Yep, It's a Bowl of Cherries

Last week on Vintage Thingie Thursday, I tempted you with the edge of my beautiful hand-painted bowl of cherries. Now I'm gonna show you the whole thing and share some fond memories of a wonderful aunt.


My great-great Aunt Lela painted this beautiful bowl. I loved going with my grandparents when they got together with their best friends, Ray and Lela, to play bridge. They were tiny little people who lived in a tiny little house in a tiny little town. They were so sweet and fun. Aunt Lela had been a grade school teacher and she and my uncle had never had kids. They were always glad to see whichever grandchild was spending the night with Grandad Marvin and Grandma Irene!

Because they both were small, their kitchen had shorter kitchen counters than usual. It was like going and visiting a doll house! I have loved organizing stuff since childhood and she would 'let' me clean out drawers while they played cards. (Can you believe that?! And I think I even got to pick the drawer!) It was such fun to discover what was in there. Usually I was counting cards to make sure they were all there, or putting the dominoes back in the box or just aligning pens and pencils. Uncle Ray had served in World War II and many interesting stories from the bits and pieces of their lives were hidden away in drawers.

One of my favorite things at their house was a large frame with red velvet inside. Arranged on the velvet, in the shape of a pine tree, were hundreds of pieces of costume jewelry. Do you remember those? I would so love to have that today. But twenty years ago, I would have called it junk and tossed it out!

In the sunroom, there were treasures from their cabin in Colorado. Real treasures--like plaster casts of bear prints, baskets full of pine cones and Indian (Native American!) beads and pottery. Aunt Lela always had an easel set up with a painting in progress. She and my grandma loved to paint together. Grandad and Uncle Ray loved fishing and both couples played a mean game of bridge. How fortunate that your relatives can be your best friends too!


Here's a closeup of the lacy edge of the bowl. It has a gold rim. I like the woody details of the branches and the highlights on the fruit.

I'm so glad I have this piece of china. Red cherries just make me smile and the site of the bowl brings back fond memories of a much-loved Aunt.

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