Labels On
The Table

Growing up, my mom was all about "no labels on the table!" So no cartons of Morton's salt if we were having french fries or squirt bottles of ketchup either for hamburgers or more likely, hot dogs. You had to get to grandma's crystal salt and pepper shakers or pour the ketchup in a bowl. I think my mother was trying to make the everyday meal more refined, kind of like what "Shabby Chic" author Rachel Ashwell does by putting out the best china for even fast food.
Which brings me to the labels above, from an eBay hat auction that has ended. I love seeing identifying marks inside hats. It's more meaningful that way. Suddenly, the ordinary chapeau suddenly has a history, an owner, a manufacturer. I have a custom label "Made Especially For You by Mary Beth Klatt" on a leprechaun green shaggy suede hat I sewed for myself. I have this fantasy that if I lose this accessory, the finder will Google my name and return it to me. But it hasn't happened yet. I actually lost an earlier version of this same topper at a shopping mall. No one, and I mean no one, called to say, "By the way, are you missing a ...?" Probably didn't even look to see if there was a label. I'm still hopeful I'll still get that call. You read stories on Happynews.com all the time about people getting stuff returned to them 25-50 years later. That'll be me, I'll be living in warm and balmy Hawaii a quarter-of-a-century from with no need for winter attire when I get that email or phone call. Even so, I'd delightfully accept the return. And then put it in a place where it couldn't be lost again! How about you? Has anything you've marked with your name been lost and returned?