Family Portraits to Make a Gallery Wall

As we have been reclaiming the basement, I have been going through lots of things that were Mrs. Ozburn's. She lived with us and had her own space here from 2017 through 2023 when she passed. She had promised different things to family members and we certainly passed those things along as she had requested. Sorting through things has been a slow task for me because I don't want to overlook something that might be treasured by her grandchildren. There were lots of trinkets and decorative objects - far more than even I like to have atop tables and on bookshelves and keep dust-free. I took photos with my phone and sent out a group of ten or so photos at a time asking Mike's children if they wanted to claim them for their homes. Most were spoken for right away and only a few are still waiting for them to pick up and haul away.

Before Mrs. O moved in with us, she cleared out lots and gave furniture and decor to us, my brother and sister-in-law, and her grandchildren. We have a beautiful dining table, a cane rocker, a beautiful oil painting, and a few other pieces. One of the interesting things that we inherited are family portraits and loads of photographs. So, I'm sorting through the ones Mike's mother gave us as well as the ones she had on the walls and in boxes and books. We've asked Mike's aunt to identify some folks pictured that Mike was unsure about and I've left many hanging in the kitchen which show his relatives as well as what life was like here in days gone by with old trucks and horses and wagons and such. I want to create a gallery wall of some of the portraits and photos. I made a few snapshots with my phone to send to Mike's aunt for clarification on identity and am including those here but as I get these grouped and hung, I will try to update and make better photographs as the gallery shapes up.

One of the portraits we were given is of Mrs. O's great-grandmother, Helton Claiborne. We were told by Mike's mother that she was never married but she had three children with an American Indian fellow in the 'wilds of Tennessee.' She is certainly a stern looking young woman and it is an old-time portrait that has steely eyes. I proudly brought it home right after Mrs. O gave it to us and planned to hang it in the den. However... I was informed quite swiftly that Mike did not want her hanging in a room where he would be! He says she is scary and mean looking.

He tells a funny story about a lady, Martha, who helped his mother. It seems that she didn't like the portrait any better than Mike does. He said she would drape a towel over the frame as soon as she came into the house and then go on about her business as if that was a normal mode of display.

A photograph that we were given turns out to be another image of Helton Claiborne. While the portrait above is of her as a young woman, this photo shows her at a more advanced age.

She doesn't seem to have grown more cheerful over the years but it is interesting to see how she aged. Plus, look at the beautiful lace work on her blouse.

Another interesting portrait is of  Mrs. O's grandmother, Cynthia Elizabeth Claiborne Stephenson who was known as Betty. 

It is a beautiful portrait with a Gibson Girl look. How about that hat? She is the daughter of Helton Claiborne and mother of Mrs. O's father, Jack. Strong family resemblance, huh?

One of the sweetest photos is of Mike's mother as a toddler being held by her mother. The bonnet alone is photo-worthy. Obviously it is a photo made in the 1930s and the fashion of the time shines.

There are portraits from Mike's paternal side as well. The first one is of his great grandfather. He looks very studious and reflective posed with his eyeglasses doesn't he?

The next one is of his son, Mike's grandfather. Again, he looks very distinguished posed outside in a fancy bentwood chair.

I'm gathering them all together and leaning them against the wall and on a cabinet of books in the basement staircase landing. 

There is such a range of sizes - 8x10, 5x7, and some 4x6 photos of Mike as well. I love that collage which has a portrait of him at three months, six months, nine months, and one year old. There is also a sweet one of his parents at their eighth grade dance. What treasures!

There's also a sweet set of little school photos of Mike's parents that I want to include. I'm not sure what age they are but I'm thinking third grade or later elementary school years. Don't they look innocent and precious?

I have a good 5x7 school photo of Mike that looks like he was in about eighth or ninth grade. Plus, I'm hoping to fill in the pieces with a photo of Mike's maternal grandmother or grandparents, too.

I think it will be an interesting gallery wall and am so thankful that many of these are already framed in beautiful heirloom frames. I'll update when I figure out how I'm going to configure and hang all of these treasures. I think it will be a really interesting gallery wall and I hope I can gather the same sort of collection to represent my ancestors on the opposite wall.

Cleaning Old Treasures

With many of the old pieces Mike and I have been handed down from our mothers, we have had to do a bit of cleaning and scrubbing.  One such item that needed a bit of cleaning was an old number three crock Mom gave me.

 It had been sitting outside and had loads of dust and bugs and crud inside it.  It was also pretty dirty on the outside and had something that looked like dried rust on it.  So, I started researching to see what the best method for cleaning it without harming the glaze might be.

I first washed it with dish soap and hot water.  Then, I tried a mixture of vinegar and dish soap.  Finally, I made a paste of baking soda and water and gave it a little scrub.  Then, I added a bit of peroxide to the paste and scrubbed with a plastic scrubbing pad.  Voila!

I had no idea what I was going to do with this crock but now that it is clean, I didn't want to hide it away.  So, for now, it is sitting on the kitchen counter holding a collection of rolling pins. 

The one on the left was one of Mike's grandmother's.  The center one was made by a neighbor and given to me in 1981.  The neighbor's wife brought it to me when it was still warm off the lathe and smelled of lemon oil.  The center one is a modern one that I got when I graduated high school and left home.  The old square Atlas canning jar was filled with trail mix but a couple of little mice must have nibbled at it!

Hanging on the wall behind the bread basket and these other items are the milk permits that came out of our old milk barn where I was raised.  They are a bit brittle and one crumbled quite a bit but I smile every time I look at them and I think my Daddy would be pleased that they are in matching frames and hanging on my kitchen wall.

Heirloom Silver

One of the things Mom gave me recently was a pile of silver pieces that we had won as awards back in the days when we were exhibiting cattle at fairs and shows.  I think all of it is silver-plate and all of it was badly tarnished.  I hated to see it go to Goodwill or somewhere like that but I also hated the thought of polishing all of it and had no idea where I would store it especially since we were consolidating or getting rid of all the things in the basement to make room for Mike's mother to move in.

For a while it sat in a stack on an extra chair and I simply ignored it.  Then, I set it down inside the flour/corn meal bin to get it out of sight.  Then, one day back in the summer I ran across a post by Ann Drake at the blog On Sutton Place.  She made cleaning silver seem more approachable than it had been years ago when Mom would have us use an old T-shirt, stinky silver polish, and lots of rubbing and scrubbing so that the pieces could be used for a friend's bridal shower or wedding reception.  So, I decided to give her How to Clean Silver Naturally method a try.

I am a believer in Ann's method!  Oh, there was still a good bit of rubbing and polishing required but I think maybe that was because the pieces were so tarnished.  All of them had so much tarnish that they had a black look to them like the bowls stacked above.  I know that tarnished silver as decoration is quite trendy right now, but, like Ann, I really like the shine of the silver when it is cleaned up.  In the center of each tray and on the side of each bowl is engraved something like Champion and the year - most of them are from the 1980s.

As you can see, they all cleaned up pretty well!  I took just a couple of pieces at a time and placed them in the hot water, baking soda, salt, aluminum foil solution and let them soak for about ten minutes.  Some pieces got soaked twice.  Then, I took a little toothpaste and worked on the places where tarnish was still clinging.  A quick rinse with hot water, dry with a soft towel, and I set them on the table to dry - and easily admire.

 The clean pieces sat on the table for a couple of days while I tried to think of where to store them.  I decided that I wanted to try to put as much of it to use as possible.  I don't mind using the trays to corral things or draw attention to a collection since I think it will be fairly easy to clean now.

One tray went to the guest bath as seen above to corral a wax scent burner/night light, a mug for the grands' toothbrushes, a crock with lavender sugar scrub, lotion, and a candle.  Later, I thought the size of it would be better for another little collection and was replaced by an oval one that can be seen in the corner of this photo.  (You can also see how I added a little bit of fall to the guest bath with that ceramic pumpkin.)

The smaller round one went into the front guest bedroom to corral my childhood blue and white tea set - or what is left of it.

One tray went to the den to corral a trio of items on the ottoman/coffee table.  I did a bit of a switcheroo and used a little larger tray later.

The larger tray fit well on the ottoman/coffee table.  So, I had to do a bit of thinking to decide what to do with the one that was here.  It was a bit older and was awarded for a different reason than having a fine cow.

That tray is one that I won as a showmanship award the year I graduated high school.  I teased my daughter-in-law that I was going to give it to her for Christmas along with my high school drape portrait.  Instead, the tray got moved to the kitchen.  I put a command hook on the back to loop a burlap ribbon through and hung it on the front of the china cabinet.  The bay leaf wreath that was hanging there had started to look faded and tired because it was so dry.  I liked the look of the greenery hanging there.  So, I moved a preserved boxwood wreath there but it just lacked substance.  Rather than going out and buying a larger preserved boxwood wreath, I think the silver tray added the bulk that was needed.  Plus, it added a bit of sparkle to the front of the cabinet.  I simply wrapped a piece of twine around the boxwood wreath and hung it down in front of the tray.

Some of the other trays are scattered around the house and used to group a few items together and a little narrow one sits on the base of the china cabinet and holds a twig pumpkin right now.  The juxtaposition of the shiny silver and the rustic natural twig pumpkin looks nice.

If you look closely into the china cabinet, you can see that I have four of the smaller trays propped up in the four corners of the cabinet behind a china plate.  The little bowls are stacked inside the cabinet as well because I couldn't think of a purposeful way to use them right now.  At some point, maybe I will, though and knowing that they are pretty easy to clean makes me not be concerned about them just adding a little sparkle to the kitchen.

It makes me smile a little bit that I could come up with a practical use for something like a silver tray award.  So, my 'heirloom silver' that was awarded to us for having outstanding cattle once again has a part in our life.  And maybe when the time comes for the grands to honor their friends with bridal showers or use at wedding receptions, we can easily clean it up and make it purposeful as well as sparkly and pretty!

Uplifting and Blessings

My Daddy was discharged from his hospital stay of several days earlier this week.  Mom brought him home and contracted with hospice to support them.  We have moments of merriment and moments when we fight tears.  Mostly, we have time to cherish and count our blessings.

The visits from the hospice nurses have already proven to us that some people have wings tucked up under their shirts.  Those women have been golden thus far.  They reassure and coach my mother and give Daddy care and attention as they document his health.

We are learning how to support and make these days comfortable and cope-able.

I can honestly say that I'm not surprised at how my parents friends and neighbors have supported them with visits and delicious meals to make things easier.

I also am grateful to be surrounded with my own friends and family who call just to check in or who send me text and voice messages to uplift our spirits.

A perfect example of such a moment of lifting happened yesterday morning as I was getting ready to leave home for work.

Out of the blue, I got a text message from a friend of mine with whom I kept company as an undergraduate more than thirty years ago.  This is a friend whose path and mine have crossed several times over the years and we can just pick up where we left off in a conversation even though it has been months or even years since we last were together.  Her father died after an extended illness several years ago.  So, when I got her message, I knew that she was thinking of that time and lifting us up.  Here is our exchange.

Warm Memories and Anticipation

When I was a young girl, my grandparents lived in a big, rambling farmhouse.  It had some features that are built into my childhood memories.  One of those features was what I always thought of as a reading nook.  I searched online for photos of a similar home feature and didn't find anything that was exactly the same.  However, I did stumble across something that will help illustrate.

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There were built-in benches on either side of the fireplace in my grandparents' living room.  I thought it was one of the most special places in all the world.  The floor between the benches was tiled.  Above the mantel was a wallpaper mural.  Unlike the photo above, this area was completely open and a part of the large, open living room.

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There were shelves which flanked the hearth much like those in the photos here.  Those shelves held a plethora of books and I considered these a treasure.

One particular shelf held a collection of literature that my aunts and mother had read as young girls.  It was the series written by Lucy Maud Montgomery which began with Anne of Green Gables.  Those books looked much like this.  I wanted to read them after Granny told me that Mom and her sisters had read them as young girls.  I pretty much fell in love after opening the first cover.  Maybe I was a bit of a dreamer like the main character.

So, years later when PBS offered the award winning series starring Megan Fallows, even as an adult, I was ecstatic to be able to see one of my childhood memories come to life in film.  The beautiful series made me put Prince Edward Island on my list of places I would love to visit.

So, when I saw an advertisement earlier this week, I felt that flutter of excitement all over again.  I am excited because I think it is an opportunity to see a new interpretation of Anne of Green Gables but it is also a catalyst that makes me want to share my love of the books and the old television series with my granddaughters.  I look forward to passing that along.  So, I feel just like the first line of this post.  This news made my day.

"It has your name on it."

Last winter when I was visiting one of the schools I support, a friend who was the assistant administrator there told me that she had a table for me.

I'm sure I looked a bit confused.

She went on to say, "It has your name on it."  I'm sure I looked even more confused.  Then, we went on our merry way because we were in the hallway during a class change and students were buzzing by us.

On my next visit, she told me the same thing.  So, I paused and asked her what she meant by that.

She explained that they were cleaning out an old computer lab and were shipping some of the old typing tables to the surplus warehouse to be sold or putting broken ones out at the dumpster.  In the shift, the pull-out writing ledge slid out onto the floor and she saw that it had lots of graffiti on it.  Part of the graffiti was my name.  So, she quickly said she needed an extra table in her office and to just take that one there instead of out to the dumpster.

It had been in her office for several years and she thought no more about it.  Then, one day, she was cleaning things out because she was preparing to retire.  That writing ledge slid out when she was moving the table around and she decided that I probably needed it.

I just chuckled and told her that she probably was mistaken because I wouldn't write on a desk.  If my mother found out, she would have killed me!

Just the other day, this friend called.  She just dialed me up out of the blue.  Well, not really.  She was letting me know about a surprise party for another friend who was retiring from the classroom.  She also asked me when I was going to come and get my table.

I asked her what she was talking about and she said, "When are you going to come get this little old table...the one that has your name on it?"

So, a week or so later, I pulled into her driveway.  We went out to her garage and she pulled out the little writing ledge.  There in my own hand-writing, the largest piece of graffiti on the whole piece was my maiden name.

No denying it, there it was - in my school-girl handwriting.  The table did have my name on it!

Easter Basket Treasures

I fondly remember the Easter Baskets of my youth.  My mother would go all out at making them be something wonderful.  We never had one of those plastic things that was stuffed with some sort of filler and has a few little treats that is all wrapped in cellophane.  As little girls, my sister and I used to see those at the Ben Franklin Five and Dime store on Franklin's Main Street and lust after them.  (Do little girls lust after things?  Is that proper?  Well, we did yearn deeply for them, anyway.)

That sort of commercial, fake, unoriginal thing never made it to our house.  Even though we did get something from the Ben Franklin Five and Dime store a couple of times...colored chicks!  They were beautiful real live peeping chicken babies that had their little downy-ness dyed pink or blue or green and we thought they were beautiful!  I don't ever remember them making it o adulthood and laying eggs, though.  Wonder what happened to them?  I digress...

Since my mother set a precedent for Easter Basket wonderfulness, my own children never got one of those expensive, commercial, fake, unoriginal things either.  Instead, they got nice heavy-duty baskets filled with wonderfulness.  Sometimes they might get new ballet shoes (if recital time was growing near).  Sometimes they might get new baseball or softball cleats.  Always they would get loads of chocolate-y sweet treats.

Mike and I continue the tradition with the grandchildren.  This year, the babies (Luci and Levi) got a sweet stuffed animal and a unique shirt in their baskets.  They also got one of those little hopping chickens.  The two older girls got softball needs.  Lillie got a aerodynamic new batting helmet and batting gloves.  (We are expecting her to become our own Hank Aaron this summer, I guess.)  Lydia got a new glove and a neon softball.  (We just hope she stays in the game instead of picking clover and watching airplanes in the outfield, I guess.)

Luci wasn't so certain about her Easter treasures at first...

It didn't take her long to decide she had better grab on with some gusto, though.

She seemed to think she should dig into those mini chocolate bunnies 

but her Mama distracted her a bit with the cute stuffed duckling.

Ducky seems to be a hit!

Levi really was into the light-up ball that the L-girl crew gave him.

His Mama tried to entice him into checking out the depth of treasures in his Easter bag...

He seems to be all male, though...

Just pretending that woman isn't there and doing what he wants!

Lydia is a girl who knows what she likes...

Go for the chocolate, baby!

Lillie is experienced and knows to check out everything to see what is in the haul...

There is no doubt what she was most excited about, though.  Look at that smile!

The older two girls were eager to take part in the traditional egg hunt.

Dashing off to the front yard to get a good start...

They dug into the daffodils...

They plucked them right off the grass...

They made quite a haul.

Lillie poked around under the magnolia tree...

Some were easy to find...

Some required a bit more hunting...

She was surprised and excited to find the aluminum-foil-covered prize egg.  

Then, when she opened it up and saw that it had money in it, she was ecstatic!

Maybe it was the shades...

Luci found an egg, too!

Harris was hunting eggs with the other side of the family on Easter Sunday but he visited the week before and dug into his Easter treasures...

He quickly learned that the plastic eggs had a different kind of  treat inside 

and shook each one before opening.

The surprise was obvious when he opened the first one.

I think he liked it!

There was a big bunny that looked pretty exciting, too.

He had to pause for a little peanut butter egg snack.

Smart fellow.

That chocolate-y goodness is divine isn't it?

Savor every morsel, man!

Then, move on to the next treasure.  Hey!  Sixty mini bunnies!  Wow!

"Now, if I can just get Mom to let me have as much of this as I want 

instead of doling it out in little bits at a time..."

Luci really appreciated the sippy cup Levi gave her and kept hydrated 

inside and out!

Without a doubt, I think everybody likes the traditional home-made 

Easter Basket treasures...little kids and big kids as well!