Slowly but surely

 

 

Slowly but surely I am putting names to faces - in a manner of  speaking.

With my books,Google and Replacements.com, I have identified almost all of the flatware that belonged to my mother and grandmother. Knowing the name of pattern and its age for some reason gives me a sense of accomplishment. Accomplish is my word for 2011. I am not concerned about the value but having an idea of the worth makes it more fun as we travel around “antiquing” on the occasional weekend.

I remember my grandmother sending away for the various pieces of flatware. She saved Betty Crocker coupons. Betty Crocker and Oneida had a partnership but it is very hard to find too much information about the Betty Crocker patterns. I had hoped to have a link for you but got that wonderful “page not found” screen.

 

Old Colony is one of my favorites and I found demitasse spoons on our last outing. They were very tarnished but I could tell they were in great condition.

My product of choice….I do not receive compensation for this endorsement or any product I rave about.

So with very little effort here are my Old Colony Demitasse spoons.

Of course I had to make some mosaics for Mosaic Monday at Mary’s.

I have my little orange stickies (sort of ugly color, I know) by my computer and I am photographing each pattern and labeling them for posterity. Very time consuming but I might make note cards for gifts.

 

Have a wonderful week and be sure to stop by and see all the lovely mosaics at Little Red House.

Mother’s pink salad bowl

It started with her cutting board.

This was the “sandwich” board that belonged to my mother. Nothing smelly was chopped on this board. I remember this board so well. We walked to school and walked home for lunch and walked back to school and then walked home. There were no school lunches until I moved from the borough to the township. Lunch was very often an egg salad sandwich or tuna salad or PBJ and Campbell’s soup.

When my sister gave me the board, the pink bowl came to mind. My mother gave it to me years ago. It was the egg/tuna salad bowl.

Notice the fork with just 3 tines. That was the egg salad fork so that there would be larger chunks of egg in the egg salad. My mother had two so my sister and I each have one.

I love the designs on the bowl. I believe at one point they were nesting bowls with blue and green bowls. They must have perished along the way.

I think we will have egg salad sandwiches today!

I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for this weekly event. Be sure to stop by and say Happy Pink Saturday and see what the other “pinks” have shared.

A Ravioli Party

 

Years ago I bought an Imperia pasta machine and it stayed in the box until this past weekend when we decided to make ravioli. During that same time period, I also purchased a ravioli mold. So I researched recipes for pasta dough and fillings and off we went to gather the ingredients.

The ingredients went into the “Christmas” Cuisinart and processed until a ball formed around the blade.

We rolled and divided the dough and let it rest while we made the fillings.

 

 

Ricotta, parm, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and fresh basil leaves made one filling.

Mushrooms, spinach (very well drained), ricotta and nutmeg made the second filling. And then the fun began.

We topped each ravioli with a torn piece of basil rather than chopping it into the ricotta mixture.

A little corn meal stops the sticking. Then we stopped for lunch and went antiquing for a bit

 

We made the dessert and I wanted something light. I purchased pound cake and blood orange sorbet and with a little help from Grand Marnier, dessert was in the freezer.

Now it was time for dinner. Caesar salad and our delicious raviolis, some breads from the market and a glass of red wine completed the dinner. The table setting was minimal. Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn were the providers. The roses are in an American by Fostoria pitcher. The candlesticks are vintage.

 

 

Very Bon Appétit!

 

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and Michael at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Please visit their blogs to see the beautiful dishes and the wonderful food. Thanks for stopping by.

Ready, set, knit

 

My blogging friend Sue at SuKnitWitty has a knitting group that meets on Wednesdays. I told her that I wished I had a group that was as much fun as hers! So she has started a virtual knitting group and we are all invited to join. You can read about it here. Her group is making sweaters but I am making socks. Actually, I haven’t even finished one sock! So on most Wednesdays, I will take some time and knit.

My Supplies:

The chair with ottoman and the blinds just open enough so I can see what is going on outside.

Pillow for back

A quilt or two because Florida is freezing so I don’t catch a chill in this unseasonable weather.

My  new Teapot. I will get cookies tomorrow.

My Book

My project

Cannot knit without this little guy!

Do you knit?

I am also involved in a mug mat swap with my friend Donna at Brynwood Needleworks. This is a fun swap and Donna’s tutorial is perfect.

I have made one already and just ordered ribbons for more! I am fixing up a place and taking some time to knit on Wednesday.

 

Looking forward to Wednesday. Now to finish another mug mat.

Playing with programs….

 

It is another Monday and time for more mosaics. I am joining Mary at Little Red House for this weekly event. My friend Jackie in Surry helped me this week with layering and texturing. Please stop  by and see her wonderful mosaics and photographs. I was just trying too hard and her help clarified the whole process. Now I am experimenting. I quite like the look of writing in the background and was not quite sure where to start. I realized that the wall paper in my guest bath was writing – so, I took a picture of it. I had some fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful week. I will be back with my Ravioli Party and some projects I am working on this week.