Day 9, Sunday. Today was "repair and regroup" day. In one of the boxes was a blue trash bag full of linens that belonged to my Mom and Grandmother. They were damp from the storm and reeked to high heaven, but they didn't appear to be damaged. Other than the normal yellowing that occurs with age, and the strong musty smell, I decided to tackle the job myself. It was recommended by my BTS group (FB) to take them to the cleaners, but I'm sure that would have been a $200 bill. A pre-soak with Oxi-clean and a gentle wash, the results were astonishing. The huge 144"x 104" monogrammed "S" damask tablecloth came out beautiful. No damage and what floored me, not one stain. Was this magnificent piece ever used? I don't know. Six monogrammed "S" napkins came with this exquisite cloth, also in pristine condition. And then there is the table runner I made when I was a teenager which I hand washed. I air-dried everything and will start ironing tomorrow.
The other fun project was fixing a "flea bite" on a beautiful porcelain serving dish that matches my Grandmother's Haviland Ranson dishes. I filled in the tiny nick with epoxy then painted it to match the dish, and you cannot see the repair. I also fixed a beautiful rosewood trivet that had one short foot. I lamented a popsicle stick and glued it to the bottom of the foot. Voila, even, steven. This is fun!
In the garage, I reorganized some of the boxes and stacked them in a more logical order. My plans to repack Mom's Colclough Ivy tea set didn't materialize. I'm enjoying this beautiful set want to leave it out so I can see it. It's a shame that the teapot and sugarbowl are missing. I may replace the sugar bowl.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch house...I mean dining room, I reset the table in a fall motif. Roosters, and lots of fall colors. pictured below.
Day 10, Monday. Should I bore you with more laundry details? Oh sure, go ahead, yawn! I ironed my ass off today. All the linens are clean, and many are ironed and ready for use. The large monogrammed tablecloth is made of the most scrumptious Irish linen. It's soft and silky, just lovely to touch and look at. I spent most of the day ironing and repairing. A mismatched set of 4 large white dinner napkins (Irish linen, I'm sure) had two napkins that needed repair. I darned a hole in the middle of one, and I had to re-hem one side of another. But honestly, how did these napkins survive from the 1920s to today without a stain? Not one stain. It boggles me. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Here is a pic of my Mon's beautiful Colclough Ivy tea set and one of her gorgeous table toppers.
Day 11, Tuesday. Didn't work on the garage today! Shopped, cooked, and got ready for a wedding on Saturday. However, it is trash night. Most all are recycling now, but put out one framed poster and tossed a few more books. Slowly but surely. Here is a pic of the table I set, and a cake I made today.
Day 13, Wednesday (a week later!) Yes, I took a break and straightened up my house which was suffering from the effects of Garage Madness. The huge mess from the garage and back yard had made its way into my kitchen. No can do! However, I am happy to say that most of the trash that accumulated has been carried away.
We also had to get ready for and attend an out-of-town wedding which was fun and beautiful. The venue was on the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie at the Grandview, and the vows were exchanged outside overlooking the river on a perfect evening. It was lovely.
Back to Garage Madness: I did some research on a tea set that belonged to either my Grandmother, Nana, or her sister, my Great Aunt Beulah. It is Japanese Kutani ca 1920s-30s. Kutani means nine valleys. Hand-painted gold on white porcelain, the pattern is Countryside and is scenes of mountains, trees, rivers, bridges, and houses. The teacups are quite small, so this may be a demitasse set.
Day 14, Sunday. Today was silk flower day. I organized my silk flowers into 3 plastic tubs and remade a wreath for the front door. Fall has officially arrived at the Zeccola's.
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