Mamaw's Place

6/19/11

Happy Father's Day.....

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband who has always been there for our family. Without his wonderful cooking, our kids would have starved over the years...okay they wouldn't have starved but their menu choices would have been hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, meatloaf, grilled cheese, peanut butter or fried eggs. So Happy Father's Day to the King of the Kitchen. Thank you for being a great dad.

Happy Father's Day to my son and my son-in-law. They are both great fathers and I hope they enjoy this day with their family. My son has blessed us with three beautiful grandchildren and my son-in-law has blessed us with two beautiful grandchildren.

(My son, Chris)

(My son-in-law, Michael)

I wanted to get a shot of the grandchildren with everybody smiling and co-operating. But I had to settle for some smiles, some distraction and one little girl who kept wanting to escape. Out of 5 attempts, this was the best I got before Baby Colby decided he had had enough and puckered up for a good cry.

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy. This is my 12th Father's Day without him. I miss him so much. I can still remember his laughter, his smile, his caring, his love. I miss you, Daddy. Happy Father's Day.

6/18/11

Vintage items that I am looking for....

I'm going antique shopping again today. I'm looking for some specific vintage items. If you will remember from my Memorial Day post, hubby and I went to some of the local shops looking for this pitcher.

We never found it, but I have since found out that it was made by Arcopal and was the French Pyrex plant. I found one on Etsy that had sold and one on EBay that is in the UK and they will only ship to the UK, so I'm still looking for this. Through my research, I found that many US antique shops carry Arcopal items that were brought back from visits to France.

I really want this little Federal Glass pitcher. Mom had one when we were young and I remember it so well.

I'm also on the prowl for a set of Corelle Cups with the open hangar hook for the handle. These will be a gift for my sister. Pattern won't matter, she's just looking for these type of handles on the Corelle Cups.

I have a few pitchers and thought I might look for some more. I like them in all sizes...creamers, juice pitchers and ice tea pitchers.

This is a pretty bowl by Arcopal Pyrex that I would love to find.

I remember with fondness many times spent at my Uncle Charlie's and Aunt Louise's house. She always served us in those vintage aluminum cups. I'd love to find some for the grandkids. They kept the drinks so cold.

As I check out the various shops, I'll be on the look out for more salt dips for my collection. My cousin Patty has this one and I would love to find one like it or at least one similar in a swan pattern.

That's my shopping wish list for the day. It's hard to tell what I'll end up with .... if anything. But it will be fun looking. Many of these items are on Ebay or Etsy, but to me, it's the thrill of the hunt. Plus I find that our local antique shops are way less expensive than shopping on line...not to mention the savings on shipping.

Hope you have a great Saturday!

6/17/11

Road trip....

There is nothing that compares to a road trip. Loading up the car, hitting the open highway, rolling down our window and letting the radio blast with the Eagles singing "Take It to the Limit".

How many times in our lives do we venture out into the unknown, armed with our map or GPS and a sense of adventure? How many times do we head off to new territory for vacations or weekend getaways so we can get rejuvenated and find peace and calm to weather the storms of life? How many times do we struggle with daily problems that cause us to say "I need a vacation"?

Why do we feel like we have to "wait" to find that rest and relaxation; that sense of peace and calm? We have the best road trip at the tips of our fingers any time we want it. We can pick up our bible and read the words of God. We can find adventure, peace, comfort. We can escape our little world and read the loving words that can guide us to that peace and calm we are searching for.

Our bible should become our GPS, our roadmap, our guidance center. We should spend more time in God's word to find the solutions to our problems and complaints. We need to depend more on God to provide us with a constant happiness and a constant peace. If we can do this, we would not have near as many moments where we would have to say "I need a vacation."

6/16/11

And the winner is......

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE........

I entered everyone in by the number in order of their comments 1-27.

I hit Generate and the result was:
16

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to Rachel , whose favorite gadgets are her whisks and her wooden spoons. Rachel has 48 hours to contact me via email at mamawsplace@gmail.com to claim her prize. She was chosen by Random.org to be the winner of our Micro Egg and Pampered Chef Prep Bowls.

Again, congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered. This was so much fun that I have decided to do a giveaway every month. The giveaways will be featured on the first day of each month. I hope you all continue to visit and wish you luck in future drawings.

6/15/11

Hodge Podge Hump Day...

Today is the last chance to register for our Giveaway. We will draw at 7:00 tonight and announce the winner tomorrow for our Micro Egg and Prep Bowl Giveaway. If you haven't registered to win, simply become a follower and leave me a comment with what your favorite kitchen gadget is. If you are already a follower, just leave the comment telling me about your favorite gadget. It's that simple.

Things are moving along on my car situation. We signed the paperwork Friday accepting that they totaled the Cadillac and the salvage company picked it up on Monday. I'm test driving a couple of cars from my Car Guy right now. Here is the one I drove all day yesterday.

It's a Ford 500 SEL. I'm supposed to go back today to drive an Infinity that he has on the lot. Those were my top two choices. But after driving this one, I am in love. I'll go ahead and drive the Infinity but this 500 is a dream. She handles these old country roads like a pro. The body style, interior and handling put me in mind of the Lincoln LS I had for four years. The only difference is the interior of the Ford is much roomier than the LS.

It's a one-owner and in excellent condition.

I love the trunk space. That's always one of the things that I like in a car...lots of trunk space. I'll go drive the Infinity today and then see which one I like, but I gotta tell you I'm really loving this Ford.

This is my collection of miniature antique bottles. When I was a young girl, my sister and I collected these but over the years we got rid of them. I found some at a yard sale a few years ago and snatched them up for my kitchen. When I was antiquing a couple of weeks ago, I saw a set just like this in an antique store. Their price: $70.00 for the set! I think I got a better deal on mine. My cost? Only 25 cents for the entire set. At $70 I would have just done without them.

That's my hodge podge of thoughts for the day. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

6/14/11

A celebration luncheon....

Are you looking for ideas for a quick and easy summer meal for your next get-together?

My sister, Rachel, just held a celebration for my mother's 81st birthday. Here is the menu:

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Chicken Salad on a croissant with leaf lettuce

Potato Chips

Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix ( Mix packet with 16 oz. of sour creme)

Cheese cubes ( Colby Jack cheese and Cheddar Cheese) Served with snack crackers

Olives and pickles

Mandarin Orange Pie

She used a lot of her Fiestaware in Purple and Yellow. In keeping with that theme she purchased yellow gift bags and purple tissue paper to fix up a little gift for each of the ladies. Mom is the one in the middle and those are her two sisters with her.