Monday, January 9, 2012

Of Hankies and Tea Pots

A rancher's wife, mother of seven children, provider of food and clothing, up at dawn, baking bread, cleaning house, tending the garden, milking cows, preparing meals--a life filled with hardship, BUT my mother was a lady.  Every supper, we sat together around a big plank table.  Mom and Daddy would talk of the day's events, we would tell of the highlights of our day, AND they would drink tea, served steaming hot from a black pot with little colored dots forming flowers and swirls.  Us kids longed for the day when we would be old enough to have tea.
And then there were the hankies 
Mom always had a pretty hankie tucked in her purse.  Some had edges that she had crocheted, some were on fine cotton with designs of vibrant flowers.  She would be able to wipe her eyes, or pat her lips (no nose blowing--ladies didn't do that in public)  
Lessons learned
Tea was a soothing end of the day drink
No lady went in public without a fine hankie






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15 comments:

  1. My mom always carried a hankie too. In each of their top bureau drawers, there was always a stank of hankies - flowered ones for my mom and plain white ones, some monogrammed, for my dad. How fun to have that teapot, Marti!

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  2. I always enjoy how you take us down memory lane. So much of it I can relate to from my own experiences. This time, it made me think so much of my grandmother and the hanky she always carried with her.

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  3. Hi Marti...cute post. I have that very same little tea pot. I am glad you joined my newbie party. Please add my button or link though so that others can join in as well and know about it.

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  4. I have some hankies that were my mom's and grandmothers.

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  5. This was a nice memory. I have a whole box of my grandmother's hankies. Every now and then I use them to edge a shelf in the china cupboard or something and each female in the family gets one to carry when they get married.

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  6. ...and I still have my mother's favorite hankie with me. She had it beside her bible all the time, and I 'inherited' her bible and placed the hankie beside it on a shelf on our family wall. There it sits, in all it's glory.

    Wonderful reminiscing once again Marti.

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  7. Marti, I love that pretty hanky story!

    Stopping in from Debbiedoo's ... and I'm going to put out some shameful self-promotion here -- so sorry I really do hate it when it happens to me -- but I've joined up with a few new bloggers on an "Imagine the Impossibilities" Challenge that culminates in a multi-blog link party on Jan. 31. I hope you can join us!

    Linda

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  8. I love to have a cup of tea, do so daily! And I remember hankies! Pretty ones that I would carry also when I was really little. My father always used a hankie! Great memories! Have a great day.

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  9. My mother and grandmother always caried hankies! And we were also big hot (and iced) tea drinkers. Thanks for that memory.

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  10. I have a few of the pretty floral hankies that my mother had. She always had an extra one in her purse when we were away from home in case one of us children needed it. She didn't drink hot tea, only iced but my grandmother sometimes fix a cup of hot tea when I visited her. Lovely post!

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  11. Oh so right! I remember my Granny always had a hankie. Kleenex was for nosies, hankies for dabbing ones lips or eyes! I loved having tea with my Granny. She was the best! Thanks for the memories!

    Blessings,
    Donna

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  12. My parents were coffee drinkers and I can remember getting a tad of coffee laden with milk and sugar when I was old enoough to "join in".

    My grandmother always carried beautiful hankies as did my wonderful Aunts-xo Diana

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  13. Still wonderful rules to live by. sandie

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  14. Oh what a sweet post.

    I treasure my Mom's hankies. She ALWAYS had one, and they were so so pretty.

    Sounds like our Moms were true gems.

    I lost mine in 1993, and life lost much of its lustre, to be honest. I miss her every day, still after nearly 19 years. Wow time flies.

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  15. Ahhh the hankie... my grandparents both he and she always had a hankie in pocket or stuck up a sleeve (G.Ma) and then my dad always had one. That's how I learned to iron. I practiced on Dads hankies. :)

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