Before I say more, I just posted again at The Magnifying Glass, this time about our local flying squirrels.
Let's cut to the chase.
I have been a bad blog buddy. I suppose I could've been "badder," but still, I need to make amends, and today specifically, I'm making amends to 'perches,' the crafty mama who blogs at perches in the soul. (Thank you for being so kind and patient!)
Back in August (oh, about 1,000 years ago), I participated again in the Summer Vintage Swap organized by Heather. It's one of those, I-really-shouldn't-but-I-can't-stop-myself kind of fun things to do. Well, it's hard to say no to snooping around thrift shops and second-hand stores, stopping by a yard sale or two, all in the hopes of finding a little something for your swap buddy.
I sent off my treasures to her, hoping that she would like them every bit as much as I did.
Around the same time that my package went out, I received her lovely package, and I was so excited to see what she had found for me. She sent along a lovely letter explaining each and every thing and why she had chosen them. But you can see for yourself why:
A pretty ceramic thimble
A Christmasy-needle case
with 11 needles still inside!
Several skeins of luscious embroidery thread
(with a little history about the company that made the thread)
A treasure of a tiny cut-glass bowl (E's favorite!)
and some delicate hankies
And saving the best for last, a Washington Flour cookbook, from the Washington, D.C. Flour Company that was located in Georgetown on the banks of the Potomac, literally a couple of miles from where I sit, and blocks from where I used to work. The mill building still stands, although it's condos now.
perches kindly printed out a history of the mill for me. The mill apparently used wheat and corn grown within 75 miles of the mill. Talk about local!
The cookbook is a fun read, of course. There are several recipes I'd like to try. I was most amused by the next-to-last page, which talked about a new product, Whole Wheat Self-Rising Flour, which they were making "in response to a growing demand for whole wheat...utilizing the ENTIRE BERRY of the selected wheat used in making Washington Flour..." If this site is to be believed, the cookbook was printed in 1918 (I could find no printed date myself). Nearly 100 years later, what goes around, comes around, I suppose.
Thanks again, perches, for all your thoughtful choices. I can see why it was so hard to part with that cookbook! Here's hoping we can go thrifting soon, maybe this time, together.
