02 joulukuuta 2018

Old Treasures & Memories


We have landed in December and the time of Advent.
I wish you a happy Advent time ❤︎ Remember to relax also in all your busyness!

A while ago Angie asked whether any of us have any old treasures.
I have donated most of my inherited bigger pieces of furniture to my eldest son
for he has a large house in the countryside. But I’ll present a few small items:


First there is this old church (?) bell. The year 1810 is distinctly readable
but I don’t have any idea what the other text says. I think it is of Russian origin
and it is inherited from my parents. Where they got it from, no clue. 
At the moment it is hanging on an arch doorway to my kitchen - needs a bow maybe...



This high & heavy cabinet / cupboard with a mirror was inherited from my godfather Eino.
He was born in Sortavala, a Finnish town that belongs today to Russia.
The fittings are not original. When I got the cabinet it had a very dark stain
but me and my father removed it. The cabinet is made of solid timber, is very heavy indeed
and hosts some books & miscellaneous stuff now.

Bad photo from a book of mine. The Onnela garden was facing south to the river Vuoksi

My godfather’s family owned a beautiful country mansion in Imatra where I grew up. 
Onnelan hovi - Eden Mansion was a summer residence of the Russian aristocracy 
at the time Finland belonged to Russia as Grand Duchy of Finland. 
Eino was a keen gardener who cultivated apples, raspberries, black currants and
strawberries for sale. He paid very well, so I often went berry picking as a small girl.
Sad to say this gorgeous building does not exist any more. In the 60s and 70s we had
a demolishing boom of old precious buildings.
All the lush park and huge maples and ancient spruces only live in my memories.


I have built this roombox in a broken old wall clock.
Years ago I was very keen on roomboxes and dollhouses but have donated most of them.
I think the style of the clock is Neo-Renessaince; they were made in German in abundance
in the late 1800 and early 1900. My husband inherited the broken clock from his parents 
and I love to keep this as a beautiful memory from my in-laws.
Small 1:12 pieces were hard to photograph in a cloudy day, so sorry.
Those muffins I remember having ’baked’ myself, the mold being a button.
The cakes probably swapped from my miniature friends.


Next Thursday the 6th of December Finland celebrates its 101th Day of Independence
and I have my birthday later on. So, some celebrations to come -  in blue & white!


This kind of memories this time - wishing you a great first week of December!
- riitta



EDIT:
I’ll add here for Angie a roombox that was made as a birthday present for my husband. 
He is a book lover too and of course he had to have his own divari.
That is a Finnish slang word meaning a second hand bookshop. 
I used a picture frame in size of 30 x 20 cm and built the box from a cardboard detergent package. 
The box was covered with self-adhesive plastic foil, wood imitation.
Not very neat work.... The box ’stands' by itself on a bookshelf.
...
Photographing was challenging because of the shiny glass that shows all
the dust and reflections. Hope you’ll get the idea!

// MOSAIC MONDAY #5

22 kommenttia:

  1. Upeita kuvia♥ Leppoisaa sunnuntai-iltaa ja ihanaa alkanutta joulukuuta♥

    VastaaPoista
  2. I like the cabinet with mirror. Very nice.
    Have a lovely Advent time you too.

    VastaaPoista
  3. Todas las antigüedades son preciosas, yo tengo varias heredades de mis abuelas y tías. Besos.

    VastaaPoista
  4. It looks like you are really in the holiday mood! The bell is awesome, I love old things like that. It's always sad when a piece of history that is personal to you is gone forever.

    VastaaPoista
  5. ...lovely things with style.

    VastaaPoista
  6. Hallo liebe Riitta,
    schöne alte Stücke hast Du noch, ich habe auch noch einiges von meinen Eltern und Großeltern aufgehoben.
    Die Glocke und der Spiegelschrank gefällt mir auch sehr gut.

    Eine wunderschöne Adventszeit wünsche ich Dir...
    Liebe Grüße
    Biggi

    VastaaPoista
  7. Hello, lovely images and mosaic. Wishing you a blessed Advent season. Happy Monday, enjoy your day and have a great new week!

    VastaaPoista
  8. Hienoja, tyylikkäitä vanhoja aarteita.

    VastaaPoista
  9. Hola Riita.
    Espero que el Adviento sea un tiempo de reflexión, esperanza y concreción de un futuro mejor para usted y para toda la humanidad.
    Los muebles que ha heredado más allá de la buena calidad, son bienes unicos y preciosos porque se han hecho con amor y arte y no en serie y despersonalizados, como los que se hacen ahora. Sus muebles, aunque no pueden decirle a donde usted va, le dicen de dónde usted vino.
    Que pena haber destruido la casa de su padrino, con su destrucción desapareció también una pequeña parte material, de la historia de su vida. Le quedan al menos las buenas memorias.
    Su alma de artista se refleja en sus fotos y en sus trabajos, que son hermosas obras de arte.
    Felicitaciones!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Tu comentario me alegra muchísimo, gracias.
      Estoy de acuerdo: la vida hoy en día es diferente, la mayoría de los bienes son desechables, el estilo es comprar y tirar. Vivo de manera diferente a mis padres y lejos de la comunidad infantil, pero confieso y recuerdo mis raíces. Hubo un tiempo cuando me avergonzaba el entorno modesto de la niñez, pero hoy me siento orgulloso de mi legado paternal.
      En Helsinki, en los años 60 y 70, se destruyeron varios edificios realmente preciosos y construyeron bloques ultra modernos. Después se ha arrepentido mucho, pero lo hecho hecho está...

      También te deseo un tiempo pacífico y bendito para el Adviento <3

      Poista
  10. The roombox in the old clock is the most interesting thing I've ever seen! It's unique and beautiful! Love the old bell hung up! Hope you have a wonderful month and a happy birthday! Hugs!

    VastaaPoista
  11. It’s MosaicMonday and a pleasure again...

    ...have a happy Monday! A fantastic idea, Riita.

    VastaaPoista
  12. Liebe Riitta,
    ich mag alte Sachen und Möbelstücke auch. Ich finde die Idee, eine alte Wanduhr in einen Puppenschrank zu verwandeln, sehr originell.
    Ich wünsche dir eine schöne und besinnliche Adventswoche.
    Loretta

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. The photo of the boombox in an old clock is not very fine, in real life it looks much prettier. Happy advent time Loretta.

      Poista
  13. Riitta - praying that you have a blessed Advent! Your heirloom items in this post are wonderful - you have a very unique cabinet, and it clearly was worthwhile to remove the stain for the wood grain underneath! The "roombox" is a new term for me - it gives me some ideas of what we can do with my daughter's doll furniture, which we are storing right now. It is so sad to know that the family mansion was destroyed - sometimes we have no respect for the past. Thanks for your historical addition to Mosaic Monday!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Hi Angie,

      You can build boomboxes in any boxes or furniture: drawers, small cabinets..., even using some picture frame. I have made an antique bookshop using a picture frame, built a box from cardboard behind. Shall add a photo of it later today. Dollhouses are often too big decoration elements, boomboxes are nicer in my opinion. Have a lovely day.

      Poista
  14. Hi Rita,
    what a wonderful post , filled with lovely treasures and memories! I love the Bell and the old cupbord!
    Have a wonderful week,
    Love and hugs, Claudia xo

    VastaaPoista
  15. I love how you honor the cherished possessions of your relatives and have made them your own. The room boxes are lovely. I especially like the bookshop. So sweet.

    VastaaPoista
  16. Wishing you a blessed Advent season.
    I enjoyed seeing your photographs.

    All the best Jan

    VastaaPoista
  17. Hello Riitta,
    What an enjoyable post. You have some lovely old things in your home. The bell is lovely hanging in your archway. The room boxes are so interesting - I've not heard that term before. It's so sad that the old buildings were torn down in the 60s and 70s.

    Happy Finnish Independence Day!

    Have a blessed and peaceful Advent, too.

    Lorrie

    VastaaPoista

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