Five Tables: Five on Friday
For some reason this morning, I was thinking "what if we had to move into a smaller place" and "what if we had to get rid of furniture"? My eyes fell on our first married table. We bought it with wedding gift money. The chairs are long gone, but we still have the table in the corner of the living room. The advent wreath is sitting on it now. No. We would not be able to part with it.
This is Jeff and Christie's wedding table. Her mother made it so beautiful. The dinner we shared was so scrumptious and festive.
This is Kelli's homeschool table now, but a few years ago it hosted a birthday party.
A little table (in the background) and our warped picnic table have been graced with popsicle eating princesses.
This table sits in my aunt and uncle's old cabin. They are in heaven now, but there is still a table in that one room log house that hosted SO many big family gatherings.
Here's my mama at OUR table a year or so ago. Bliss!
Here is last year's holiday table. The Bronco glass (a freebie) and the Coke can don't take away from all that welcoming red.
Yes, I have a thing for my tables. One: the wedding money table. Two: our dining room table we bought at Ethan Allen with money my parents gave us to do just that. I LOVE it with it's sturdy Formica top and it's softly turned legs. So many family meals have taken place around it. If you still have children at home I will give you one piece of bossy advice: EAT dinner at your table. Many families don't. When I was teaching I often asked my students about their dinner routines and far too many admitted that they ate their dinner in their bedrooms, in front of their televisions. SAD! Confession: Bill and I eat our dinner in front of the television (and it's fun and I like it) but I am going to suggest we start eating side-by-side at the table instead. It's time to correct.
Table 3: A few anniversaries ago I asked for a sturdy maple table and four chairs that I found in a consignment shop. We don't need it and we don't have room for it, but I LOVE it and it's leaves are down and it is tucked in another living room corner.
Table 4: In my messy "office" I use a nice farm house table my mom bought for us upon one of her visits. It's my "desk" now. I LOVE it very much and I couldn't part with it.
Table 5: This one lives at my niece's house in Tacoma, Washington. My birth family grew up around it. Five kids, two parents, sometimes a granny. It sat in our sunny kitchen. My brother's family used it, too. Now Emily uses it for her family. So it lives on.
This time of year tables serve us. Ironing the tablecloth, arranging the centerpiece, the dishes, the food . . . it is SO IMPORTANT to the memory banks of life.
If we moved into a little town home or an apartment our home would be full of tables.
I'm joining the lovely Amy for Five on Friday today. God be with you. He hears the prayers at your table.
27 comments:
Our table has been with me through three houses now- it was my own table in my single woman home in the country and then it came up to the suburbs when we got married and moved to Strawberry land. And now it sits under the big glass roof still holding homework and meals and craft and parties and lots of memories- for me at least!
When Stephen lived at home we always tried to have family dinner, even if it was quite late after band practice or other school activities. Now that we are empty nesters, Steve and I still eat dinner at the table every night.
I will be very sad when we have to move to a smaller place and give up my big dining room farm table. It has seen a lot of life --- from those beginning math questions, to craft projects, to now being my "office" desk and impromptu bed for the cat.
I love my two tables! :-)
I love your table history. I have a thing about tables, and we eat dinner every single night at one. I never thought about sitting at a table until the kids took a college class and they learned that people who ate at tables were better adjusted. Those that ate dinner together too. Which we do. I am thankful that our kids all eat dinner around tables. I never thought about it until you wrote this lovely post.
Your tables are lovely.
A clever post about five tables. Memories are good! Your tables show your life, always positive and uplifting. Love that coke bottle top in your garden.
We still use the table that we bought when we got married 34 years ago and love it. We always ate our evening meal together as a family and my husband and I still do now. Its amazing what memories a humble table can hold, it was a pleasure to peak at yours. Have a wonderful Christmas.
Such a beautiful post... A table is a gathering place and sharing place. A place to nourish our body and soul, a place to give thanks for the bounty.
I love the hand me down types of tables because they hold so much history. The tales they could tell.
Your red table is so vibrant.
Hugs, JB
We have just the one, a pine farmhouse table! it's been here for about 18 years now and the chairs were recently replaced with soft leather ones as the old ones broke, the table is scratched and worn and covered in an oil cloth but it's sturdy - has seen two boys grow, hosted all of their birthday and Christmas celebrations and is also hubby's work from home desk and my painting table - it serves every purpose - I have even ironed on it! I hadn't given it much thought but yes, I suppose it has great importance, it's the hub of the house. Thanks for reminding me!
What a great idea! Where would we be without a table, the stories they can tell. Enjoy your Christmas dinner on your table with your family. :-)
What wonderful tables and table memories!! We are on our third dining table, the first was second hand and then passed on to someone else, then I inherited a table and chairs so our second table was demoted to the kitchen. I love our table because it has memories for me and my family, so I totally get where you are coming from. I love to eat at the table! Thank you for joining Five On Friday and making it a great thing this year. I so appreciate it! Happy Christmas! See you again in 2016! xx
What a wonderful post and so many memories. We just bought a new dinning room table a couple of months ago but our old table held many happy memories of our last home. Joan at www.aviewtothefells.com
We always ate dinner around the table with our kids and Ken and I still do.
What great tables and memories you have of each one.
That's a lot of tables, but sounds as if each is well loved. And if only the tables could talk :) Have a great Christmas
Well that was Great post about tables, something we use all the time & never think about how important they are in our family history!
Have a blessed time around your table this Christmas!
Thanks for visiting & commenting!
I don't feel so bad now that my hubby and I eat on trays in front of the TV for dinner every night. I started Sundays at the dining room table and it fell by the wayside but will be on my list 'to do' for next year.
That's a nice photo of your mom waving hello to the camera.
When the kids were home we always ate at the dining room table. Now that it is just the two of us we eat in the living room and watch the evening news while we eat. When the kids and grands come we still eat at the table.
I am very sentimental too. But unfortunately I didn't have any table that holds many memories. We just given away our kitchen table to Salvation Army (it was my MIL's). I didn't think it has lots of memories too. As she changes her furniture constantly.
You are blessed to have many tables that hold beautiful memories.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas Karen.
Hugs,
Aida
I think it is good to sit around a table with family and friends and enjoy good food and good company and you have such happy memories of all your tables. Like you we tend to eat in front of the television if it is just us but the table gets good use when we have visitors. Have a wonderful Christmas:)
Our norm is to eat at the dining table. Every once in a while, we drift into the family room with our plates, but very rarely. I love all your happy table talk. It got me thinking about the tables in my life too. :)
What a cute story! I love all your tables. I have one table. Only one, but it was my hubby's grandmothers. All Oak and the original chairs and one chair has a cut in it from when his grandmother was chopping a log for the fire! Small and round and filled with stories of when he was a boy. :) Kit
I do agree that tables are so important. We do try and eat round the table every evening...it's the place you talk over your problems and share all the good times...couldn't be without mine. Have a happy Christmas round yours.
Fun post with wonderful memories around the tables. I love a good table myself. We only have one table in our house since we do not have a separate dining room. It's the table we bought at a store called Bargain Basement in West Los Angeles just before we were married to use in our first apartment. It has 6 leaves and has been extended that long on many a fun family or friend occasion. Right now it sits in the eating area off my kitchen with just one leaf in it. We have an Ethan Allen table in the garage with captain chairs. I won't give that up any time soon.
Have a wonderful week leading up to Christmas!!
Oh there is something very special about kitchen/dining tables. My sister and I talk about how the family spends more time gathered around the kitchen table than they do sitting in the living room. Good post!
the kitchen table is the heart of our family, so many tales are told around it x
When our kids were growing up the dining room table often doubled as "the office". We did most of our eating in the living room, but we did eat together. On holidays our youngest would insist on clearing the table and eating like regular people, lol. We did our homeschooling around that table as well, so it held many good memories. I can just imagine your apartment full of tables. Hopefully, you can avoid too much downsizing!
You and I are very much alike! I couldn't bear to get rid of any of my furniture treasures...heritage pieces from my family! Just couldn't do it! I really LOVED the cabin and the table inside the cabin. My kind of place!
I wrote a post about our table earlier this year and how important it is to us, our lives happen around the table. We eat dinner around it every evening and talk about our days. A lovely post, I love the cabin, imagine having a place like that to escape to. Merry Christmas to you and yours xxx
This is a heart warming post, but my greedy eyes were delighted by the first and the shelf with your wonderful pieces, but I loved the ice-cream cone pot - so different.
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