Monday, November 28, 2011

"It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!"

Just a little quiet dinner last night,savoring turkey leftovers and reminiscing.
Saturday night I got out my Christmas decorations
and put them around. It's really tricky, in a new and smaller house
to know where to put things as you unwrap them, and I will not be able
 to use everything.   But, I love seeing  all my old things again. 
  I'm nesting!  I'm making Christmas in our home!
 Brings back memories,  makes me smile,  adds charm to my home. 


Last year,  I loved these on the kitchen windowsill.
 They looked so cute with my neighbor Violet's charming
 real house, just beyond in the snowy background. 


These little children are my favorites! 
They are ceramics by Lefton, from the 50's.




I thought I'd make waffles for breakfast Sunday.
I added 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin and 1 tsp. spice
 to the  complete  pancake mix.




Pumpkin waffles,  Mmm!


                                   Now, I'll start playing my Christmas music.


                                     Let the music of Christmas
                              fill your home and your heart!
                                                         Love, Linda

                                              Aren't these angels lovely?
                                         They're from Back Porch Graphics.


"Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King"

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Burgundy

  
Burgundy---"Sometimes wine red or simply wine) is a shade of purplish- red associated with the Burgundy wine of the same name, which in turn is named after the Burgundy region of France.
The color burgundy is similar to other shades of dark red such as maroon. When referring to the color, burgundy is usually not capitalized.
The first recorded use of "burgundy" as a color name in English was in 1881."
                                                   ------Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
                                                                                          
I love a party!  Boy, do I have some burgundy!


Tommy stands on his tippy-toes at the burgundy front door,
 watching for his Mommy to come home.
-
I always told my children that if you learn to love reading,
 you can learn how to do anything, and you can go anywhere.
         A room without books is like a body without a soul. 
                                          ---Marcus Tullius Cicero
We marvel at the fall splendor we see on our daily walks. 
In every walk  with nature, one receives more than he seeks.
---John Muir
My sweetheart surprised me last week
with this lovely 1930's sofa for my new home!
I pulled together all the burgundy and pink decor
 I already had for my vintage  parlor!
Oh, Here's a little visitor, he can stay for Christmas and all winter long.
Isn't this burgundy upholstery pretty up close?
I think the burgundy will be a great color for holiday decorating!


More deep-red dishes

Here's a little tea and cookies,  using my
 burgundy china and glass in my old-fashioned new parlor.

Oh, Let's not forget the cranberries!
I sell vintage dishes, and this one is still in it's original box!



                May you be richly blessed as we celebrate
                Thanksgiving and start the holiday season!
                                                 Love, Linda










Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving Reflections

If the only prayer you said in your whole life 
                     was "Thank you"  that would suffice.       
               ---Meister Eckhart





How can we  ever thank Him?    For our very lives. Our sight, our senses-the tastes and sounds. Our minds and bodies.  Our families, our precious children and grandchildren and the love we share. The everyday sharing and caring that fulfills our lives. 

our granddaughters at  Ava's christening

The abundance of food we eat, our homes. All our earthly treasures,  joys and comforts, the beauty of nature in the world around us everywhere.
Friends and neighbors that add sweetness, good times and memories.   We are so blessed.
"For the earth in beauty dressed...", the words of a child's Thanksgiving song
 came to me, Can A Little Child Like Me  passing by Harper's Ferry on a recent trip
   Many  different thanksgiving days and festivals occurred through the years.  But our modern Thanksgiving  holiday was started in 1863, when  Abraham Lincoln said "It has seemed to me fit and proper that God's gifts should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American  people ".   and so he  proclaimed a national day of  Thanksgiving,  on the fourth Thursday of November.
There is much more information about Thanksgiving origin, history, and traditions at http://www.apple4theteacher.com/.


"And our happy holidays, ....... Father we thank thee"
Family gatherings- celebrating birthdays- grandchildren


 Let us say thank you to our God, and to each other.
Thank you to our men and women serving in our military, so we can keep on enjoying our blessings of freedom this great land.


My granddaughter is writing a thank-you letter to a soldier.
 

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing"
 The hymnal displayed is opened to songs of Thanksgiving.


  Grace isn't a little prayer you chat before receiving a meal.
    It's a way to live.  ---Jackie Windspear



      It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.  
                                                 ---Psalm 92:1


Ah!  On Thanksgiving Day...
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more.
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lips, and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?
                                                   ---John Greenleaf Whittier



www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/Libby'sFamousPumpkinPie



Lord God, heavenly Father,
Bless us and these Thy gifts
which we recieve from Thy
bountiful goodness, through
Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen




"And though I ebb in worth, I'll flow in thanks."   --- John Taylor

Love, Linda

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Tea, Cake and Antiques

Oh my, what scrumptious goodies we served at the Women's Club Fall Antiques Sale last week.
 I just had to try a slice of pumpkin cake with my tea!.  Nancy, who served me, was the proud baker of the very cake I chose!  She  explained, "That is The Old Witch  And The Polka-Dot Ribbon Cake".
"Say what?   What is that?", I asked,  and she told me it was a recipe found in the back of a children's storybook.

                                                       
Old Witch's Magic Nut Cake
"When the kitchen is finally empty, Old Witch makes her magic nut cake
 to enter in the carnivals"s baking contest." the book says.

  This cake recipe is on the back cover and it is moist and delicious!
These vintage linens and dishes were typical items for sale in my booth.

" Wow!  It's delicious, now  tell me about this book", I said, and the next day she brought her signed copy and showed me the marvelous drawings. Nancy met the authors, went to many booksignings, has a  treasured collection of their out-of-print  books, and loves to read them to her third grade pupils, especially this title.
.

 This one  written in 1970 by Wende and illustrated by Harry,
 and is one of 21 children's books written by the Devlins.

The authors were husband and wife, Harry and Wende Devlin, from North Jersey. What impressed Nancy was the artwork in these  out-of-print children's  storybooks. There were lots of houses, and their own seven children beautifully portrayed in these delightful stories, published by Parents Magazine Press.  He was an award-winning cartoonist, architectural artist, and talented illustrator. and  she a portrait artist.  They combined their talents in 1963 to write the Old Witch series. You must visit their website to see more of their extensive work! www.harryandwendedevlin.com

 Now I know from personal experience as a mural-painter working with my partner that it's not always easy to create art together, when you have different styles!  I am very intrigued by this amazingly talented couple!   Parents of seven children!!!

Later a customer claimed that she makes the best cake ever,  a Paula Deen recipe, called , Gooey Cake".  There's a double-chocolate version and a pumpkin one.  Recipes are on her website, www.pauladeen.com, and www.foodnetwork.com.
Paula Deen's Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake, from www.pauladeen.com


But it seems that June's cake is the  Vineland Women's Club"s  all-time-most-requested-everyone's-favorite, the Italian Love Cake!   Layers of chocolate cake, mousse, and Mascarpone, I think.
June's Italian Love Cake

I told her she should serve it to some rich, handsome, eligible bachelors.  See if it works!

June was dressed-up for a Women's Suffragette's Parade in Woodbury, N.J.

  June once tasted this cake at the club  years ago.   She just loved it , but when she later asked about it, no one remembered it or who made it.  Then one day she saw an article in the Atlantic City Press about an out-of-business Egg Harbor Township restaurant who's specialty was this mysterious cake!  There was the recipe!  She was so excited!  Now she often bakes this cake, as her own signature dessert.!
My booth had lots of tea things, teacarts, linens, dishes, glassware, and other vintage treasures!
Joan's forget-me-nots  teacup,    made in England

Adderly teacup and saucer

My pretty hankies

Vintage Bakelite Radio

Cute little Chintzware Sugar and Creamer

Milkglass Hobnail Sugar and Creamer

 







I didn't make much money this weekend but I certainly enjoyed being with my friends and sharing tea, stimulating conversation, and eating cake! 

Happiness is not something you get, but something you do.                                          ---Marceline Cox


While there's tea there's hope.    ---Sir Arthur Pinero


"It's always teatime..."   the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


image from www.magicmooonlightfreeimages.blogspot.com

I am so thankful for all I have, and for my blogging friends. 
 I wish you a truly wonderful time of sharing Thanksgiving with your loved ones!
Blessings, Linda