Monday, July 18, 2022

Ladles, Trucks, and Birthdays!

 Feeling as if I've managed to lick this stomach issue. It may kick up again. I don't know, but I think it is a time to really pay attention to what I'm eating. 

Today was blessed rain. It rained for most of the day, on and off, and it was welcome indeed, even though we went to the garden thinking the rain was supposed to end in early afternoon. Unfortunately it did not end until late afternoon, so we came back home accomplishing very little there. 

We stopped at a yard sale and it sounds like a very silly thing, but I fell in love with a soup ladle. It was a heavy, designed for use at the table, not for the pot. Elegantly simple. Today we sat down with it and discovered that it was not silver, but silver plate, over bronze, which is what makes it so heavy. Modern silver plate is over stainless steel, which is much lighter weight. 

The maker was Simeon L. and George H. Rogers, and it was the Jefferson pattern which dated it at 1913. Me, being the daydreamer that I am, immediately began imagining all the hands that have handled that humble ladle. It is now one of my favorite things, totally worth the quarter that I spent on it. We learned a lot about silver though. 

After supper, I climbed under the dump truck to help Tim slide in the new transfer case. That was a grand struggle. The transfer case is heavy, and it has to be exactly right to fit into the transmission. Between the two of us, we got it in place, and bolted together. The worst part of that job is done, thank heavens. 

I've begun getting ready for the trip east. William and I will be spending six days with my son and daughter in law. There is an early fourth birthday party, since Brittani is due to give birth the week before my granddaughter's actual birthday. William and I will return home on Wednesday, but the following Wednesday, I'll head back out, staying put until the newest grandaughter arrives. 

I'm so very excited...and now you understand why I don't have time for any stomach ailments. 


22 comments:

  1. Debby I'm sorry to read of the stomach ailment (my sister just recovered from something similar, she thinks she ate something "not fresh" at a recent picnic--anyway, love the 1913 soup ladle. That's wild that it only cost a quarter! :)

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    1. I know. A quarter. I also bought a strainer for another quarter because I was feeling pretty wild and crazy.

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  2. My grandson and wife are expecting my first great grand daughter, They live in S. Korea so it will be next summer before I get to see her. She is due in Nov. They will wait until they fell comfortable taking a 17 hour flight with a baby. My grand kids range in age from 21 to 30 so it has bee a while since we have had a baby in the family.

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    1. It is exciting, isn't it? We are lucky to live in a time that lets us visit even when we can't be there. What would we do without our computers?

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  3. The ladle is a cool find! It's still lighter than that truck part you heaved into place. Linda in Kansas

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  4. Excitement usually exacerbates my tummy troubles!

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  5. The ladle is rather old. It is interesting when something like that appeals to you and you spend some time on the www researching.

    I'm not saying this about you but it is amazing how my mother's ailments semi disappear when there is a family event happening.

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    1. LOL. I'm very glad that you're not saying that about me!

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  6. It's funny how exciting the smallest purchase can sometimes be -- especially when it's an object with some history! Hope your stomach continues to improve. You and Tim seem to work well together. Many married couples would wind up shouting at each other!

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    1. I've learned that I have to be very precise with Tim. He'll jump right into something and call out instructions as we go. When I am lying 14 inches beneath something that weighs over 100 lbs. trying to wrestle it into place, I get nervous. When he starts strong arming something, I tell him to stop, that he needs to tell me exactly what he's trying to do, so that I am part of the plan. I listen intently, and ask questions, and then we work together. Because he knows what he's doing, and how he wants things, he just assumes that I do as well. I'm morally opposed to have 100 lbs shift and fall on my face. I suspect that this little trick has saved a lot of shouting.

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  7. That soup ladle sounds great. What tales it could tell if it could speak.

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    1. That's exactly the kind of daydreaming my head wanders off into. How the world has changed since that ladle was first dunked into a pot of soup.

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  8. I get painful abdominal cramps from time to time. Although we always speculate on what food caused them, I am seldom convinced that we have the answer. I think it just happens sometimes. There is, no doubt, always a cause, but I am not sure if we usually nail it.

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    1. This was a real issue that hit on a Wednesday and lasted until into Monday, which got my attention. You're right though...when you get to a certain age, it seems that random pains are just a part of it.

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  9. Twenty-five cents for the time spent satisfying your curiosity is cheap entertainment. I'm guilty of it myself. Safe travels in the upcoming weeks.

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    1. We really keep ourselves entertained for next to nothing. I thought that's what everyone did...have something catch their eye and then wander off on a prolonged google quest.

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  10. You should definitely have someone film Tim's and your, ahem, adventures!

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    1. I'm afraid that it would be deadly dull. I think that if someone ever did do such a thing, we'd be getting suggestions: "Tim could you just proceed and not answer all her questions? It would make things a bit more exciting. And if that 100 lb transfer case dropped on her face, it would add a bit of drama to the scene.

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    2. Well I have heard "reality TV" is scripted. I'm sure your producer could spice things up a bit!

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  11. I can imagine how excited you are. I remember traveling to Maryland to be there for our grandsons' birth.

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I'm glad you're here!

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