One has to begin somewhere!

It has been so long since I posted I'm not sure there is still anyone reading but one has to start somewhere.  Same with stitching....I haven't threaded a needle since March but I am ready to try again with new lights, magnifiers, and most important a new attitude and determination.

Since I have to begin somewhere it will be doing a cover for the guest book for my oldest granddaughter's wedding in March.  I will be using all my "good stuff" on this project..  You know - the stuff you save forever because it is too precious to use... Tomorrow I will trip on out to the barn to go through my favorite silks...

Those around for a while will remember posts about this particular adventurous granddaughter, Madi.   Madison has traveled all over Europe, Asia and South America  SOLO with a backpack, a budget, youth hostels and cheap transportation.  When she ran out of money she stopped and worked and then kept on. I was wondering if she would ever settle down.  She had plenty of scary encounters along the way.

But now at almost thirty she has found her "fella" and he loves traveling and the outdoors as much as she does.  To propose he took here back to the first mountain they climbed together....how romantic is that?

The Winner and the menu

I'm happy to announce that the winner of the little book of Norse children's tales is Connie Kalina. Send me your mailing address and I will post it to you directly and I can rest assured that some one else has the responsibility of caring for this treasure...

The table last night  was a success and the menu was:

Foie gras, asst. Cheeses and Grapes

Broccoli Salad

Rockfish with a Tapenade Sauce

Corn-studded baked Polenta

Spaghetti Squash and Swiss Chard Medley

Lemon Gelato and Banana Bread

 

 The event yielded   a couple of surprises.  First the label on that thrift store  $2.50 table cloth (which was very large....102") was Cynthia Rowley which it turns out is a well-known linens designer and her paisley tablecloths that size sell for $70+. So it makes the find even more whimsical.

The second surprise was the last minute find of a new recipe which is fantastic, beautiful and a definite repeater.... Spaghetti squash and Swiss Chard  It was especially nice as I harvested two laundry baskets of spaghetti squash from the garden yesterday..  It was so colorful and so tasty...

Kitchen Chatter

Here in the northwest US we are surrounded by wildfires and the air quality is extremely hazardous and everyone has been ordered to stay indoors.  So our planned BBQ of hamburgers outside has turned into a meatloaf in the oven indoors.

 I have often tried new meatloaf recipes in the past but my favorite is in this book....well used as you can see.  I received this Good Housekeeping cookbook in Sept. 1957 as a wedding gift... 60 years ago.. and I still use this recipe and try as I might have never found a better one. The book automatically opens to this page.  In the last few years I have started searches for the "Best" biscotti, banana bread, stollen, lemon cookies,  and scones among other things.. Every so often the old and tried recipes turns out to be the best.  I have stopped trying new banana bread recipes forever as this one is truly the very best...  http://gluesticksblog.com/2013/07/bakery-style-banana-bread-recipe.html
and how could it not be when it uses eight bananas.

So besides the meatloaf I made a double batch of the very best banana bread, a huge supply of homemade granola that will last until Christmas, and stollen for DH.  I got to use my stollen mold I bought in Germany this spring.  It is adjustable in length and has no bottom...you just set it on the baking pan and it shapes the loaf....  I just love it.  Morris was on kitchen duty all day just waiting for any little tidbit that might fall to the floor.  He didn't want me to slip and fall on anything...such a thoughtful dog.

This last bit falls under the category "Why I love thrift stores!!!!"  I love setting a pretty table so I check the kitchen aisles first thing.  Last spring I found these neat plates for $1 each.  I was waiting until fall to use them but none of the tablecloths I have seemed right.






 So when we were thriftin' on Monday I was looking for a new tablecloth and found this one which was whimsical and different and fun...  $2.50.  I liked it because it wasn't the usual fall leaves, pumpkins, etc.










Then at the next thrift shop I found these snazzy salad plates..  They were only 50 cent apiece and I bought all eight as I can see them used for desserts also any season.









We have a dinner party coming up Sunday and another in a couple weeks and I'll use my new purchases for both parties...  I can hardly wait to set the table.  It is finding these unplanned treasures that keep me at the thrift stores over and over again.  I'm sure all this new would have been over a $150 and for $10.50 I have new table settings for this winter and in the spring I will donate them back and get new sets for spring...

Giveaway - 95 year old children's book

This is one of those precious belongings I always wanted to do something special with... well I can see that is never going to happen now and I would love to see it go to someone who would do something with the stories and illustrations.

As you can see it is a small book (41/2" x 6 1/2") and almost 100 years old I found it at a thrift store years ago and fell in love with the illustrations.  I always planned to print them on fabric and make a book but time is slipping away.

William Andrew ("Willy") Pogany   (August 1882 – 30 July 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's books and others.  He is best known for his pen and ink drawings of myths and fables. His works included not only books but magazine covers, stage and movie sets and was widely known for his art pieces as well... more about him ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Pogany

There are numerous illustrations throughout the book.

If you feel that this book should belong to you, tell me why by leaving a comment on my blog and on Sunday September 10 I will let my husband pick a lucky recipient.. I will mail it anywhere in the United States.

Lost is found and table finished.

Finally in my cleaning out and sorting my jewelry supplies the lost pendant I bought from a street vendor in Germany this spring surfaced....much to my delight.

I definitely have a "style"  and it is jewelry with some substance.  I'm just not a delicate type of person... I love one-of-a-kind and so prefer to make it myself.  And I adore colorful jewelry...  So this pendant spoke to my heart.


I have all the beads strung and will do the final assembly today.  And as a bonus it has a story.  The pendant is from our anniversary trip to Germany last April, the yellow beads are raw topaz I bought in a tiny shop in Seaside Oregon last fall, the red glass beads are from a trip to CA to see Susie W., I bought the blue beads on Etsy and they are recycled glass beads from Africa and last but not least ALL the metal beads are from one necklace I bought at a thrift store for a little over $3...years ago.

I did finish the "pansy" necklace  before I found the pendant.  This brooch was worn by my late mother-in-law  Mary Krueger whom I adored so it has special memories as well.

Now that everything is dug out and sorted I might as well keep going and do several before I put everything away.  My friend Kathy LeFrancis came over one morning  and showed me some of the finer details in finishing with crimps, wire guards, etc and I didn't even remember I had an  actual crimping tool..












And I did finish the table last weekend.  It is fanciful and fun but I have to admit that it qualifies as "primitive" artwork.  There was no way I could position the table, lights, brush, and magnifying glasses in a way I could actually see what I was doing... But even a little rough around the edges, it too suits my taste... one-of-a-kind and colorful... a definite statement in my living room..