While in Salacgrīva this weekend, we stopped by to visit my mom. The wind outside howled, but inside her home, it was quiet and familiar. The kids, as always, started poking around and asked if they could look at the old photo albums. They love doing that — seeing strange clothes, funny haircuts, and guessing which child is who.
I pulled out one of the oldest albums — one from my mom’s childhood — and opened it up without much thought. But then I froze. Right there, in a black-and-white photo, was my grandma’s oak buffet. The exact same one that stood in her home all my life. And next to it — the table, the chairs, the lamp, and even the sofa! My grandma’s dining room, captured when it was still new, full of voices and everyday life.
It’s funny how objects travel through time with us. That buffet has lived through generations of meals, holidays, and quiet moments. I’ve seen it in my childhood, moved it once, polished it, and probably bumped into it a hundred times without thinking. But seeing it in that photo — in its original setting, before I was even born — felt like opening a time capsule.
And now — here it is, all of it — in our newly renovated house. The buffet, the table, the chairs, even the lamp. The same pieces that watched over my grandma’s everyday life are now part of mine. They’ve moved homes, been through decades, and somehow, they’ve made it here.
Right now, as I sit at that very table writing this blog post, I glance over at the buffet. It’s still here. Solid, quiet, holding all its stories. It’s just wow — how old things are, and how much they’ve seen.
I wish they could speak.
And somehow, through those faded photos… they do.
Ilze
P.S. I need to take more pictures of my home…
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a day in the life of a latvian mom 
I understand how you feel. I am sitting at a table typing this, the same table my father sat at when he was a boy. It has a dent mark in one corner where a heavy ceiling light fell. My father was born in 1912 so I know the table is well over 100 years.
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Thank you for sharing that — there’s something deeply grounding about sitting at a table that’s witnessed so much history. That dent mark sounds like a story waiting to be told. It’s incredible how these pieces connect us across generations.
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It is quite amazing what things connect people – things that to others would be strange. When I was in the Australian Army as an Education officer I lived in married quarters next to the Base. Our address was 11 Riga Court and only you know why I feel there is a connection.
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That’s such a lovely and unexpected connection, John! It’s amazing! Riga Court would catch my eye too — it feels like a little wink from the universe, doesn’t it? Thank you for sharing that moment!
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Wonderful time travel
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I’m so glad you felt that! It really does feel like stepping through time when surrounded by these heirlooms. They carry so much more than just wood and nails — they carry stories and memories.
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Exactly
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A real trip down memory lane.
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Yes, exactly! It’s amazing how a simple piece of furniture can become a portal to the past — a true trip down memory lane. My mom is that little girl in the pictures 🙂
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That’s the beauty of antiques, they hold memories and they live on.
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This is so wonderful, Ilze! I’m glad that you now have that treasured piece of furniture. I remember enjoying digging through the boxes of old family photos too. I still remember family gatherings in the 1960s and 70s… I am that old but the kicker is that I still feel like I’m 21 years young in my head!
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Wow, that’s awesome!!
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Thank you, Janice!
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