The Best Gifts Aren't Bought at the Mall

For Christmas this year some of the best gifts I got were not something bought, but things that were passed on to me.

Marty at A Stroll Thru Lifehttp://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/2010/12/45th-table-top-tuesday-anything-goes.html  is giving us the liberty to show our Christmas gift!

When I went home to 1515 in mid December for Christmas, I got 2 wonderful gifts.

My cousin Mary had this wrapped up for me, my Grandmother's magazine rack. It is art deco in style and we have pictures of her sitting in her rocking chair and the rack is next to her at 1515. My cousin had been talking about having it restored since we bought the house to bring it over. Before the day that we unwrapped our gifts she said that the man that does that kind of work for her had fixed something else, so........I asked her if he fixed the magazine rack. She said " oh, it was in such bad shape he couldn't fix it". I was disappointed, I love things being returned to 1515. So you can imagine my surprise when I unwrapped it! Mary said she hated to lie to me!!

Here is what her sister Marty gave me!

I opened this up and immediately saw my Grandmother front and center!

Here she is in PE class at Ashmore, IL High School 1913! I had never seen this picture! Marty said she was going through a box and the was the 1st thing she saw. I cried, she and her sister were so thoughtful.

I would rather have these kind of gifts than any other.

I showed you some of this already, what my brother gave me on Christmas!

My Dad's projector, and slides!! Tons of them!

A package of pictures my brother took in the 1970's with Christmas pictures! Yep that is me with my dog Cumberland Queen Ann.

This was yet another gift my brother had wrapped for me. His wife did not even know what was in all these packages. This a gas lamp holder that came out of 1515. Before my grandparents bought the house in 1926 it was lit with gas.

So this is what was on my table tops this week. Cherished, precious family heirlooms that have been placed in my care. What wonderful Christmas presents they were!