Reflections

You can see the reflection of my life as a collector in this beautiful old mirror.

I do not remember where everything we have collected came from, but some pieces have a memorable history.

Let's look at the photo and mirror reflection above.

This is a photo taken in our front foyer (or hall). The lovely mirror is an inheritance piece from my in-laws, and it could have been included in the purchases that my hub's grandfather made in the first years of the 20th century. We still have the invoice, so I will check that out. If that is the case, the mirror is over 100 years old. The mirror was the only piece of inheritance that I personally wanted. Besides being so grand and beautiful, I remember it from my first visit in my in-laws' home. It has always been hung in a hall or hallway.

The rustic two sided bench was a purchase I made when my hub was on a business trip. My small son and I visited a furniture store in Leiden (former home of the Pilgrim Fathers), and we bought a small (but heavy) round wooden coffee table and this bench. For years we have been trying to surmise its original function, but I think it was a bench for a waiting room. We saw some modern ones similar to this in a train station waiting room in The Netherlands last year.

In the reflection, there is a mirror I purchased many years ago from our favorite thrift shop Het Goed in Deventer. (It was my mother-in-law's favorite shop, too.) You never know what you will find there.

You can almost not see the small watercolor painting of a shepherdess with sheep, but that came from the charity shop Het Graalhuis in Zoeterwoude.

Below the thrift shop mirror is a demi-lune table from the family inheritance. It is just "hanging in there" literally on its last leg. The gong and grooming set on top of the table have provenance, and I will write about them at a later date and include a better up close photo.