To my Trudie: the best grandmother in the world

I love my Trudie! She is my dad's mom, and I have her to thank for her top-secret chicken and dumpling recipe, my green eyes, and the beautiful things she has made me through the years.  She made the place mats on my table for me when I got married, and I still treasure them. 

The fruit motif is really nice because they match so many of my patterns. I think hand-made gifts are the best. I have large cross-stitched wall hangings that she made each of my children when they were born. I have numerous other knitted blankets that are put to frequent use. This year when Emma was so often in the hospital, I was so grateful to have them to bring a little something from home to keep family close when they were not allowed to visit. 

Today, I have used these lovingly cross-stitched place mats with some of my other favorite things. The vintage red Morgantown golf ball iced-teas and the Spode Cranberry Traditions plates are so pretty on a spring table. (These were from eBay, as always, though the Spode Traditions were actually from the Replacements eBay site. These were sold as an auction and were actually cheaper through eBay than on the Replacements site. They have more!)

There are six different patterns in this particular set.

The majolica fruit sculpture matches the place mats and is also a special item. It was a gift from "Mrs. Margie," whom Emma mentioned in her last blog. I grew up across the street from Mrs. Margie, and we still visit even now.

I added my favorite red salad plates from Dillard's, my Dollar Tree soup bowls, and my Target ramekins with bright green apples. My family enjoyed this table for an early spring supper, complete with chicken and dumplings! The only thing missing was my Trudie!





-Andrea

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A Blues Table for Five (Recipes!)

I have been dying to use this TJ Maxx tablecloth for something pretty on the porch, but the pollen and weather are not cooperating. I was too impatient to wait, so tonight we dined on new thrifty finds in the kitchen.





Oh, where to start?





Well, the bargain on the table is the sherberts. I found them on eBay for less than $1 a piece! I can't even believe I almost passed them up! 

And the china was another eBay find. It is the Carlotta pattern made by Eternal Stone.  While it wasn't quite the deal of a $1 per piece, it was still a bargain. 

There is some crazing on a few pieces, but I adore the pattern and the two shades of blue. It is at least 75 years old and so chic! I love, love, love the way it looks with the sherberts and blue in the tablecloth! 

I could kick myself for not buying napkins in Homegoods that would have matched! I am one of those shoppers who (sometimes but not often enough) walks around with all the things I want, and gradually put most of them back only to regret it later! Do you do that, too?





The tablecloth is a good example of that very thing. I found four placemats and a runner in this same pattern at a TJ Maxx in Atlanta, walked around with them, and decided I didn't want just four placements. I left them there only to find the tablecloth in a different TJ Maxx a week later. This time, leaving the first stash behind was a good decision!

The Azaleas in the ice bucket are from the yard. I have one plant with a few flowers. The rest are still budding. The other green comes from camellia and honeysuckle leaves.

So, what's the menu?





Cocktail Shrimp





Frozen and thawed from the supermarket (easy recipe, huh?)

Serve with dipping sauces





Mandarin Orange Salad





Salad:

1 head of lettuce, washed and torn

4-5 green onions, chopped fine

3 stalks celery, chopped fine

1 11oz can mandarin oranges

Combine and chill.





Dressing:

1/4 vegetable oil

1 T white vinegar

5 drops hot sauce

2 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper





Topping:

1/2 c slivered almonds

2-3T sugar

Caramelize on stove. Spread on wax paper to dry. Can be stored in an airtight container for a snack.





Combine salad and dressing. Toss. Top with almonds. Mmmmm. :)





Easiest Poppyseed Chicken







Preheat oven to 350 degrees.





Casserole:

1-2 lb of shredded or cut up chicken, whatever you have on hand

1 can of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)

8 oz sour cream

1/4 c. milk

Combine so that the chicken is covered, even if just barely.





Topping:

Place 1-2 stacks of Ritz crackers in a freezer bag and crush

add 1 stick of melted butter or margarine

add 2 T poppy seeds (if you have them)

Shake.





Spread over chicken mixture.





Bake until bubbly, (about 30 minutes).





Easy Rice Pilaf





Prepare 3 c. quick rice.





Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in a large skillet.

Add 1/2 c. green onions (chopped), 1/3 c. slivered almonds,  and 1 crushed clove of garlic.





When almonds are lightly browned (3-5 minutes), add rice and seasonings to taste such as salt, pepper, thyme, etc. Blend and serve.









I also served a can of corn. Another easy recipe. :)





Enjoy!

-Andrea

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Let the NHL All-Star Game Stay Meaningless, Showcase the Fun of Hockey For Once

The NHL All-Star Game could be a lot of fun, but the austere soul-searching it annually inspires seems as serious as death. Every year, pundits and demagogues come together during the dog days of hockey to opine about its vast problems and merits. They hem and they haw over its importance, it's entertainment value, and how to get fans and players to take it seriously.

But it's never going to be taken seriously. Look to your left. Any game where that can happen is not a serious game. Despite being populated with NHL hockey players, it's not an NHL hockey game. It can't be, because guys get hurt playing NHL hockey games, and nobody wants to get hurt at this thing. As a result, everybody lightens up and, if we're being realistic, we're all okay with that. An injury during the All-Star game is as meaningless and preventable as an injury during a the tug of war at a church picnic.

People tell me it's a showcase for the NHL game, but it isn't because nobody can be convinced to play their heart out, and that's what every other game is for, anyway. The All-Star Game is a Star Trek convention. Yes, all your beloved characters are there, but nobody's fighting the Borg. If you're hoping for the intensity of the final frontier, you're badly mistaken or, in some cases, completely delusional. The NHL All-Star game is a sideshow.

I'm totally okay with that. Ignore the objections of the hockey Puritans who can't handle simple frivolity, and remember that sideshows can be a lot of fun. Why are we so insistent on players taking the All-Star game so seriously? As far as I'm concerned, everybody takes real hockey games too damn seriously. It's a game. Why can't the All-Star game be a moment of levity for all involved--a way to remind the fans and the professionals that, first and foremost, hockey is just a fun thing to do? Let the game be meaningless, and find a way to highlight fun and showcase the players having it.

So here's my proposition: let the NHL pick the 40 players that go to the All-Star game and announce the rosters a month in advance. Then let the fans vote on two team captains from among these guys. I don't care if they're both from the same team, either. Let it be any two guys. Then, let those players pick a charity to play for and put $500,000 dollars on the line (or some such other figure) if their team wins. Then, before the game, get all these guys onto the ice and let the team captains select their teammates the old-school way. Call a name, give him a jersey, let the other captain pick. Then let the teams play. Minimal preparation, minimal coaching, minimal austerity; just a fun game of pick-up hockey among the best hockey players in the world.

I'd watch that, wouldn't you? I'd definitely watch the guys pick one another. If Crosby and Ovechkin were voted team captains, and Ovechkin picked Malkin? If Henrik was voted team captain and he picked somebody else instead of Daniel? If Joe Thornton got picked last? Mic some guys up. Definitely mic up the draft. Let the players banter with one another, make bargains, argue over who picks first. Let players campaign to be named a team captain for the chance to support and promote their charity. Connect them with moviemaking fans who can make good viral videos. Do it all in the name of fun.

Yes, fun. Let it be fun.