Pantry Goodness

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I want to thank Barb and Sandy
for coming over for their personal tour
of our home.
I had fun showing you around.

Thank you also Sandy for candy the books.
After you left, I added them to my desk.

Barb your rugs are amazing and so loved
the colors of them all! 

Today's post I want to talk about
pantry boxes.
[pictured above]

The Shakers invented pantry boxes
after immigrating to the colonies
around 1774.

They created these bentwood boxes

by soaking or steaming the wood so that

it would bend into the shape they wanted.

They also created these boxes to fit

inside one another.

These were the first stackable boxes

to be sold and only available to

the wealthy as it would cost an entire days

wages to purchase one of these stacks. 

Today's market, the blues and reds

depending on their condition will

also fetch a high price.

$200 to $500 each,

Who knew these pantry boxes

would be worth even more than back

in the 1700's.

I was lucky to purchase mine at auctions,

flea markets and yard sales over the years.

I have a four day work week.

Then off on vacation until the first of the year.

Looking forward to some time off.

Pantry Blessings To All!

Janie

Give Me A Nice Warm

COVERLET

Yes friends I love me a warm coverlet. 

I have quite a few in my collection.

Now American coverlets were

made on looms from 1771-1889.

The earlier ones were more primitive

in style and were created by both

men and women.

There are basically two types

of coverlet types ~

fancy and geometric.

Colors come in a range 

of blues, reds, whites and golds.

By the 1800's weavers often added

the year a coverlet was made.

Some even added the name of the person

the coverlet was created for.

Older coverlets have a center seam

because the looms were smaller in size.

Sams goes for antique rugs.

Coverlets were the last to go on a bed.

Unlike quilts these were intended

to be used on both sides,

therefore each had a reverse pattern.

Essentially you would get 

two for the price of one.

This is the close up of my coverlet on the bed.

The picture before this one...

I realized that since I moved the bed 

here in the corner for Winter,

gives me some wall space.

Hmmm...me thinking I need to hook

a new rug here.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Coverlet Blessings To All!

Janice 

December CupbordScape

A Colonial Tavern is what

I chose for my December CupboardScape.

Did you know that colonial taverns (bars)

helped shaped American history 

as we know today?

Taverns were not just 

a place to consume alcohol.

These establishments were a meeting 

place for men of the day.

Taverns were also a place 

to collect and deliver mail from overseas.

They were also a rest over place

for weary travelers to get a meal and bed.

Taverns also became assemblies

for meetings and courts.

It was a tavern which played a role

in the start of the Revolutionary War.

The headquarters of the Revolutionary War

began at the Green Dragon Tavern

where the Sons of Liberty first plotted

out the Boston Tea Party.

The Freemasons held their meeting

at a tavern in Philadelphia called

Tun Tavern.  

This tavern was also used by 

Benjamin Franklin to recruit

for the Pennsylvania militia.

This same tavern was where 

the United States Marine Corp

was formed in 1775.

Did you all notice my new bunny?

Folks who were at our Christmas party

last Saturday thought it was

 a real stuffed rabbit.

Guess I did a good job at creating it. :-)

Colonial Tavern Blessings To All!

Janice

Amazing Grace

Well friends today is Amazing!

Amazing Grace.

I first took cardstock and added colonial writing.

Then I put the cardstock back in my printer,

and added the letters.

This hymn Amazing Grace was published

by an Anglican clergyman named

John Newton in 1779.

He wrote the words based on his

own personal experiences.

The colonists were very religious and spent

most of  Christmas Day listening 

to sermons and singing psalms.

Communities held services in their meeting house.

If you lived outside of the community,

church services were held at home.

Other Christmas songs 

from the colonial days were:

God Rest You Merry Gentlemen (1760)

Rest you merry was a saying that meant

rest assured happily citing the birth of Christ.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful (1751)

This song was originally written in Latin.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas (1780)

Published in a children's book

called Mirth Without Mischief.

Joy To The World (1719)

Interprets Christ as the king of the church

and king of the world.

Are any of these songs a favorite of yours?

If not, what is your favorite?

Amazing Grace was my dad's favorite.

That is why I chose this one once I knew

it was written in colonial times.

Amazing Grace Blessings To All!

Janice

Greenery

Good Morning Friends.
Looks like we might have some
milder temps today in the 40's,
with rain coming in; not snow.

Last evening we hosted our vendor
party at our home.
Everyone loved the house....
Bob told them the
 historical society
dropped us from the home tour.
Everyone agreed it was a bad mistake.

Some said I should have done
my own tour and charged a fee for 
a charity.
That is a great idea...and I may think 
about it for next year.

Our Back Porch Store 
storewide Christmas sale was a hit this year.
We do 20% on most items.
Its an annual event that coincides
with the Merritine Christmas in town.

Although the Chamber of Commerce 
does not recognize our side of town
in its festivities, we always have
done something special for our customers.
Coffee, tea and cookies...
and the sales.
Maybe one day the town will realize 
there are more stores on the other street.
They even have a trolley
that just stops on the one street....
and they had the nerve to ask us to pay for it this year. 
Oh well.

Enough of my ranting.
Time for today's post.

Although the Christmas tree

was not yet established in the colonies.

Greenery and berries

were prevalent in a colonial home. 

With so many varieties of wild berries

and pine trees,

those were gathered up and placed
inside one's home for the
Christmas Season.

Boughs of holly, laurel, ivy

and mistletoe would be found.

The original mistletoe tradition was to pick

a berry and kiss someone,

not stand underneath it.

If mistletoe was not found, holly

was used in its place.

Once the berries were gone,

the kissing stopped.

Before being used to kiss someone,

mistletoe was used to ward off evil.

A fun fact about mistletoe.

It is poisonous to us humans,

but butterflies lay their eggs on it.

Birds can eat the berries.

Bees also love the pollen it provides.

Well off to clean up the house.

Finish laundry and work on 

my favorite items.

B U N N I E S

Always ahead of myself.

LOL

Do you have mistletoe or holly in your home?

What will this Sunday find you doing?

Greenery Blessings To All!

Janice

Colonial Homes

Happy Friday my friends!
Hope you enjoyed the first of many
Christmas posts I have for 
this December.

Today's post is my 
Colonial Tree adaptation,
with candy canes, hooked houses,
stockings and hat boxes.

The original Colonial home

consisted of a two story home,

with one big room on each floor.

Besides the English Colonial home.
there was the Saltbox and the Cape Cod ones.

I always thought a true Colonial home

was the Saltbox.

Boy was I wrong.

 Colonial homes were influenced
by those who settled in the Colonies.

English, Georgian, French.

Mid-Atlantic, Dutch, Spanish and German.
Each brought their own twist to their homes.

English Colonial- 

traditional 2 story one room on each floor.

Georgian Colonial-

Brick with wood trim. 

French-

Heavy upright cedar logs set vertically

with double pitched roofs.

Mid- Atlantic-
Chose I-Plan homes in that letters shape.

Dutch-
Gambrel roofs with stone foundations.

Spanish-
White washed with lime mortar
and cooling porches.

German-
Half timber bank houses
built into hillsides.

Even log cabins in the 18th century
were not built the same as settlers
of the 19th century.
Swedish cabins were all the rage.
These were made from planed logs and stone.

If I could win the home of my dream...
it would still be a Saltbox one.

Which would be yours?

Colonial Home Blessings To All!
Janice

Colonial Fruit

Thank you everyone for 
the birthday wishes!
It actually snowed Monday evening,
so Bob and I just went out for dinner...
no shopping.
We are going to try again tomorrow evening.

Before I talk about today's story,
I wanted to let you know 
why I chose to use a feather tree 
with cotton spun fruit ornaments.

Feather trees were not created until
1880-1890 and it was
the German immigrants who brought
these goose feather trees to America.
It is well documented that Prince Albert
introduced the first Christmas tree to the palace
with all of its German made ornaments and fruit.

Again Cotton Spun ornaments also 
 originated in Germany in the 19th century. 
A 3 inch ornament would take hours to make.
Cotton made into Santa's, angels, people,
animals and fruit were made.

I chose to incorporate only cotton spun fruit 
on my tree because fruit in Colonial days were
often given as gifts. 

Now my salter is a piece from the 1700's.
Salt needed to be covered to keep from clogging.
Colonial Americans made salt 
in iron kettles by boiling brine,
which was essentially salt water from the ocean.
You constantly had to keep the kettle boiling
to evaporate the water...what was left was salt.

Salt was an important part of preserving
meat over the long Winter months.
Even the Settlers reported that
Native Americans made salt in
Kanawha, West Virginia by boiling brine
from the natural springs there.

A steady supply of preserved meats,
played a vital role in the American Patriots
defeating the British during the 
Revolutionary War.
The British did not have even meat stored 
to supply their soldiers as we did.
So even though the tea tax may have
started the war, salt paved the way for us to
WIN

Stone fruit was made in the 19th century,
and would not have been found in a
colonial home.

However again fruit was very important
to the Colonists,
so this is why I chose my stone fruit
into my Christmas display.

Stone fruit is actually made from marble
and travertine stone.
Stone fruit stuck though when describing 
these beauties.

The 2 plums in the other pic
are those which Bob brought home.
He noticed  a whole compote of them
that one of our vendors was selling.

Colonial Fruit Giving Blessings To All!
Janice