A little ingenuity can go a long way in getting you through the day. During each task we face, there are enough tiny obstacles to make us stumble if we do not call our wits into play. None of these are earth-shaking events but more like minor nuisances. Things that could be made easier if we used the brain. I find that even in things that I have done a certain way my whole lifetime there is room for ingenuity to "fix" things. Today's bit of genius came while baking. Early this morning, I decided to bake some cherry/cream cheese bars and blueberry/cream cheese bars. Because of the over use of filling, the bars are soft and gooey instead of being firm. Getting the things out of the pan in one piece was a bit daunting. The tiny, bite-sized cakes were not cooperating and were falling to pieces. A full-sized spatula was too large to lift the bars but a fork was making them crumble. Then, a brilliant idea came to me!
I made a dash to the toy bin where I stashed all of the Grandlittles' toys. I rattled around a bit until I found the toy kitchen set, fished out the spatula and headed back to the kitchen. Genius! That toy metal spatula was the perfect fit for the bite-sized cakes! The short handle allowed me to get into corners that the full-sized utensil would not. This was perfect! With the toy, I was able to make quick work of the pan of goodies and move on to the next.
Now I figure that I am going to pull a few more of those pint-sized utensils out of the toy bin and move them to the kitchen. Why not? If something works, it is what should be used. I am good with it although, I did get a few strange looks from Son when he wandered into the kitchen. He thought it was hilarious until I asked him to take out the last few. "Hey, this really does work!" See...told you! So, I guess I am heading back into my childhood with this one or at least to the toy bin!
With all of the rain pounding the area, I have been forced to stay cooped up in the Little Bayou House. While I would much rather be out hiking about the hillside, this inside stuff is not so bad. I have been taking advantage of my confinement by moving furniture. Yep, that excites Son so much that he went out and hurt his knee. (I confess. He did not actually hurt the knee to avoid moving furniture but the timing is suspicious! Poor fellow, I have been teasing him pretty heavily about this as I drag a huge buffet across the room.) At least things are starting to look a bit better and I feel like I am accomplishing something.
To me, the hard part of moving anything like a buffet, is not the lugging it to a new place, it is unloading it, sorting stuff, tossing stuff and then putting said stuff back into place. Here, I must add, that although I am parting with an enormous number of items, I still can never get the remainder back in the buffet or cabinet. It just doesn't happen. I think the space shrinks with each dish I remove. But, I have been cleaning and that is occupying my time.
One of the things that I pulled from the cabinet was Mom's childhood tea set. The tiny dishes, or at least what remains of the set, are so very delicate that I am always afraid to handle them. For being a child's plaything, this is made of some pretty fine (thin) porcelain. Today's sets, if you can find a ceramic one at all, is thick and clunky...not this set. When held up to the window, the light actually shines through the side of the cup. Sweet! I cannot imagine ever letting a little one play with the tiny cups and saucers but, perhaps back in the day, kids were taught to be gentle and respect their toys.
The pretty little set is hand-painted in Japan with a scene of trees, water and swans. It is a lovely mix of orange, blue and a very dark brown. I am assuming that she got the set in the late 1920's or early 1930's. Several pieces are missing from the set and I can only imagine this happened after Mom was grown and had some rowdy kids of her own...ooops! She also collected any other odd pieces that matched the pattern.
I carefully placed each tiny cup and saucer in the china cabinet. Their bright orange color reminds me of fall so I figure it is a good time to have it on display. Plus...each tiny cup, saucer or teapot made me smile and think of Mom. All in all....good day!
