Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Tablescape Thursday...Remembering Jane

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Tablescape Thursday is here again...so soon!  Yesterday for Wordless Wednesday I shared some photos and mementos of my mother so today I thought I'd share some things about my mother in law -Jane- the original person of purple! This is probably my wordiest post ever - very fitting because Jane was a champion talker!  Over the years she gave us some beautiful things and I appreciate them even more now that she's gone.   She loved purple and angels.
So let's have tea and I'll tell you about this table and that will tell you a bit about her.  Did I mention she loved purple...not that johnnycomelately red  hat purple... but 60's purple.  A purple sofa and beautiful purple glassware and accents graced her modern 50's home. 
So when I saw these purple cups - well, I had to have them!  They would have been a perfect Mother's Day gift for her.
I found this crochet doily and who do you think I thought of??? So I'm setting a place in her honor with some wonderful Bavarian fruit plates that she gave me years ago. 
She had life long girlfriends and sadly (for her) she outlived almost all of them.
Can you see the Madonna vase - she took a pottery class one year and made one for all of us.  Mine no longer holds water.  At one time it would though.  She would take my boys to the cemetary and they would pick violets from the family plots and bring them home.  She introduced them to Emil Ambos...they learned to love old cemeteries from her.
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She used to sew and if I haven't mentioned it she loved purple so here's a little pincushion we sent her.
Here's my plate - this is her flatware she sent to us one year in all its unpolished patina.
Have you ever seen my rooster chairs I bought on CL recently? (I tied on vintage aprons for seat covers today!)  She was the first person I ever knew who collected roosters - not really common in the 60's - and I've carried on that collection. 
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I hung another angel on the teapot...can you read it?
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Here's a beautiful sugar and creamer set that belonged to her mother. Another thing I really loved about her...her mother and dad...my husband's grandparents who I absolutely adored.
  Isn't it gorgeous?
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Probably the last five years of her life she gave everyone she knew or just ran into an angel of some kind (and if you were a kid you were sure to get a two dollar bill)  always with a little purple bow attached.  So when she died everyone who came to her funeral got a little angel with....a purple ribbon. 
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Can you see the angel there? 
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On each corner of her casket was an angel.  One for each daughter Judy and Joan, one for us, and one to go with her.
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Makes you want to have a "signature" color doesn't it?  It really wasn't much of a surprise when just about everyone came to the funeral in Purple!!!   We all still wear our little angels on holidays and her birthday.  We never see a purple anything without remarking "Wouldn't your mother have loved that???"
Thank you Susan at Between Naps On The Porch  for hosting another Tablescape Thursday.  Be sure to visit all the blogs participating.

29 comments:

  1. what a wonderful tribute...

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  2. What a lady she must have been...great post

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  3. Oh how fabulous. I love that so many people came to the funeral in purple!! Love those chairs!!

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  4. So nice to see that you appreciate and loved your family and your husbands as well. This story is lovely.

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  5. What a beautiful, loving, tribute to your mother in law. You did an awesome job representing her in your tablescape!

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  6. This was such a lovely post and not wordy at all - a lovely description of a special lady. I loved the Bavarian fruit plates...and the small pruple chair made me smile. Such a pretty table. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Blessings, Barb

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  7. What a great tribute to your mother. I love the handpainted plates.

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  8. Wow what a tribute to your Jane...I am sure she is smiling down from heaven ! Now I have to
    grab some tissues from me sniffeling at your loving memories...oh, almost forgot as got
    caught up with Jane - your tablescape is beautiful too !
    Hugs ~ Kammy

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  9. What a lovely tribute to your mother-in-law! I noticed though the quote from Willa Cather. She actually lived less than an hour from here and was a very talented writer. We drive by her home and museum frequently when we go to Nebraska.

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  10. Oh what a lovely table you have set for your mother. How sweet your memories are!

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  11. Hello! I'm new to your blog but I am very happy to meet you. I adore your table and your tribute to JANE - she must have been a very special lady. I love the way you have mixed and matched everything but pulled it all together with great style! :-)
    Warmly,
    Alisa

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  12. Hi Nancy! What a lovely sweet heartfelt tribute to your mother-in-law! She sounds like she was a very sweet and loving purple lady!
    Your table is beautiful and even more so now that I've heard her story!
    Be a sweetie
    Shelia :)

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  13. Nancy, those bavarian plates are out of this world gorgeous!!! Love the sugar and creamer too!

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  14. What a wonderful tribute to your mother in law. I am a mother in law and I hope to be treated as special as you treated her. Cheers and a wonderful table. Question? Did she love purple?
    Maryrose

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  15. Lovely tribute and I just adore the china. Great saying as well on the angel.

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  16. This was a beautiful post to honor the memory of your Mother in law.
    Kathy

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  17. Nancy, she certainly sounds like a special lady. I love your table, and the fruit plates are beautiful. I love that she gave the little ones 2 dollar bills, what a cute little signature. Hugs, Kathy

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  18. what a nice tribute to your mother-in-law!Happy Tablescape Thursday ~ Susan

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  19. Ah, Nancy! That was a FANTASTIC tablescape and tribute to your MIL!! It is so obvious that you loved her, too! I can only hope my DIL will recall me with the same type of affection (I have to say we got off to a rocky start, but it's a wonderful relationship, now!)

    I loved the memories you have of her taking your kiddos to the family plots to gather violets and the description of the perfect touches you guys added to her funeral (all of the angels) AND, most importantly, that you all still remember her and honor her with your angels and touches of purple!

    You did a wonderful job with your tablescape---I LOVED the aprons tied on your chairs! L, Dana

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  20. I want to be invited to that table! I'm a purple lady, too! I love the mugs, so pretty... (sigh)

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  21. Love the story. Every detail...every sweet act of kindness...a true lady. I was drooling over those plates, such soft yesteryear color. And what a loving tribute to honor an earthly angel.

    Happy MOM day to you, too,
    Candy

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  22. The tablesetting is absolutely stunning, but I am so happy you shared the wonderful story of your MIL. That was my favorite. Such a fabulous tribute to such a caring and loving person. Loved it. Hugs, Marty

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  23. Oh Nancy.....this is such a lovely tribute to your mother in law.....and such lovely dishes...

    Have a beautiful day and mother's day too.

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  24. Very nice tribute ...
    ~Really Rainey~

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  25. Hello Nancy...

    What a sweet tribute to your mother-in-law Jane! She sounds like such a wonderful lady...I'm sure that she is really missed by so many! I was really touched to read about how everyone who came to her funeral received an angel tied up with a purple bow!!!

    Well my friend, your table is absolutely gorgeous...all dressed in Jane's favorite color...purple! I think that using that pretty crocheted doily as the place mat is a fabulous idea! Ooooh...and the Bavarian plate...gorgeous!!! Love your pretty purple cups too!!! This table is just so sweet...I think it was wonderful of you to honor your mother-in-law this way! I did the same thing...set a table in honor of my mother-in-law who is no longer with us...and for my mama too! Come by for a visit!

    Happy Mother's Day!
    Warmest wishes,
    Chari

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  26. What a great tribute! Makes me want to go with that color thing and to forge ahead with eccentricity - that's what people remember!! Great tale!! PAM

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  27. Fabulous tribute. You've done your MIL proud! Enjoy all the memories & I loved purple in the 60's. I still love to wear it, I just don't decorate with it.

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  28. I love this table - it has so much meaning. I think I would have loved your mil.

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  29. Your table setting is just precious...each item has a link to your beloved mother-in-law. Thanks so much for sharing this tribute to a wonderful lady.

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