eG Foodblog: racheld - Thanksgiving and Goodwill

[racheld]

rachel~

what CITY have we been looking at? I don't exactly know where you are 

Blog on..........

Kathy 

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Indianapolis---500, Colts, Pacers, and I haven't mentioned a one because we don't follow the sports scene very well.

We love it for all the good stuff to do, the WEATHER, and the wonderful friends and neighbors we've met.

I intended to get at least one shot of the famous Speedway, didn't ever get by there, and then, Wednesday, I was driving Chris on a service call because he wasn't feeling well, and we drove right UNDER the thing, on a beautiful, bright sunny day, just perfect for pictures, if I had brought a camera.

Okay, everybody, imagine a checkered flag. There.

[Rebecca263]

um, Rachel? I know where you put your stamps, dear! I'll be sending them back, attached to letters, real soon!

Our maternal grandmother was Nana, we were never really close to her, but she taught me the charm of wearing high heels with your bathrobe, and to the beach...

Our paternal grandmother was Rebecca, and she died when my father was a teenager. I am told that I am a ringer for her, which is intriguing as I was named for her! OK, what else have I missed? Back to page 3 of the blog!

[hathor]

Finally hit the calm after the ......storm? Not really a storm, but certainly a marathon of family, friends and dishes! And a chance to catch up.

I've always wondered about the Fairy Tea in your signature, it's far more interesting and beautiful than I imagined. Thank you for sharing.

I've also got an incredible craving for pho, your're right, it's the perfect yin to balance out that rich yanging that's been going on.

Thank you for your generosity in sharing your life and your table with us.

Un abbracione! (big hug)

Judith/hathor

[Carrot Top]

I. need. oysters. now.

And,

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Need dog, too.

(She looks like a Blue-Heeled Hound I used to know. Good cattle dogs. Charmers, too. )

[racheld]

I certainly meant to get some little personal touches in here, and seemed to spend all my time posting OUTSIDE stuff. I always enjoy the blogs where people show their kitchens, their bookshelves, their favorite coffee-spots, etc., and so here are a few of mine, in no particular order:

My dear old stove, which greets me every morning with her shiny red handles, which we call her earbobs---every lady deserves good jewelry.

She served meals to Son #1's elementary school for probably thirty years before we acquired her in 1995. Lots of pots and pans have passed over those burners, and the oven has turned out everything from immense cake layers to black skillets of cornbread, and everything in between.

The little decoration/guard on the back is this:

Some past owner took a can of silver paint to the thing, and it's weathering over time. I love the picture, and though the artwork was probably just right for the time of its creation, I think that the scanty clothing might have shocked a Victorian housewife who had to cook on the stove. The silver piece was purchased years later, and is the door from a much-older kitchen or parlor stove. I just couldn't resist the little pastoral scene and the weary-worn paint.

And there's my little kitchen corner, with jars ready to hand:

Pastas, dried beans, coffees, rice, tea; on down to the right are several more clear cannisters of coffee, various sugars, several ever-smaller containers with different types of salt.

The downstairs fridge, full-to-bursting, though the Thanksgiving leftovers are mostly stored in the one upstairs.

Our little house is a 50's Ranch, and our favorite/living part is the downstairs, which WAS a basement, and is finished with two bedrooms, a good-sized sitting area, a big dining area with two tables, a computer/TV section, a perfect-sized little kitchen, and a laundry/pantry. We spend most of our time down here, and there's a whole other house upstairs, occupied by Caro and KittyDear and the BIG blue bird, and is mostly just for PRETTY, and for company.

My little sitting area upstairs---lovely for morning coffee. This is the inside view of the big red bush shown outside in a previous picture.

And downstairs, an army of pitchers stand ready to serve cold beverages:

Waterford to Wal-Mart; Grandma to Goodwill---the contents of the glass-front dining-room cabinet made by my Dad fifty years ago, to match the knotty-pine walls of the dining room. Almost everything on these shelves actually DID come from Goodwill, except for the Waterford and the Mammaw goblets, seen on the Thanksgiving table.

We're inveterate Goodwill shoppers, and have furnished almost the entire house with lovely finds over the years. On the fridge above, only one pitcher was a gift, all the rest were GW. We love to go and stroll quietly, looking at the things owned and loved by people we'll never know. And when we pick up a piece to claim for our own, they and their lives ever-so-gently become a whisper into ours.

Some of Chris' camera collection, along with old B/W photos of people we do not know--we just liked their faces, and rescued them from flea markets and thrift stores, for just pennies. A few family pictures are scattered in the group, including on the far right---the two, one atop the other, are Chris on his second birthday. And if you look closely at the top one, you'll see he's living every little Alabama boy's dream---standing on a stump with his new shotgun.

The left half of the bookcases in the dining area---the top shelves all the way across hold lots of my Martha Stewart, BA, F&W, Gourmet, and a couple of years of Romantic Homes and Southern Accents magazines.

Daddy and I built the bookcases on his last trip here in 2003; he was a carpenter of great talent, and left many beautiful wood items, both furniture and toys, as well as rooms, as his legacy. He WAS funny, though, sawing planks on my big wooden dining table, letting the sawdust fall where it would onto the carpet.

A few of my cookbooks:

And I have one of our own eGullet members to thank for several of these, bless his heart

Faerie books, some of them containing the teapot pictures, with a snippet of the poem and credit to Gracie.

And my THIRD kitchen, extra small for Very Special Guests.

It's one of the last remaining bits from my childhood, along with a Blue Willow teaset, with plates, cups and saucers, lost for perhaps thirty years, and found after my Mom died. It was safely packed in tissue in a stationery box in her closet.

There are a few more to come, but my personal image-box is almost full. I'll wait til Chris returns from his errands before I choose the last few that will fit.

ETA my very great thanks to tejon ---I just could NOT make that stove picture stand upright.

Edited November 27, 2006 by racheld (log)

[racheld]

... Blue-Heeled Hound I used to know. Good cattle dogs. Charmers, too.  )

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Charmer, she is, but she's a Jack Russell, a bit taller than most, and a BRILLIANT little GrandDog. And quite balletic, as well. She'll whirl in place for the teensiest nip of whatever you're eating.

[Smithy]

I get a kick out of acrobatic dogs. We've never had one, and I shudder to think of our 60-pound husky turning acrobat. (The crockery would never stand the abuse.) Thanks for including the family and household photos!

When Chris gets back, do please remember that the blog protocol requires the following shots: a) open fridge; b) pets; c) bookshelves; d) kitchen; and e) Your Hands at Work. You've fulfilled the first four requirements admirably (I'm still perusing your bookshelves! and I love the looks of your house!) but I don't think we've seen your oh-so-loving hands in action.

Caro's might suffice instead, if your hands are camera shy.

Edited because, while a gratuitous exclamation point is acceptable, an unneeded comma is not. Uppity punctuation marks must be put in their place.

Edited November 26, 2006 by Smithy (log)

[SuzySushi]

When Chris gets back, do please remember that the blog protocol requires the following shots: a) open fridge; b) pets; c) bookshelves; d) kitchen; and e) Your Hands at Work.  You've fulfilled the first four requirements admirably (I'm still perusing your bookshelves! and I love the looks of your house!) but I don't think we've seen your oh-so-loving hands in action.

Caro's might suffice instead, if your hands are camera shy. 

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I vote for a head-and-torso shot, with or without hands!

[racheld]

And pretty pink breakfast plate.  Izzat Waechtersbach?

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I totally missed this post the other day!! The plate is a one-of-four, purchased for our Granddaughter when she lived here---the other colors included yellow, I remember, because it's still in the china cabinet, along with an attached-straw cup which her baby sister drinks from when she visits, as well.

They are just shiny plastic, but far more valuable than Doulton or Spode.

[racheld]

Ahhh Rachel, you have forced me out of my blog lurking habit! What a wonderful journey for this Antipodean.

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When you used that word, I thought immediately of these:

They sit magnetized to the top of a picture frame containing a picture of Gracie, in a pair of Ganner-enhanced, Photoshopped fairy ears. We've never mentioned the ears, and perhaps someday HER grandchildren will see them and wonder.

The little dogs were a favorite toy of my childhood---I could play with them for hours, standing them on opposite sides of a pane of glass, making them move each other along like skaters, or knock each other away with that mysterious force.

So I thought our walk-opposite-sides-of-the-Earth community might relate to this rightside-upside little duo.

It's fun and interesting to hear ideas and recipes and life stories from people in all points of the globe. Foodstuffs themselves have drawn us closer; we buy and cook and enjoy items that our own parents have never heard of. Not much seems to outre or too exotic, just interesting and delicious, and our willingness to give the NEW a try, to embrace the cuisines and customs of others, is a hopeful sign for us in more realms than the kitchen.

[maggiethecat]

It's fun and interesting to hear ideas and recipes and life stories from people in all points of the globe.  Foodstuffs themselves have drawn us closer; we buy and cook and enjoy items that our own parents have never heard of.  Not much seems to outre or too exotic, just interesting and delicious, and our willingness to give the NEW a try, to embrace the cuisines and customs of others, is a hopeful sign for us in more realms than the kitchen.

How true, Miss Rachel. And I'm proud to say that my parents, daughter and son-in-law continue to explore the far-away and exotic on their own tables, as do we. People who love to eat, and to cook are -- cue sappy music -- the luckiest people in the world. Especially if they are the earth's lucky: people with access to food at all, let alone the prosperity and time to experiment and lick the beaters and run out for that frivolous indespensible ingredient. What luxury, what occasion for Thanksgiving!

To continue on the theme of cross-cultural Thanksgivings... My daughter and son-in-law spent Thanksgiving with his parents in Louisville. His mother, Pham Nguyen, is a magnificent cook, a genius of the Viet kitchen. But still, around noon last Thursday I got a phone call from my daughter. I heard SIL tapping away on his laptop in the background, searching recipe sites.

"John's Mom has made a turkey, but she doesn't know the sides. How does this dressing recipe sound? Is this how you make cranberry sauce? " I dispensed motherly advice, and heard back today -- the dressing and sauce were wonderful, and they extended themselves to sweet potatoes and green bean casserole (Christopher Kimball's version.) With Pham's Vietnamese starters and soups, it must have been quite a meal.

Can we really bring about World Peace and Understanding around the dinner table? Sweet to think so.

[C. sapidus]

Rachel: I-70 and I-65 carried us through your fair city on our way to Wisconsin and a delightful family gathering, marred only by a slow-to-nonexistent internet connection. Returning home to skim your foodblog has whetted my appetite for a more careful reading to come. Your writing is worth it.

Back to an earlier question, our boys have a Grammy and a Grammasaurus. Elder son mustered his then-halting English to bestow the latter sobriquet, and it stuck like glue. Fortunately, Grammasaurus doesn’t mind being named after an elderly brontosaurus in the “Land before Time” cartoons.

I have my Scottish Granny's shortbread recipe, although I only met her twice. Transcription errors have transformed the recipe into an exercise in adding a little of this and a dusting of that until the dough looks right. The shortbread always tastes good, but never turns out the same way twice. This is probably a fair tribute to a woman who raised three children during the London Blitz, survived an unexploded bomb in the back garden, and accompanied her children and botanist husband to Ghana.

Maddy seems to have a great joie de vivre. Our Jack Russell mix observes the humans closely and imitates them (us) with disquieting accuracy. Between naps, he terrorizes the local squirrel and rabbit population.

Thank you for sharing your life and wit with us this week.

[Sentiamo]

What cute wee doggies Scottish Terriers are, and you have both the black and the white. My Dad used to drink Black and White whiskey with milk, such a Scottish thing to do apparently!

Now, your gorgeous little Jack Russell will sure keep you on your toes, such vibrant, energetic little dogs. My BIL had one and what that animal could do to a possum... I have two Maremma's one of whom is such a wuss he throws his 60kg frame on mama's lap when he is afraid, and a lap dog he aint meant to be!

I truly regret having gotten rid of many childhood memento's, it has been such a pleasure having you share some of yours. Oh, but I do have Patricia, a very sorry looking doll now, and I often smell her skin for just a whiff of Christmas's past. And, I am very thankful for having an intact memory for the time being, with only a few 'senior moments' creeping in.

Once again, thanks for the memories you inadvertently gave back to me, and I look forward to reading much more of you in the future.

Lyn

[Pan]

Your house is beautiful, Rachel! Thanks for showing it to us.

[racheld]

Since there was so much interest on the Flea Market, Yard Sale, etc., thread, I had thought I would show you a few of the items which mean a lot to us, and but cost us very little at thrift stores, especially Goodwill.

Chris has long called me a Dish Junkie, and I DO love glass. The day after Thanksgiving, the ready-to-put-away dishes and silver looked like this:

The china and goblets on the left were the ONLY things on the table that did not come from Goodwill. Looking at the entire scene, except for the two cabinets, the lamp and heart, and the two dishes standing in the shelf of the right-hand cabinet---EVERYTHING in the picture is a thrift store find---chairs, chair covers, curtain, mirror behind the curtain, decanters, pink glasses, table (twice---we bought the sheet of glass with other legs, then found this nice table-bottom).

We love the relaxation of it, the wandering the aisles, the looking at dim inscriptions on the bottoms of things, the gentle handling of memories not our own. We are not looking for something for the Antiques Roadshow, but have found quite a few items worth many times their sticker price. I don't care---I just like the things we choose; valuable or expensive has nothing to do with it. I want to live with them, use them, set them out on special occasions or grab them for a picnic---it doesn't matter. Maybe it's just the HAVING that's the thing. My only collecting yen runs to books and dishes.

These are the shelves of the left china cabinet:

Top Shelf---only the stack of white china on the left is a family item, and most of the small clear items were found in one day, tumbled in one bin, for .49 each.

Middle shelf---the orange-flower china was my Mother's, but all else was thrift store---Mottahedeh, Limoge, English Ironstone coffeepot, Doulton candystand, some Wedgwood--a perfect little breakfast set.

Bottom shelf has some Luray, two sets of everyday fruit-painted plates, lots of clear glass plates for salad-y meals or parties, and several pieces of pressed or cut glass. Most items were less than a dollar each.

And in my coffee/tea cabinet, the three coffee-bowls in lovely satiny-finished colors, plus a few Fiesta mugs. I always pause at the cup/mug shelf, keeping my eyes open for the perfectly-round little handles, and one day, there were four, for the usual cup price of .49. His is the huge old plastic cup behind the Pocky. He likes to carry a big cup into the bath, and I'm afraid of breakage on all those tiles.

Earl Grey with S&L and a shot of Pet milk---that's his morning brew.

Along with a lot of lovely teas and coffees, sweeteners and flavorings. We love to sit down with a pot of tea on a cold afternoon when he's in from work early, just pouring another cup and talking about our day, or the plans for the next. On nice days, we take pot and cups to the patio, to enjoy the outside for as long as we can. We nibble a cookie, pour another cup, and gain much more than a pick-up in energy. There's a lifting of the spirits in the togetherness, the sharing, the uniting power of a pot of tea. If only people who frequent bars knew: A smile over a teacup trumps one over a martini every time.

My four most-used pots, in a handy spot---I love the colors against the cooking pots, heavy painted enamel ones, a gift from my Dad years ago.

The two Aladdin pots are McCormick, giveaways by the tea company back in the Forties. They are some of the couple of hundred pots collected over the years by Caro and me.

Just a little jaunt through our Goodwill house. (I will not mention the hundred Flintstones clear glass mugs stored in the trunk).

[racheld]

Thank you all for writing---this has been quite a week. I just mentioned to Caro that I don't see who might be taking over at midnight, and we both decided you all probably NEED A REST.

Maggie--I loved your long-distance meal coordination---job well done.

Mr. Crab-Man---why didn't you let me KNOW? We'd have given you lunch on your travels, or at least a rest-stop.

And Pan---thank you. It feels good here, with the colors and things we love. The neighbors are terrific, the location is in wonderful distance to everything we like to do, and we have the best tree for blocks.

[racheld]

My Antipodean friend---I don't know how we meet up at such odd hours, but thank you for your post. And thank you for the kind words.

[racheld]

I've been meaning to post the Thanksgiving cheese course---I left it out til Caro could name them for me. She did the choosing and composing, and even the plate is terrific; it's glazed on top, terra cotta on the bottom, for cooling like those nifty wine coolers.

Clockwise from Cracked-pepper Brie at 8:00

Morbier at ten,

Gorgonzola at twelve

English Mild Cheddar--crumbly and deep, rich gold---at three

Maytag Blue at five

Should this be my last post of the evening, I thank you all for your kind words, your support, your tech help, and for just dropping in to see the next bit of our week.

It's been a great experience and I'm grateful for being trusted with this week's writing. Thank you all for the privilege.

Cue Jim Nabors: "Back Home Againnnnnn. . . "

[artisan02]

It's been a great experience and I'm grateful for being trusted with this week's writing.  Thank you all for the privilege.

It has been a privilege for us as well. You take me back to my childhood, growing up in VA.

I see things in your glass collection that I have ...and cookbooks that I love, especially the Lee Bailey ones. I thnk he is under appreciated.

Christine

[TongoRad]

It's over already?!! Thanks a bunch, Rachel, and God bless! I gotta get one of those cheese clocks...

[GourmetLight$]

Rachel: I really, really enjoyed this taste of home and family. Thank you so much for this past week!

Cheers,

[Daniel]

What a wonderful blog.. Thanks for sharing with us, it has been so special..

Edited November 27, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Chufi]

Rachel:

Thank You.

never leave eGullet, please!

[Catriona]

What a wonderful blog, thank you!

[annecros]

Wonderful blog Rachel. I can't imagine taking on the responsibility with a major holiday embedded in the middle, plus Chris getting sick to boot! You must be one tired lady!

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thank you for your time and effort. Now put up your feet, sip a cup of tea, and relax.

Anne