Here's a cup & here's a cup & here's a cup for tea

Grandma and Toot Toot sent Fiona and Nora home with a very old tea set this weekend. My sister Carrie and I received it from our Great Aunt Marie and Great Uncle Phil in California when we were little, but the tea set had a history (and to be honest, perhaps we did too) so I think the only time I saw it was when it arrived. Here's an excerpt from a letter stuck inside the twine-riddled boot box that's postmarked 27 March 1979 from Van Nuys, California:

"...I do have an enamel tea set, that was given me when I worked for the Columbia Enamel Co. in Terre Haute in 1922-- our children used it and enjoyed it. How about yours? Would they, or do you not like antiques? The head guy gave it to me."

So regardless of how Carrie or I might've felt about an antique tea set, it already seems clear that certainly Fiona, and probably Nora as well, will thoroughly enjoy this handsome set on special days for years to come. What a treasure!

Speaking of treasures, the girls also came home with the fabulous quilt stretched beneath that family room tea party. Great Aunt Amelia, who is known for many lovely qualities and characteristics-- but the one that's mentioned most often is that she lived to be over eighty years old and never needed a pair of glasses-- made that quilt for me when I was born.

Now we have these "new" pieces of art/family history in our home, and I grapple with the idea of preserving their history vs. enjoying their beauty. I'm certain that both my grandmothers had pristine linens, china, and other items that were "saved for good" which rarely saw the light of day. Conversely, soiling, say, an antique quilt or third generation baby gown seems unnecessary at best. But we came by this last round of goodies as Mom pares down their possessions to manageable proportions; and to be able to do the same, we are trying to actually use what we have. So we'll come up with a plan to cherish these gems with the tender loving care they truly deserve.