Friday, September 7, 2007

My Nanny's Vintage Goodies


Remember going to your Grandmother's or a favorite Aunt's house and just walking around looking at their little treasures? I used to love looking at the treasures that my Nanny, Grandmother and Aunts had to decorate their homes in. Each one had their own style, their own personal choices, handmade things - all things that made their home special and homey.

My Nanny (my Dad's mother) had a lot of little trinkets here and there in her home. I spent a lot of time at her home while growing up and she was a huge inspiration for me for a lot of reasons. In her living room there was a wall that went up half way. This wall seperated the living room and kitchen. Turned wood spindles were spaced half way up the wall and ceiling - a totally 60's style architectural feature of the time.

Spaced in between the turned posts were her little treasures. She had a cool pair of pink flamingos that I remember, however they were not found amongst her things once she passed on. My dad searched for me, however to no avail were those wonderful objects found. But, he did find the cats that I remembered. They were cool with a crackly type of finish on them. Kind of ally cat looking, maybe the kind that dug out the tuna cans from the trash whilst we slept. When he gave them to me, I instantly recalled where they were amongst the posts. I am just thankful to have them.

In my recent posts about vintage clocks I mentioned my Nanny's mantle clock and remembering the sounds of it going off on each quarter hour and then at the hour. I was blessed, again, to get that as well. I was also given my Nanny's 1961 Singer Slant-O-Matic (talk about Jetson's sounding) sewing machine. It is just like my mother's 1960's version that I learned to sew on. Sew......I am content having my dear Nanny's things in my home. As a matter of fact, today I found an old sewing box with her spools of threads in it. Of course, there were a lot of purple threads..her favorite color. I miss her so much. She was strong, a visionary, creative, funny and brilliant at cross word puzzles. She did them up until she passed at the age of 94. Nanny always had a dirty joke to tell me in my ear, out of ear shot of the kids. Of course, her jokes were not reallllly dirty, just funny. I loved her smile, her chocolate pie, her white nursing shoes with the cut-outs for corns on your toes, even loved her snoring when I'd spend the nights at her house. I miss you, Nanny Hazel, and I'll take care of your things whilst here on earth. xoxoxo

PS: And yes Nanny, had Chipper's (her bulldog) farts been "PINK" they would've 'melt good. (She always reminded me that I said this when I was five years old. I told her that Chipper's farts were green cause they stunk!!)

12 comments:

Nunnie's Attic said...

How sweet! We called our father's mother Nunnie. Hence the name of Nunnie's attic. And I chuckle because so many things you said about your grandmother remind me of mine. Right down to the cut out shoes. Nunnie used to cut the toe portion out of a lot of her shoes and I guess that might the reason why. As a child I always thought she wanted open-toed shoes. HA!! She passed away at the age of 84 in 1998 and I miss her every day.

I have her pictures and a lot of her "kitchen things." Like her little strainer that we used for macaroni - her wooden spoon she used for everything. And the first apron she ever gave me hangs in my kitchen. So here's to Nunnies and Nannys everywhere! And may we grow to become one ourselves!!

Love,
Julie

Seeb said...

You wrote so nicely about your Nunnie that reminds me of mine,it seems that all Nunnies around the world are like each other,I miss her.nice to meet you,you r invited to visit my blog,for evening tea,even in morning u are welcomed!;)

Anonymous said...

You always have such sweet treasures and fun stories about them!

Happy Friday!

Esther Sunday said...

So nice that you have such memories of your grandmother. My grandfather, who lived in Wales, passed away one month prior to his 100th birthday. Artie and I were fortunate to visit him several months beforehand. He had all his mental faculties until the very end. He was the last surviving Bristol Channel tug boat pilot that piloted when only sailboats existed (prior to mechanics). He remembered going to a memorial service for the Titanic at 7 years old. He was a great guy and I miss him calling me (and every female!) "darlin'" Thanks for helping me honor his memory this morning. Love, Esther

Kim @ Home Is Where The Heart Is said...

Becky, I loved what you had to write about your Nanny. It's so nice that you have those wonderful memories...love the sweet treasures, too!

cherry said...

LOVED this story...so happy you shared it with us Becky! I too feel I got a lot of my decorating passion from my grandmothers. Both sides of my family loved antiques. Your mantle with your treasures is lovely...love the florals. xoxo, cherry

TinaTx said...

What a sweet post. I could see the shelves in my great-grandmother's house and the tables in her living room with all her little dog figurines (my brother got those) It never dawned on me until right now - I never remember her having a dog, but she had all those little ceramic ones! Anyway - I have some of her things along with some of my grandmother's things. I spend time with the every summer when I was little. I love having their things around me.

Lallee said...

Oh, what a wonderful tribute to your Granny Hazel. You have wonderful memories, and I'm glad you have some of her treasures to help continually remind you. I bet she'd like reading this and knowing how special she was to you, Becky.

BittersweetPunkin said...

I love memories like that...my sweet sister was nice enough to send me some of my Great Grandmother's things recently and my favorite is her sugar bowl...it was always always on her kitchen table. The finial is broken off the top but I think it was just "loved off" from all the use it got! I have it on display with some old chandelier crystals as the "sugar"......ah yes....the clocks........music to my ears........
Have a Good Evening!
-Robin

Anonymous said...

I love your story Becky! But best of all...I liked the very end~ the fart!

Shelby said...

like your story!

Maria Catalina Wiley said...

My 'Nagymama' & 'Nagypapa'(as I called them in Hungarian) were dear to me also.
Special people who we treasure & will never forget :)
It's wonderful that you have some of her cherished things to remind you of her :)