The Round Silver Tray

 I do enjoy a nice piece of silver, and I have collected some really beautiful pieces over the years.  And I am not afraid of good silverplate pieces.  Most people gravitate towards sterling because it's more valuable but if I really like a piece, I don't care if it's plated or sterling.  I have also inherited some lovely pieces of silver as well. This round tray is one of the pieces that I got from Mom.  Technically, it belonged to Mom and Dad, but Dad doesn't really care about such things, so I always consider it to be Mom's.

This is a serving tray.  A round serving tray that is about 12 inches in diameter.  It has a lovely border on it that is about 1 inch deep all the way around with intricate gingerbread work.  It is not anything extremely fine, but it is something that is extremely special.  My parents met in 1966 when they both were teaching at Bethel High School.  Dad taught physical education and Mom taught English.  They both graduated from East Carolina University but were four years apart and so their paths did not cross until Bethel. 

They were married on July 28, 1968.  This tray was a wedding gift to them.  It was presented to them by the senior class at Bethel High School.  They had it engraved so that Mom and Dad would always remember them.  I think that's so special that the students came together to do something like that for two of their favorite teachers.  The tray sat in a cabinet for most of my childhood and like so many other pieces in that cabinet it was only for display.  I don't recall Mom ever using it.  You know me, though, I love to bring it out and use it when I entertain.  And even though polishing it is kind of a pain because of the gingerbread work, it's still beautiful to me.  

I think the next time I have people over, I need to use this tray.  Come on over and see! 

Recipe of the week - Cranberry Meatballs

 This is an easy recipe using frozen meatballs.  You could serve it as an appetizer or as a main dish.  I have used it as my main dish and served it with potatoes or rice.  I hope you will give this one a try!

Cranberry Meatballs

1 bag frozen meatballs

1 14oz can of whole cranberry sauce

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp frank's hot sauce

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Place meatballs in your crock pot.  Mix all other ingredients together and pour over meatballs.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy!!

Life without a list simply did not work for me.

 

Recently, I have spent several weeks listless.  As an adult, I have always been a list person.  It helps me organize and be productive.  Lots of people use lists to get things done.  But for some reason, I decided to not use a list to get through my week.  I thought that would make my life more carefree and spontaneous if I was not bogged down by my own to-do list.  I was wrong LOL In some ways, yes, it was nice to come home and not feel boxed in by a list of things to get accomplished.  But then I realized that I really was not getting anything done at all.  I just sat around like a sloth.  I felt far from carefree and spontaneous.

So, I am going back to my list system.  It works for me and I actually get things done.  I kept thinking that, as an adult, I should be able to remember all of the things that I need to do without writing them down.  That was so wrong.  I am so far behind on so many things that I may need to double the length of my daily list just in order to catch up. And you know what?  I'm so excited about it.  That is how my adult life goes.  I am excited about my to-do lists LOL  Ah, well. I have a daily planner that I use that really helps.  Each month has its own calendar and then daily pages because, you know, that's how daily planners work LOL I have certain things that I do each day of the week and it's so easy to transpose those chores from week to week when I'm writing them down.  I also don't overload my daily to-do list if I'm keeping track of it.  Makes me more productive.

As exciting as this is to all you know, and I know that it is, I am going to end this little insight into my life.  I am off from work today and so I need to go and check my list to see what needs to be done!  Ah, these crazy escapades in adulting.  

For All We Know - The Carpenters

 I've been thinking a lot about my friend Lorraine.  One week ago, her husband left this world.  They had 28 wonderful years together.  I was privileged to be in their wedding.  Theirs was a beautiful love story and my heart goes out to her.  We should all be so lucky in love. 

Sorting into piles

 

When I am going through things in each drawer, each cabinet and on each surface, I divide them into categories.  Keep, trash, donate, sell.  Obviously, the keep pile is the biggest.  I just can't help myself there, but I am getting better.  It's smaller than it was!  And if you know me, that is a pretty big deal. My sell pile is also really a form of the keep pile right now.  In the back of my mind, I still think I may have some kind of antiques/collectibles business sometime down the road, so I want to keep an inventory of some kind ready. But these are also items that I will give to any of my friends if they see something they like.  I keep a picture album on Facebook of such things.  No one's taken me up on that one yet but oh well!

The trash and donate piles can be tricky for me though.  Sometimes I wonder if I should donate items that are not perfect and need repair.  Or should I just trash them.  I watch a show on tv called Money For Nothing.  It's a British show where this woman goes to the dump and finds items being thrown out and repurposes them.  It's a pretty entertaining show and some of the things she and her artisans come up with are outstanding.  So, when I am looking at something that I think I need to just throw out, I will often stop myself and wonder if someone could do something with it. I keep hearing that little voice in my head saying one man's trash is another man's treasure.  Sometimes I want to mute that voice because it makes me think too hard LOL  And I end up donating because for one, it's true that someone may be able to do something with it.  And also, it won't end up in the landfill because I saw little value in it.  Oh, well.

Right now, I'm still in the kitchen working so most everything is in pretty good shape to put into piles.  I'll keep going and once I get a good donation pile going, I will take it to the appropriate place and let it go.  Every pile has its value and forcing myself to make decisions like this is a good thing.  It's not as easy as you see on all of those home improvement shows, but it can be done!

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

It's good to have an end in mind, but in the end what counts is how you travel. 

Sleeping In

 

Sleeping in is something that I apparently cannot do as an adult.  It does not seem to matter if I go to be at 9:00 p.m. or 1:00 a.m. I am going to be up before the sun.  Every day.  This is not a bad quality to have but at times it is frustrating.  Sleeping in has become a fantasy in my life.  It's never a reality unless I'm sick and I don't count that.  That is my body telling me that I'm on a different schedule because of some virus.  That kind of sleeping in is far from pleasurable.  I'll take it, because I need it, but it's not the same as just sleeping in.

As an adult, I have become a morning person.  I never saw that one coming as a teenager.  I can get a lot more done in the morning when I put my mind to it.  I am not always productive in the morning, but I know that the possibility is there.  Some mornings I'm just lazy LOL When Michael and I were together, I got up before he did and that morning time was like my sanctuary.  It was my alone time and I cherished that.  That is kind of when I first learned that I needed some alone time each day to focus on myself.  So, I got used to getting up early.  Now, that I am single, I really don't have that excuse, but I still get up early.  

Last night, I told myself that I was going to sleep in this morning.  I went to bed around 11:00 p.m.  I purposely did not set my alarm.  I turned on my radio instead and let it play all night.  I love those nights when I can let the radio play and have music in the background while I'm drifting in and out of sleep.  But then 6:15 a.m. comes around and BAM.  I am awake.  No alarm except for my body alarm.  And it's not the kind of awake that I can say I'll just roll back over and go back to sleep.  I am awake.  I even remind myself that I am off today and do not have to be anywhere this morning.  That held no influence this morning.  I went ahead and got up, made my coffee and here I am.

I am not complaining that I cannot sleep in intentionally anymore.  It is just disappointing sometimes because it feels like a luxury that escapes me. Ah, the joys of adulthood.