I was going to say it was an uneventful week but, when I look back, I actually did get some things accomplished. A full day at the thrift shop on Monday and an evening ALO meeting made for an exceptionally full day. I was pooped.
Tuesday I had a couple of friends over for a planning session. Our Quester’s Chapter is sponsoring our State Days in October, and I have been put in charge of table decorations. Our theme for State Days is “It Happened in Nebraska.” We are honored to have the author of this book, Tammy Partsch scheduled to speak at our event. We have 10 tables to decorate, and we decided that each table would take on a different theme, from the book. It was a bit difficult to whittle the themes down to 10. We had a lively discussion, with good brain storming, and before we knew it, it was 2:30. The time just flew. We will reconvene late next month, to keep the momentum moving forward.
Lambs and bunnies. A bit of Easter decor anyone?
Tuesday was a balmy 80 degrees. Early Wednesday morning the wind began to pick up, and the thunder started to rumble. Quite rare to have thunder this early in the season. This carried on for the rest of the night, making sleeping difficult. When I got up Wednesday morning we had sleet, and then the blizzard came. The wind howled all day, bringing about 6″ of wet heavy snow. This is only the second snow we’ve had this winter. We are in the middle of a drought, so we will take anything we can get, and not complain. The Texas and Arizona wind storm dirt got caught up in our atmosphere, and any car left out during the blizzard, was covered in dirt buried under the snow. So strange.
I spent most of Wednesday dosing in my office chair! After Monday and Tuesday, with the wind howling and snow coming down, I just conked out. Do you ever do that? I could not motivate myself at all!!!
This morning I got up to make coffee. I have a small copper chocolate pot that was in desperate need of polishing. So before the coffee was brewed, I was in my office polishing. Well you know how it goes. One thing leads to another, and before I knew it, I was on to the French, copper pot that hangs off my kitchen cabinet.
This was a pot I brought over from my mom’s house. I have no idea where she found it. It just appeared on her meat hooks one day. I presume an estate sale or antique show. I wish I knew. The thing that makes this pot so interesting, is its large size and the name stamped into it. Dalia Vesailes. What does that mean, is it the makers mark, is it the owners mark. I just don’t know. Thinking it was the makers mark, I tried looking it up online but came up empty.
Then there is the copper patch complete with copper rivets on the bottom of the pot. Clearly this was a beloved utilitarian item. When you’ve used it sooo much that you’ve stirred a hole into the bottom, what do you do? You take it to the iron monger in your village, and you ask him to put a patch on it. I can make up all kinds of stories about this pot. Unique only because of the patch on the bottom. Oh, if pots could talk!!! Wouldn’t you love to know the recipes of the food that was so lovingly prepared in this pan? How did it get from France to Omaha NE? Where was it patched? Just how old is it anyway? These were all the questions I was asking myself as I was giving it a polish and a scrub. So often with an antique there are always more questions than answers.
But then that is half the fun of being an antique lover. Was this pot originally living in a fine palace. Was the cook wrapping the side with her wooden spoon, or was it just a means to a delicious end. A meal surrounded by family and friends. Hopefully made with lots of love and great expectations!
I will carry on with the rest of my copper polishing. Oh and I used this new to me product Earth Brite that I picked up on HSN. It is clay based and non toxic. It worked great on the copper. Comes with a scrubby sponge that gives you some tooth without scratching the surface.
The snow is gone except for a few hold outs on the north side of the house, turning the grass to green. The good thing about snow in March? It can’t hang around long.
Have a great weekend
Thanks for stopping
Shelley
The patched pot is my favorite. Amazing how people cared for things long ago.
I love it too.
I only have six small copper pieces with brass accents but I treasure them and display them on the kitchen counter. Most were my mother’s until she tired of polishing them. The kettle with black forged handle was my favorite that she always had a plant growing in it. Imagine my delight year when I found a tiny replica of it at an estate sale! Blizzards, oh my, cannot imagine. That would make me dose all day in a chair too. Actually I don’t even need a blizzard for that. 😉 your Nebraska days event sounds very interesting. A dear friend of mine is from there, we became friends in South Florida with small children and she moved back to Nebraska about 20 years ago. She visits every winter when six of us old ladies gather at my home for our annual Wives Club weekend.
OMG that sounds like a wonderful weekend. Are you in Florida still? Questers is a national organization, I have been a member for just 4 years but I am loving it. These ladies just welcomed me with open arms and I feel so honored to be a part of this very active group. Everyone brings something different to the table. Some are antique lovers and some are more interested in preservation and restoration. Me I love it all.