Gramma's Dishes

Sometime this past fall I needed a few plates that weren't chipped or cracked for our dinner with our friends, the Ormson's. So I went to my storage boxes in the basement and dug out four dinner plates and salad plates. The only time these dishes see daylight is at Christmas for one day at The Lutefisk event. I'm from the era when nice things had to be "saved for good". They always seemed too fancy and delicate to actually USE. I'm afraid of breaking them...they might get chipped.....but on the table they went.

My grandma Norma Harstad (Jensen) owned this set and they were only used for official "dinners". I remember them at her home in Chicago and later they moved up to Frederic with her in the 80's. They stayed at my mom's house until she was here no more and I decided I wanted to keep them from their auction. They even escaped being put on my own auction five years ago and not much escaped that purge. 

Some pieces of this set are crazed, and I wasn't even sure how hold they are which led me to the Replacements online site where I found out more about this set. The manufacturer is the Edwin Knowles China Co. and they made a zillion designs over the years. But there was a photo of this design and I found out it's called "Blue Dawn" and a replacement dinner plate was going to cost $9.99. Wow! I have 12 plates--I'm rich! This design was from 1943 which makes them 66 years old so they are 13 years ahead of me. Poor old girls stuck in that box. I'm at the end of the line heritage-wise so who wants them after me? 

Who uses fancy china anymore? Well...I guess now I do. Compared to cheap pottery plates, these are like iron. Beautiful and tough. I like that. I brought up the square salad plates, the bread plates, sauce dishes, (remember sauce used to be a course?!) The teacups, saucers, gravy boat, assorted oval platters, large covered bowl, sugar bowl, creamer and vegetable bowls are waiting their turn to move upstairs. This is going to involve a reorganization!

With my set of twelve place settings I should have enough dishes to take me to 90. Whatever is left at that point.....

Walk in our Enchanted Forest

The evening squall left us with a nice coating of sticky snow. It actually improved the icy walking conditions that have been here all winter. Helga and I took pictures and hiked around the horn. The transformation from the day before was like stepping into another world. This photo is of my favorite place in the woods to enjoy the quiet fairy world quality of a day like this before the wind sweeps it away.

Escape to Catfish Corner

The Geezers made their way down to the creek when the weather warmed up. Their spring juices are starting to flow and they are up all night chattering and bickering--presumably about who gets to sit next to the only female! With four males in contention it does indeed become contentious. Helga and I walked down the bank to visit them. We went further down the trail to the big bend where there is an eagle nest on the left side. We can't see it from the house but we do see the eagles soaring in to visit it most evenings. The "aerie" is a huge pile of impressive sized branches which forms the cozy resting spot for two or three eggs that will be laid in the months ahead. 

WOA Reception

The Wings Over Alma artists reception went well yesterday. A beautiful 40 degrees, lots of sun, and many visitors to the center. The ice has almost all melted below the dam so the eagles were moved out to the edges. There was one tiny island of ice that provided a perch for one-at-a-time hunting. 

Ben Golden's oil paintings (in photo) were next to my table and they got lots of attention. Carol Knabe's eagle photography was awesome! She has a terrific eye for catching action shots. Show co-organizer, Gail Pommerening, had pastels and prints of song birds in all four seasons, in addition to note cards. Jeff Byrns (table top display) uses various media, and subjects. His bulldog portrait was a favorite of mine. 

Our guests sipped wine, sampled the tasty hors d'oeuvres, and generally seemed to enjoy the event. Some of them even brought some of the show home with them! Thank you, patrons.

I was surprised Don's doctor from Eau Claire came to the show and later joined us for dinner at Catfish Corner!

Thank you so much Dr. Olson--we hope to get you back here again soon.

Coldest before the dawn

It was 10 below this morning but it's supposed to be warming up starting tomorrow. Maybe four days of above 32 degrees ahead of us. The frost was spectacularly alive looking on this window as the sun was just starting to come up.

This was a special day because I got a call from cousin Christine from Memphis. We reconnected following a long interim where we both moved to new homes, had retirements, etc., and it was like we had just talked a day or two ago!

Hi, Christine! Hope you like the blog. Gulf Shores sounds very inviting. Thanks for your kind offer! 

Boys Night Out

About 5 pm last evening we were visited by a herd of six assorted size bucks who have already lost their antlers. You can see the spots where the horns used to be--maybe we can find some this spring. One tiny little fellow had one antler left - looks like a 2 pointer. Taking pictures through the windows wasn't optimal but at least I had the light on my side. We haven't seen any bucks during daylight hours so it was a special treat to have them visit so early. 

The last photo I have dubbed Mr. Whiteface. He looks like he might have been a "uni-horn" with the spot in the middle of his forehead, but he also has the side spots where his real antlers used to be. 

Wings Over Alma and other Studio News

The artists reception will be next Sat., Feb. 7th from 4-6pm at the Wings Over Alma. The five of us have the option of having a table of wares for sale. In my case I hope to use part of the window and I'll bring along some smaller non-eagle-related stained glass items.

I had a really satisfying week which was the result of the past month's work cleaning and organizing the studio, and finding I had LOTS of salable pieces ready to go. I was very fortunate to have placed work at two -- YES, TWO-- shops! 

The first one, the lovely Shepherd's Nook in Wabasha now has a collection of crosses, and related bevel glass in the big front windows! Thanks, Jacki! 

Longtime customer, Beth's Cafe, was one of the first shops I ever sold to and when we closed the shop in Luck, I quit making items for her. Beth is Don's cousin, and we had her for dinner over Christmas when the subject of suncatchers came up. She missed having them, and once I got all my parts and pieces organized I realized that I had more than enough to get her started again. So I brought her two boxes of stained glass items for her front windows in the restaurant. She was tickled and so was I. I guess this means I'm in business again!