The Linen Closet

Remember this closet?  My brother-in-law kindly built some shelves in this closet for me a couple of weeks ago.  

Once the shelves were installed, it was my job to paint them.  I won't tell you how many coats of paint it took to cover up the pink and turquoise paint.  Suffice it to say "many!"  Eventually, I'll paint the inside of the doors as well, but I have to go get more paint first!  

How wonderful it is to get my linens out of the many plastic tubs and get them in one place where I can actually access them.  There's still some organization to do, but that will come.  My daughter helped and it was so nice to be able to pass on stories of some of the pieces as we worked!

One of the stories was about the large purple and pink comforter you see on the bottom shelf.  Once upon a time, my great grandmother, Babushka (as we called her), raised geese and ducks for the purpose of having a big feather bed.   It was large and very heavy and much prized.  The day came when the feather bed was no longer needed, and so she had it made into two "feather ticks", one for my Mom and one for my Uncle.  The cover is made of pink silk on one side and a soft but sturdy cotton sateen on the other.  The silk has since shattered and needs replaced.  I remember snuggling up in it as a young child and just loving it! Like being enveloped in a snugly cloud!  It is so heavy and SO warm, that it is impractical in a modern centrally heated house.  But if the power goes out, it is fabulous!