In my bedroom, on the small portion of angled wall next to the bathroom door, hangs a sampler that is very, very precious to me. My Nana hand stitched this sampler and it hung over the cribs of all of her babies. My Aunt Edith, my Dad, and my Uncle Phil all slept under this prayer. Nana died when I was 10 months old, so I never really knew her.
I was in High School when my Aunt located the sampler and sent it to me because I was the last child in the family to bear the family's last name. I always loved this piece of hand work.
Above the sampler hangs a dessert plate with roses on it. While I am sure it is rather unconventional to hang plates beside and above the doorway to the master bath, I don't care because I love them. There are a set of six in total. Five are above the doorway and the sixth sits above my prized sampler.
The plates are from my late great-Aunt Mackey. Her given name was Effie Maxine. We have always laughed that the Maxine cartoon character was really about her. She was a hoot! And she definitely spoke what was on her mind!
They are made of china with a distinctive rose pattern that I have learned was very popular in the late 30s and 40s. The design seems to be on some sort of decal or maybe the paint is bubbling up a bit. Either way, they are a bit cloudy in places and not fit to eat on, but a wonderful reminder of my Aunt that I visited with and spent time with into my adulthood.
Neither of these items would be worth anything much financially in the big scheme of things, but they are precious to me. They were gifts full of meaning that I have used to decorate my home. My children are growing up around these items and they are learning about connections and family history. It's a good thing.
