Leora Wilson was my grandmother. The Santa is the only one of her Christmas ornaments to survive. In her later years, she decorated a Norfolk Island pine a little as her Christmas tree.
She crocheted the antimacassar. The Home Sweet Home design is only one of several she liked to make.
The spoon was also Leora’s. She bought a set of the Gorham Invitation silverplate when my mother Doris did, after the war and when Doris could finally afford it.
The Noritake china also carries a family story. My mother helped her grandmother, Laura Goff, choose the dishes in the bargain basement of Omaha’s Brandeis department store in 1939.
I just love heirlooms with stories, especially those that link me to my motherline. All four of us–Laura Goff, Leora Wilson, Mom (Doris Neal), and I–are the oldest daughters in our families.
My husband loves rice pudding. These days I make him the Crockpot version:
Crockpot Rice Pudding
6 cups cooked white rice
1 cup raisins (or craisins)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
3 12-ounce cans evaporated milk
I use my large oval Crockpot to make this, first combining the liquids in it, then adding the rice and raisins. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours. I keep a small shaker with a cinnamon and sugar mix, about half of each, to sprinkle atop each serving. Good warm or cold.
The only thing better than an heirloom is an heirloom with a story.