A Victorian Mourning Blouse

An antique mourning cabinet card

Happy Sunday dear friends. I hope that you're having a great weekend!

For Christmas my son and daughter-in-law sent me an Etsy gift certificate. They know me too well I think! In any case, I decided to randomly search for something that was a little special and something that I just wouldn't normally buy myself. In honor of my son, who when he last came to visit thought my art studio was a good source of "props" for photo shoots, I decided to by a Victorian mourning blouse. Why? I have no idea. I don't even know how I found it. And I can't really say that I personally like to wear black clothing. Nor am I a fan of  goth or steam-punk fashions. But when I stumbled upon this beauty for a rather-low-on-sale price, I just couldn't resist. So, I now have one more "prop" in my studio. And although I don't really have any morbid curiosities, I did become fascinated with Victorian mourning dress and customs after purchasing this item. I guess I just love all fashions from Victorian times. You know that I like to use some black in my photo collage work, so I also ended up buying some other items which I will share in future posts.

Here she is. 

She likely dates from the 1890's to 1910 or so.

I am sure that this piece,

which is totally hand sewn and

made of silk with velvet accents,

started out as black.

Over time the silk has faded to a 

gun metal-taupish color, 

but the velvet still looks black.

Considering its age,

its in perfect condition,

with only a button missing in the front.

It still even has the boning sewn inside!

Isn't it gorgeous?...

Here is the back.

I love the button detail down at the waist...

...not to mention the lace at the collar

and the velvet inset with the velvet-

covered buttons used on the entire piece...

Here are some detail shots of the

back at the waist...

And I practiced with one of my new

Canon lenses.

Not the macro lens that I told you about

the other day,

but my 50mm fixed lens,

one that has a very short fixed focal length.

"Real photographers" call it 

The Nifty Fifty!

Since you can't focus it

you must move your body to where

you need to be to get the shot.

It's great for closeups and blurring

the background, very lightweight,

and pretty cheap!...

A shot of one of the velvet cuffs...

I found myself wondering who the lady was that had worn this lovely blouse. 

Who did she mourn for, and how old was she?

The waist on this garment is tiny, about 21 to 22 inches.

Was she very young?

Did she mourn for a child? A parent? A husband?

I read that it was considered bad luck to keep morning clothes in the house after mourning ended.

Is that why you can still find these?

We can only wonder about those that have gone before us.

Though I am a little late,

I am linking to Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday link party,

and you can find her wonderful blog here.

2016: One Simple Word

Hello there! I hope that you are having a nice day.

Well, here we are into the New Year and I only now just decided to post about my word for the year. The last time I did this was in 2013. Yikes! Did three years already go by?

In any case, once again I decided to pick a word that I will live by this year. One that shouldn't present a challenge in and of itself, since I pretty much do this on a daily basis anyway. The word is:

LEARN

(to gain or acquire knowledge of, or skill in something

 by study, experience, or being taught)

The challenge was not to decide what I would REALLY like to learn to do, or do better, but to stick to it until I get it down. And we all know how that goes! So I got to thinking about what things I already love to do, and how I could make them better. 

I love cooking, flowers and gardening.

I love creating textile art.

So, how about taking vegetable skins, 

and flowers grown in my garden...

...and learn how to make natural dyes for the textiles

that I use in my art.

This is nothing new for others in the art world,

but it is certainly something new for me.

I bought these books last month,

and will give it a try!...

Then, I started thinking about my blog

and the photos that I take for it,

most often shot at close range,

and decided that I could make THOSE better too.

So I finally gave in to purchasing a macro lens for

my Canon ("real camera") with which I 

will attempt to learn how to take much 

better photos of the things I love for my blog...

The books are really good,

and hopefully will give me a start...

I didn't have much time to play with my lens

during the holidays,

but the day that it arrived

(bought used on eBay and in pristine condition)

I did fire off a few photos of the stuff

on my dining table.

Not great photos,

but fun to see the close-up detail

and the blurry background.

I concede that I have a long way to go!

All of the books shown above were purchased on abebooks.com,

or on Amazon. I usually compare the prices and condition of any given book

between the two sites.

Many times the books are new and a fraction of the cost of what

you would pay in bookstores which never provide very good discounts 

even on older books. 

And I have never been let down on the condition of any used book that I have bought.

***********************************

Of course,  Mr. Perch would likely tell you that my word of the year should have been

STOP

(as in stop buying books)

************************************

And yes, I do know that you can buy books to read on your iPad, but where is the fun in that?

Please do come back next year at this time and see how much I have accomplished with my word!!

What are your plans for the new year?

Roast Pork and The First Snow

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a great one.

Though I have lived in The South for more than half of my life, I can't quite get accustomed to eating black-eyed peas to celebrate the New Year. I would much prefer to follow the traditions of my German family and eat pork and sauerkraut, which either my grandmother or mom usually made in the beginning of January. Eating sauerkraut is said to bring blessings and wealth and is eaten along with pork, the pig being said to be a symbol of good luck and well-being. Though I imagine that doctors might argue these fine points, my dad is alive and well at almost 93, so I will maintain this hearty, if not healthy, tradition!

After years of eating lean and healthy pork tenderloin, I yearned for my grandma's slow-roasted pork that was loaded with flavor, melted in your mouth and had that delicious crust on it. I remember her starting it early in the morning in the oven that she had in the basement so that it wouldn't heat up the whole house. There it sat slow roasting until we arrived on the scene mid-afternoon.

Though tenderloin is a lot healthier, I feel that it lacks the flavor that we experienced in the old days. And since this is a meal that I usually only make once each year, a little splurging can't hurt! The recipe that I use is from the the "Make-Ahead Recipes 2010" issue of Cooks Illustrated, which is my favorite cooking magazine.

On New Year's Eve we went to a party given by our neighbors who live across the street, and on Sunday we had the two of them over for a roast pork and sauerkraut dinner. Though the recipe is intended to be a make-ahead version, I can't bear to wait to eat it, so I make it as a roast to be eaten when ready.

Note: I use what we call a fresh (not smoked) pork picnic,

WITH the bone,

rather than a boneless Boston Butt, 

which I have tried but didn't like as well.

I don't bother to tie the meat.

After trimming most of the fat

(the rest is cooked out during the slow-roasting,

and makes wonderful drippings for gravy),

fresh rosemary (still growing in my herb garden),

freshly cracked black pepper, table salt,

fresh sage leaves (NOT still growing in my herb garden!),

 fennel seeds, and garlic,

are mixed together...

...and then rubbed all over the meat,

which is then put in the oven for three hours

at 300 degrees.

During this time you do nothing

except inhale the wonderful aroma

of it cooking,

and quite literally,

this starts in less than 15 minutes!...

After the three hours,

you take out the meat,

add the wedged-up red onions

to the drippings that have already accumulated...

...and roast for another 3 to 3-1/2 hours,

during which time I keep an eye on it and add

a cup or so of water

(or white wine!)

and then it will look like this...

At this point I don't follow the recipe any further.

I make my own gravy (not the apple cider and

apple jelly version).

I also don't set any meat aside for Cubans.

Here is the recipe, which I hope you can enlarge

and print...

If you wish to make the roast and Cubans as specified,

here is the rest of the recipe...

And here is the recipe that I use when I make

most of my gravies.

I could never remember the formula of butter

and flour to drippings,

and this seems to work for me.

From Pinterest, where else!

I do use just a little less flour than specified.

For the pork I use chicken stock or broth,

but this also works well for beef recipes

using beef stock or broth.

Ignore my chicken scratch on the bottom!

By the way, for side dishes I made

a Martha Stewart recipe that I have been

using for years with saurkraut,

white cabbage, and browned mushrooms

in it,

along with mashed potatoes 

and a spinach salad with pears and

Gorgonzola cheese.

Oh, and NY Cheesecake,

another standby from the same issue of

Cooks Illustrated as the pork.

If you're going to cook,

you might as well cook!!

*********************************

And a day after eating this nice winter meal,

low and behold,

we got snow! 

It didn't stick, though!

Have you cooked anything delicious lately?

Have a great evening!

A Dollar and a Holiday Place Setting

Hello dear friends! I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and are taking some time to relax now.

I am a Target shopper by nature. I love many of their selections at reasonable prices, and though I only go there about once a month, I do usually come home with something for either Plum Tree or The Nest. After I finished my actual Christmas shopping and wrapping, I went over there to pick up some bagged kale salad mix (they carry the one that's my favorite), and stopped in to browse the bargain section. If you shop there you may have noticed that right at the entrance, where you pick up your cart, there is usually a small section of items on sale, mostly seasonal. I couldn't help but notice that some of the Christmas doo-dads were things that had not previously been in the main Christmas department, so they must ship the inventory in from other stores.

I couldn't resist buying 

two packages of these...

...seasonal greetings printed 

on burlap-style fabric...

...and at four for a buck

who could resist?...

Of course, the red string did not do it 

for me,

so...

...a bit of a quick-change act

to black and jute twine...

...tied with some faux rusty bells

with silverware 

and taupe linen napkins

(also from Target)

and we have a place setting

for not-so-much-money-or-work...

For the first time I actually found chargers

that suited my dishes.

They were from Kirkland's for $3.99 each,

and believe it or not,

they are a nice grade of plastic

and won't scratch the table!

No place mats or table cloth necessary!

Love it.

If you're wondering where the wine glasses were,

we were already drinking out of them,

as these photos were taken just prior to

our Christmas Eve dinner!

********************************

Did you incorporate any budget items into

your holiday decor this year?

Christmas 2015

May your Christmas

be filled with JOY,

and your New Year be

filled with HOPE.