A Doll, a Girl and a Grandmother

I have often spoken of my Gram Potter in the almost 2 years I have been blogging. She was my dad's mother. She lived in Sussex, NJ. She was a wonderful cook, an immaculate housekeeper, a prolific crocheter and she made all her own clothes. And sometimes she made doll clothes for my favorite dolls. I only have one doll left from my childhood and she was always my favorite.

 In the depths of my sewing closet in a box was Wendy Ann. Poor thing has probably been in  that box for over 50 years. Luckily she had a mattress and a pillow and she was in her pajamas. Wendy Ann has moved many times and only been shown or patted a few times during these years.

My friends and I would play dolls after school. We would save our allowance and go downtown to a dry goods store which sold Madame Alexander dolls and the clothes that were designed for them. I only have a few of the outfits. I have been washing them very gently in Orvus soap as was recommended by many who deal with vintage fabrics.

 The clothes above were made for the dolls and are tagged with the Alexander-kins label. But my Wendy Ann had even more things. A mattress covered in vintage pillow ticking, a satin pillow with a lace rosette and a pillow case with crocheted rickrack trim. Gram liked Wendy Ann too.

Gram made a felt dress trimmed with tiny rickrack, a petticoat with tiny red roses and a crocheted cape with a hood. The ribbon has faded on the cape but I shall not replace it.

I can see the treadle sewing machine that sat in front of the bedroom window. The window looked over the street and she could watch all the goings on in the neighborhood. The bedroom set was Cushman maple and she was very proud of it. Fresh linens with crochet trimmed pillow cases adorned the bed. It was a comforting room. Most likely the pillow ticking for Wendy Ann came from pillow covers she made for her pillows.

So Wendy Ann will stay out for a while and then be packed away when we go back to Maine for the summer. I think she may make another appearance at Christmas - perhaps in a red dress and cape.

Sunday Favorites

 



I have been talking about my grandmother in a few posts recently so I thought I would repost one of my earliest blogs this Sunday for Sunday Favorites. Join Chari today at Happy to Design for this event.


Looking back I have come to realize how much my father's mother influenced my life. She was widowed when I was about 5 and lived independently in her sparkling clean house in Sussex, New Jersey for many years. She loved to sew and cook. She was a wonderful cook - nothing fancy - just good. She did not spare the butter, sugar or cream. My sister and I each had some time with her in the summer. She took me to my first auction and I still have the little flatiron with the wooden handle that I bought for a dime!



She loved auctions, pinochle, church suppers, a good "tsk, tsk" story and shopping. My mother used to take her to Bamberger's in Morristown and she would not come home until she had spent what she had planned on spending. If there was $1.50 left, she found something for $1.50. I inherited that gene! She made most of her clothes and her crocheting was legendary. All of her pillowcases had knitted or crocheted lace trim and most surfaces had doilies.

The dining room had a bow window that was full of plants and looked at a perennial garden. She did well with begonias and gloxinias as I recall. I still have her oak dining room table. Her china was a Limoge with pale blue flowers and gold trim. She used the "good stuff" for family events. The china cabinet was built-in and was the wall between the kitchen and dining room. You could open it from either side so the dishes could be washed and put away from the kitchen side. There was a special place where food could be passed back and forth. I loved that cupboard and everything that was in it.

She could bake and when we would arrive there would be cookies in a pressed metal tin. The tin was silver and black, shaped like a treasure chest and lined with wax paper. There would be layers of cookies separated by wax paper. My absolute favorite were Rocks! A few years ago when my sister was visiting in Maine, she and I decided to make them to see if they were as good as we remembered. We thought it would a nice gesture to make them for our parents who were there for the summer. Well, they were just as we remembered and we saved one for grammy! The cookie dough will seem quite crumbly but kind of squish it together.

Rocks

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter
1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup dark raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
Cream together sugar and butter. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Cook at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

To be continued.....

Deck the Halls with a Festive Table…..

 

 

Another Deck the Halls Tuesday from Susan at Thoughts from over the Rainbow.

 

I am going to double post with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch as I finalize the decorations, menu, presents, etc.. The table has been fun and is almost done.

The photo shoot is imminent.

The frosted fruit I bought at Michael’s years ago and it has survived several moves and storage in plastic bins in a Florida attic.

The Santa is not chocolate but resin and made in an antique chocolate mold. He was a gift from a dear friend

I am not a good wrapper. I try so hard and the results are less than splendid. This year I am really going to make an effort so wish me luck! If they look splendid, I will photograph them and if not – oh, well.

We are making one more batch of Gram Potter’s Date Nut Bread for house gifts and hopefully the smell of it baking will spur me on to finish everything up.

Gram Potter’s Date and Nut Bread

1 ½ cups boiling water
1 8-ounce package dates, chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

Pour boiling water over dates and let cool. Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and mix. Dissolve baking soda in date and water mixture. Add flour, salt, vanilla and date mixture and mix. Add chopped nuts. Pour mixture into 2 loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cake tester is clean. Wonderful with whipped cream cheese.

I will make mini loaves today and put them in little gift bags with bows and Jack will go happily to the neighbors bearing presents.

I set the table with my wedding china and some silverplate that I picked up at an antique shop in the clearance room.

I discovered some LED candles at Pottery Barn this year and set them in shot glasses. I like the way they look and I can also use them on the Welsh cupboard without fear of scorching the shelf above.

So, on to the wrapping……

Pink Saturday – A Christmas Memory

 

 

I love Christmas and all that goes with it – the music, the decorations, the food and the reason for its being. I always have. Growing up in New Jersey, we always made a fuss about Christmas. Gram Potter would come to visit and there would be a wonderful dinner at Uncle George’s in Green Village. There was a new dress, a doll, and books. My dress was usually red. The books were so that my sister and I would not bug the adults as they celebrated in another room.

Each year there would be a new ornament or two for the tree. As we got older, my sister and I got to help pick them out. My mother liked to decorate the tree. Each strand of tinsel needed to go on separately. It took forever and the lights could not go on until the tinsel was on and it took forever….. My dad would offer to help but one at a time did not work for him. The front of the tree always looked better.

I found this picture buried in a box while I was cleaning out paperwork. It was taken in 1953. Such different times. Gram Potter (my dad’s mother) was truly an influence on me even after she was gone. Her love of her home, her gardens, her family and friends was legendary.

 

Notice my sister has the Madame Alexander Bride doll…….I loved Madame Alexander dolls. I still think Santa may have made a mistake on that one….

 

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see other memories and pinks.