BANANA BREAD COBBLER

As some of you know, cooking is not my most favorite thing to do; but occasionally I run across a recipe I just have to try. In the new February issue of Southern Living magazine was a recipe for Banana Bread Cobbler. If you love bananas, this is both unusual and quite tasty. How can you go wrong with two cubes of butter? If you don't have the magazine, you can check out southernliving.com.

This recipe calls for self-rising flour. I always make my own to keep on hand. My recipe for self-rising flour is:
6 cups regular flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt

Mix the three ingredients together and store as you would regular flour.

I'm joining in with Michael Lee at Designs by Gollum
for her weekly Foodie Friday party. Check out her blog for a list of participants.

SURPRISE PACKAGE!

Sue of Rue-Mouffetard is the best blogging buddy ever. She is always sending me cards, notes of encouragement, and presents. After my recent surgery, she knew I was struggling a little, so she sent me a box of goodies to cheer me up.

Inside this beautiful basket was yummy biscotti, a huge tea cup, and a variety box of teas. Somehow she just knew that I was trying to cut down on my Diet Coke intake, and I was searching for a tea as a substitute. I have had so much fun sampling all of the teas from this neat gift basket. A little biscotti with my tea hasn't hurt either.

Thank you, thank you, sweet Sue. You are the best!!

Sally

MET MONDAY - HEADBOARD

It's time for a new project! Ever since we bought a king-sized bed 18 years ago we have not had a headboard. I was tired of losing my pillow down between the bed and the wall, but couldn't decide what type of headboard I wanted. The problem was that I absolutely love our bedroom furniture, which my parents purchased new in 1937. It is walnut and the quality is wonderful. The set consists of a four-drawer chest of drawers, a dressing table with bench, and a full-sized four-poster bed. Pictured below is the chest and the dressing table. The bed is up in the attic waiting to be reunited with the others someday in the far future. The bedstead is so beautiful, I just couldn't make myself somehow cut it up to make a king-sized headboard.

I had been thinking an upholstered headboard just might be the thing; then, Bob brought home these pieces of a former twin-size head & foot board that he salvaged. So we decided to use the posts in combination with the upholstery. After Bob redid the posts, he cut 2 pieces of plywood for the base of the upholstery.

We then upholstered the plywood with 1" batting and the toile fabric that matches the dust ruffle. We added the antique brass tack strip 1 1/2 inches in.

I always like to finish the back of anything - you never know when part of it will show. So we stapled this fabric on the back, and covered the staples by gluing on the gimp.

The three posts were attached to the two upholstery boards, and now we have a fast and inexpensive headboard that compliments our great walnut furniture!

I'm joining in on Metamorphosis Monday this week hosted by Susan at
Between Naps on the Porch.
Check out her blog for a list of all of the participants.

IT'S CLOCHE PARTY TIME!

It is cloche party time again with our able hostess, Marty, at
A Stroll Thru Life.
You will be inspired by all of the wonderful ideas of the participants. Be sure to go by Marty's for a list.

For my cloches this time, I have assembled some jewelry, etc. from my family.

Four of the pocket watches belonged to my paternal grandmother and grandfather, and a great, great uncle. The gold watch with the bird engraving belonged to my great grandmother. The little crocheted change purse in the lower right corner belonged to my maternal grandmother.

The medium-sized cloche is sitting on my mother's baby cap, and encloses my grandmother's wedding ring, my grandfather's cuff links, another grandfather's stick pins, and a pin belonging to my grandmother. The picture is of one of my great grandmothers taken when she was 16.

BIRTHDAY BOY!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST VALENTINE PRESENT EVER!

Wyatt, you have completely stolen our hearts.
Love from Grammy and Papa

VALENTINES IN A BOWL

Not a lot of energy flowing around the Salmagundi household since the surgery, but I sure didn't want to miss the Valentine's Day party hosted by Laurie at
Bargain Hunting with Laurie.
The extent of my Valentine decorations this year just include some of our collection of vintage cards in a bowl.

You know that any party at Laurie's has to be a blast, so be sure to stop by her blog and check things out!

I'm also linking up with Mary at Little Red House
for Mosaic Monday. There is always such beautiful photography at that Monday party, so check Mary out also.

Thanks for stopping by; and may you have a lovely Valentine's Day!

TARNISH BUSTERS

I have sure enjoyed seeing all of the blogs recently showing off their beautiful silver. I love silver, but the care of it sometimes overwhelms me as I'm not really into the tarnished look especially on eating utensils. I have four large sets of beautiful sterling flatware that I have inherited, but I find myself reaching for my stainless steel to avoid the care and feeding of the sterling.

Yesterday, I received my March 2010 issue of "Country Living" magazine which suggests storing the silver with a piece of chalk to ward off the tarnish. I've also heard that camphor available at a pharmacy works when stored with silver.

Have any of you tried these two methods? Also, do any of you put your sterling flatware in the dishwasher? If so, I would love to hear your comments. I found a piece of sidewalk chalk in the grand kid's stuff, so I'll be giving this a try.

Happy Ground hog's Day. I guess we are to have six more weeks of winter, but I'm sure Spring is not too far off!!!

ALL'S WELL HERE!

Surgery, recovery, and therapy have been going well. I'll omit the details as I'm sure no one really wants to hear about them.

I've really discovered what great friends I have made in blogland the last two years. I have so appreciated all of your encouragement and comments. Sue at Rue-Mouffetard
was so supportive before surgery; then gave me a phone call the day after surgery. Those of you that know Sue can attest to the fun it was to talk to her.
Then, my other SUE friend from back east, Suzie Q at Rabbit Run Cottage
surprised me with the delivery of this gorgeous, sweet smelling bouquet. I was so excited that I probably scared the poor, delivery gal to death - a 71-year old lady in sweat pants, with tubes running in and out all over the place and a bad hair day is not a pretty sight! But, I have so enjoyed those flowers with the sentiment behind them.

Thanks to everyone!!!!
I'm still lacking stamina at the keyboard, but I'll try to return to full blogging activity in a week or so.
Again, my sincere thanks to all of you.
Sally

YUK!! IT'S SURGERY TIME.

The time has come, and tomorrow is the day. I have an important date with my orthopedic surgeon and anesthesiologist. They are going to repair my rotator cuff - sounds like a football injury, doesn't it? But it is nothing that glamorous - just another one of those old age thingies that crept up on me.

I'll be back as soon as the anesthetic fog lifts and I can type again!!

Sally

MY SILVER STORY

Recently, everyone has been showing their silver. I decided that I should join in; but first, I need to fill you in on the history of my silver.

When we were married in 1958, it was quite fashionable to give and receive silver serving dishes as wedding presents. Evidently, we were fashionable because we received over 40 pieces. Now, this is just what two 19-year-old, college students living in a two-room basement dumpy apartment needed. So, the silver lived boxed up in my parent's basement for several years with my Dad always asking when we were going to take our stuff to our own place.

Finally, after we bought our first house; we unpacked the silver and displayed it, but not using it. In those days, there was no such thing as the 'tarnished look'; so I faithfully polished every month. Then, I entered into my 'earth mother' era and was too busy baking bread and tending to babies to polish. The silver was packed up again and began its 40-year existence under the bed. It has been moved many times to different houses, but always shoved back under the bed.

The only time I have dug into the box was thirteen years ago when our daughter got married. We used several trays and the coffee service on her reception table. I repacked everything at that time into plastic boxes and shoved it back under the bed until today. I decided it was time to take another look.

I was told to pack silver in tissue paper, then in plastic bags to keep it from tarnishing. Surprisingly, It has not tarnished a lot during all of these years.

The platter at the beginning of this post is huge measuring 15" x 21". By the time you put a turkey on it, it would be too heavy to carry to the table! Does anyone still carve at the table anyway?
This piece of silver below is a Silent Butler. Was I really expected to go around with this to empty my guests dirty ashtrays and brush the crumbs from the table into it during a party?

I have several sets of assorted dishes that match each other in pattern.

How many canape trays do 19-year old couples need? Evidently, five - that is how many we have!

There is a coffee service with a big, footed serving tray and two big covered vegetable dishes.

On the left below, there are quite a few candy and nut dishes; and on the right a big Paul Revere bowl with a matching cream and sugar set. Then, there are salt and pepper shakers, a butter dish, candle holders, a marmalade jar, and a gravy boat.

I guess our acquaintances didn't think we had enough silver, so our children each received a silver bank and a baby cup when they were born.

One of the things I found packed away that we didn't receive as a wedding present was this monogrammed dish below. I remember my uncle giving this to us when he went into the nursing home. With the "M" monogram, it must have belonged to my grandmother's family as her maiden name began with "M". It is lovely with all of the grapes around it. I may just keep this out for awhile to enjoy.

So, what is your favorite wedding gift to give? Do you do something from a registry, give something homemade, or money or gift cards? If you are looking for something to give that is unique, run to your local Goodwill store. I bet you can find a Silent Butler just waiting to be regifted.

I'm linking into Mary's Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.
There you will find a list of participants with beautiful photography and interesting subjects.

Also, Beth at The Gypsy Fish
is hosting Silver Sunday. Please stop by there to check out all of the beautiful silver.


P.S.: I must get busy polishing and repacking my silver. It is very empty under the guest bed.

PONDERING PILLOWS AGAIN

I love pillows, and I love to make pillows; so I had to join in on Rhondi's Pillow Party at Rose Colored Glasses.
Please check out her blog for a plethora of pillow goodness.

Below are some mosaics of some of the pillows around my house; all of which I made.

Back in June of 2009, I did a post about 'Pondering Pillows'. If you are interested in reading the post, you can click here.

I'm also going to link into Mary's Monday Mosaic Party. Check out the participants here.

IS MY LIFE BLOGABLE?

We are now a few days into 2010; and, of course, I have been thinking about some personal goals and plans for the new year. Naturally, I have also given some thought to how I fit into the land of blog.

When I first began to blog a year and half ago, my purpose was to use the medium as a journal to record the histories and stories of some of my ancestors and to picture some of their belongings that I have inherited. I, also, was wanting to leave a record of how we, as a family, live and love today. I was mainly thinking of my children, grandchildren, and future descendants as my audience. I have decided that is still a priority for me. I didn't expect to meet some great people along the way out in the land of blog, but that certainly has been a blessing to me.

And, now, we are here in 2010; and I find myself running out of ideas to blog about. Our life is simple, and we live frugally. Even though we love to work on our home, we have come to a point that we have done just about everything we want to. Our home is comfortable, easy to live in, and we have everything necessary. So, what will I blog about in the future?


Here are a few ideas (but not many) for 2010.


2010 will most likely be the year of a neglected surgery for repair of my rotator cuff. Is this a blogable event? - probably not!

We probably won't travel much as we are saving for an exciting 2011 year of travel. Bob is planning to go on a cruise in February 2011 through the Panama Canal; and I'm scheduled to leave May 23, 2011 for a trip to Germany and France (and a return to Paris!!!). Those are a long time away, but definitely will be excursions to blog about. So, in the meantime, we are talking about a short trip to Round Top, Texas for the spring 2010 antique show, which is always fun, exciting, and blogable.

We had so much fun last summer taking our grandkids on day trips around the state to places and for experiences they normally wouldn't have with their parents. We're planning to do that again in 2010. Our grandkids are adorable, charming, special and great to blog about. BUT, every one's grandkids are adorable, charming, special and great to blog about.

We keep talking about some wainscoting in the dining room. Will this be the year?

On our limited budget, we will probably still be out there antiquing and junk hunting. If we come across anything of note, I'll let you know.

2010 has to be the year that I complete the organization and scrapbooking of 120 years of family pictures. At this point, I have completed the ancestor part; and am now working on my childhood. So that leaves only 60 years of pictures to go. Probably, scrapbooking is not a blogging event for me as what I am doing is very simple. I'm just using pretty papers (no glitz or doodads) with computer-generated names, dates, and places.

Other than the above, our life is pretty mundane and not always blog material. But, I promise to try occasionally to come up with something that you might enjoy reading about. I probably won't be posting as often as in the past, but please check in once in awhile. I always enjoy reading every comment, and thrive on all of your posts and creativity.

What is a post without a picture?

Are you interested? Probably not! One of those mundane parts of life for me is ironing. I got so far behind during November and December (the rotator cuff issue hasn't helped), that I have spent several hours this week trying to catch up. So far, I've ironed 43 napkins, several tablecloths, and am now working on many, many shirts.

Here's to a great 2010 for all of you!

2009 IN REVIEW

Cindy at My Romantic Home
is hosting a Year in Review party to give us all a chance to post some of our favorite pictures from posts in 2009.

Below are my favorite photos and experiences from this past year.

Favorite sewing project:
After thinking about it for 10 years, I finally made cushions for our eight dining room chairs.

Favorite home improvement project:
Removing the entry hall closet to open up the dining room

Favorite Tablescape Thursday and Foodie Friday photos:

Favorite Season in Colorado:
Autumn

Favorite New Experience in 2009:
A helicopter ride over our town.

Favorite outing with the grandchildren:
A day trip to Bishop's Castle

Pure fantasy without the glitz!

Favorite people watching experience:
Attending the Antique Roadshow in Denver

Favorite antique finds:
Additions to my brown transferware collection, thrift-store linens, and antique apothecary jars.

Favorite new shopping mecca:
A farm equipment salvage yard

It has been a great blogging year for me, as I have met so many wonderful bloggers online. Plus, what fun it was to meet Mary of
Mary's Meanderings and Chari of Happy to Design in person. I've truly been blessed by the blogging experience. Thanks to everyone!

Don't forget to stop by Cindy's blog
to check out the other participants in today's party.

CHRISTMAS WRAP UP

Christmas is over for another year! I always thoroughly enjoy the season, but I'm always glad to start a new year, too. There is something about taking down all of the Christmas stuff, cleaning and reclaiming the house that invigorates me.
Our immediate family is small with just our two kids, our son-in-law and the two grandkids; but we always enjoy getting together for lots of food and to watch the young kids opening their gifts.

For some reason, we didn't take a lot of pictures this year. But, here are a couple of mosaics of our favorite moments. It is always special to celebrate a birthday or a Christmas with our daughter after she was diagnosed with the worst kind of brain cancer 3 1/2 years ago. Isn't is wonderful that a seven-year-old can still get excited over a new soccer ball? And, all boys no matter their age still like to play with legos.

And, a teenager is still filled with wonder?

And, now tomorrow, I will start dismantling the decorations to begin a new year. I'm excited, and I hope the joy and reason for Christmas stays with you throughout 2010.

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House
for her weekly Mosaic Monday party. Please go visit her blog for wonderful photography and for a list of the other participants.

JOY TO THE WORLD

THE LORD HAS COME!

May you have a glorious Christmas celebration.

FINISHING UP PROJECTS!

It is the beginning of Christmas week, and I still have some loose ends to finish; but I did manage to complete these projects this past week.

I made these two potholders using Irene Berry's paper-pieced patterns. They will be enclosed with home-made candy for a long-time friend.

It is so hard to shop for my 95-year old Mother-in-law, so this year we went through some old pictures of her ancestors and family. I scrap booked a small heritage book for her.

And finally, I actually managed to finish knitting our youngest grandchild his Christmas stocking. He has been neglected, in that I have made every one's stocking for their first Christmas. He is 7 years old already - bad Grammy!!

I'm about finished except for the mountain of cooking necessary for the week. How are you coming on your preparations for the celebration of the birth of Jesus?