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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Ten things I love in my kitchen...

A week or so ago, over at thekitchn.com , they had a post about ten things that inspire love in a kitchen. My little late-night chore last night got me thinking about this. So in no particular order, here's my ten.

flatware:
Way back in the dark ages, my mom asked me what I wanted for my 18th birthday, and ultra-practical me asked for flatware to put in my hope chest. Mom loved practicality, so we went and picked these out right then. It's kinda cool to look at this picture and know that every meal I've ever made for my family has been eaten with these utensils.

pots & pans:

Our wedding gift from mom. What a luxury to have really great pans right from the start. Of course the set includes lots more pieces, but the saucepans have been used practically every single day of the past third of a century! And look...they still look beautiful!

cookie jar:
This cookie jar belonged to my Aunt Norma. Not really an aunt, but a neighbor. When I was little, and out of school sick with an ear ache, I always stayed at her house. And she always had cookies in this cookie jar. Her sister-in-law lived on the block too...Aunt Mae...she wasn't as grandmotherly as Aunt Norma...in fact, I never felt like she liked me a whole lot. But one day right after Norma died, Aunt Mae walked in our front door carrying this cookie jar. She said, "This is for Kathy. I wanted to make sure she got it." I was about 12 at the time, and this made a big impression on me. She didn't bring remembrances for my mom or sisters, just me. So I love this cookie jar a lot...it makes me feel loved remembering these two 'aunts' and their different ways of treating me tenderly.

ice:
Hello. My name is Kathleen, and I am an ice-aholic.

note on my refrigerator:
Pretty self-explanatory. I especially love the little rock chip he taped to the note. :)

pressed-glass salad bowl (left):
I think this was my great-grandmother's. One day I was at my mom's and telling her that I had broken my favorite salad bowl recently. She opened a cabinet, and told me to take this one home. I thought it was a little intimidating for everyday use, but she was so relaxed about handing it over to me, that I've been happily using it for all of our salads for a long time now. It's the perfect shape...much better than the one it replaced.

artwork:
I couldn't keep it to only ten without grouping these two together. The great-big framed flour sack on the left was given to me by a friend who was moving out of town and trying to downsize. It makes me think of her. Sometime after it came to my house to live, a teeny little moth somehow snuck into the bottom left corner...and I just leave it there.

The little girl on the right belonged to my Great-Aunt Ruth. It hung in her kitchen forever, is about 5" x 7", and is captioned, "I wish I was a boy." Aunt Ruth was from a farm family with lots of brothers and only one sister. She said the boys always seemed to be outside playing while she was stuck inside doing boring household chores. I find it very endearing.

mugs:
Another wedding gift...don't remember who these were from. They have a perfect rim that is so comfortable to drink from, an easily graspable handle, and are perfect for beverages or soup!

cupboard:
When my parents bought their house, this was the kitchen cupboard. Years later, when they remodeled, it was moved outside to the laundry room. When I finally had a house with room for it, I began my begging campaign. I love its history, its beauty, and its storage space!
window:
I love having a window to look out of while I'm at the sink. And though it's not visible in this photo, I love the view. It brings me peace.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Tidy drawers...

It's 10:06 pm, and the urge has come over me to clean out my kitchen utensil drawer. Why? I dunno. But it definitely needs it. As evidenced by the before picture...



I didn't purge much. A set of measuring cups. Four sets of measuring spoons...I kept two...why did I have six sets??? An egg separator...I have never used an egg separator in my life...I either use the egg shell or my hand. A couple of plastic spoons...gross...I hate plastic spoons. And a broken aluminum meat fork...broken because I never used it for meat, but for breaking up ice.



Fifteen or so minutes later...Ta-da!

It's still full, but it's better organized. Rarely used items on the left. Small items in the middle in the small flatware tray. And constantly-used wooden spoons, tongs, and measuring cups on the right. Man, I love those spring-loaded dividers! I've had them for awhile just gathering dust. They work like a charm here.

This chore makes me think of my mom. Her constant New Year's resolution was to clean out one drawer a day. "If I clean out just one drawer every day, by the end of the year, the whole house will be clean," she would always say. If I heard her say it once, I heard it a hundred times...because she renewed her resolution throughout the year. I don't think she ever got past the first drawer...it was always the junk drawer in the kitchen...the one at the end nearest the hall. She would empty the drawer's contents onto the counter or table, get distracted, and there everything would stay until it finally somehow found its way back into the drawer in a jumble. It is from my mother that I inherited my genetic predisposition toward clutter.

Sometimes I catch myself uttering some plan or other for the nth time, and it makes me laugh, as I think to myself, "Yeah, and I'm going to clean out just one drawer every day." :)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

New Etsy shop excitement...

I just heard that one of my favorite polymer clay artists has opened an Etsy shop where she has listed some of her beautiful jewelry designs. I'm so happy. Now I can see her work any time...not only when I visit the city where she lives, which is 1000 miles from me. Please check out Laurel Tree Studio at Etsy.

The pictures below are of a necklace I bought from her several years ago. It never fails to get compliments. On the right is a closeup of two of the beads. So, so, SO beautiful!


Left click photos to see in more detail.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6789585

Friday, February 20, 2009

Hmmm...which one...

I like both of these for different reasons. We have black wicker chairs on the porch already, so this one (found here) would look nice. It comes with the cushion.


But it's only 4 foot wide.

This one (found here) on the other hand is 5 foot wide.

It's less expensive than the wicker, and it has free shipping. The seat is curved to be comfortable without a cushion, but if I wanted one I could always make one myself.

Decisions, decisions!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day...


Here's a little valentine for you...vintage from my space-race elementary years...my mother saved everything!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Friday the 13th...

I happen to love the 13th day of the month. Both of my children were born on the 13th...different months...and those were pretty lucky days for me. So I thought today that I'd make a list of 13 things that make today a happy, lucky, make-me-smile kind of day.

1. family

2. getting real snail-mail cards

3. the funny things the kids say

4. cameras

5. friends

6. my laptop

7. books

8. private jokes

9. the to-go box in the fridge

10. seeing my Valentine walk by the window pushing a wheelbarrow

11. baking a surprise

12. feeling great

13. and of course, Sonic

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Names withheld to protect the innocent...

A young mother makes a rare shopping trip to buy herself a new outfit. With her are her two little girlies, ages two and three. As they walk into a dressing room, asks the three year old , "Why are we in here?"

Mama, rushing to finish task at hand as quickly as possible begins to change and says, "So you can tell me if I look pretty."

Three year old, surprised at this new shopping experience asks, "Why you got just panties on?...You look pretty, though."

One World~One Heart Giveaway WINNER!

I closed the comment entries for the giveaway promptly at midnight (US Central Standard Time because that's where I am) for my first ever One World~One Heart Giveaway.

The winner was determined by using:
RANDOM.ORG
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:31
Timestamp: 2009-02-12 06:03:42 UTC

*******************************************************
AND THE WINNER IS...Mindy, comment #31


I have e-mailed Mindy, and as soon as I get
a reply with a mailing address, I will get the
notecards on their way.
*******************************************************

This was a lot of fun to participate in. Thank you to everyone who visited during the giveaway. I loved reading your comments, and I hope you will drop in again. Speaking for myself, I didn't even have time to make it to all the blogs in the caravan yet, so now that the giveaway is over, I'm looking forward to taking my time and visiting and really getting a good taste of all the different blogs.

And last but definitely not least, a gigantic thank you to Lisa Swifka for creating and hosting One World~One Heart. What a fabulous idea. What a huge job! You are the best!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Cabin fever...

I haven't updated lately, because there's not much happening. I'm feeling fine. I'm walking. I'm cooking. I'm a little tired of being cooped up.

So we braved the crowds today to have a little adventure. We went to lunch at a new Chinese buffet. Oh how I love Hot and Sour soup...yum. Then a short run by the grocery store...mostly short because I forgot my list and could only remember a few of the items on it. Oh, and a run by Half-Price Books, where Carey took in a couple of sacks of books to sell. Of course, the proceeds did not make it out the door with us, because we spent it all, plus a little, on new reading material. And then, of course, the obligatory trip through Sonic for a Coke.

And speaking of Sonic, one of my fellow Sonic sisters texted and phoned (leaving nothing to chance) to let me know that her daughter and son-in-law are expecting her first grandbaby, which may excite me almost as much as it does her.

So I am a contented girl this afternoon. (Of course, I use the term 'girl' loosely.)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Boy, do I feel better today! Here's why...



Valentines anyone???

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more
Here's a fun little thing I found at Image Chef today. It lets you add a longer text phrase than others I've seen.
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