Info FOr You please leave your calling card...

As you might recall from Christmas' past, this antique Victorian brass tray is a favorite of mine that I like to bring out this time of year. It was originally silver-plated, but now only hints of silver remain.

It is marked... .

MA
from
Mary and Nannie
Christmas
1881

Over the years I have spent hours wondering who was MA?, who were Mary and Nannie?, what was their Christmas like the year this beautiful tray was given as a gift?, where did they live?, and on and on...

Just as I wonder about these three people whose names are engraved on an antique tray that has a presence in my home, I also wonder about you, who also have a presence here.
Some of you I know, as you leave me dear comments or send emails....but others of you remain a mystery. On my site meter I get repeat visits from places that are near and dear to us, and places that are far away and magical. Dan and I often talk about and wonder who all of you are!

One year I mentioned that I would notice a regular visitor from a tiny town in Oregon and that we would love to know who that person was, as Dan's father (who died when he was two) is buried in a cemetery in this small town.

Several days after Christmas that year I received an email from the woman. I cried as I read it to Dan. She wrote that she lived within walking distance of the cemetery where Dan's father is buried, that her son learned to ride his bike there, and that she and her husband often take walks in the cemetery. To know that someone across the country just happened to find my blog, and now visits our home, and to know that that person lives so close to Dan's father's resting place, and that this all happened because we share a love of houses is a sweet and dear connection that makes the world seem that much smaller.

You just never know the connections that we all have to one another... .

It was the custom in the period of this Victorian tray, that guests would leave their printed "calling cards" in trays at the homes they visited.

It has become a Christmas tradition on the blog to put out the tray and invite you to leave your "calling card" and tell us who you are, where you live, and/or anything else about yourself that you wish to share.

We would love to hear from each and every one of you- those who visit regularly, and those of you who usually come and go quietly!!

Please leave your calling card in the tray!

From our home to yours....
Merry Christmas!

Joan and Dan,
Ella and Amelia