Happy Winkle Story

The other day a woman that I've known slightly for a few years dropped by my house to pick up her daughter who was hanging out with my daughter. The girls used to dance together, so I know a few things about the mom just by dint of passing the time waiting for dance classes to end. So, for example, I know that this woman's parents died when she was quite young and she was raised by 7(?!) older brothers. She was old enough to remember her mom, but still quite young if I recall correctly. I only tell you this because it is important to the rest of the story.

So she came to pick up her daughter and stepped into my kitchen. Her eye was immediately drawn to my lovely new plate rack and it's three Kathie Winkle platters. She said, "I like your plates. They remind me of dishes that my mother had when I was young." I asked if her mother had one of those patterns and she said, "No, but similar to those." I proceeded to give my "mini" Kathie Winkle lecture, and then to illustrate reached into a cupboard to find a dish by which to illustrate the numerous lovely patterns available. As I pulled out the bowl and turned it towards her. She gasped. "That was my mother's pattern." I immediately offered it to her. She demurred that she wouldn't "break up the set". My daughter guffawed(!) and I patiently explained that, really, I have plenty and I would be really pleased if she would take it. I checked it for chips and cracks (remarkably, I have several pieces of Rushtone, the pattern I had grabbed, and wanted to give her a decent one) and insisted. She held it to her chest and said, "I don't have anything that belonged to my mother."

It really makes all that gathering worthwhile. She has since told me it holds a place of honour in her china cabinet. Sigh.

Let it snow, let it snow...

For those of you who are just starting summer, here is a shot from my kitchen window this morning. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

I've "Bean" Negligent

I feel chastened. I really want to blog more regularly (nothing more exciting than to see my blog floated to the top of the list on Livinginthekingdomoftoomuch!) (I'm not sure how I managed to escape the cull, but thanks Library Girl. I pledge to do better....) In my defence I have to say, it's not easy to get on the computer (a 14 year old blogger, youtuber, etsy entrpreneur and two 11 year old minecrafters!) but even when I do sometimes I have nothing to say.

My life is fairly dull which I suppose could be a good thing. For example, my exciting post today is about my beans. I grew several types of runner beans this year. I can't remember any of the names. I mostly picked them up for free in the seed exchange at Seedy Sunday over the last couple of years and finally planted them beside the garage in my new garden.

(Unfortunately my 11 year olds are also budding movie maker so my pictures often go missing during footage download. So, no photo of the new garden in full growth but here's a link to the bare bones.)


Well, they are finally dried out and I hulled them all last weekend. Sadly, the black turtle beans and some little brown beans were a bit mouldy (I salvaged enough to replant next spring) but I did get some lovely spotted beans (no pic) that we at on Monday in a pasta fazool casserole that the kids loved. The beans were delish. (Yes. we ate them all in one sitting. The entire harvest came to one cup of dried beans!).

But then I also harvested these BEAUTIFUL red and white beans (name unknown). My daughter took this cute picture.

Those (young looking) hands are mine. I have about two cups of these so maybe two meals. I would love suggestions of simple bean recipes where you really get to taste the beans and the lovely beans don't get hidden by sauce.

Ok, looking (fruitlessly) for the picture of the garden, I came across these photos of the boys learning to sew. Mr. Li made a small bag and Mr. T made a pillow. Their seems were remarkably straight for their first try. I think they liked it. Maybe this winter they can try pyjama pants.

Mr. Li's hand-painted t-shirt.

Oh, and this is Mr. Li's technological advancement on the simple can and string phone. That's the other can in the left corner of the picture. It sorta worked.

Ciao for now.
c.

Me warm. Me happy.

Here's a few nice pictures of my latest acquisition. Check out the label first.

Can you read that in reverse? The small print says "Borg Fabrics Ltd. Elmira, Ontario.

Ok, the lining which is perfect...with a lovely spray leaf pattern..

And the whole shebang...

Nice big collar for windy days...

And the price tag (what you can't see here is the MARKDOWN price: $19.99)

Me warm. Me happy. 

Holy Winkle-Stack, Batman!

So, wandering through my local St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop today, I thought to myself, "There's never any Kathie Winkle here anymore. Someone else in town must be collecting it." Not two seconds later, I spied a pretty green bowl, my eyes focused, I thought, telltale Winkle signs, oh the shape, like those blue ones, quick check on the bottom, SCORE! And better yet, at the counter the nice lady looked at the stack and said, "Would $5 be ok ma'am?" and then she gave me 25% off because it's a special day. !.

The stack includes fruit nappies, cereal bowls, sandwich plates AND the 8" luncheon plate that I have only one of. These are all in a slightly different shape than usual called Riviera Shape (I have some blue ones like this called "San Tropez" - they have a curve at the outer edge of the plate and slight bumps around the circumference).

This lovely pattern is called "Electra". Aren't they beauties? I've never seen this before, online or in person.

While I'm here I thought I'd show off my new plate rack that I wanted to use to display my many Winkle platters in a spot I could also easily grab and use them. It's a rotating display... I have many more than three... eek.

Winking

Have been away - did you miss me? You didn't miss a thing -  I didn't have anything interesting to post. But today! Well, we were on holidays for a couple of weeks - a road trip through Quebec, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the trip I found my FIRST EVER piece of Kathie Winkle in the USA. It was in a little "vintage shop" - $12 for a gravy boat and plate in the Viscount pattern. Well, I already have lots of Viscount and didn't really need a gravy boat so I passed it up (my daughter was flabbergasted and thought I should buy it JUST FOR THE PRINCIPLE that it was the first piece ever in the USA). I held my ground.

Fast forward to the second last day of the trip, at the Value Village on PEI where I found yet another gravy boat but in a TOTALLY NEW PATTERN! Palma Nova. What do you think? The leaves look so delicate - sort of like they do when they've almost rotted through on the ground and just the veins are holding a transparent bit of cellulose together. Of course I bought it ($3.99!) and now will have to find some gravy so I can justify the space it takes up...

I'll try to think of something interesting to post soon. Summer holidays though so not much happening but coffee, a bit of weeding, reading, coffee, drinks with friends, laundry, coffee...

Recipe for a new kind of Casserole

For several months now, students in Quebec, Canada have been on strike, protesting proposed tuition fee hikes. They have coordinated many small and massive marches. After some of these protests turned violent, the government of Quebec instituted a new law restricting gathering in groups etc - basically restricting people's ability to protest. Now they've made EVERYONE angry! Here is the latest in creative protest - les parades des casseroles. "Casseroles" in french is basically pots and pans. What I love about these protests is how they bring all kinds of people together - and they are so joyous. Enjoy.

Mish Mash

Well, it's the 12th of May today, just over a week since our first rhubarby feast and we've just finished our third. We've had two (three?) batches of sauce, a decadent upside-down cake, and a rhubarb crisp. Mmmm. I'm in heaven!

Renovation update...

You thought it was all over. We had almost forgotten it ever happened and then... I gave up on the parts we were awaiting for the range hood - THREE MONTHS was my absolute limit. SO I packed it into the van and returned it to the shop. Then I went up to order a different one, only to be shown this interesting thing they found... the PARTS! So, I took ours back and VOILA it is installed and working and sucking all the smoke and grease and steam straight out of our kitchen. Here is Joe, not making enough steam to justify the expense but HE WILL!

That leaves just the kitchen lights to go - they are here but I just need to get the electrician back to install them. Oh, and then there are the boxes in the basement that are still full of all the crap that used to fill up the kitchen... I think they will go directly out to the lawn for the Great Gilmour Street Garage Sale in a few weeks...

Project - Opinions welcome:

I'm starting a new garden where the sandbox used to be. It's beside the "garage" which is really just a (shockingly shabby-looking) shed. I've made two parts. The path across the middle is made from the caps that used to be on the front porch but which were replaced by the stonemason when he discovered they were causing the porch bricks to degrade. In front of those will be an herb garden - Joe wants one he can see from the kitchen window so he'll remember to go out and get some. The back will be for climbing beans - I've picked up some lovely ones at the seed exchange. So the question is this - I have a little rustic trellis at the left that I made from sticks a while ago. Then I've been saving this stair railing set for years thinking I could use it for something - that's the thing in the middle that looks like an inverted v. Can't decide if it looks good or just dumb. Or if I should get rid of both and just run lots of string from top to bottom or what. Any thoughts? (PS the garage doesn't look this bad in real life... I hope!)

On a related note, there is still lots of compost to be transported...

Cheers,

c.

First Rhubarby Feast

I just picked my first bunch of rhubarb for the season - May 4 - which I believe is a few weeks early.

(I wish I could post this in smell-o-vision! Wow!)

And I just went to reprint my rhubarb cheat sheet from my previous blog post and realized it's no longer printable. I thought it was - I was sure I had posted a pdf. Now I'm not even sure that's possible...
I will try to figure that out but meanwhile, I will post the stewed rhubarb recipe as that's what I plan to make along with some scones - want to savour the pure rhubarbiness. I will likely shorten the sugar. I like a little bite in my rhubarb.

stewed rhubarb
6 cups rhubarb
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp water (try without) 
simmer 15 m minutes.


(Seems a bit silly posting this - too simple - but I guess if you've never made it...) 


Cheers,
c

Happy To Make L...

The title is my attempt at humour - I'm taking an html course. Well, it's actually a introductory web design course which starts with HTML. I have much and varied experience but no clear overview of how it all fits together, plus much of my knowledge is outdated. SO, I signed up for a course at our local community college. Naturally the course I picked is at their furthest-away campus. Anyway, it's a nice drive, once a week, and an evening all to myself. The skill level of the group is quite varied and the instructor is a guy who actually runs a business in web design and not a teacher per se. I successfully resisted my teacherly instinct to explain more clearly when someone didn't understand, and to run around helping people who were having difficulty. I just sat, and played, and tried stuff out, and had fun. It felt so indulgent. I was really happy by the time I got home. Looking forward to next week. When I have something worthwhile to show, I will post a link. Meanwhile, here's how to make a break
in your work. And how to make a larger

heading

.
Cheers
c

A Wee Dent

Well, after 20 or more wheelbarrow loads of compost, I have managed to make a wee dent in the side of the massive compost pile on my lawn. What was I thinking? Three and a half yards of compost could cover every garden on the street! Well, I've now put at least an inch on all my flower beds. I have put an inch on some of the veggie beds and will work them in later this week. Joe has added four or five loads to the former sandbox and this is what remains. Compare and be awed by my hard work (and sore back).

Day 1. Friday. Untouched. 3.5yards.

Day 2. Saturday. 5 hours work. About 14 barrowfuls.

Day 3. Sunday. 4 more hours of hauling. About 10 more wheelbarrows. (And still enough to feed every earthworm in the northern hemisphere and two or three thousand from down under.)

Ok, I admit I stood further back in the street for the last photo. It's not as small as it looks but it is demonstrably dwindling... I just wanted it to look as impressive as my lower back feels.

Here's where some of it went. Remember, this is still April. We've just unthawed from winter although everything is MUCH further ahead this year than normally. A couple of more months and these beds will seem just PACKED with perennials and lettuce and beans and tomatoes.

Main veg patch. That's my horehound under glass to the right. You can't see them but the peas have broken through the surface. And there are some veeeeerrrryyyy tiny cilantro, lettuce and arugula sprouts coming along.

Front flower garden. Only a few tulips and bergenia so far but give me a month...

This is beside the back stairs. Again, tulips, euphorbia (yellow centre top) and two measly daffs. The sign says "beware of cat".

Breakfast for the forsythia.

And the periwinkle.

And the former sandbox, pre-compost, soon to be a bean and herb garden.

Sorry for the lousy pictures. It was getting dark. I also have to figure out how to rotate the darn things. 

Cheers,

C.

Black Gold Mwahahah!

I just arrived home to this beautiful pile of compost that was delivered today by the city. This is what 3.5 yards looks like.

Of course, my immediate thought was "Can I take a personal day for compost redistribution?" I'm pretty sure it's not on the list of acceptable reasons but perhaps it's worth a try? I have been talking about ordering a load of compost for a few years now and I finally did it. The price is probably good but makes me blanch because I can make compost for NOTHING in my backyard. And I do, but  I can't make enough to keep my voracious gardens happy. This year though - ho ho - the veggies will be bountiful, the flowers will be vivacious, my back will be killing me...

And in other gardening news...
The rhubarb is growing like gangbusters - at this rate I may have my first rhubarb cake made in the first week of MAY!

The peas, are sprouting (despite the cement like soil that is dying to be amended by that lovely compost)...

and the first asparagus is tall enough (weird how it grows horizontally here in the northern hemisphere hey?)

 and about to be eaten! (Watch for our deliciosity rating post tomorrow.)

Cheers,
C.

Quick Stolen Post

Another one stolen from my daughter... this is one of those "makes me inexplicably happy" objects. Made by her and photographed by her and posted by her . Weighs a ton but works!

PS. Hello Cambodia and Russia! tee hee.

Soreno!

Ok, I admit that my brain did not un-fart itself - I resorted to re-researching a topic that I had researched before. The picture below is from an e-bay seller but until recently I owned one of each size of these jugs (although a longer story is hiding there to be told another day). This is the same series as C's salt and pepper shakers noted in the previous post.

These ultra groovy glasses from Anchor Hocking were also made in amber, turquoise, and clear, lots of sizes and shapes of glasses plus bowls, vases, jugs, and salt-and-peppers. A similar series called Lido had bigger uneven bubbles, was available in the same colours but also had a big ball-shaped jug that IS perfect for sangria as the lip holds the fruit in the bowl while you pour. Or so I'm told...

This is a picture from an etsy shop of the Lido jug in turquoise (my current one is avocado although I've had a gold one in the past... part of the long story for another day...)

PS I hate when the computer thinks it is smarter than me. Just realized the computer had changed "easy" (damn -there it goes again!) that was ETSY to easy. grrrrrrr!

Oops, the colour up there is actually aquamarine! See... (now I'm really stopping this post no matter what else I find!)

image from rubylane

OK, you know what, the middle jug might be the Milano style - flatter more open bubbles, the lido is more wormy looking and the sore no is the straight worms. (Damn! SORENO not sore no!) bye.

How Do Ya Like Them Apples, Part 2

I DID take a better picture of my friend C's kitchen. Check out that turquoise! And a few more of her treasures:

C has a fantastic collection of painted glassware, a HUGE pile of Kathie Winkles (none that made it to this picture) and I think she has new salt and pepper shakers every time I visit! (pictured here are the tall wooden souvenir ones - florida? bermuda? and the cute clear ones with yellow and red tops, and the green rippled ones that I used to know the name of but since my amygdyla has been acting up I can't access it at the moment!)

(If I can sneak a few more pictures of her house I will post them here. It's such a cute house that it makes me happy every time I visit and I know it will make you happy too).

PS Hello to visitors from The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Germany! Wee!

Drive Your Tractor To School Day!

Best news item I've seen all week.
(go to the article to see all the photos) http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3531052#

How Do Ya Like Them Apples?

Gathered with friends Friday evening for a feast. I brought this Flat Apple Thingy (not likely the actual Martha Stewart name but descriptive). It's got layers of phyllo pastry, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and pecans or walnuts, and a final layer of very thin apple slices covered with yet more melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. Yummy.

The best part of this picture is getting a glimpse of my friend's lovely kitchen. The counter was made by her hubby, and she's painted the cupboards a vibrant turquoise. It really shows off her amazing collection of vintage goo gaws and dishes and paraphernalia. (I took a third picture that showed more of her goodies but it didn't turn out).

Bits of Home

My daughter bought herself a fancy new camera with money she made selling doll clothes through her Etsy shop, MonChatDansLaLune. (You may already know this because you read my rant about the cake photos...grrrr).

I decided to do a little poaching of my own. She's taken about 500 photos in the last two or three weeks, many in my house. I've skipped through them and found some that feature little bits of my home. For your viewing pleasure...


1. pile of old toys - my tin dollhouse from childhood, several windups I've bought my husband over the years, an old upholstered heart-shaped box with antique jacks from a great-aunt, and the prized tardis printed off the internet and folded into shape!

2. Closeup of the spokes of the indoor, winter-bike used in front of the tv for movie catch-up but more importantly a glimpse of the G-R-O-O-V-Y wallpaper circa 1972 in our "rec room".

3. chipped and crazed Winkle teacup and saucer waiting to be planted in the garden. It's sitting on top of my gardening box, which is some sort of old tool box that I bought at an auction for $2 along with some rusty loppers and two funny poles with stripy balls on top

4. Sheer kitchen curtains (salvaged from one of the many custom sets that were covering EVERY window in the house when we moved in) with two sheer aprons for zest.

 5. A glimpse from the kitchen through the "cubby" and into the front hall. On the right you can see the strip of wallpaper that was saved in the Great Kitchen Disaster of 2012 - it has all the kids heights from the day we moved in (boys 2, girl 5) to last month. It got a bit crowded in the middle so we now limit recorded measurements to once a year! The "cubby" is just the top of the basement stairs but has a cupboard and the phone and bulletin board, the so-called "Family Nerve Centre" according to Martha Stewart. There's a good photo of Joe at the barbershop in his 20s (top centre of this picture). Front hall you can't really see anything but maybe you can make out the DUST on the top of the door frame...

C'est tous pour le moment...

WInklepedia Part 3, Plus Other Stuff

A couple of months ago I commented on a post by LibraryGirl over at Living In The Kingdom Of Too Much. It was related to Kathie Winkle obsession and I counted my dishes. The result was not pretty and has just qualified me to be on an episode of "Almost Hoarders" for those who are just pathetic and not pathologic. Anyway, on the weekend I decided to get on with the gardening and plant some early seeds - peas, lettuce, arugula. And when I opened my lovely gardening box, I found (tada!) four or five more Winkle plates, all with cracks or bad crazing or chips. So these are now planted in the garden. Hopefully, they will not produce fruit (egads! there is really NO MORE ROOM!)

surrounding the asparagus patch

and the horehound (can you see the pathetic little thing in the middle? can't get it to grow - I need enough to make candy this year or I'm giving up on it!)

Volunteers
Also, I discovered while cleaning up the beds that arugula seeds had planted themselves from the plants I left in the garden, some in the path and some in the garden. The sprouts are already about an inch high. (:squeal of glee:).

As Pair of Guys
Also, peaking out of their tidy holes already are two asparagii (sp?).

Rhubarb Redux
And the rhubarb has been treated to a dressing of not-quite-finished compost. It is already making a comeback (even the bits that were completely trampled). Yeah!

Peas Support Our Cause

Here is my new pea trellis - the au natural look. (Of course, I expect the peas will grow up and not sideways despite the photo). 

And Finally Rick Mercer
The high school I teach at raised the most money of all schools across Canada in the Spread The Net school challenge (actually we raised 1/5 of the money raised by all the 47 schools in the challenge!) The school that raises the most money gets featured on the Rick Mercer Report. For those of you outside Canada, the RMR is a weekly comedy "newsmagazine" style tv show. It is very political and quite funny. One of the best parts is Rick Mercer's weekly rant on the stupidest things going on in politics at the moment. He featured our local MP, Dean Delmastro, a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, our show is on TONIGHT - he gave our school 7 minutes AND his rant is about the closing of our school. Watch if you can. 8pm tonight on CBC tv in Canada. I'll post the youtube link later if I can.

Cheers.