Remember that half the joy of achievement is in the anticipation.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Blue Monday 9/14. & VTT 9/17--The old school desk

Happy Monday! It's time for Blue Monday again! Be sure to pay our hostess, Smiling Sally, a visit and see who else is sharing the blue's. I'm also going to share this for my Vintage Thingies Thursday which is hosted by Suzanne @ Colorado Lady.
Have a fantastic day everyone!

How I love our old vintage school desk. Twenty-two years ago my daughter's paternal grandfather gifted her with this desk. He used to be a school custodian and one day he was given the chore of clearing and disposing of items that had been locked in the storage rooms. He came upon many school desks that had been stored and forgotten. He found homes for as many as he could and my daughter was one of the lucky children to receive one. This desk has been well used and well loved. I often think of the secrets and wishes that may have been made by the children who sat here and I know of some wishes my own children have made....ahhh, if this desk could only speak and tell us her story. When Mr Cottage and I were newly married, I had to leave sweet desk behind and a family member left her out in the rain and to weather the elements. When we returned for her, she was in sad shape. The entire desk top had to be replaced. Thankfully Mr Cottage had a friend who was a carpenter who used the old desk top as a template. you can see the notches that were "copied" where the pens were to be laid and right in the middle of those notches is a place where the "ink well" would have been kept. I still have the ink well but we chose not to add the "hole" for fear that the kids would damage it or hurt themselves. Yes, this little desk is still used. My girls used it until they could no longer fit, and now my "soon to be" 10 year old uses it when he does his homework. It won't be long til he can no longer fit. Not to worry, the baby of the bunch uses the desk as well. Right now it's painted the blue the kids wanted but the younger ones are screaming for red. I wonder how it would look? LOL!
P.S. never mind those stains on the carpet. That's what happens when you let a toddler walk around with a sippy cup filled with grape juice. Oy! One day that nasty old carpet will be lifted and the 55 year old oak floors beneath, will be refinished. It's on the "list".



Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day and have a fantastic week!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Yummy Banana Bread

With the incredible heat we've been experiencing, the bananas on our counter ripened faster then we could eat them (this was with the a/c on!). I hate to waste food, and although it was pretty warm, I decided to bake some banana bread for my Mr. WHC. Good thing I'm able to close off my kitchen :0)

You'll need to...
Preheat oven to 350 degrees...

Mash 2 1/3 cups of over ripe bananas
set aside...

Cream together
1/2 cup butter & 3/4 cup brown sugar

beat two eggs and then stir together
with creamed sugar/butter
and ripe bananas until well blended.
Set aside...

Mix together
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tspn baking soda
1 /4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn nutmeg
1 tspn cinnamon...

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture.
Stir just enough to moisten...

Pour batter into prepared 9x5 loaf pan.
(I just use a non stick pan or
non stick cooking spray,
but you can flour your loaf pan)
Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes or until inserted
toothpick/fork prong comes out clean.
Let bread cool in pan
for 10 minutes then turn out
onto wire rack.

Mmmm. ..Enjoy!

Remember, you can add nuts, chips or raisins if you choose. I just didn't have any on hand.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Treasure Craft Canister Set-Vintage Thingies Thursday

Happy Thursday!

It's time for Vintage Thingies Thursday! Please pay a visit to Suzanne @ Colorado Lady and see who else rolls vintage...
Treasure Craft Canister Set...

Some would like to slap me for using them this way,
but it works for me "right now".
I use them as
storage in my laundry room.
I've got dryer sheets in one,
legos and toys from my boys pockets in another,
loose change or what I like to
call "tip money" in another...
This set originally belonged to my Sis-In-Law's BFF, then my SIL had them for a while through the 80s and most of the 90s. She gifted them to me in 1997 after seeing how much I admired them. I'm guessing these canisters are somewhere around 25-30 years old. Just old enough to be considered "vintage".
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fab day!