and guarded.  There’s just no one for them to mix with.  The church is shrinking and the children are staying home.  Eventually, it will die out.  I have a cousin (one of uncle J’s) who has a huge beautiful farm back in the secluded hills.  I like him a whole lot.  He’s wealthy.  And older than me by probably 10 years.  He has 4 children, 2 sons.  He has passed the farm over to the sons, as is tradition.  Generally, at this point, a “daudie” hause is built.  It’s a smaller version of the “big” house, and is sometimes a literal addition to (attached to) the big house.  Gives the elder a chance to kick back and enjoy life.  The children take care of the house and yard for them.  So I asked this cousin did he build a daudie hause and he said, “well, I turned the big house over to Paul since he got married.  But the daudie hause has 4 bedrooms and is bigger than the big house because only one-o-my kids got married”.   They are old order.  The “new order” is far more liberal.  They own phones and take pictures.  They can have gas lights.  Generally, coverings (the female cap) is smaller.  Dresses aren’t so long.  They don’t have to wear black shoes.  Some have tractors.  It’s a more comfortable life all in all.  

5 - Amish funerals (and weddings) are loooooong, and in Dutch.  So not only is my ample rear paralyzed, I haven’t understood a word said.  There are usually 3 “preachers” or bishops who speak back to back.  Everybody English is asleep or wishes they could be.  It’s long.  Long, long, long.  They never say anything remotely humorous, judging by the crowd, and they don’t do anything like a fond eulogy.  There were actually 5 guys on the bench, and while I was dreading it, I was fully prepared to sit through 5 messages.  One of the “spare” guys only read scripture, and the other spoke at the graveside.  Couldn’t doze, either - I was placed up front with the siblings.  

My son and grandson flew up for the funeral and that was soooo nice.  The Amish just gushed over how the grand has grown and how handsome he is.  (And he IS!!)

i have some errands to run and busy work so this is enough for now.  I want to tell  some more personal stories but I’ll space them out to keep everyone from snoozing like they’re at an Amish funeral.  (Or wedding!)

[pinkie]

HFC:   *waving*

This is soooo interesting to read about, thx for sharing it w/ us! (& for telling all yr other wonderful stories)

(&  b/c we share almost the same zip code, lol - isn't it a beauuutiful day outside!))

[Happyfatchick]

@pinkie, it is GORGEOUS!!!  

Although truth be told, I’m still a little miffed that it’s fall.  I missed my whole summer (one thing after another!) and I ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Summer.  

[Love2dance]

Thank you, @Happyfatchick, I’ve been waiting and waiting for your Amish stories, and they were worth every minute. I feel like I learned so much about a subject I know nothing about. But want to know more. I feel so bad for uncle E’s family. Isolation makes everything worse for the children of mentally ill, abusive parents. 

Unlike you, I am thrilled it is finally fall. The only problem is, here in Southern California, summer keeps coming back, long after it should be gone. This weekend will be between 80-90 degrees. Ugh.

[lookeyloo]

@Happyfatchick- great update. Loved the stories but tell us about the foot/leg. Did the swelling go down?  Are you back to normal?

[Love2dance]

@zoomama, we will miss you and look forward to your return. But you need to do what’s best for your family. We all could  probably benefit from a bit of a digital diet.

[Happyfatchick]

Stupid leg.  (I mean, I’m KEEPING it, it’s not that stupid).  He gave me a cortisone shot in my toe joint, so that is much mor tolerable.  I’m walking almost normal. Today I went downstairs and didn’t even realize until I got there and sat down that I had more or less walked straight down without shuffling down like I have been.   My doc has referred me to a radiology something something to deal with the swelling.  Overall I’m GOOD!!  (Thanks for asking!).  

ETA:  see, I wasn’t kidding.  I really have Aunt Pittypat feet.  

Edited October 25, 2018 by Happyfatchick

[galaxychaser]

Lol Tom Cruise and Henry cavill liked my comments on Facebook.

[Happyfatchick]

@galaxychaser, I got on here specifically to ask how you’re doing?  Did you have the teeth removed?  All or just the two?  I hope you’re feeling good, but I’m now worried about your meds since you’re hearing from Tom Cruise.

i had dinner tonight with my best girlfriend, JC (who’s not a girl...) and 2 other cousins who were raised Amish (as was JC).  They’ve all migrated south over the years and live near me.  We all get together at least once a week, we vacation together, we mind each other’s business, we ignore each other’s advice, we all pitch in and get work done, we make fun of each other, we do all the holidays together except Christmas when they go home.  But we have Christmas together before they leave.  We have some serious cousin love.  We’re all close (obviously) but JC and I are actually telepathic.  About 90%of our conversation is non-verbal.   Which is pretty cool, except we’re both silly and sometimes we get the church giggles over one of those exchanges.   Anyway, we were talking about my aunts funeral and I had a DUGGAR experience.

Lemme back up.  When I was about five years old, I fell absolutely in love with the area in Ohio where my relatives are.  I honestly planned for it and believed I would live there one day.  (Still might, who knows?).  From just a little kid, I joined tribes with my cousins.  There is a girl cousin my age, she has 3 brothers, and at that time, JC and his family lived across the little lane.  Down the lane was a whole set of cousins to them but not me.  They were all Amish, or being raised Amish.  We played together like wild Indians: throwing a kid in the grain silo and shutting the door, trying to ride the plow horses, riding bikes and sleds.  We worked out a system where my parents would drop me off there (we visited at least once a year) and come get me when they visited Grampa or my other Aunts and Uncles, drop me back off.  As I got older, I actually flew up there and spent whole summers with them.  Serious cousin love.  

Eventually, I acquired a boyfriend up there (one of their cousins down the lane).  He also was raised Amish.  We’ll call him B.  There’s generally always one kid in every family who is the kid who bucks the Amish system from birth and my guy was that kid.  We were together for 3 years.  We’d grown up playing together (actually was his family's silo we may or may not have thrown my younger cousin in).  He was one of eight.  When I got to be a teenager, we actually dated - like we got in his car and went to movies and out to eat.  I went to watch him play ball.  (Softball is some serious sport in those hills).  And we held on for 3 years.  Our parents went NUTS.  (Mine did better than his, I’ll say that.)  My mom crossed her fingers and prayed it would pass.  She griped and was really vocal and really unhappy, but he was a good guy in general and she couldn’t get a toehold.  His mom marched her sassy self up the lane and hissed at me.  In Dutch.  Don’t blame her now, but then  I thought she was scary evil.  We were going to be married, blah blah blah.  He was ambitious and hard working, he wanted to go to college.  I was going to work and get him through college, then he was going to work while I went.  Two kids (boy and girl, picket fence - you know the drill).  This was not a stupid Amish boy in suspenders, he was lean and mean and cuuuute.   Big ole brown yes and the best skin ever (he used to say I was going to give him “the zits” touching his face all the time).  I’ll say this for him, he was good to me.  He wrote regularly, his letters were thoughtful, sensitive but not ridiculous, and sweet.  He’s the only man in my life who ever knew the difference between a colon and a semi-colon and used them correctly.   He made me read Dante’s Inferno.  I loved him, I really truly did.  And I was dead serious.  (That was all a confession of sorts - I don’t tell this story often).   Sorry for the nostalgia, I went the long way.  

So back to dinner tonight:  we’re talking about the funeral and one of my peeps mentions that Aunt M (the one who’s passed) had really wanted B’s brother, Tim, to speak at her funeral.  Tim is not Amish.  The bishop wouldn’t allow it.  And I said “Wait.  What???  There’s a Tim???”   I don’t know this person!  I was dumbfounded.  My one cousin squints at me and says, “he’s about your age.  You don’t remember Tim?”  I don’t.  At all.  I’ve been home quite awhile and tried to google this not-Amish Tim person.  Nada.  So I got curious because I couldn’t find him and tried to google several different relatives up there just for kicks.  They leave NO footprint.  Unless someone (who’s probably not Amish) submits an obituary, you cannot trace these people.  They don’t do credit, they don’t typically do anything to make news, they live secluded and quiet lives and they are practically ghosts.  It is amazing.  I have a record search app and I can’t find them, and I know where they are.  I’m not even sure why this is so amazing to me.  Except that it’s 2018 and they live in plain obvious sight, and yet they are not there.  How is this possible?

[Love2dance]

I’m hooked @Happyfatchick, WHY and HOW did you and B break up? He sounds perfect. And now, of course, I also want to know how you met and married current husband. Can’t wait til you tell us about the Duggar experience.

I am so jealous. I have cousins, but didn’t grow up anywhere close to them, and only saw them a few times during my childhood. I long for the big, close extended family you and so many others have. 

[Temperance]

I thought we (my cousins and I) were close, but a lot of that for me was the adults telling us we were close. 

Anyway, I seem a bit down lately. 

And

I wanted to tell our Jewish friends and Pittsburgh friends; my heart is with you, and I will stand with you. God bless you. 

[galaxychaser]

Happyfatchick 

i didn’t get my teeth pulled my blood pressure was too high.

tom Cruise liked my post that’s all.

i died laughing thank you 

[dargosmydaddy]

12 hours ago, Happyfatchick said:

He’s the only man in my life who ever knew the difference between a colon and a semi-colon and used them correctly.

That's the kind of man you need to hold onto!

[Happyfatchick]

@galaxychaser,  your BP was so high because you were nervous.  Did they reschedule?  

[Barb23]

Has anyone ever had an Estate Sale, where an outside company comes in & does everything for a commission? My mom moved into assisted living a few months ago so the next step is cleaning out her house to sell it.  She has lived there over 60 years and being part of the Depression era, has saved everything.  She has a lot of beautiful glassware & knick knacks that are worth something and would surely draw in the crowds.  After having numerous yard sales myself, it's nice that the Estate Sale people will take care of everything incl pricing, advertising,  etc. Funny tidbit - yesterday my sister braved one of our old bedrooms that my mom used for storage. She came across a bag with a few fancy napkins and some plastic forks & spoons in it.  My sister guessed it was from our grandmother's 100th birthday party about 30 years ago.  And this is just the beginning......

[doodlebug]

20 minutes ago, Barb23 said:

Has anyone ever had an Estate Sale, where an outside company comes in & does everything for a commission? My mom moved into assisted living a few months ago so the next step is cleaning out her house to sell it.  She has lived there over 60 years and being part of the Depression era, has saved everything.  She has a lot of beautiful glassware & knick knacks that are worth something and would surely draw in the crowds.  After having numerous yard sales myself, it's nice that the Estate Sale people will take care of everything incl pricing, advertising,  etc. Funny tidbit - yesterday my sister braved one of our old bedrooms that my mom used for storage. She came across a bag with a few fancy napkins and some plastic forks & spoons in it.  My sister guessed it was from our grandmother's 100th birthday party about 30 years ago.  And this is just the beginning......

An elderly family friend died years back and my sister was executrix and contracted with an estate sale company to do the honors.  She was happy with their work.  However, if your mom has a lot of antiques especially dishes and silver; you may want to look into selling that separately via an antiques dealer/broker.  My sister made an inventory of the stuff she knew had some value (an hour or two online will tell you a lot if you've got the names of the manufacturers).  She took a couple of the smaller pieces as well as photos of other things to a couple of antique dealers who were very interested.  She invited a couple of them over to the house to give her some appraisals and sold a bunch of stuff to the one she liked best/thought was fairest.  He even bought some furniture she didn't realize was worth all that much as well as referred a buyer for a grand piano that our friend had inherited from another friend.  She had already had a couple of people who do whole-house sales in for an estimate and, on virtually every item, the antiques dealer offered more than the whole-house people had estimated.  

A reputable antiques dealer is more than happy to help sort through the stuff looking for treasures and will probably give better prices from what I've seen. Then, call the whole-house estate sale people to get rid of stuff that's nice but not special.  Our family friend was far from wealthy, but her parents had emigrated from England and had a lot of fine china (Lenox, Spode and Royal Doulton) as well as some antiques (what we might call 'old furniture' turned out to be a couple hundred years old from desirable manufacturers) that were worth a whole lot more than we expected.  Thank goodness, my sister took the time and the couple days' effort to try the antiques dealer

[Happyfatchick]

My next door neighbor at our ex-house did the auction house thing.  When they’d moved, they went to a nice retirement community and wanted a whole fresh start.  All new things.  They didn’t leave with much at all.  The auction house had some things they wanted to offload as well, so filled in with those pieces.  The neighbors were impressed with the efficiency (no fuss, no bother on their part).  They made several thousand more than they thought they could have done on their own.  I hope my kids do that with my things one day - but I’m guessing an auction house would come in and say...Good Lord, what GARBAGE!

[Barb23]

Thanks @doodlebug and others for your advice esp going  thru an antiques dealer first. She has some beautiful crystal pieces and silverware that I'm sure are worth something.  She inherited some of them from my paternal grandmother who got them from her sister who worked for the Stewart family a well known family back in the day in the Baltimore area for owning the Stewart's department store chain. The Stewarts gifted the aunt some beautiful items mainly crystal. I think the only piece that's left is an oblong crystal bowl which my mom still used that weighs a ton. It's funny, the only thing I remember her serving in it was her delicious homemade chicken salad.

Sorry guys, I don't mean to bore you all with my family goings ons. Feel free to scroll on by my texts.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Barb23

[Barb23]

That's funny @Happyfatchick about thinking your stuff is garbage. I think the same thing about mine.  All of the estate web sites say not to throw anything away as some of it may be worth something.  I guess it's like that saying that goes "your junk is another man's treasure" or something like that.  

[Happyfatchick]

My mom hated antiques.  She said “I grew up with that mess, I’m certainly not buying it on purpose”.  Funny because I have friends my age who tell me their moms feel the exact same.  When I bought my brothers out and moved back to my home place, first thing we did was rip out the carpet in the great room and put down reclaimed barn wood.  I swear I could hear my mom saying audibly “don’t bring that mess in my house!”   And I’m pretty sure I hear her griping about it every time I hit on some old piece I can’t live without and drag it home.  Poor girl.

[Kbo]

32 minutes ago, Barb23 said:

That's funny @Happyfatchick about thinking your stuff is garbage. I think the same thing about mine.  All of the estate web sites say not to throw anything away as some of it may be worth something.  I guess it's like that saying that goes "your junk is another man's treasure" or something like that.  

My husband had an old aunt that had to move into a nursing home, and we travelled down to FL from GA to help clean her house out. In the process, we ended up with this ugly green vase that nobody wanted. We threw it in the back of the car, not thinking much of it.

When we got home and unloaded I noticed it was marked on the bottom.  Long story short, it turned out to be highly collectible and we sold it on eBay for $1580, and that was around twenty years ago.  Still can’t believe it was worth that much, it was ugly.  We did offer the proceeds back to his aunt, but she gifted it to us.  We’d only been married a few years and that felt like a fortune, lol.  Which is a long-winded way of saying, check with an expert because you never know!

[Westiepeach]

I do love me some antiques. I have a few pieces, not enough to think you are walking into Grandma's house when you enter our home. I do collect Candlewick, a beautiful depression glass. But I actually USE them, not just display them!

I was over my friend's house for a party and was helping her clean up. She had a Candlewick serving plate, unbeknownst to me, and I just about choked when I saw it. She gave it to me because she said, "it means nothing to me and everything to you." So now she goes looking for pieces for me when she is out and about. One of my neighbors always buys me some for Christmas. She always says, "I promise I won't buy you any more; you are probably sick of it by now!" Um... no. Not at all!

[Mindthinkr]

19 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

beautiful depression glass

I have some plates (blue and green luncheon sized ones that I use for salads or dessert) and my grandfathers orange depression glass ashtray (never used...just in my room for display). Please tell me more about yours. 

[Westiepeach]

19 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I have some plates (blue and green luncheon sized ones that I use for salads or dessert) and my grandfathers orange depression glass ashtray (never used...just in my room for display). Please tell me more about yours. 

This is what it looks like. It is stunning!

[ehall1052]

I am in the middle of doing “Swedish Death Cleaning”, not that I have plans of going anywhere soon, nor am I Swedish. I’m just tired of so much stuff. My sons don’t want ANY of my things which are mainly sentimental things from my Mom or Grandma, but what the heck am I going to do with it all? It’s not worth much. So I found homes for some things: a young teacher at my church took all my children’s books, my lawn guy took lawn tools. But the best thing that I found was a childhood friend of my husband started a vintage store and I’ve given her some beautiful things. She doesn’t pay me anything for them but a portion of her sales goes to the NICU at the hospital where my twins were when they were born 33years ago! Somehow that makes me feel better. I have another carload ready to take to her. Except one of the items is my Mom’s childhood roll-top desk. I just have no space for it. I will cry when I let it go.

[Mindthinkr]

8 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

This is what it looks like. It is stunning!

Oh that is beautiful. It would make any cake look delicious. 

[jcbrown]

3 hours ago, Barb23 said:

Has anyone ever had an Estate Sale, where an outside company comes in & does everything for a commission? My mom moved into assisted living a few months ago so the next step is cleaning out her house to sell it.  She has lived there over 60 years and being part of the Depression era, has saved everything.  She has a lot of beautiful glassware & knick knacks that are worth something and would surely draw in the crowds.  After having numerous yard sales myself, it's nice that the Estate Sale people will take care of everything incl pricing, advertising,  etc. Funny tidbit - yesterday my sister braved one of our old bedrooms that my mom used for storage. She came across a bag with a few fancy napkins and some plastic forks & spoons in it.  My sister guessed it was from our grandmother's 100th birthday party about 30 years ago.  And this is just the beginning......

When we moved my dad into the memory care facility last year, we used a company that specializes in estates and downsizing. They were a lifesaver. They moved Dad's things into the facility, they sorted everything after we did an initial sort, they disposed of anything that needed to be recycled or shredded or dumped (Dad had many many chemicals he had accumulated in his shop), they identified what to sell, they handled the sale of his vehicle and property, they oversaw the work to make the house saleable, and they sold the house for us. They used different venues to sell different items to ensure the items brought as much as they could. The proceeds of the sale of Dad's stuff did not cover the work needed to bring the house into good enough condition to sell. It was pretty sad. BUT the estate company eliminated what would have been tons of headaches for us.

[Happyfatchick]

I should post some pics of the dishes and things I kept from Mama, thinking they may have some value.  I never use them.  Colored glass type things.  I also have a gorgeous set of hand painted china she bought when they were stationed in Germany.  We call it “My Mother’s China”.  Hand painted.  The kitchen in this house is the eat in kind, no separate dining, so no room for a china cabinet.  So all that beautiful china is in the top cabinets.  Someone needs to answer the question when an item passes from old to antique. 

Im putting a pic of my dish cabinet.  Daddy had made an oak bookshelf - sucker weighs 800 lbs.  I added the dividers for support and the trimmed paint.   Kinda cute, huh?  Doesn’t have anything to do with antiques, but I wanted to be cool too.

plus I was up all night with pain from swelling in my foot.  It’s almost 6pm on my side of the US and I’m still wearing pj pants and haven’t put on a bra all day.  Foot elevated.  I’m bored.  At least you only got the dish cabinet so far... I have a TON of items in my house my Daddy made that will all have auction stickers on them one day. 

Thinking of starting a gofundme page so I can get some dishes.  Or not.  (Our everyday plates are Corelle (antiques, right?) that are inside kitchen cabinets.  But wait!!!!  It occurs to me if I take out the corelle and put a real set of dishes inside the cabinet, I’d have an empty spot on my dish shelf...  ?

Suddenly it occurred to me that if this was one of the actual threads (posted by a Duggar, say)  I would already have 260 comments on how dangerous this looks.  Just so you know, it’s bolted securely to the wall. 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Happyfatchick

[MMEButterfly]

8 minutes ago, Happyfatchick said:

I should post some pics of the dishes and things I kept from Mama, thinking they may have some value.  I never use them.  Colored glass type things.  I also have a gorgeous set of hand painted china she bought when they were stationed in Germany.  We call it “My Mother’s China”.  Hand painted.  The kitchen in this house is the eat in kind, no separate dining, so no room for a china cabinet.  So all that beautiful china is in the top cabinets.  Someone needs to answer the question when an item passes from old to antique. 

Im putting a pic of my dish cabinet.  Daddy had made an oak bookshelf - sucker weighs 800 lbs.  I added the dividers for support and the trimmed paint.   Kinda cute, huh?  Doesn’t have anything to do with antiques, but I wanted to be cool too.

plus I was up all night with pain from swelling in my foot.  It’s almost 6pm on my side of the US and I’m still wearing pj pants and haven’t put on a bra all day.  Foot elevated.  I’m bored.  At least you only got the dish cabinet so far... I have a TON of items in my house my Daddy made that will all have auction stickers on them one day. 

Thinking of starting a gofundme page so I can get some dishes.  Or not.  (Our everyday plates are Corelle (antiques, right?) that are inside kitchen cabinets.  But wait!!!!  It occurs to me if I take out the corelle and put a real set of dishes inside the cabinet, I’d have an empty spot on my dish shelf...  ?

A display of old china pieces and crocks is so attractive to me. Maybe too much pinterest? And speaking of pinterest, I had a mishmash of old bone chine (mostly grandmother's) and then I bought more at garage sales. Now I have enough to serve 40 people. I do the mix-match way of pinterest with old table cloths as well. All of them are worth almost nothing so if I get tired of them, they are gone. We serve some large family meals at the Butterfly place.

[Westiepeach]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

Oh that is beautiful. It would make any cake look delicious. 

I have plates, serving dishes, wine glasses, candlesticks, vases, butter dishes, salt and pepper shakers, carafes, ... you name it. All used. I am a big believer in if you have something wondrous, USE IT. I remember way too clearly cleaning out both my mother’s and my older sister’s stuff after they passed away. They had way too many things saved for “someday.”  *sigh*

Actually, I am drinking a glass of wine out of a Candlewick wine glass now. 

If you have it, use it. 

[jcbrown]

16 minutes ago, Happyfatchick said:

 

In my house, that casserole dish on the lower left would probably have a cat napping in it.

[jcbrown]

Here's proof of my last statement about cats. This is Pixie's solution to "no cats on the counter." Technically, she is in the slow cooker, not on the counter.

[Jynnan tonnix]

21 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

Here's proof of my last statement about cats. This is Pixie's solution to "no cats on the counter." Technically, she is in the slow cooker, not on the counter.

She is gorgeous! I love her markings!

[jcbrown]

3 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

She is gorgeous! I love her markings!

Pixie says thanks! She is the softest kitty, too. Velvet fur and a huge personality.

[louannems]

1 hour ago, Happyfatchick said:

I should post some pics of the dishes and things I kept from Mama, thinking they may have some value.  I never use them.  Colored glass type things.  I also have a gorgeous set of hand painted china she bought when they were stationed in Germany.  We call it “My Mother’s China”.  Hand painted.  The kitchen in this house is the eat in kind, no separate dining, so no room for a china cabinet.  So all that beautiful china is in the top cabinets.  Someone needs to answer the question when an item passes from old to antique. 

Im putting a pic of my dish cabinet.  Daddy had made an oak bookshelf - sucker weighs 800 lbs.  I added the dividers for support and the trimmed paint.   Kinda cute, huh?  Doesn’t have anything to do with antiques, but I wanted to be cool too.

plus I was up all night with pain from swelling in my foot.  It’s almost 6pm on my side of the US and I’m still wearing pj pants and haven’t put on a bra all day.  Foot elevated.  I’m bored.  At least you only got the dish cabinet so far... I have a TON of items in my house my Daddy made that will all have auction stickers on them one day. 

Thinking of starting a gofundme page so I can get some dishes.  Or not.  (Our everyday plates are Corelle (antiques, right?) that are inside kitchen cabinets.  But wait!!!!  It occurs to me if I take out the corelle and put a real set of dishes inside the cabinet, I’d have an empty spot on my dish shelf...  ?

Suddenly it occurred to me that if this was one of the actual threads (posted by a Duggar, say)  I would already have 260 comments on how dangerous this looks.  Just so you know, it’s bolted securely to the wall. 

You could always grift your Campbell's Soup mugs to Jill!

[Westiepeach]

26 minutes ago, louannems said:

You could always grift your Campbell's Soup mugs to Jill!

Ha Hahaha ... gasp ... hahahaha

[irisheyes]

My mom has a whole set of pink depression glass.  My SIL thinks she’s getting some day. Funny girl. ?

I come from Mennonites, who gave dishes to their girlfriends rather than jewelry. My grandmother had great stories about LOTS of her dishes from her beaus. 

[latetotheparty]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

Here's proof of my last statement about cats. This is Pixie's solution to "no cats on the counter." Technically, she is in the slow cooker, not on the counter.

Cats are all about the technicalities. She’s stunning. 

[crazycatlady58]

3 hours ago, jcbrown said:

In my house, that casserole dish on the lower left would probably have a cat napping in it.

Mine too.

[Rabbittron]

7 minutes ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Mine too.

Mine also.

[galaxychaser]

Update on my grifter friend. Her fiancée dumped her after he realized he was broke. She apparently spent all his $. She had the nerve to call his entire family crazy for siding with him. I was like hello it’s his family of course they will pick him.

 

and 2 weeks later she is in love with the next victim. Lol she keeps me entertained.

[Happyfatchick]

@galaxychaser is this the friend who invited you to a party but told you how much it would cost?  Like selling tickets to an engagement party, right?   Yep, keep us posted how the new thing is working out.  She’s entertaining me a little, too!

@louannems and @Westiepeach, I LOVE those mugs.  Not grifting them to anyone.   Westie, I envy your cooking skills and admire everything you post.  I “can” cook (my kids love my cooking anyway), but my husband is not adventurous at all with food.  I promise you, if I served hamburgers and fries every single night, he would die a happy, fulfilled man.  (Probably next year, right?).  I’m embarrassed to admit I do use mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup in some things.  If I make a big pot of chicken soup, I put in a can of cream of chicken at the end to thicken it up a little.  I have a couple of casseroles that I use mushroom soup.  To get this past the lips of a man who would happily die early on a total diet of a slab of beef, bread and fries is actually accomplishing something.

I need to branch out a little, I sound like Jim Bob’s mother.

[galaxychaser]

6 minutes ago, Happyfatchick said:

@galaxychaser is this the friend who invited you to a party but told you how much it would cost?  Like selling tickets to an engagement party, right?   Yep, keep us posted how the new thing is working out.  She’s entertaining me a little, too!

@louannems and @Westiepeach, I LOVE those mugs.  Not grifting them to anyone.   Westie, I envy your cooking skills and admire everything you post.  I “can” cook (my kids love my cooking anyway), but my husband is not adventurous at all with food.  I promise you, if I served hamburgers and fries every single night, he would die a happy, fulfilled man.  (Probably next year, right?).  I’m embarrassed to admit I do use mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup in some things.  If I make a big pot of chicken soup, I put in a can of cream of chicken at the end to thicken it up a little.  I have a couple of casseroles that I use mushroom soup.  To get this past the lips of a man who would happily die early on a total diet of a slab of beef, bread and fries is actually accomplishing something.

I need to branch out a little, I sound like Jim Bob’s mother.

Yes that’s her. She expected people to come to her engagement party and buy their own food and drinks. 

[Temperance]

 Galaxy, Did her  fiancee look like David R? 

[galaxychaser]

1 hour ago, Temperance said:

 Galaxy, Did her  fiancee look like David R? 

Just as bad looking.  And not the smartest tool in the shed... 

[Temperance]

okay I thought somebody said they had a friend who's finance looked like David. 

[MargeGunderson]

14 hours ago, jcbrown said:

In my house, that casserole dish on the lower left would probably have a cat napping in it.

I have an apron with a picture of my cat (RIP Kitty Gunderson the Elder) in a baking dish, with the caption "What's for dinner?" underneath it. She was definitely of the opinion of "if I fits, I sits." The things I would find her in.......

[lookeyloo]

3 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

I have an apron with a picture of my cat (RIP Kitty Gunderson the Elder) in a baking dish, with the caption "What's for dinner?" underneath it. She was definitely of the opinion of "if I fits, I sits." The things I would find her in.......

That brings to mind our late cat "Snubby".  He was a very unattractive cat with an oddly shaped body, but, so sweet and we loved him very much.  He liked to try to get his odd body into very small things.  One day I got a pair of earrings and left the empty box on the table.  We found him trying to get that body into a tiny earring box! This was pre-smart phone so we couldn't record it.

[Porkchop]

Here is my favorite read of the year:

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail 

Emma Gatewood was 65 and unhappy in her marriage when she decided to walk the Appalachian Trail in the 1950s. She was the first woman to hike it alone. She started off, wearing a housedress and Keds. No backpack, no hiking boots, no sleeping bag. She enjoyed it so much she did it again! 

I loved this story this story and it might inspire you to do some strange and wonderful thing! (I picture my own grandmother who was about 65 in the 1950s ... she couldn't walk to the store, let alone across many states and many mountains!)

[Barb23]

41 minutes ago, Porkchop said:

Here is my favorite read of the year:

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail 

Emma Gatewood was 65 and unhappy in her marriage when she decided to walk the Appalachian Trail in the 1950s. She was the first woman to hike it alone. She started off, wearing a housedress and Keds. No backpack, no hiking boots, no sleeping bag. She enjoyed it so much she did it again! 

I loved this story this story and it might inspire you to do some strange and wonderful thing! (I picture my own grandmother who was about 65 in the 1950s ... she couldn't walk to the store, let alone across many states and many mountains!)

That book sounds interesting.  I'll have to check it out.