Small things can be important anyway. ♥ Gladys Taber
Good Morning girlfriends! What are you up to today? I’m doing “fall cleaning” around here, because Joe and I are leaving soon, and we won’t get back to the island until the middle of October! (I’ll tell you all about it in the new Willard which starts going out tomorrow morning.) Have to redecorate and get the house ready, so it’ll be all perfect and cozy for the season when we get home. Was cleaning out my kitchen cupboards yesterday; wiping off what has turned out, after all these years, to be my “collection” of old storage jars and thought you might like to see them. ♥
It all started with this salt jar. I got it when I was in my twenties; I was looking for one with a wide mouth that I could dip a teaspoon into for recipes. I went to a stationery store and bought plastic sticky letters, picked out “SALT,” stuck them on, and they’ve been on there ever since, including trips through the dishwasher. This little salt jar knows all my kitchen secrets. It’s been on top of every stove I’ve ever had.
Found this one →, in an antique store . . . it’s my cinnamon-sugar shaker for toast; it has the word “Handi” in raised letters on the side and the lid says “Pepper.”
The one in front is probably an old salt shaker, but I use it for vanilla sugar (that’s a vanilla bean in there). Old jars have a charm to them; they’re handy too; you can see what’s inside and how much is left; plus they make the inside of my cupboards look good! Also, I can get a full-size measuring cup into the wide opening of the sugar and the flour jars. They’re good for keeping nuts, granola, rice, brown sugar, cookies, crackers, just about any loose thing you have, coffee, tea bags — and everything stays fresh. Collecting them slowly, piece by piece, when I see them, when they aren’t too expensive, has been fun; because of that, they each sort of carry their own little memory, reminding us of the times we packed up the van and went out “meandering.”
No better time than fall to drive the back roads, let the leaves fly up to greet your car; stop at old houses for soup and sandwiches, pick up a pumpkin at a roadside stand, see what treasures the old barns and antique stores have in store for you. ♥
We’re all collectors at heart; everyone has their own style, their own collections, and their own way of arranging their kitchen cupboards; BUT if you are in the mood for a really nice jar with a ← red lid that screws on smooth as glass, looks old but is actually new . . . then I can help you. We found a source for them and put them in our web store. Just a little thing, but you know . . .
Those little things can just make someone’s day. Fill one with Butter Croutons or Ginger Crisps (both recipes are in the Autumn book) give it to a friend, and there you are!
Back to work for me! Have a wonderful day! ♥ xoxo
August is the month for everything on the island; Illumination night, the Fireworks, and the Fair are all this week! I think we might skip the Fair this year, a person can only have so much fun, but last night, the pull to the fireworks was irresistible.
We trek the half-mile from our parking place through the narrow lanes under shady trees in the Campground, past all the little gingerbread cottages, over to Ocean Park, where the crowd is beginning to gather on the lawn around the bandstand. We find our perfect spot on little knoll, spread our blankets, greet our friends who come with their own kitchen sinks, including six pizzas, two ice chests, and lobster rolls! We are ready!
Us wise people of goodwill settle in to eat our picnic dinners and listen to the band as dark begins to fall and the excitement builds. The Oak Bluffs Fire Department puts these fireworks on every August for whoever wants to come. The “Grand Ladies,” the old Victorian houses you see in the background, have parties on every porch; they overlook the park, and the park overlooks the sea. Kids break open lightsticks and
And finally, at 9 pm, on a warm, balmy, windless evening next to the sea; you lean back in your chair, kick way back because the show has begun.
I could show you this better if Youtube was working for me this morning because I took some good videos…but since it isn’t…at least you are saved from the massive booms these “bombs bursting in air” were making! But what you’re missing are the ooohs and aaahs, the clapping, the screaming, the hooping, and appreciative yelling from the crowd. That’s the good part!
Which keep getting bigger; taking up the entire space of an eye, from one edge of your peripheral vision to the other!
The light from the fireworks reflects on the faces of the crowd in this massive shared experience of time-honored tradition . . . little kids will never forget it . . . .
