I took photos last Saturday in the last of the daylight. It was really a bit too dim, but I kept going anyway. I was so interested in what I was doing, and of course the light changing was gradual and my eyes could easily adjust, so it didn’t seem too dim – and then suddenly I realized I was peering in the darkness.
I saved the pictures to post on a rainy day, when I didn’t have good lighting for fresh pictures. And as it turns out they are murky anyway. Sometimes the learning curve is steep, isn’t it?
I thrifted this book. I almost left it behind, as I thought it was probably too outdated. Funny how our language changes. The title is American Country. Now, we would say Vintage, Cottage, Farmhouse, Shabby, Primitive, etc. But it was only a quarter, so I picked it up again, and looked more closely at the pictures and saw how appealing they were. There is no publication date in it. It is a TIME-Life book.
I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely irrational about my love for old cookbooks. I want to make everything in them, even if they would be strange to contemporary tastes. This picture shows how appealing the artwork is. I think I have the book in the upper left: All About Home Baking. Remind me and I’ll share sometime. Really, half the charm is in the wording of the text. The language has a cheery, quaint quality that is terribly endearing.
Do you collect vintage kitchen tools? I do, and I have the gray enamelware dish/plate/pie tin you see in the picture below. Check out the bread-slicing guide! That would be handy in my house. Slicing bread straight really is an acquired skill, and I’ve become pretty good at it. (But I must say that the rest of the crowd around here could use more practice!)
I love the prim look of shelf edging. I have made some crocheted edgings, but never put them up on any shelf edges. What am I waiting for? I have never seen newspaper edging, but I so love the thrifty creativity of the humble American housewife that it proclaims, don’t you? I’m dying to try it. I loooove to cut paper shapes. I still cut strings of paper dolls in all kinds of costumes, you know the kind? When you’re done, and unfold them, you have a series of identical dolls holding hands? I’ve made gingerbread boys, ragdolls, Boy Scouts (guess why), snowmen, clowns and schoolgirls. This is how I pass time at family gatherings when the kids need to settle down from the frenetic running around the house. Yeah, I do better at the kids’ table.
Have you ever used one of the early electric toasters? I have once. I was visiting my great grandmother for the day, and she made me tea and toast. With homemade bread, and homemade strawberry jam. No, really. And I’m not kidding when I tell you that she also showed me how to cut and press wool strips, and braid a chair mat that I still have to this day. (I really need to take a picture and share that.)
I recently inherited the toaster cut off in the pic below from my grandmother’s basement. For all I know, it was the toaster from Great Grammie’s house.
The strawberry-painted glasses are a recent GW find. They are in good condition, but some of the paint is a little cloudy from dishwasher exposure. (If you have painted glasses, never put them in the dishwasher, the detergent is too harsh; same for colored Pyrex casseroles and mixing bowls!) There was a matching pitcher on ebay, which I should have bought. Wouldn’t it be a charming lemonade or sweet tea set? (Speaking of ebay, I’ve taken the plunge, and made my first listings, wish me luck!)
I love the old canning jars with the glass lids and the wire bail. I created this little grouping the other day when I was doing my “Back-to-School” mantel display.
Speaking of canning, I am working up to learning more about canning, (not that I have a garden, and a bountiful harvest to preserve), along with learning more about pressure cooking.
I’ll leave that as a tease, hinting for future posts. I have recently bought 2 vintage Presto pressure cookers (4 qt.), for only a quarter apiece. And a vintage pressure cooker cookbook. So, if you want me, I’ll be in the kitchen.
2 comments:
Good design never goes out of style. That book looks to be a treasure trove of ideas.
Canning is not difficult at all. Fruit and jams do not need a pressure canner, whereas most vegetables do (other than tomatoes), because of their low acidity.
Are you planning to cook in your pressure cookers, or just can? I used a pressure cooker for years when we lived in the Andes mountains because the altitude was so high that some things, like carrots and green beans, just would not cook without added pressure. But I haven't used one much since we came back to Canada. They are fast.
Oh is someone canning some garden goodness?
Love the shelf trim.
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