Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Bits of Christmas & Pieces of the Past



I know many of you are experiencing some very cold weather. It's been nippy here in the morning...nippy for the Sunshine State that is. But the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming...it's December in Florida.


It is the best time of year for geraniums. I have several colors, but the red are always my favorite.


My great grandmother's black iron pot is just starting to bloom. My mother remembered her grandmother doing laundry in this pot, in the yard of her home in Georgia. If you are a visitor to this blog, you know by now we are a family that hangs on to things. 
This pot has traveled from Georgia to Florida, to Virginia, and then back to Florida.
There were two of these pots in my parents yard here in Florida...always full of red geraniums. When my sister and I cleaned out my parents house I knew I wanted one of those pots. They hung from their original tripods then. My father had cemented the tripods to cinder blocks and buried them for stability.  At the yard sale we held, I told a fellow interested in buying one of the pots if he could get both of them out of the ground I'd give him one pot. He did...and the remaining pot sits in my yard...full of red geraniums.

***

A few bits of Christmas...


...a sweet Christmas angel




Another bit of my family history resides on the shelf next to the small Belsnickle.
That black thing is actually a lump of coal. It is a piece of anthracite coal from Pennsylvania...brought home by my grandfather as a remembrance of his days as an engineer in the mines. It has sat proudly on a shelf every day of my life, in each childhood home, and now in mine...a  reminder of my roots...deep in the earth of Pennsylvania.  

An old iron pot from Georgia and a small lump of Pennsylvania coal...pieces of the past still with us today. 

Enjoy the day,
Robyn

***The beautiful sampler I shared with you yesterday was bought on Ebay. Look for The Primitive Stitcher, Linda Babb's seller name, and maybe one can come and live at your home too***













12 comments:

  1. I have a piece of coal too!!! not because i was 'bad', but it was from my mom's side of the family from PA as well!!! how funny that is :)
    Love your beautiful home!
    L

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  2. What a great story you tell today. I love that you have that old pot and a nice piece of coal from your childhood. It really adds some charm to your lovely home.
    Hugs,
    JB

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  3. Great post! You have such beautiful items and know how to display them perfectly.

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  4. Hi Robyn, so lovely, love the Angel, so beautiful....Merry Christmas, Francine.

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  5. It is so wonderful to have pieces from our past!

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  6. Hi Robyn,
    How wonderful to have those special pieces of the past!! True treasures indeed!!
    I always love seeing pictures of your beautiful home!! The redware is just gorgeous!!
    We are having 80 degree weather here so I did a post on my snowmen collection to help me get into the Christmas spirit!! Fa la la la la, la la la la!!
    Enjoy your sunshiny day my friend~
    Julie

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  7. Robyn...your home looks so welcoming and inviting! I just lost most of my flowers to a long freeze, even though I covered them up :( Oh well, if the Lord wills, more can be planted next year! Your geraniums are just beautiful. Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family. Donna

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  8. I always love peeking into your home, Robyn. So beautiful and comfy and cosy and gracious. And I love your taste! So cool about the coal. I'm envying your green outside. It's all snow here.

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  9. What wonderful stories!
    As always, your decorating is just perfection.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  10. great stories!
    love seeing the red about now,
    but I really love that angel!

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  11. Your home always looks so beautiful Robyn!!
    Love your red ware collection, family treasures and that sweet little framed angel.
    xoxo

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  12. My Irish ancestors were coal miners and lived on the road to the G Shaft in Braidwood Ill (southwest of Chicago) The woman across the street lost her husband and son in the mine around the late 1800's. She started making hard candy to support herself and today it's sold in the Chicago area and known as G Shaft candy. I always get some for the holidays!

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