Daddy's Girl

I happened upon some pages of back-to-school fashions for little girls in one of my vintage magazines the other day that were as beautiful as paintings. They were posing with their fathers.

I wondered what these fathers of 1961--the year R.H. and I were married--could have been saying to their daughters. I thought of my own father, and of me and my three sisters.

And of course it made me think of my own wonderful daughter who is definitely a Daddy's Girl.

From McCall's magazine, August 1961 issue,

beautifully photographed by Harold Krieger.....

 "Let's read, shall we?

A book is a window to the world."

"Think before you make a decision."

"Of course you can learn to ski.

You can learn almost anything if you

work hard enough at it."

"I'll go to the ballet with you and your little sister.

And tomorrow let's work on those math problems.

There's nothing scary about math."

 "You know you can tell me and your mother

anything, don't you?"

 

 "A sister is a friend you'll always have."

  

"Yes, you're beautiful,

and you're smart.

But you're also a very nice person."

"Let's get Mommy to teach us both to knit."

"Where do you want to travel when you grow up?

We could start learning the language now."

"You treat him with respect, honey.

But you darn sure expect him to treat you

with respect, too.
I hope you'll remember that when you're older."

 "I am so sorry.

I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

I was just thinking about a problem at work.

Will you forgive me?"

"Never forget that I love you!"

This post is dedicated to all the good dads out there,

and to my sisters--we had a great one, didn't we?

And especially it is dedicated to my own Daddy's Girl

and to her daddy!

Ads That Sold - Daniel Green Slippers

[Ladies' Home Journal April 1951]

Daniel Green has been making slippers for 130 years!

I used to give ones like the Fifi style above at lingerie showers
for my girlfriends when I was a young married woman. 

They were always a big hit.

But I still wear Daniel Green Slippers today.

I don't think they make honeymoon slippers anymore.

But if you want a comfy slipper, Daniel Green Slippers make me happy--

and Otis likes them too.

 

Classroom or Beach?

[Woman's Home Companion August 1943]

Aren't they darling?

I wonder if they're getting ready for school?

The children today are already back at school.

I just hate that.

Do they really learn anymore than if they started after Labor Day?

I complained about that last year, HERE,

so this year I'll just say that all children should be doing this in August...

instead of sitting in a classroom. 

What do you think?

Classroom or beach?

Classroom or beach?

 Classroom or beach?

 

Be A Good Boy

At 24 years old, he was the youngest member of the Tennessee Legislature on 
August 18, 1920.

Harry Burn stood up to cast his vote.

He wore a red rose, not a yellow rose, in his lapel, signifying that he stood with the men who planned to vote Nay to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

In one hand was a letter he had received that morning from his mother.

It read:

Dear Son,

 Hurrah and vote for suffrage!

Don't keep them in doubt!

I notice some of the speeches against. They were bitter.

I have been watching to see how you stood, 

but have not noticed anything yet.

Don't forget to be a good boy

and help Mrs. Catt put the "rat" in ratification.

Your mother

Harry Burns voted Aye to the ratification of the 19th Amendment,

Tennessee becoming the needed 36th state for the Amendment to become law

and for women of the United States of America to be given the right to vote.

 

Harry said he changed his vote because--

"A good boy always does what his mother asks him to do."  

[Our daughter-in-law stands before the Woman Suffrage Memorial

when we visited it, depicting Lizzie Crozier French of Knoxville,

Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville,

and Elizabeth Avery Meriwether of Memphis,

leaders of the women's suffrage movement in Tennessee.]

For the Price of a Bowl of Soup

"For the price of a bowl of soup I bought today at an old bookshop

a volume to me infinitely valuable--

a boon, a prize, a priceless possession.

All the way home on the train I read it:

I was enlarged, I acquired merit, I added to my life."

 David Grayson in The Countryman's Year
 

Have you ever felt that way about a book?

This old 1943 book, Richardson Wright's The Bed-Book of Eating and Drinking, found "for the price of a bowl of soup," has been a real treasure to me. In it he does for the table what he did for the garden in his classic The Gardener's Bed-Book.

This old first edition, while missing its dustjacket, is full of helpful tidbits from the longtime Editor in chief of House and Garden. And all from a man's viewpoint, or at least from the viewpoint of a man of his time. I honestly can't see R.H. caring whether his soup is served from a soup tureen or not, but Mr. Wright surely cared.

 

"Now the purpose of using a tureen at table,

apart from displaying a charming vessel, is to keep the soup hot...

Further, I believe that the soup should be a surprise,

the kind to come shouldn't be announced beforehand."

Richardson Wright

Do any of you have a soup tureen? Do you use it? I would love to have one like the Spode's Pink Tower above, or in any of the Spode patterns that I collect but wonder if I would actually use it.

 I like what Mr. Wright says about keeping the soup a surprise. Sometimes we give away all the fun of a meal by telling what's for supper, when it would be more dramatic to bring a soup tureen to the table and lift the lid. 

I'm not sure I would even have room for a soup tureen so I'll continue to use my favorite Le Cruset soup pot to serve from. 

We all have favorite chicken soup recipes so I won't put mine here but I do have a new favorite ingredient. Five minutes before serving the soup I stir in chopped baby bok choy. It is so much better than the large bok choy in soup.

I served mine with finely cut basil in two Mikasa "Chelsea Vine" bowls found at Goodwill. The placemats and napkins are from there too. 

This soup started off the night before as Roast Chicken, Pat Conroy's recipe--found HERE 
at my old blog--except that this time I included Richardson Wright's suggestion:

"Before you tuck away a chicken to roast,

rub it with this mixture:

1/2 powdered ginger and 1/4 mustard and 1/4 salt.

Things happen to that chicken's flavor."

I assumed he meant teaspoons here and dry mustard and it very definitely added to the flavor and color of the chicken.

I always save the leftover skin and bones and scraps to make broth the next morning, which is the basis of several different kinds of chicken soup the next day with the leftover chicken added. 

Maybe someday I'll find a soup tureen at Goodwill with my name on it. Meanwhile I always find other hidden treasures in the book aisle. Choose the sticker of the day color and their books are half price. 

"For the price of a bowl of soup" you might find a book to read or to read to someone else that is priceless.

Even magical?

We're Celebrating!

We're celebrating here at Dewena's Window!

Sweet Kris of Junk Chic Cottage is introducing us

in her Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger.

Today! Here!

That was enough for me to celebrate.

Arrange some pretty flowers…

Clean the vintage metal kitchen cabinet…

We've had it for over 30 years and still don't know

what it is, but I've always guessed that it might once

have been used in a diner or cafe.

I use it now to display pieces of the old Sesto Fior

fish pottery made in Colonnata, Italy, in the Apuan Alps.

Here's a more modern piece, 

pictured here with our wedding silver,

Wallace's La Reine.

It's rare that I can find a piece in my price range,

but this little pitcher stole my heart.

And a picture of my grandfather who was a butcher sits here.

Here's an old postcard I ordered, mislabeled Colonnata.

As you can see, it is not Colonnata at all but the Almifi Coast.

I promised blog friend Amy that I'd show this as she,

lucky girl, just came back from there,

the view from her balcony looking much like this.

Other treasures have found a home in this display,

such as a dear little mermaid from my sister Teresa.

The old green McCoy pitcher just pretends to be Italian.

This old kitchen cabinet holds all my baking sheets

and muffin tins inside it,

and a few Italian cookbooks.

Otis wants in the pictures too.

But what's a celebration without food?

I made Insalata Estiva, a recipe from Cucina Del Sole

by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

I wish I were a better food stylist,

but basically there are Yukon potatoes in this,

sliced and tossed with Sicilian olive oil and sea salt,

green beans cooked a few minutes and chilled in cold water,

chopped tomatoes, chopped olives in Sicilian herbs,

rinsed and drained salted capers,

a red onion half, sliced thinly,

and the best brand of Italian anchovies you can find.

If you don't like anchovies, buy a can of really good

Italian tuna.

Season with fresh chopped or dried oregano,

and turn all gently, adding the juice from

several lemons.

Adjust the seasoning to taste and arrange on a bed

of lettuce and surround with sliced 

hard-cooked eggs,

hopefully more artistically than I did!

Dessert!

It has to be a cake and this one is from the same book,

Torta al Lemone!

The recipe only called for Confectioners' sugar for the top,

but I thought that sugar needed lemon juice 

and melted butter for a glaze.

Be sure and help yourself to the salad

and cut yourself a piece of cake before leaving.

Welcome to any guests visiting from Kris 

at Junk Chic Cottage,

and again a reminder for my beloved readers

to visit Kris here…

She is such a gracious lady and her talents

abound in the transformation of her cottage.

Y'all come back anytime,

and thank you so much for helping us celebrate!

"Don't Just Do Something; Sit There"

[The Farmer's Wife, August 1938]

"For fast-acting relief from stress,

try slowing down."

Lily Tomlin

"The first step is to relax--put aside impatience, stop struggling and learn to accept uncertainty and inaction.

Wait for ideas to incubate below the radar, rather than striving to brainstorm them to the surface.

Let the mind be quiet and still."

Carl Honore

from In Praise of Slowness

Here's to a little slowing down this summer!


And please watch HGTV tonight,
July 27, at 7 p.m. Central,
8 p.m. Eastern,
for the premiere show--

Farmhouse Life

There will be 2 episodes, back to back.

Our son said to tell you he worked his butt off
for this show as Tech Director/Camera Assist!

He loved the whole experience and said I will love it.

We hope you will too!