Boo! The Ghosts of That Old House Wax Poetic

In less than one week, it will be Halloween.
I have decided to focus on that, and not the
looming Thanksgiving holiday, coming up
very fast in my rearview mirror.

In 2009, I posted a Halloween tablesetting in our Parlor,

and I'm recycling it today.  Hope you enjoy it, and the 

little bit of "poetry" penned by the Ghosts of That Old House.

So, BOO!

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly;
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you may spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there."

The Spider and the Fly
Written by Mary Howitt (1799 to 1888)

Yes, come and see our curious things, dear precious readers all.
There's a table in our parlor, O so charming, O so small.
You can rest your weary skeletons upon our chairs so black. 
Do not fret about the ghosties sending shivers down your back.
Do not worry, all you pretties; you will not hear ghostly calls.
You will not hear howls or rattling chains in That Old House's walls.
For the ghosties here are kind ones, and we wish you only well.
Now sit down and sip our wine, for we've a story still to tell.

A shameless rip-of of The Spider and the Fly.
Written by the Ghosts of That Old House,

*********************************

Welcome to the Parlor at That Old House. Let's play pretend.

It's Halloween, and it's drawing on to dark.

The wind whips the leaves around the lawn and up onto the porch

(what ever happened to the landscaper's promise to come two days ago?).

We begin to light the lights, and hope for Trick or Treaters.

We love Trick Or Treaters.

With a bit of good Bearnaise Sauce . . . .

Come, I've set two places at a little round table
in the Parlor: one place for you, one for me.

We're just going to have a snack, nothing fancy. Maybe a glass of wine.
Blood red, of course. Here is your special glass:

The Jack O' Lanterns are troubling the gathering darkness.

A wee little ghostie watches over us. His name is Rudy, and he has lived

with our family for almost 20 years. His story is for another post.
But you must behave when Rudy is watching. . . that's all I'm saying.

In our tablesetting, some very old plated flatware.
Just the right size to use for the children
who come knocking at your door . . . . to feed them, I mean.

An Ebay find: vintage flatware -- 1919 era -- in a charming small luncheon size.

Or, possibly, child size.

Just right for a spooky little feast.

Let's see what else we played with today. . . .

Pumpkin plates from HomeGoods.  Not dishwasher safe. Boo.

Underplates -- old restaurant dishes, white with a green stripe.
They were my Mom's.

Sterling china, in Ohio.

Napkins -- goofy Halloween print, sewed 'em myself eons ago.
Wine glasses. . . where else? Dollar Tree, 2008.
Rudy the Ghost -- from a craft fair, 20 years ago.

Black iron candlestick -- church rummage sale, 50-cents.

Pumpkin applique table runner -- can't remember! Kohl's or HomeGoods.

Dried up leaves on porch and lawn -- from Mother Nature. Free.

BOO!

Happy Pea Soup Thursday, and
Happy Halloween!  -- Cass

Linky Parties!

*Join Susan at Between Naps On The Porch

for Tablescape Thursday.  Click here!

**It's Open House Party Thursday at

No Minimalist Here.  Click here!

***Join Treasure Hunt Thursday at

From My Front Porch to Yours by Clicking Here!

****Coloradolady hosts Vintage Thingies Thursday. Click here!

Striking A Simple Pose

Well, it's taken me almost two weeks, but I finally have a table setting using the Mikasa Shogun dishes I picked up for a song in Pennsylvania. Because these dishes are themselves quite colorful and striking, I kept things simple, and all vintage. Well, almost all.

I made one nod to Easter; there's a cloisonne egg nestled in the centerpiece.

**************************************************************************************

In the dining room at That Old House, the table is set for 6.

It's a simple setting -- one dinner plate, two crystal wine glasses, 100-year old flatware, vintage napery.

Have a seat!

In the center of the old table, a square of linen from Germany, edged in darned needle lace, is crumpled.

Flowers in a tin black-and-gold French-style cachepot and crystal candlesticks
-- from Tiffany, Lord & Taylor, and Big Lots -- anchor the table.

Creamy candles cast a warm glow.

It will look lovely after dark.

Ah! Your stomach's-eye view!

Details:

Dishes: Mikasa Shogun
Flatware: Georgian pattern silverplate, ca. 1912
Napkins: Linen with darned needle lace, set of 12 from Ebay, vintage
Center cloth: Linen/cotton fabric, needle lace, from Germany, Ebay, vintage
Salt and pepper shakers -- vintage sterling, Ebay
Cloissone Egg -- gift!
Tin cachepot, black, gold painted trellis design with fleur de lis -- from a decorators' sample sale in NYC.
Fake flowers -- A.C. Moore (ugh, but I had no fresh!)
Candles -- box of 8, Bill Blass, T.J. Maxx

A blessed Holy Week to you all.

Howard's been out prowling the yard, with his camera around his neck;
the grass is beginning to green up! Hooray! -- Cass








Thanks to Suzanne at Coloradolady Blog,
for Hosting Vintage Thingies Thursday.









Thanks to Leigh of Tales of Bloggeritaville,
for hosting Thrifty Thursday!









And to Susan of Between Naps
On The Porch for hosting
Tablescape Thursday.

If It Weren't For The Hand-Washing. . .

. . . I'd use old silver plate flatware all the time.

But sadly, I am lazy, so it comes out for Thanksgiving, state occasions, dinner parties, and when I just want a bit of shine on the table. I have bits and pieces of many patterns, but I have a favorite, and . . .
..it is my show and tell for "Show and Tell Friday," hosted by Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home. Visit her there for links to more Show and Tell Friday blog posts.

I found my favorite flatware on Ebay when I was looking for bargains in elaborate sterling (which I never found!).
It's the "Georgian" pattern by Community, introduced in 1912.

All the knives are the Old French Blade style, with wide silver plated blades, not stainless blades.

I have read that flatware manufacturers switched to stainless some time around the First World War. A shame. The silver blades are razor sharp and wonderful to use! They slice through that Thanksgiving turkey like nobody's business.

I have service for about a ba-jillion, although I am still looking for unusual pieces --iced tea spoons, shrimp forks.

The silver boxes don't always look so messy. Well, OK, often they do. I didn't tidy up for your visit. When you see the "butler's pantry" picture, below, you will know for sure I didn't tidy up!

(At Thanksgiving this year, our first in this house, I couldn't find the smaller of the two silver boxes. It turned up near Christmas in a box marked "Winter Coats." Go figure. "A Gathering of Family and Strangers..." is the Thanksgiving post.)

Lots of old silverware has lovely old monograms. Most of ours are marked with "L," the first letter of our last name.Others have an "H" -- my husband's initial, or a "C" which is mine.
A few random little cream soup spoons have "D" on them. The only one in the family with a "D" initial is our dog, Dion. I love those gigantic tablespoons. Check out their size next to the 9-inch knives!

I like using those huge spoons for soup. It's flashback time; you are 5 years old and sitting at the grownups' table. Sometimes it's good to feel small.

Here is where the silver lives, in what will eventually be restored as the butler's pantry. Right now it's an extraordinarily fugly passageway between my kitchen and dining room with a powder room on the other side of that door at one end.See? I told you I didn't tidy up.

Someday, fingers crossed, I will be able to show "after" pictures, with glass-front wall cupboards, a mahogany counter with a small nickel bar sink, a built-in beverage center . . . yeah. Well, at least I can paint it and do something to make it look less like a scullery.

Any suggestions for a mini-makeover? (Other than storing the recycling bin in another place!)

Weekend plans! My mirror hangers arrived in the mail yesterday, which means we will attempt to hang our big mirrors (read about them HERE )without incident.

Or at least without a lot of incident. Wish us luck! We don't want to bring on 7 years of bad luck if we can help it.