A Prayer of Thanksgiving

 With Thanksgiving being next Thursday, I felt a nice simple prayer of thanksgiving is in order today. 

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

When shopping for food, give some thought to the people involved in growing, packaging and transporting it.  Every decision we make reverberates throughout the world, so bring awareness to the interconnections that flow through our food sources and the planet.  Be a caring consumer. 

One Drawer at a Time - Debating myself

 

When you're cleaning out stuff and organizing, it is inevitable that you will come across something that you have to debate yourself on.  Should I keep it? Will I use it?  Or is it just taking up space?  Now, I'm not talking about the sentimental things in my life but "practical" things that I have used maybe once.  That happened to me yesterday while I was organizing some cabinets in the kitchen.  

One of my cabinets holds my eating and drinking dishes.  Actually, several cabinets in my kitchen have dishes in them....big surprise, but this is the cabinet that I use every day.  I keep Mom's everyday china in there along with the glasses I drink from all of the time. Also, my coffee mugs are there. And then there are the various drinking tumblers I have received over the years.  One of them is, I think, called a wine tumbler.  I got it as a gift at a reception I went to a few months back.  It's nice but I look at it and think if I will use it.  I have plenty of wine glasses that I drink from at home, and I don't plan on taking wine out in public with me, so why am I letting this take up space?  Well, into the Goodwill box it went!

Another item that I debated about was a handheld chopper.  This was in another cabinet that I went through and organized on Saturday.  I cannot remember where I got this, but I have only used it a handful of times.  And every time I use it, I have the same experience.  Basically, it is not worth the effort. I think it is going to be convenient, and it never seems to be. It is just easier to get out a cutting board and a knife and chop away to my heart's content.  I know there are people who love these and good for them.  If any Goodwill shoppers are interested, it'll be there soon!

The older I get, the easier it is to let these things go.  I like that.  Now I have room for more stuff LOL  I'm trying not to do that, but you know how I am!

Mom's Tower of London mug

 

I love using this coffee mug.  I recently unearthed it during one of my many shopping trips out to my garage LOL I have several of Mom's coffee mugs, but this one is special.  Well, they're all special to me but this one was really special to her. During Christmas break of 1984, she went to London with her best friend Janet and a group of people from Wingate University.  It was either 84 or 85 but I'm going to stick with 84 LOL Anyway, this was the trip of her lifetime.  She had such a wonderful time on that trip.  This was one of the souvenirs that she brought home from the trip.  She brought many things for all of us.  I got a music box from Herod's which I still have.  But this mug was a little something she got for herself at the Tower of London.  I personally love the gift shops that are attached to tourist attractions.  It's always fun to get a little reminder of the experience.  The items are often kitschy but always bring a smile to my face.  And that is what this mug does when I use it for my morning coffee.  I think of Mom and the wonderful time she had.  It makes me smile. 😊 

Splitting my inventory into categories

 I first got interested in doing household inventory when my Aunt Sara's estate was being divided up.  She had written out inventories of both her belongings and the pieces that were part of the Bivens estate.  She lived in the family home, so it was really a combination of two households. Mom was the executor of the estate, so she had these inventories in her possession.  I just became fascinated with them and loved that Aunt Sara had noted the history of some of the pieces.  Over the next few years, I inventoried Grandmother's house, our house and Aunt Billie's house.  When Aunt Billie passed, the inventory did come in handy for my Uncle Bill, who was her executor, so I did find some practical good in what I was doing.  It wasn't all about the history.

Now that I am doing my own household inventory, I am doing it differently from those. Those inventories were done room by room.  That made the most sense because very little of these interiors changed over time. My house is different in that I am always changing things up, especially my collectibles.  I love moving things around and trying them out in new places.  So, when I'm doing my own inventory, I am using categories instead of room headings.  It's easier that way.  And it makes it easier for me to update the inventory.  My categories are furniture, silver, china, crystal/glass, household goods/collectibles, records, CDs, books, Christmas records, and Christmas decorations.  That pretty much covers my whole house.  If I think of a new category that would be beneficial to add, then I will add it such as electronics or jewelry.  For the time being, this works. And, more importantly, I enjoy it.  It's the little things, you know? 

Crab and Artichoke Dip

 When the FBC of Monroe celebrated its 150th anniversary, one the things they did to celebrate was put out a cookbook.  There are lots of recipes of current and former members in there.  Several of Mom's and Grandmother's recipes made it in as well.  The recipe for this dip was contributed by my friend Debby McBride.  I made it several months ago and loved it.  I have always loved imitation crab meat and so this was a great idea for me.  Don't get me wrong, I love real crab meat as well LOL  I plan on making this again soon.  I hope you try it and enjoy it!

Crab and Artichoke Dip

1 package imitation crab meat, coarsely chopped

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1 13.75oz can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

3 oz parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375.  Blend cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.  Stir in crab meat, onions, artichokes and cheese. Place mixture in a glass pie plate.  Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 18 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned.  Serve with crackers or French bread.  Makes 4-5 generous servings. 

The round silver tray

 

I have a lot of silver plate in my collection.  Mom had many pieces and so did Grandmother and I ended up with many of those pieces and I love them.  They take a lot of upkeep because silver plate requires lots of polishing, but I do not mind. This round silver serving tray is among the piece that I got from Mom and Dad.  When I was young, all of their silver was kept in a pine cabinet in our living room.  This large tray sat upright against the back of the cabinet, so it was always easy to see.  When I bought my first antique, the green checkered tea set that I have talked about here, Mom took this tray out and we used it to put that tea set on and it worked perfectly.  This tray was a wedding present to Mom and Dad from the senior class at Bethel High School.  This is where they both worked.  They met there and the rest is history.  It is not a perfect piece, but the fact that their students put their money together to buy this for them says a lot to me about their impact as teachers.  Every time I look at this tray, that is what I see. I see two young people beginning their careers and beginning their lives together.  This tray has seen many things over the years and I treasure it.