Linny and Tiki: Gratitude

Today I'm going to break all sorts of rules and list TWO things I'm grateful for! My photo challenge of the day is "something old", but seeing as how it is Veteran's Day, how can I not NOT mention that?

So first of all, I am so very grateful to all of the Veteran's who have bravely fought to protect our freedom. I'm grateful every day for those currently serving in all of the different branches of Armed Forces which allows for to allow all of the freedoms we enjoy! I am so humbled and grateful for their bravery and sacrifices!

Iwo Jima Memorial, Washington DC - March 2009

Lincoln Memorial, DC - March '09

I could've just left it at that, but I was kind of excited about today's photo challenge, SOMETHING OLD. I have some cool old, or at least what I consider old, things in my home. And many of those things I can thank my gramps for, see cute 98 year old man from an earlier post. My collection of cool old things from grandpa started when one day I went upstairs in his house to get him something and saw this old yellow "tub of lard". I was IN LOVE! So I went downstairs and awkwardly asked my grandpa if I could inherit it when....well, you know. He didn't even know what I was talking about but told me just to take it. Can you see why I love him?

Then we went to help clean out his shed and woah, I was in heaven. I found so many treasures! It was then my grandpa learned of my appreciation for old "junk". So one day while we were in his shop cutting wood, he came out and gave me this:

This is probably my most favorite treasure of all. Yeah, it's a stool. He came out and gave it to me and he told me it was his dads. This is my great grandpa's stool! I LOVE IT! I keep it in my room on my dresser.

I had to throw in another "old" thing. I grew up with this dining room table in my home. It was never a table we used so I never really paid much attention to it. When my parents remodeled their home, my mom didn't think this would fit so she offered it to Pat and Camille who were just getting married. They already had one so the table stayed at my parents. I had the cutest little table ever at the time, courtesy of the D.I. But when I sold my house they asked that it be a part of the sale and if it meant selling, I was more than willing.

LONG STORY SHORT - when I bought this house, I asked (or maybe I told, I can't remember) my mom if I could take this table since I no longer had one. I changed the fabric on the seats to modern it up a little bit and I love it! My mom had told me it she got it from my grandpa's house but I didn't know the "story" of the table until I told my grandpa I had taken it over....

So, apparently someone my grandma knew had bought the table set and was selling it. My grandma wanted it so she bought it! I think it was like $700 or something, so a lot for back in the day (it does has a buffet with it, but my mom's not givin' it up.) When she told my grandpa she bought it, he was so mad and said he wasn't paying for it. It was during the war and the depression, so my grandma earned the money to cover the cost by repairing nylons for the local department store. I loved hearing my grandpa tell me about the table and it's fun history.