Vintage?

No one was more surprised than I was with this find!

Why did she save this?

I remember these from 1960's when I was in nursing school--

kidney shaped

why this one was saved--well, pushed back in the closet, buried beneath towels--don't know!

Mother had been in the hospital many times and she always took home those plastic basins, but she didn't save those.

I couldn't find a date on the box

I looked for the basin on the internet but no luck--nothing like this one--

you can buy stainless steel basins.

Oh, well...............

what to do with it now??

The Things You Find

We are still on the road to find what Mother had stored in her closets......................

This has been interesting to say the least!

Pull out a few towels and then you reach in and find

This!

Who ever in my family played this instrument?  I can only guess it was one of my

brothers, as I know I didn't!  Maybe, Mother played it--no reason to ask her, she doesn't remember

one day to the next.

Then you read Wikipedia description.......

The melodica, also known as the pianica, blow-organ, key-flute or key-ute, is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodion and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole, allowing air to flow through a reed. The keyboard is usually two or three octaves long. Melodicas are small, light, and portable. They are popular in music education, especially in Asia.

The modern form of the instrument was invented by Hohner in the 1950s, though similar instruments have been known in Italy since the 19th century.

The melodica was first used as a serious musical instrument in the 1960s by composers such as Steve Reich, in his piece titled Melodica (1966) and jazz musician Phil Moore, Jr., on his 1969 Atlantic Records album Right On. Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal developed a technique consisting of singing while playing the melodica, resulting in a wide tonal and harmonic palette. It is associated with Jamaican dub and reggae musician Augustus Pablo who popularized it in the 1970s. 

Well, you have it!  Popular in the 1950-1970! The time period of our household!  Maybe, one of my brothers can clarify why Mother would save such a thing.

come back tomorrow to see what else we pulled out of mother's closets.

Generation Gap!

Yes, we are still working to distribute mother's household items.  I don't want to give away anything that can be used by one of our family members.  So, as we cleaned out shelves, pantry, drawers, I would take a photo and text family--"Do you want this?"

I found a whole stack of Corning Ware in the cabinet, so texted granddaughter--"Do you want some Corning Ware?"  Her text back was "What's Corning Ware?"  WHAT?  You don't know Corning Ware?  I was shocked!  Then I thought--she's only 25 why would she know Corning Ware?

Corning Ware has changed over the century--the sets are more colorful and the smart blue flowers have been removed--and yes, there was a snap on-off handle!  

Okay, another one of those generation gaps--but This Corning Ware set will be loved and used!

And No, she didn't want the Corning Ware!  

Mid-Century Cookbooks

Here is the stack of Better Homes and Garden cookbooks that were in Mother's pantry.  Mother wasn't the world's greatest cook to say the least!  She tried but after my father died in 1974, she was cooking for only one.  

I found only one handwritten recipe on a separate sheet--

"Babe's Italian Spaghetti"

Hmmm, wonder who Babe is or was?

I have been thumbing through all Mother's books since I've heard tales of seniors putting

money--so far, haven't found money, but this recipe could be considered 'golden'!

Cooking From The Ages

It has been a long haul--we are cleaning up mother's house.  She is in Assisted Living facility and we know and she knows there is no way she can live alone.  There is so much "stuff" to sift through.  I stacked her cookbooks in one section of the house till I had more dedicated time to read through them.

Here was one of her books--of course, it is mid-century (don't you just love that word?!), printed in 1956--even though I lived that period of time, I don't ever remember this book.

On the first page, she printed this.........

so I turned to age 293

Have cooking habits changed since this book was printed?

I think I might try this recipe--sounds interesting.  IN fact, I might take these "mid-century" recipes and update them--that's when I start cooking again!

Let's Do a Dragon Wing Cowl!

The Knit Dragon Wing Cowl uses dropped stitches that are picked up and re-knit in bunches to create fun ridges, and simple increases to give it shape. This pattern looks more challenging than it is. The trick is to make sure you count, and to not drop the stitches until the pattern says to! This pattern was inspired by the way I draped the Dropped and Found scarf in one of the photos. 

Contemporary Handweavers of Houston Annual Sale

The note says it all!  The best of CHH members work will be on display, just waiting for you! Check out the sale info here

Once again, more than 100 will be for sale, but remember they go fast, so don't wait until the last minute. There may not be any left. This year there's a limit of 20 per customer (Not that anyone ever bought 20, but you never know.) Handwoven and assembled by many members - Hope to see you there!