Nov 14, 2013

The Linen Tablecloth


Thanksgiving is right around the corner...and unlike years past where some of my Michigan family came to Indiana to celebrate here with us...this year because my dad is unable to travel...we are all heading to Michigan for Thanksgiving. So today even though it is still almost 2 weeks before we leave... I am going to pack the most important thing that I need to take with me...so there is no way that I will forget it!!  In doing so I thought about a post I had posted a couple of years back...and thought it would be a good one to re post this year. It is about one of our family traditions...and one of my most prized possessions... 

The Linen Tablecloth
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. A time when friends and family will come together for fun, food and traditions. I love the Holidays…and Thanksgiving…is my Holiday. We can have anywhere from 15 people on up to 25.   

I’d love to have a big fancy table, with fine china and stemware…

but we really just are not a fancy people…

we are a lazy people! 

So we use paper…sorry…it’s just the way we roll. 

Here is our table from a few years ago





This is about as fancy as it gets!

So…this post isn’t about fancy tablecloths and fancy dishes silver flatware & crystal stemware. Instead it is about 1 simple linen tablecloth and a tradition that started about 10 years ago.  

I purchased a linen tablecloth at an auction…nobody else seemed  to want the old linen tablecloth so I paid practically nothing for her.  I had her for a few years…and still the linen tablecloth never got used (remember we are not a fancy people)  but one day I got an idea…maybe I read about it or saw it on a tv show…I really don’t remember, but I got the inspiration to use the linen table cloth.  We didn't use her for a traditional table covering, but after dinner was all cleaned up and put away  that's when our linen tablecloth come out. 

The first year…the people... (mostly the little people)... mocked the linen tablecloth…they thought it was “stupid”…to have this linen tablecloth at our Thanksgiving get together…but year after year the linen tablecloth was brought out after dinner. Everyone began to enjoy the linen tablecloth…you might even say that people began to look  forward to seeing her make an appearance every year!  She was invited to stay longer and longer so people could admire her…The linen tablecloth has changed over the years, it doesn’t look as pristine as it once did…it has been handled to many times now…but she is beautiful!

One year the linen tablecloth was forgotten…it was the one year we decided to go to Michigan for thanksgiving…we forgot her in the old sideboard …and to this day…we are saddened by the fact that we forgot our little linen tablecloth. I know how much she missed by not being with us that Thanksgiving…she would have been enriched by spending time with our extended family...and would have carried a piece of them back home with her.  


Our little linen tablecloth holds so many memories now…


she is filled with memories...





Art work...









Baby hand turkey's & scribbles 




 












 


























 






Anna...you're such a kidder



.




the once unwanted linen tablecloth is worth quite a bit to us.

She is a one-of-a-kind linen tablecloth.


Yes...it's packed...I would NOT want to miss another year!!


Thanks so much for stopping by...
and if you leave me a comment...well that is icing on the cake!

Sharon


Linking up to:

52 mantels               no minimalist here            live laugh rowe        embracing change

8 comments:

  1. I love this post and it's inspired me to do the same! We're going to our oldest daughter's house this year and I know she'd love to start this very fun tradition. She doesn't have many matching plates, and no silver or crystal, but I'm sure nobody will even notice. It's all about having fun and creating memories.

    Another wonderful post, Sharon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just love this idea! Thanks so much for sharing Sharon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a neat idea. I cringed a little writing on that amazing tablecloth - but got to thinking this is a true stroke of genius.

    I hope it gets passed down for years to come - how special.

    Tell peeps to write small, it has to last for years!! Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for finding me. We are going to be friends because you feel about your family like I feel about my own. LOVE the table cloth idea. What a treasure. I am your newest follower and I will put you on my sidebar. xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love that tablecloth, what an awesome idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a sweet idea.

    Vickie @ Ranger 911 sent me to visit you after a post I wrote about decorating my table.

    I heard a speaker once talk about her childhood home. Her father was a college professor and he would invite students and visiting dignitaries to the house on Sunday evenings for dinner. Her mother gave each guest a pencil and asked them to sign their name. The mother then embroidered their signature. The speaker shared the names of some of the people who had visited their table. The only one I can remember is Arnold Palmer. The point of her story was "it is those little gestures that have such a big impact".

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like your tradition of writing on your table cloth. If my family were to write on ours my grandma would be furious. She just doesn't understand some things.
    http://www.central-linen.com/linens%21VVVVVV

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!