My Three Sheets

Of ALL THE TREASURE I have purchased over the years -- nothing will ever beat My Three Sheets.

Here's how it happened.

It was a typical Saturday -- and Bert and I had our catch-up breakfast, then we hit a local estate sale. It was the third day -- so everything was 50% off.  But, of course, by that time -- it's very slim pickins...Remember -- at this point in our lives -- our real hope is that we DO NOT BUY ANYTHING...lol...

Sometimes, we run into Frank or Mike from the American Pickers!

We NEVER know what we're going to find. On this Saturday, there was an estate sale at a 100+ year old mansion in Davenport, Iowa. The kitchen was tiny -- more of a hallway, really. Stacked in a windowsill was a huge pile of discolored damask tablecloths. The hand-written sign scotch-taped to the wall said $2 each. (remember -- it is half-price day). I noticed the embroidery and I thought there was a good chance these were SHEETS, not tablecloths. But it wasn't possible to open them up...the room was small and there were too many people. THEN I REMEMBERED THEY WERE ONLY ONE DOLLAR...so I bought all three of them.

At that point, I really had no idea what I purchased.  But the minute I got home, I opened them up and they took my breath away.  THEY ARE EXQUISITE antique embroidered sheets that measured 7' x 9'. HOLY COW.  Two linen and one a fine long-staple cotton.  One flat sheet this size (French embroidered linen) sells at ABC Rugs in New York City for $2200.   I found a similar sheet on ebay (with two mends) that sold for $648.

My three sheets are PERFECT.   Most likely, never used.  I put them in warm water to soak overnight. The next day, I washed them and hung them on the line. They went from dull tan to bright white...GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS...

Seriously -- I take the WORST pictures...

I tried to capture the beauty of the embroidery...but white on white is way beyond my capability....

The embroidery is very different on each sheet...

And these sheets were obviously made BEFORE there were standard mattress sizes. They are HUGE...

I took them to breakfast club for "sew and tell" -- and we ended up at Aunt Adda's house. Sandy is making the bed, Linda is complaining about my camera.  I am ignoring her...

The "foldback" on these sheets is 24"....

with a purple towel underneath -- you can see the drawn thread work...

Bert told me I should sell them. I told her she was crazy. I have NEVER, IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, enjoyed anything I've purchased more than I've enjoyed these three sheets. Every Monday, I hang one of them out on the line...and getting into bed with a freshly laundered, line-dried vintage embroidered linen sheet....well -- it is HAPPINESS people...

Today is John's birthday -- and he understands that clean, fresh beautiful line-dried sheets is one of the MANY WAYS I show love for him.  (granted -- it's not his favorite thing I do...)

I'm just sayin' -- life just doesn't get any better than this....

Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up....

My sister Deena helps run the Vacation Bible School at her church in McCausland, Iowa.

Lillian LOVES going to school, or church, or swimming, or to the park -- really ANY PLACE that has other children.

There were about 15 kids attending the VBS at Deena's church. It was from 5:30 - 8:15 every evening. And when Lilly got in the car, she'd tell me ''THAT WAS GREAT!"

You can clearly see her excitement in this picture.....

She really did love Vacation Bible School. On the last night, Ross and I went to their little program. He took some great pictures of Lillian -- and here he is, enjoying an Uncle moment with Warren...

You just NEVER know how your babies are going to grow up, people.

When Ross was four years old -- he loved VBS, too.  AND he went to CCD every Sunday morning.  He was baptized, made his first Holy Communion and was confirmed.  Now -- he tells me he is two YouTube videos away from becoming an atheist.

Gheesh....I hate it when they get a mind of their own...

5 Minute Meal

Although I will NEVER be the great cook my friend Pat is -- I pride myself on having an ability to put tasty hot food on the table REALLY FAST. This skill was developed when Ross and Elliott were growing up. I am a big fan of Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals. She is THE MASTER.  But -- who are we kidding -- sometimes YOU JUST DON'T HAVE 30 minutes!! Where we live -- it takes 30 minutes to drive to a "fast food" restaurant. So before or after a baseball practice it was just easier AND QUICKER to cook the food myself.

Last Saturday night, Lillian and I came home from a play.  It was after 9:00 (don't tell her Mom -- but I forgot to feed her supper).  We were both starving.  Time for one of my classics... a cross between a Fritatta and Spaghetti Carbonara...

You'll need eggs and a package of Ramen noodles. (which have already been cooked -- then dehydrated)

Instead of 2 cups of water -- start with one cup. Boil the water, add the flavor packet and break up the noodles. Cover with a lid until the noodles are soft. This happens very fast.

At that point -- break three or four eggs into the hot noodles. Stir until the eggs are scrambled...then take off the heat.

It's pretty darn good right now -- but if you really want to amp up the delicious -- add some Parmesan cheese, maybe some chopped green onions, leftover ham, salami or crispy bacon.

There you have it. You just can't go wrong with eggs, people....

Panzanella salad

Keeping with my theme of FRIENDS -- Pat Leslie is easily the best cook of all my foodie friends. She has been recovering all summer from a broken leg -- so I was surprised to learn that she was hosting her dinner club -- (a dozen of her best friends!) -- for an Italian Dinner.

Here is her AMBITIOUS menu:

~ ~ ~ Pat’s Italian Dinner: August 2013 ~ ~ ~

• Antipasto Relish Tray
• Bruschetta
• Olive Tapenade
• Steamed Mussels
• Herbed Bread
• Cannelloni
• Panzanilla Salad
• Summer Squash Gratin
• Chocolate Sin Pots
• Hazelnut Biscotti
• Lemonade
• Wine
• Coffee

Just READING about all that delicious Italian food made me hungry. And believe me -- Pat will  make everything from scratch. She plans great menus, writes excellent directions -- and when she sends me a recipe, it TURNS OUT PERFECTLY.

The day this menu arrived (with recipes for every dish)-- I had a table FULL OF DELICIOUS RIPE TOMATOES. Perfect....

Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

4 cups tomatoes, cut into large chunks
4 cups day old crusty bread with crusts (Italian or French loaf), cut into chunks the same size as the tomatoes
1 cucumber, skinned and seeded, cut into large chunks
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 bunch fresh basil, torn into small pieces
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
1/4 to 1/2 cup good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let marinate, covered, at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to 12 hours. (Do not refrigerate. Texture of tomatoes will be destroyed.) Serve at room temperature. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

My bread wasn't exactly stale -- so I decided to toast it under the broiler for a bit...

I left out the cucumbers (cuz I don't like 'em)....

WOW...THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS...

Thanks again, Pat. FOR EVERYTHING!! YOU ROCK...

Friends

Without my Sew Expo job -- my life is my own. It is an amazing thing. I can do whatever I want...

My women friends have always been important to me but I've been so busy the last coupla years, I wasn't as good a friend as I could have been.  So my mission this summer was to check the pulse of my friendships.   HEY -- people change. They move on. I get that. The hard part is knowing when you should push the NEXT button...

AND -- IT HAS BEEN SUCH A TREAT.  What a joy it has been to plan a catch-up visit once a week with a friend...old or new...

On this stunning summer day -- my friend-catch-up involved a ROAD TRIP!! BONUS...!! I have a wonderful book on tape (and a back-up). I took this picture of John's Hibiscus plant as I was leaving early that morning...

I left Princeton, Iowa -- drove across the Mississippi River -- two hours East on I-80, surrounded by Illinois cornfields...

Yes, that's a necklace hanging from my mirror...I LOVE IT...

My friend Becky was driving WEST from Chicago for two hours -- and we will hook up in DeKalb, Illinois. She told me to meet her in a parking lot of the Schnuck's grocery store -- but GUESS WHAT STORE IS RIGHT NEXT DOOR?? Yippee...I was 20 minutes early. (Yes, there is a God and I'm pretty sure she is a Goodwill shopper.)

Last year, Becky fought her way through a double bout of cancer....and NOW SHE IS DRIVING A CONVERTIBLE...

Neither one of us knew much about DeKalb -- but it didn't take long to find this beautiful park! It was a stunning summer day...all we wanted was a shade tree, a little breeze and some time together...

Becky is THAT GIRL. A lifetime friend...who really knows me and is interested in my life. And vice-versa. We were 18 years old when we met -- and no matter how long we are apart -- the minute we get into the same room -- we pick right up where we left off. She always makes me feel like I amEXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS WISHING FOR that day. She is a wonderful friend -- well-intentioned and kind....and so damned funny!!

If it's true that laughter is nature's best anti-depressant -- we are both good for a coupla months...

We had SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON. After THREE hours of non-stop talking -- we were starving. We found a WONDERFUL little Thai restaurant right in the middle of town. The soup was amazing...

My friend Marion always says "why would anybody write fiction -- when the truth is so bizarre."...and Becky's story proves that point...here it is....

Becky was raised on a farm in Iowa. When she left for college (she was the youngest)-- her mother left her father and moved to Chicago. Becky's Mom fell in love with and married a man who was 25 years younger than she was. Oh, yeah -- he was black and he used to be a priest.

See what I mean??

It was a brilliant day and I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend....

And if you are lucky enough to have a Becky in your life -- CALL HER RIGHT NOW...!!

Ross and the Barefoot Contessa

Having Ross living here again is, of course, a mixed blessing. After YEARS OF John and I being the only two people in this house -- there is definitely a different rhythm to having a third person. For one thing, it means no more running around the house naked. You can imagine how much that cramps our style...

At first, Ross was surprised by how LITTLE cooking I do. John is diabetic -- and cooking for two people just wasn't much fun. So we often go out to eat. Nowadays -- I spend more time WATCHING cooking shows on television than I spend actually COOKING...

So, the other day, I was watching Ina Garten -- the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. Walking through the living room, Ross said, "She is the most pretentious person on television."
OH MY GOD....he is sooo right....when I tried to find a picture of her for this blog post -- there were a ton of these....

And it was interesting that in some pictures, even with the help of Clairol hair coloring -- Ina looks her age...the neck is a dead giveaway....

But in the recent photos -- she has become a big fan of pretentious scarves...YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYBODY, HON...

Anyway -- watching the show the other day -- she is packing up her pretentious lunch to serve to her pretentious gay guy guests. She had a little cellophane bag of homemade potato chips and said, "How easy is this? Homemade potato chips -- but I didn't have to make them myself. My friend makes them and sells them in these charming little bags."

Ross said..."Really? She has her own cooking show and they let her open up a bag of potato chips? My good friend has been making chips for me for years. Frito Lay sells me a giant bag for $2.59..."

Kids & Pictures

One of the BIG THINGS on my list this summer was to get a picture of Warren wearing John's baptism gown. In old Italian families -- the babies always wore long white dresses when they were baptized. Which generally happened before they were a week old...so these dresses are TINY...At 8 months old, we could barely get Warren buttoned into this delicate frock...

But this MATTERED TO ME. Both Ross and Elliott wore this gown...and I have a beautiful professional photograph of Lillian, wearing this intricate cotton batiste dress...so I was delighted when my wonderful professional photographer niece Kelcy was able to schedule a sitting...(she was 9 months pregnant at the time)...

Yes, Warren is a BEAUTIFUL baby. Both Ross and Elliott tell me he will HATE this picture of himself wearing a dress!

Lillian will start Pre-K next week. Hard to believe!! It seems like just yesterday -- SHE was wearing the Farro Christening Gown...

Yep. Gorgeous. Happiest baby EVER...

Lilly HATES having her hair brushed. Kelcy put in this braid -- and I insisted on a photo!

A very rare shot of the two of them.  YIKES....

THIS IS THE PICTURE Emily will thank me for one day!!