Another estate sale and more recipes

 I went to another estate sale last weekend.  It is beginning to become an addiction with me.  And that's all I need, one more addiction LOL  But Alex invited me to meet him up there and so I thought I would.  You never know what you will find there and I did walk away with a few treasures. As you know, I love cookbooks and they had a bunch to choose from.  The ones I got were all church cookbooks so that always makes me happy.  I also bought a Tupperware deviled egg container.  Anytime I make deviled eggs, I always have to store them in a pan and that's never convenient because they tend to slide around.  So, when I saw this, I snatched it up.  Actually, I bought one just like it the week before at another estate sale but I accidentally left it on the holding table and didn't realize it until the next day.  Oh well.  I was glad to find another one so soon. Now, I feel obligated to make some deviled eggs LOL

I tried two new recipes for my Sunday lunch.  I was making a Chinese beef casserole, which I have made before, and wanted a good side to go with it.  After researching on the internet, I found a recipe for an Asian slaw with ginger peanut dressing.  It sounded good so I gave it a try.  I really liked it, the dressing especially.  Then I made a dessert called Nantucket Cranberry Pie.  When I was taking stuff out of my old freezer in anticipation of my new freezer, I realized that I had lots of cranberries in there.  Six bags of them. I think I got so many because you can only get them around here around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So I have been finding cranberry recipes and came upon this one.  It's good but not what I was expecting.  I would not call it a pie as much as simply a baked dessert.  It's cranberries and pecans topped with basically an almond flavored cookie. It just looks like a pie LOL Still, if you like cranberries it's pretty good and I will probably make it again at a later date.

It's always good to get out of the house and to try new things.  Here's hoping this week brings more of that!

Spring Bucket List

 I have been looking at my list of things to do for fun which started out as my 50 for 50 list.  Well, I did not get that list completed LOL  Oh well.  So, I have decided to break it up and see how much more manageable that is.  I know that there is a little less than one month left of spring, but I decided to do a spring bucket list.  Maybe the crunch time will motivate me to get things done more.  We shall see.  I am not putting pressure on myself to do it but simply using this as a guide.  A guide to get myself out of the house or out of my normal routine and enjoy things that are around me.  Let's hope I can check a few things off of this list!

1. Go to a museum

2. Attend a play

3. Host a meal for friends

4. Organize patio

5. Go to church

6. Go to a farmer's market

7. Visit a park

8. Get a new bird feeder

9. Get my library card

10. Take a day trip to some place I've never been

Since there are only a few weeks left of spring, I will get started this week, hopefully.  We shall see how things go.  I look forward to doing some fun things and some things that just need to be done.  Wish me luck!

One Drawer at a Time - finding something I hadn't used in a long time

 People see me post things online all the time about treasures I find in the garage.  I will say that I have been shopping out in my garage which is basically going through boxes to see what it out there that I had forgotten I had.  It's fun for me and I think people enjoy seeing it.  But sometimes it happens during my one drawer at a time process.  I know that I have something, but I've forgotten where it is.  Is it in the house?  Is it in the garage?  I cannot remember! And then I will stumble across things in the house and am pleasantly surprised to rediscover it.

There are two slender cabinets on either side of my stove.  My new stove!  And the other day I went through the one on the left.  Already did the right one several days ago.  The one on the left tends to be a catchall for things.  Lots of pot lids in there.  This time I came across two things that I had forgotten I had.  One is a keeper and one is not. As you know, my refrigerator was dying alongside my stove but long before that, the ice maker stopped working.  One day I went to get some ice from the container and nothing.  I tried everything to get that thing to start working again but had no luck.  Well, I decided that since it was just taking up space, I would take it out until we were able to get that fixed.  Guess where it went?  Yep, that left cabinet.  And now that I don't have the refrigerator anymore, there is no need to keep the ice container.  Thanks, recycling!

And then at the back of the cabinet, I found something I bought years ago and haven't used in a while.  Mainly because I could not remember where I'd put it and did not take the time to look for it LOL It's my bun warmer.  I love this thing.  We had one when I was growing up and Mom used it all the time whenever we had hotdogs or hamburgers.  I found one online years ago in eBay and snatched it up for myself.  I have enjoyed using it.  Gotta love a soft steamed bun for burgers!  I'm so glad that I have found this again and will hopefully remember where I am keeping this.  That has been my latest update for this process.  On to more drawers and cabinets!

My bun warmer before I put it in the back of the cabinet years ago LOL

The Prayer of St. Francis - arranged by Allen Pote

 A few weeks ago, I posted the prayer of St. Francis.  It's such a beautiful prayer.  This choral arrangement by Allen Pote is one that we sang when I was in youth choir at FBC. We sang this at the Baptist state youth choir convention.  I have that somewhere on cassette haha!  It's a glorious arrangement and brings back many good memories.  

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

You are an observer.  You have a body; you experience thoughts and emotions that come and go.  You alone remain; you are the witness to all these things. 

A childhood dream

 Yesterday, I read something online that really stuck with me.  It talked about how kids, well most kids, don't dream of growing up to be cashiers or waiters or janitors.  They had dreams and aspirations, but life took them in other directions for one reason or another.  The point of the post was that all jobs should be respected because we need those jobs in society and you don't know why someone does what they do for a living.  And that is so true.  There is no shame in any job, and no job is beneath us.

I am a Lead Hospitality Services Representative where I work.  Basically, I am a secretary.  My job is not looked at as being "just a secretary" by the company and my fellow associates.  And honestly, it took me several years to come to terms with that even though I very much enjoy what I do.  I am important at work just as our executive director is, just as our care coordinators are, just as our housekeeping staff is.  We are all parts of a machine that work together to do what we do.  It's a blessing. 

Anyway, when I read that post online, it got me to thinking about my own childhood dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I didn't want fame and fortune.  I didn't want to be a doctor or a lawyer.  I wanted to be a teacher.  Specifically, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. So many hours of my childhood were spent playing school with kids in the neighborhood.  Looking back on it, it's kind of funny that we spent a third of our day in school only to come home and play school.  But when you make that transition from student in life to teacher in play it gives you a different perspective on education. And we played school pretty much until we got into middle school.  I have a lot of good memories of that.  And it's what I wanted to do.  For years.

I had many great teachers in my formative years.  Wanting to be an elementary school teacher, though, was inspired by two specific teachers in my life.  Sue Richmond was my first-grade teacher.  She's the one who taught me to love music boxes.  I absolutely adored her and loved being in her class. She taught me how to read. She made our class feel special and treated every child with love and respect.  I remember that first day of class when we went to school and had to find which class we were in.  Outside of her door was a big apple tree on the wall and our names were written on the apples.  We got to take the apple off the tree and wear it on our shirt that day.  That has always stuck with me.

Walter Bickett Elementary began life as the high school.  Mom attended for several years until the new high school was built around 1961.  Then it became the elementary school.

Sandra Whitley was my third-grade teacher.  I knew Mrs. Whitley from church and had always loved her. When I got in her class, I was so excited.  And she did not disappoint.  Third grade was when we learned how to right in cursive.  If you have seen my handwriting, you might think that I had not paid attention, but I did.  I remember having those large sheets of paper with the huge lines in it that we that we used to practice our cursive on.  Do they even teach that anymore?  Mrs. Whitley was just fun and creative in the things she taught, and I wanted to have a classroom like that one day. 

Our third-grade class picture

I remember all of my elementary school teachers.  Mrs. Shell, Mrs. McClarty, Mrs. Thaxton, Mrs. Carson.  They were all such great teachers.  And never once did I feel like I was being taught how to take an end of year test.  Yes, we prepped for the CAT tests and there was pressure to do well on them.  However, quality of the learning is what made it so special.  And that was because of the teachers.  And that was my dream for so many years.  It is what I wanted to do with my life.  My parents both began their careers as teachers.  Grandmother and all of her siblings were teachers.  It was in my blood.  But it was not to be. Why I did not become a teacher is a story for another day.  In the meantime, I am going to enjoy those memories and say thank you for the inspiration.

Gold trimmed set of china

 If you've been paying attention, you know that I love sets of china.  As of today, I have 5 sets of china and I am working on #6 LOL  I cannot help myself.  I have always loved nice dishes.  I think that this is one of the reasons that the dining room is my favorite room in any house.  I love to see a table set whether it's formal or casual.  In the end, the dishes are only there to accent the people around the table.  That's what it's truly about.  But I digress.  I love china.  Period. 

This particular set is a set of gold trimmed china by a Polish company, Wawel.  The pattern is called WAV19.  Not a very spectacular name for a beautiful set of dishes but oh well.  I inherited this set from Grandmother.  Of course, it was supposed to go to Mom but since she had passed by that time, it came to me and I couldn't have been more delighted despite the circumstances.  

Grandmother inherited this set from a cousin on the Laney side, Isabel Wolfe.  Isabel was a very interesting person who, unfortunately, got taken in by several people who took advantage of her late in life. That's a story for another time, but I will say that karma's a bitch.  Anyway, she told Grandmother once that she was going to leave her a set of china.  She had several but didn't tell her which one. It ended up being this set.  It's a service for 12 and she had most of the pieces.  Dinner plates, salad plates, bread plates, fruit bowls, cereal bowls, cups & saucers, teapot, coffee pot, etc.  A lot of pieces. Grandmother used it on special occasions and holidays.

I am much the same way.  This set always comes out at Christmas.  But I do enjoy it throughout the year. I have even taken it to work to use for special occasions there.  That's where these pictures came from.  And, after doing research, I know that there are other pieces out there that I do not have yet.  Hmmmmm.  Something for me to hunt down!  The beauty of having these dishes is that they not only bring back wonderful memories from years ago but they have also helped me to create beautiful memories as an adult.  I hope one day to pass them on to someone who will love them as much as I do.  And someone who will use them!!