To Keep Vintage White--

I have a "green" tip for you who own vintage whites and have problems with brown age spots appearing. The tip actually comes from my Granny Duncan, who was a designer and seamstress in the 1940s-60s. Her expertise was in wedding dresses and formal attire. Her designs were usually hand beaded and absolutely gorgeous. I wish she had kept a few of them. As it is, I only have one--my own wedding dress that's been stored since the early 1970s. I peeked at it just recently, and it's just as white as it was the day I wore it.

How?

Glad you asked. . . 

Green tissue paper. . .

the kind you see around Christmas. . .

I don't know why it works. It just does. If whites are packed away properly in it, they will remain just as white as the day you packed them up.

Here's how I've done it for many years:

Place one sheet of green tissue paper in the middle
of the garment folded lengthwise. . .

 Open tissue out to one side. . .

 Fold over the bottom of the dress onto the tissue paper. . .

 Fold the side tissue paper over the dress bottom. . .

 Fold dress top over that. . .

 Now, take a second piece of the green tissue paper 

and wrap around the entire garment. . .

Tie with a ribbon or string. . .

It's best if you place the wrapped garment in an acid free box, but I have also placed them for short terms in just a white suit box. 

If you want to hang the garment in a bag, wrap it in the green paper first, place in the garment bag, and hang. That's how my wedding dress
has been packed for almost 40 years!

This technique works well for table linens or sheets, too.

So--remember--for anything white--
just think "green."

I'm Sharing this tip with: * Wednesdays Adorned From Above
* White Wednesday @ Faded Charm Cottage 
*Simple and Sweet Friday @ Rooted In Thyme
*Vintage Inspiration @ Common Ground
* Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
* Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence
*Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Please NOTE: I had a huge stash of green tissue paper that I've been using for years, so I haven't tested  the performance of the newer tissue on the market today.

Barn Charm--Granddaddy Built A Hay Barn

The Magers Hay Barn, built ca. 1930, inherited by daughter Mamie Magers Griffin

Yep. Granddaddy built this four story monster of a barn--back in the 1930s. The story goes that everyone laughed at him. How could he ever pay for such a barn during the Great Depression and what was he going to do with it anyway?

Well, he filled the entire three top floors with hay--stacked it to the top--and in one year his barn was paid off completely. The locals shook their heads in amazement. . .

It truly WAS a grand old barn. I played in and around it many times during the summers of my youth. Guess I took it for granted back then. Once it was torn down circa 1980s, I felt an old friend had been taken from me. I hadn't been around it in years, but there was a comfort in driving down the road and seeing it standing tall--four stories tall.

Sharing today with:

Tigers In The Garden

 

 It's Sunday. . .

As is my habit most Sundays, I walked around the farm this morning, appreciating the home we have here, admiring the flowers and all the living things, gathering the blessings for my memories. . .

And, in doing so, I was reminded of a childhood saying I had whenever Grandmother's tiger lilies bloomed for the first time. I'd run into her house, shouting, "Grandmother! There's tigers in your garden!" Then I'd laugh like only a child up to mischief can.

Grandmother always smiled at me and said, "Let's go see. . ."
Together we'd admire and count the many tigers. She'd let me pick one or two for my playhouse and then send me on my way with a grin on my face.

I'm sure each one of you have memories such as this--memories of grandparents or aunts or uncles--memories of your extended family--whether it involves flowers or not.

So, take a few moments to think about those today--and remember the joys of childhood--and the love you shared with your family.

Remember the "tigers in your garden" . . .

I'm sharing this post with: * The Garden Party @ Fishtail Cottage
* Share Your Cup @ Mrs. Olsons

Donations to the Historic District

I'm a little late in posting all the wonderful donations people have made to the Widner-Magers Farm Historic District. As we began pulling items out for display, I realized I'd not posted many of them. You who have been so generous with donations, as well as your support and time, please know we appreciate each and every one of them.

 Joe Chipman of Manila, AR donated this mirrored mule collar and a lovely vintage telephone. These will be going in the store museum as soon as we finished our renovations. They are in really good condition and will add so much to the store.

Jacky Skeleton of Blytheville, AR brought us a garden plow and new handles to go on it last fall. We already have it displayed on the store museum porch.

And, here's a few pieces of the vintage shop and farming equipment from Karen Dilldine of Half Moon Farms, AR.  I hinted at them in the recent post, The 1956 Chevy Comes Home. I had to get John in on this one to tell me what all these things do. . .I'll be going clock-wise from the top left. . .1. 50 lb Power Hammer 2. Line Shaft Band Saw 3. Metal Horse Drawn Trailer (in front) 4. From Our Barn 5. 1956 Chevy Farm Truck 6. Homemade Forge 7. Name Plate for the Power Hammer
Not Shown: Delta Saw Table, Coca Cola Cases, Cypress Wood, Corrugated Tin, Nails 

Thank you again to everyone! You have certainly given us a legacy that will help preserve our Delta history.

I'll be posting more donations as I uncover them, including items from the Burdette Plantation.

"That the Future May Know Our Past."

Farm Girls, Farm Wives, and Farm Overalls

Overalls have been around since the 1700s. They have clothed American men at work and at play. But, until the early 20th century, it wasn't as acceptable for women to "dress like men."

That all changed with the Women's Movement. The tabu of women wearing pants was lifted, and the door was opened for overalls to become an addition in women's closets, especially for work in the factories and farm fields.

Mail-order versions of "overalls for women" were often more feminine than the mens.  But, for those women not interested in making a fashion statement, I'm sure they put on their husband's pair and met him out in the field.

 By the 1920s-30s, overalls were standard wear for the entire farm family.

Fast forward to the 21st century and you'll still find women--and girls--in overalls. . .

Carhartt Overalls

Personally, I like dressing in overalls. . .

As long as I don't look like another guy. . .

Overalls can be rather bland without some fashion additions. I like having fun with them.  A polka-dot blouse--a bee on the shoulder--isn't it cute?--a vintage doily pinned with a blue enameled flower----a silk scarf for a belt--multicolored bracelets--

Aunt Mamie's garden hat with a rose clip-on addition--and--a vintage hanky sticking out of the pocket--

all for FUN. . .

I think it separates me from the men, don't you?

And, at the same time, I'm carrying on a tradition that started over 100 years ago. . . 

Do you have any overall stories?

How do you wear them?

Share it with us and post a comment. . .

We'd all like to hear from you. . .

The White Crepe Myrtle

"Large, long lasting clusters of snowy white crepe-like flowers at a time when few plants are in bloom."

The hardiest flowering plants I've found that work well in our hot and humid summers are the crepe myrtles. 

They hold a special place in my childhood memories, too. I picked large bouquets of it from Grandmother's flower beds, and my playhouse always smelled so sweet. 

So, when it came time to transplant flowers and trees from Grandmother's house in Dell to the farm, the old crepe myrtles were first on the list.

This one has grown into an absolutely beautiful bush 

that will bloom all summer long.

Sharing with White Wednesday

  Feathered Nest Friday 

 

 Simple and Sweet Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Barn Charm--The Old Whistle Barn

On Highway 18 West from Dell, just before the Big Lake Wildlife Refuge, sat a barn on the old Whistle place. I went by there one morning on my way to a week's retreat in the Ozarks and snapped these photos. When I returned, the barn was merely a pile of lumber. The entire structure had been dismantled.

It was a good lesson for me--don't ever put off snapping a photo until tomorrow--because it just might be lost.

(I hope you'll indulge me--I photoshopped the print to give more of a painted quality to it. I love the texture and colors that resulted and thought I would share. . .)

Sharing with: Barn Charm #89