IT’S ALL ABOUT COFFEE, TEA, AND ME

I’m linking to Gypsy Fish for Silver Sunday.

This tin coffee maker belonged to my grandmother. Can you see the engraving on it? This modern convenience is called a “Drip-O-Lator.

Mother’s more modern coffee maker was a percolator.

I got this cute little coffee/tea maker with the blue and white server from Vanna at Delusions of Grandeur.

This hammered aluminum sugar and creamer belonged to my mother. There is a lid to the sugar server around here somewhere, but my grandchildren play with this set all of the time, and although I found the sugar and creamer in their little play hutch, I couldn’t find the lid.

Just a little tea pot, short and stout. With a basket handle and a graceful spout.

This server is the part of the post about me! Lately, I’ve been reminded several times of something my mother always told me - “never say never”! A couple of weeks ago, I told you that I have a lot of silver stored away, because I don’t like polishing it. I spotted this silver plated server at a flea market the other day, and I BOUGHT IT! Yes! You read that right. I bought silver after saying I do not polish silver. It was such a bargain (probably because it is in such bad condition). The way I looked at it, this piece was too far gone to worry about having to polish it! One time, Joni at Cote De Texas showed several beautiful hotel-type servers in her dining room. They are decoration on her table and buffet. Of course, since I think anything Joni does is wonderful, I thought I’d try to mimic Joni’s with a smaller version. Now I’m eating my words about all of my silver being hidden away! It’s really all Joni’s fault. You want to see what I'm serving on my new server today?

Don't forget to go to Gypsy Fish for links to silver all over Blogville (these other bloggers actually show beautifully polished silver). Thank you so much for visiting my blog. laurie

WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN-THEY LEAVE BEHIND A BIG MESS!

I’m posting a wild and crazy Mardi Gras table for Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

I’m really not sure I should even link to Tablescape Thursday, because just throwing things around on a table may not qualify as a tablescape! I don't think a dinner table should look like the streets of "Nawlins" after the Mardi Gras parade!

Salad plates: Belonged to my grandparents, so that’s my grandfather’s monogram on them.

Dinner Plates: Our wedding selection, Lenox Moonspun.

Flatware: Belonged to my mother. (Note: I did put the flatware on the chargers, rather than on the table – I’m just not sure how healthy it would be to ingest glitter.)

Silver chargers: Tuesday Morning last year; Gold chargers: Too long ago to remember.

Napkin: I think they were from Wal Mart years ago; Napkin rings: Pier One last year.

Stemware: Recent sale at Pier One

Miniature Chandelier: This was one of the bargains that Kathysue at Good Life of Design posted about. She’s always posting these great cyber bargains, and causing me to spend money. (But since they are always bargains, I love it!)

Baby: I don’t want everyone to be digging through the King Cake to find the “good luck baby”, so I put one on each plate.

Even the wine bucket came to the party wearing a Mardi Gras mask. See the cute wine bottle light that I won from Mid Atlantic Martha when she had a give-away. Even it got some Mardi Gras beads for the party.

The masks, beads, and parasol are souvenirs we’ve brought home from Nawlins over the years.

Now I have a big mess to clean up! Be sure you go see all of the tablescape links at Between Naps on the Porch. Thanks for stopping by. Don’t you want to stay and help me clean up this mess? laurie

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

I’m linking some more of my reds to Rednesday at It’s a Very Cherry World.

Be sure to go to visit sweet Sue at It’s a Very Cherry World for more Rednesday participants. Thank you for coming to visit me. laurie

THE BIG "M"-MOSAIC MONDAY AND MISCELLANEA

I'm linking to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

I LOVE DECORATIVE TILES!

I KNOW YOU ARE SAYING TO YOURSELF (OR MAYBE OUT LOUD), "LAURIE LOVES EVERYTHING". You may be right! I do have a wide variety of interests (that's a nice way of saying that I am a pack rat!)

You have now reached the Miscellanea part of this post. If you're just here for pictures, this would be the time to exit this blog. Thanks for coming.

MISCELLANEA REGARDING BLOG VISITING:

I have noticed that there are several blogs I visit on which my comments may not be getting posted. After I click "post comment", my computer jumps to the beginning of the post. I usually exit the blog at that time. Since I've been behind on my blog reading, there have recently been times when I wanted to look at a previous post. When I scroll down to click on "previous post", I find my comment for the post I just read still in the box with a "word verification" thingy that had not been visible when I was leaving the comment.


Another problem I've had is that, occasionally, after I click "post comment" and have almost exited the blog, I see a message that my comment could not be posted and I need to try to post it again. It usually posts the second time I click on "post comment", but I think I've probably left some blogs without noticing that.


I know that I have left comments that never appeared on some of these blogs. Is it something I am doing wrong? I'm wondering if bloggers are aware that they may not be getting all of the comments that are left for them. I love visiting blogs, but I'm usually hurrying. Maybe I just need to slow down and smell the roses (and make sure my comments are being posted). Do you always stay on the blog until you get notification that your comment has posted? Has anyone else experienced these problems? Any suggestions?

I know -- I can make a mountain out of a molehill.

I recently read a very interesting post and some very interesting comments on a blog. It was sort of an informal poll about what we like to see on blogs. I really enjoyed reading all of the comments. After I read the comments about what bloggers like to see, I started thinking about the multitude of blogs there are out there - blogs I've never visited, and blogs I never want to visit. I'm sure those bloggers have no desire to visit my blog either. (I still have trouble believing that anybody wants to visit my blog). That's the wonderful thing about blogging. We do not HAVE to visit a blog that doesn't interest us. So, if I visit your blog and leave a comment, I do not want you to feel that you have to come visit my blog. I want to visit blogs I enjoy reading, and that's what I want you to do too! Life is too short for me or you to be spending time reading a blog that does not interest us.


This was probably more than any of you wanted to read. When I first began blogging, I had a comment from someone that said "if you want me to visit your blog, post a lot of pictures - I don't like to read". That's okay-you don't HAVE to read my blog. Isn't that wonderful news? Now, before you start thinking that I'm trying to run off anyone who visits my blog, let me just say that I LOVE blog visitors. I know that I am never going to be one of those blogs that gets 100 or more visitors on each post. That's okay with me. I honestly would prefer to have 5 visitors who wanted to be here and leave a comment than 100 visitors who are here out of obligation. (I kind of do hope I don't get less than 5 visitors per post though!)

Thank you for visiting me today, and if this is your last visit to my blog, thank you for the kindness you have shown in returning my visits to your blog. Don't forget to go get links for mosaics at Little Red House. I'm pretty sure there will not be much to read on those blogs - just beautiful mosaics to view. laurie

A PIECE OF SILVER THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY!

I'm linking this post to Silver Sunday, hosted by Gypsy Fish.

You may be curious about the title of my post. I guess I should have said "the piece of silver that changed the course of MY history", but I was afraid nobody would be interested enough to come read my post if they thought it was all about me. If you've read my blog before, you may recall that I was adopted when I was almost four years old. I guess people don't give silver baby mugs to a 4 year old, so I received a silver goblet.

It was engraved with my name and my birth date. My biological sister, who was adopted with me, received one also. When our adoptive parents got us, we came without birth certificates. Those had to be changed to our new names, and our biological parents names had to be replaced with our adoptive parents names. Our adoptive mother had told her friends our birth dates, so we received gifts with our birth dates engraved on them.

You may be able to see my birth date of September 9 (a great day for births, since Tardevil's new baby was born on September 9th). (You may NOT be able to see the year, since I cleverly photographed it so that the year did not show. I'm pretending that all of you have not figured out that I'm an old lady!) My sister's had the date of September 11 (and the year after my birth year) engraved on hers. For all of our lives, we celebrated both of our birthdays on September 10 (the date between the two birth dates - are you getting confused yet?)

When I was a senior in high school, I went to Europe for a student exchange program. When I went to get my passport, my mother informed me that the birth date on it would be September 11, and the birth date on my sister's would reveal that she was born on September 19. Now I've really confused y'all. Well, it kind of confused me too. Mother said that when our birth certificates arrived in the mail, she realized that she had told her friends the wrong birth dates. Rather than let her friends know that they had given us gifts with incorrect dates on them, she kept the dates as she had originally thought they were. Whew! That was a long story for a small event. But I can tell you, it kind of shook my world to learn that I was not born on the day that I had been celebrating all of my life!

You've heard of a child being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, right? I guess when my parents adopted me, I was too old for a silver baby spoon, so I got a silver toothbrush! (It didn't make my teeth any better though, because now all of my teeth have silver in them! Do you think brushing with a silver toothbrush could do that?)

These two matching pieces of hammered aluminum belonged to my mother. They have a tulip pattern on them, and I've always liked the floral handles, which appear to be Dogwood blossoms.

I know there are collectors of aluminum who always check the bottom of the piece. I know nothing about that, but I'm showing the bottom of the basket in case someone out there is interested in the maker, etc.

I don't know how those candy hearts got in the basket! Be sure you go to Gypsy Fish to get links to all of the silver posts. Thanks for putting up with a post about MY history. laurie

FEELING KIND OF FRUITY!

I'm posting a little breakfast tablescape for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Place settings: Certified International Pamela Gladding

Stemware: purchased at Tuesday Morning last year

Platter: Poppytrial by Metlox (our every day wedding china selection)
Plates under Syrup Pitchers: Casa Stone, Autumn Waves

Vintage juicer: A gift from a friend who was trying to clean out her house!

Colander: Rommel Nueva for Saparna

I'm using the divided server I inherited from my mother for jelly.

Bowl I'm using to serve fruit: Fruit Russett (from Tuesday Morning last year)

You'll find links to great tablescapes throughout Blogville at Between Naps on the Porch. I very much appreciate you coming by to see my contribution to Tablescape Thursday. laurie

WHERE IS MY BRAIN?

I have been in Blogville for about 16 months, and I have never participated in Rednesday sponsored by Sue at It's a Very Cherry World! As much red as I have in my house, I am shocked that I haven't participated in all of this fun. I don't know what I've been thinking, but my brain finally kicked in, and today I am participating!

Apparently I was having trouble locating my brain when I did a post last week too (that's happening to me more and more these days). Last week, when I was sharing some of my children's dishes, I showed you how the dishes were displayed like a parade. I forgot all about this bowl I had in a cabinet in the kitchen that is a children's bowl AND a parade of red pigs...

and the mug with a parade of red animals encircling it. Although this bowl and mug look like Pyrex, they have no markings on the bottom. I am also showing you my rooster juice glasses (just because they are red and are in the same cabinet with the mug and bowl!). I love my vintage apple shelf paper given to me by my friend, Charlie Ann.

My last contribution to this week's Rednesday is a coin operated fire truck ride. Yes, this is in our house! We were on vacation when we spotted this outside a grocery store with a "for sale" sign on it. I don't know what possessed us, but we did a lot of haggling, and came home with this very heavy ride! Our grandchildren love to put a quarter in and ride it. (No, I'm not making money off of my grands. I provide the quarters.)

Don't forget to go to It's a Very Cherry World to link up with all of the red in Blogville today. Thanks for coming to see a little bit of the red in my house today. laurie

DO YA THINK WE'RE STAYING WARM?

Mary at Little Red House is our lovely hostess for Mosaic Monday, and today is her birthday, so you not only get to get links from her, you get to leave birthday wishes for her!

Now bundle up and go over to Little Red House to get links to mosaics. Thank you for coming to visit me. laurie

IT REALLY IS SILVER!

I'm linking this post to Silver Sunday at The Gypsy Fish. (I hope if she comes to look at my post, she doesn't kick me out of Silver Sunday!)

I'm going to reveal another dirty little secret about myself. I have a horrible confession to make. I own a lot of silver - really, I do! I received a lot for wedding gifts (back when silver wasn't as expensive as it is today), and I inherited some from my mother. It is all wrapped securely and put away, because I hate to polish silver. Okay, I've told you-it's out there now. I am NOT a silver polisher! What a waste it is for me to own silver. I know that, these days, it's okay to have a little tarnish on your silver, but I'm afraid mine has more than a little tarnish. (Actually, I don't know whether it does or not, because I don't want to unwrap it and look!) Sooooo, I decided I could at least post my high school charm bracelet for Silver Sunday. Imagine my shock and dismay when I looked at these photos and realized that my charm bracelet needs to be polished too! Oh No! Soooo, here's my once silver, now tarnished charm bracelet.

As a high school senior, I was very fortunate to spend a month in Europe participating in an exchange program. Being in high school, my shopping consisted of searching for charms for my bracelet! Oh how I wish I had known then what I know now! I have dreams about the china I could have brought back with me from Europe! When my husband was in the army, we were stationed in New Jersey and made many trips to New York City, so, of course, I bought a Statute of Liberty charm for my bracelet. (I had matured a little by then, and I did buy a few things for the house in N.Y. City.)

Yes, even I was 16 once, and yes, I did talk on a Princess telephone a lot (mine was blue instead of this tarnished silver). And no, I do not sew. I did take Home Ec, and I think my mother thought if she bought me a sewing machine charm, it would encourage me to learn. Sadly, I just wasn't interested at the time. Another one of those things I wish I had done differently.

I'll leave you with an untarnished photo I took in one of my high school classes.

I just went over to link to Silver Sunday at The Gypsy Fish and found that she had posted some wonderful old aluminum pieces. Why didn't I think of that? I have some of those, and they don't have to be polished. Maybe next Sunday.

Thank you for coming to visit me on Tarnished (oops! I mean Silver) Sunday.

PIG SOOIEEEEE!

I'm linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Recently, when the Arkansas Razorbacks played in the Liberty Bowl, we had a faux tailgate supper. It was soooo cold that night that we were glad to be watching the game at home on television while eating a chili dog.

Who would have ever thought that an entire state would be proud of calling the hogs? Yes, we do call them, and yes, we are proud of it! PIG SOOOOOOIEEEEE, RAZORBACKS!

Now I would like to share a more formal tablescape.

I know, I know - my subliminal message isn't very subliminal. Click over to Between Naps on the Porch, where you'll find links to wonderful tablescapes. Thank you for coming to our faux tailgate supper. laurie

A PARADE OF CHILDREN

I'm joining Tabletop Tuesday at Grits and Glamour. Don't y'all think Barb's Tabletop button is so pretty? Well, that's the way her whole blog looks, so if you haven't been to Grits and Glamour, do yourself a favor, and go see it.


Recently, The Nester did a post about not lining accessories up like a parade. I'm afraid I'm guilty as charged. So...you would think I would not post an accessory parade on my blog. But noooo, I just had to go post it. I tried to change it around so that it didn't look like a parade anymore, but I just couldn't do it. This parade marches across two of the shelves in our family room.

If you've been here before, I'm sure you realize that I am not a suave and savvy decorator. You probably already know my dirty little secret ... I like cutesy! I don't want to like it, but I can't stop myself. I'd much rather be suave and savvy. I have diagnosed this illness I have (I'm talking about the "cutesy" illness) as being the result of having been adopted when I was a toddler. I don't have any baby pictures or baby china, so when I go to estate sales, I just have to get some of that cutesy baby stuff to make up for not having my own! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (At least I don't bring home other people's baby pictures. I might some day though, if I see a reeeeely cute baby--then I can tell everybody that I was a cute baby!)

Having made my excuse, by telling you that I don't have any of my own childhood china, I have to tell you that the Hopalong Cassidy and Davy Crockett mugs were mine! (Yes, I wanted to grow up to be a cowgirl.) (For those of you who are younguns', I'll tell you that Hopalong Cassidy was a cowboy television show back in the olden days-when I was a youngun'). All of the rest of my parade are items I purchased at estate sales.

I just love this little girl and boy - so smitten with each other that they don't realize she is pouring the milk onto the ground.

Mary Had a Little Lamb mug.

Little Jack Horner child's tea set

Since this plate had a baby AND a dog, I had to buy it.




Another that I "had to" purchase, because it has a bunny and a dog

A Buster Brown advertisement plate. Another lesson for the younguns'...Buster Brown was a brand of children's shoes. Until I was a tween, I didn't know there was another brand of shoes - heck! there may not have been another brand of children's shoes until then! I had to wear bulky corrective shoes until I was in the fourth grade, so I coveted the cute Buster Brown shoes that other children wore. (Now I'm making an excuse for buying the Buster Brown plate. Obviously, I "had" to buy it to make up for being deprived of those cute shoes for years! I'm just full of good[?] excuses!)

I'm sure when you go get links for Tabletop Tuesday at Grits and Glamour, you won't find any other parades-just beautiful vignettes. Thank you for coming to my parade today. laurie

LIFE IS A BOWL FULL

Yea! It's Mosaic Monday at Little Red House, and of course, I'm not going to miss it.

Chubskulit at Etcetera Etcetera introduced me to Picjoke (a new-to-me site for creating fun photos), and I've been having so much fun playing with photos on this site. Thanks a lot Chubskulit. I stayed up all night playing with Picjoke! That's how my Valentine Party invitation got on that big sign.

Our sweet Ann (Life at Ann's Place) is back in the hospital. I will be forwarding cards to her. If you would like to send Ann a card, please see my sidebar for my address.

Don't forget to go by Mary's Little Red House for links to all of the mosaics. Thank you for coming to visit me. laurie

MY HUSBAND - I THINK I'LL KEEP HIM!

Look what my sweet husband did tonight! (I know, you've never seen my kitchen island so uncluttered-I only see it this way twice a year!) He oiled the island countertop. I love that he does that, and that I don't have to do it. This countertop has a story to tell, and I'm going to tell it (again)! If you've been reading my blog since it's beginnings, you can skip this part, because I've told this story before (unless you're as old as I am and forget what you've read).


When we were remodeling our home, I told my husband that I wanted to try to get teakwood for the island countertop. I couldn't find it in my area, so I called my husband's uncle, who is a woodworker in South Carolina. He said he didn't have any teak, but he had a huge slab of mahogany and that it would hold up well in a kitchen. Of course, when he told me the price, I knew I was in trouble. Our remodeling expenses had added up, and I had not budgeted nearly enough to get that mahogany from him. Months later, my husband telephoned me to tell me he was at the house, and I needed to come talk to the contractor about a question he had. When I arrived, his aunt and uncle were there from S. C., and there was this gorgeous mahogany countertop on my island. It was his anniversary gift to me! (He may not have known he was going to get stuck with oiling it twice a year, but he does it without complaint.)

Tonight, as I helped my dear husband unload the island countertop (interpretation: looking for places to set all of that stuff), I remembered a couple of other times my husband had surprised me. Once, we were in an antique store, when I spotted some dishes that I thought were charming. I kept picking them up and looking at them. The store owner said they were a "breakfast" set. My husband asked if I was going to buy them, and I told him they were too expensive. They were my surprise Christmas present that year.

Another time, in an antique store (yes, my husband goes to antique stores with me!), I said, "Oh! look at that Quimper". My husband replied that he would look at it if he knew what it was he was supposed to be looking at. I showed him 6 Quimper plates and a Quimper serving dish. He was picking up the pieces as I was giving him a condensed history of Quimper as well as a history of my fascination with it. Those pieces were my surprise Christmas present that year. (The antique dealer later told me how impressed he was that my husband knew what Quimper was and especially that he pronounced it correctly!)

I think I am one lucky lady. I love him, and I do think I'll keep him for as long as he'll have me! Thank you for coming to visit my blog. laurie

APOLOGIZING FOR APOLOGIZING!

EDITED TO ADD: I did not realize that this sounds like I'm complaining until I started getting comments. I'm not complaining about someone telling me that I need to stop apologizing. They are right! I really am just apologizing for apologizing!

I may make matters worse with this post, but I really am apologizing for apologizing. I recently received a comment from a blogger who told me that I need to quit apologizing for everything. I will not post that commenter's name, simply because I didn't ask her permission to quote her comment. It was not a rude comment, and in fact, it was kind and complimentary.

However, it did make me start thinking about my blog postings, which I don't often do. (I'm afraid if I think about my posts too much, I might quit posting).

I don't know what it was that made me start blogging. I do know that it was NOT because I thought I had some great idea to share. I visit blogs that are produced by decorators and designers, chefs and cooks, writers, artists, crafters, photographers, travelers, and inspirational bloggers with a deep understanding of God and the Bible. Some of these bloggers are professionals, and others say that their talents are just hobbies. I have none of those wonderful talents, and therefore, I really have nothing to share with the blog world. As a matter of fact, several months ago, I received a comment that said "you are just taking up space". Surprisingly, that didn't offend me though. I know that, no matter how little I have to say, I have as much right to have a blog space as anyone else. (I also know that the commenter was correct).

Some of the apologies on my posts are really half-way done in jest (I'm not really looking for a psychiatrist, even if I do need one!) If you have visited my blog more than one time, I'm sure you realize that I am a little short on self-confidence. Feeling that I have nothing worth sharing leads to apologies. (I always think maybe the next post will be worth sharing.) My apologies may also be made in self-defense. (If I tell everyone that I know I have nothing to post, then they can't leave a comment telling me that what I have to say is not interesting.) In all honesty, I do know that I have a problem collecting and keeping "stuff", and I also know that I have a chip on my shoulder about this problem. A lot of my apologies are made, because of this chip on my shoulder.

After reading this recent comment, I realize that my apologies might sound like whining, and that readers might be sick of reading them. I understand that, and I am making a promise now that I will ATTEMPT to stop apologizing. Apologizing is not something I do intentionally. I'm just being honest. I do it in real life too! (Aren't you glad you don't have to put up with that?) Although I'm sure this apology for apologizing will not be my last apology, I AM resolving to TRY to stop apologizing so much. I'm going to let this post serve as my blanket apology for all I have posted and might post in the future.

And guess what I have to do now. I HAVE to APOLOGIZE for this apology for apologizing! (I'm not starting off very well, am I?) PLEASE HELP ME! laurie