Antique tablecloth

My mother gave me this linen tablecloth she bought at auction a long time ago and it resurfaced recently.
 I washed and ironed it and even though it has several holes, I remembered why it was so special.
Its embroidered date is 1858, pre-Confederation! Today I donated it to the Glengarry Pioneer Museum and wait to hear what their accession committee decides. Sure hope they want it.
 It's a lovely piece of linen, unlike any I've ever seen.

I love poppies!

 I love poppies and have good luck with my gorgeous salmon-coloured ones that bloom each year.

 I've notice that the 1950s and '60s were good decades for poppies on tablecloths. 

 I love how illustrative these poppies are, swirling around.

 Aren't these pretty?

 Kind of a '60s, maybe '70s cloth with poppies around the edges.

And this cloth? I wasn't sure if it was poppies.... anemones. Maybe California poppies!

In my little Etsy shop, poppies are pretty popular. All of these cloths have already gone to good homes.

I love vintage tablecloths!

 I've always loved the graphics of tablecloths from the '50s and '60s.

 This souvenir of Florida tablecloth is especially neat since it has a printing error and the registration is off, making it look like you should be eating with 3-D glasses!

 Fabulous fifties fruit...

 ...and more fabulous fifties fruity goodness.

 This one is printed on linen and is pretty elegant.

 Mexicans in sombreros on burros and senoritas dancing is a popular theme...

 More Mexicans in sombreros..this time napping and lots of cacti.

 Not Mexicans but Germans: boys in leiderhosen and girls in dirndl skirts.

 Gerbera daisies sure are pretty.

 Scottish thistles are a nice theme.

 Strawberries looking very funky.

 Herbs, veggies and kitchen thingies in classic '60s turquoise.

I particularly love this cloth, with the flowers looking Art Nouveau-ish.
As a graphic designer, I  can't help but love the designs of these cloths!

My shop on Etsy has more if you wanna see 'em. Click here! And now I'll stop with the blatant self promotion!

Goodbye big, beautiful barn

 My big old barn has to be torn down.

 It's bowing out at one and and leaning on my house!

 I've had several people come in to look at it and it's unfixable...

 The roof is in great shape and has kept our cord wood, which we've stored here, completely dry.

 But it's starting to lean badly and lifting off the ground on one side.

 And it's built very close to the house. Actually, the house was built very close to the barn!

 Lovely wood has aged well.

 Here's where it's lifting off the ground.

 All the metal hinges were made my hand by the blacksmith who originally owned the property.

 Love the hanging baler twine. It's been here 50+ years.

Just one of the wheelbarrow loads pulled out of the barn. I hope to build a small woodshed and hang some of the metal bits on its walls as a memory of the dear old barn.

Port Theatre

With so many old theatres being pulled down and replaced by modern, multi-plex cinemas, it was a pleasure to attend the inaugural Comedy Festival in Cornwall last Sunday night at the old Port theatre, a relic from a different time. The seats were a tad uncomfortable but it was lovely being inside an old building like that. Ahhh, if only the walls could talk.

What's It Worth? Day

 Last Sunday, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan held its What's it Worth? Day.

 Besides appraisals, there were very cool displays. This one a model of a schoolhouse that sported a removable roof.

 My friend Sigrun was there selling a few of her antiques and collectibles.

 I was there but only as a collector, showing my favourite jadite pieces.

 The gal beside me is president of the local quilting guild and she showed off some antique pieces and some more modern ones as well.

 At the silent auction, I bid a few times on this picnic case from the 1950s. Alas, I didn't get it...but it sure is a cutie!

 This beautiful glass was also offered up at the silent auction. It's value was posted as $1,200 with a minimum bid of $500. Apparently it is quite unusual!

 There were several assessors, each with a different specialty.

 For $5 an item, it seemed pretty reasonable to see if your knick-knack was valuable.

 The dealers were pretty busy all day.

 These people brought in a giant bellows, assessed at $500. You don't see one of those every day!

 There was also a parade of antique cars like Model Ts but I especially liked the AMC Pacer wagon. I drove to Florida with a friend in a car just like this in the '70s.
Hers was white with denim seats!

A friend of mine brought this in to be assessed. Although the condition isn't that great,
the antique expert said that many people, including Oprah Winfrey,
collect Black Americana and a collector like that might just be interested
in purchasing something as unusual as this container.

Tomatoes and Visiting

 My cousin Jane has collected vintage tomato-ware for some twenty or so years. When we both lived in Toronto, we'd spend time on the weekends searching for them at flea markets and antique sales. I was lucky to find this teapot and one salt shaker at the Lachute Market last September and even happier that both pieces were stamped "Made in Occupied Japan."

Jane and her husband James and daughter Maddy now live in Nashville but keep their cottage up in Morin Heights, QC. Richard and I met them for lunch last weekend, halfway between our homes in Lachute. And I was able to give Jane her tomatoes as a belated Christmas gift. She was tickled pink, or maybe red!

Musee Mechanique

When you enter the Musee Mechanique located on Pier 45 of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, you are greeted by the Gypsy Queen.

Oddly enough, I had visited this museum 10 or more years ago when it was in a different location in San Francisco, so I was delighted to stumble upon it at Fisherman's Wharf. And it's free to get into to boot!

 It is full of arcade games from a different time.

 A time when you could spend a penny or a nickel and have your fortune told.

 Or watch silly musicians play for 30 seconds or so.

 Now it costs 25 cents or sometimes 50 cents.

 But where else could you have your palm read for such a bargain?

Although there are some more current video-type games around the sides of the museum...

 ...most of the games of chance are more old fashioned and fun to watch.

 This one was a particular favourite. I should have this at home! Wonder how/if it works?

 Put a quarter in and watch people smoke! Yipee!

 Barbershop quartet singers for twenty-five cents!

This sailor kind of creeped me out. But still kinda fun!