Saturday at Home

 O Wild West Wind, Thou Breath of Autumn's Being...

We are having our first brush with autumn weather, with terrific gusts of wind tossing the branches and tops of the trees about and rain that has pelted down unabated throughout the day. It's very exciting and,with the prospect of a second, stronger front moving into the area tomorrow, there's every chance of a power outage before the weekend is over. 

Somehow I rather like it! A good blustery storm is much to be preferred to a dull, long, drizzly weather system. It makes me feel cozy and glad to be indoors, and I've been cooking all afternoon. I've made rolls, apple crisp, a crockpot full of beefstew, and I have apples cooking in a heavy kettle for making applesauce later with the Victorio strainer. It will be good to put some of this food in the freezer to reheat later on, some night when I don't feel like cooking.

My husband has been puttering about all day repairing and restoring a vintage ham radio, so it's been both companionable and yet happily solitary--my idea of a great day.

Well, what shall we talk about? Let's see...

I remember showing you a little spoon I acquired, rather unwittingly, at the Goodwill last week. It was included as part of a honeypot set, though it didn't really belong to it. I managed to track down a little information.

www.etsy.com/listing/164124661/wm-a-rogers-silverplated-demitasse-spoon

Originally I thought this was a child's teaspoon, but apparently it is a demitasse spoon. It's a silverplated design of the "Meadowbrook" pattern by the Wm. A. Rogers company. The pattern was first produced in 1936, so conceivably this could be fairly old. I've listed it as probably from the 1950s to be on the safe side. It's probably not worth a great deal--maybe between $5-$10. Still, since I dropped and broke the honeypot lid after I got it home, I may be able to recoup my loss somewhat, so that's something, anyway.

Another goody I picked up at the Goodwill was a bag lot of something that will interest my buddy Vanessa--five vintage Kewpie dolls in their original packages. Oh, and a little baby doll, too, without a package. I find it interesting that the labels read "Cupid Doll", not "Kewpie Doll". A way of avoiding patent restrictions, perhaps? They're by Fibre-Craft and the oldest (smallest three) were manufactured in Hong Kong, and the larger, newer two in Taiwan. The three older ones are beginning to discolor a bit--some of the plastic has gone sort of greenish/whitish. The Kewpies range from 3" tall to 6 1/2" tall, and I paid (if memory serves) about $4-$6 for the lot. I have no clue what they're worth, but I know who can tell me! (Hint, hint!) The baby doll has no markings; he's in good condition and rather sweet.

 

Speaking of Vanessa, the guru of vintage toys from the eighties, she's having a contest giveaway on her blog. You can win a fascinating little vintage celluloid doll; the entry information is here:

www.facebook.com/pages/VintageToyfun/156806504455927

Hope you'll check it out!

I've finally finished sewing diapers for a while--at least until Gwendolyn outgrows the ones she's got--so I'm looking forward to doing some "just for fun" projects again. I did sew up some gift bags for the shop, just a few so far, but one of them was such a happy accident I have to show you and gloat a bit.

I 

I made this flat bag for an item that required shipping in a bubble envelope. I was in a hurry and so just slapped it together. When I turned it inside-out, voila! Look at how the overlap matches up! Totally unintended, but a most gratifying result all the same.

Well, I think the apples are ready to process. My husband just walked through the kitchen and remarked on how good it smelled in here with all this cooking. That was nice to hear.