DAPHNE THE GREEK GODDESS

Good Morning to you,

I awoke this morning, made my way downstairs to put the coffee machine on. I opened the shutters and look what I saw!

What was that on top of our garden statues head?

Were my eyes deceiving me. I reached for my glasses and yes, Daphne (the name of the statue) was wearing a snow hat and snow wrap .....doesn't she look elegant. 

I am not being egotistical by naming our garden statue Daphne. Actually never mind about egotistical, who names a garden statue, certainly not me.  The name was given by Kyriargos, our Cypriot friend. The first time he looked at the statue he told us, her name was Daphne, after the Greek Goddess. What could I say, I graciously accepted the title of Greek Goddess.

For the sake of accuracy I thought I should tell you that Daphne was a actually a nymph  and not a goddess.

Way back in October, I  promised to show you more of my Picture Post Magazine from 1939. If you missed the first part you can read it  here So today I thought I would show you adverts from that era.

So, before and after photographs are not only a product of today's advertising. This is quite a transformation. Do you think it is due to the lighting, the make up, the hairstyle and the smile. Tell me, am I being cynical?

This little girl is enjoying her Chilvern Cottage Cheese. She  definitely has a contented look on her face. 

Do you see the price of the pair of silver plated teaspoons. They could be bought for one shilling. Mind you, the price was a shilling, only if two box tops, from two six penny packets of Cheese were sent to the Chilvern company.

I remember Phyllis saving box tops from packets of Daz Washing Powder. For every "x" amount of tops you sent to Daz, you received a red plastic rose.  Phyllis collected about  a dozen which were displayed in a vase on the dining room table.  It sounds odd nowadays to collect plastic roses, but in the early 1960's they were very fashionable.

I remember using a similar product to Veet, when I was in my 20's, I only used this once as trust me the aroma was not a pleasant.  Looking back, I dread to think what ingredients were included in this product.

Tin salmon during the 1930's, 40's, and 50's was a definite luxury item.  I remember Ivy would make salmon and cucumber sandwiches, cut into triangles, as a special treat for our Sunday tea.

I would hope that the "valuable ingredients in Cuticura are based on scientific knowledge" and not added haphazardly!

Phyllis bought Pepsodent toothpaste when we were children. There was a catchy song which was sang advertising Pepsodent, but for the life of me I cannot remember it.

Do you think the model in this picture is the same as the model, Miss C in the "How I got rid of my wrinkles" advert? If not they are very similar.

....and finally, Yardley Lavender perfume.  This was an expensive perfume as the prices ranged from 2 shillings and 6 pence to 2 guineas....a huge sum of money for that time.

I found it interesting to see, that the advertising for women's products,  were playing to the insecurities of women, in 1939, very much as they do today.

What do you think of the adverts. I should imagine the company  you will know, is Yardley as they are a well known name. 

This week I shall be joining Claudia for My Favourite Thing  here

On Sunday I will be making a Greek vegetarian dish, until then take care and I will see you later in the week.  

A VINTAGE SHOP

Good Morning to you,

Last week, Gloria and I,  (you have met Gloria before)  see here decided to take a trip to Heaton, in Newcastle, as Gloria had heard there were quite a few Charity shops worth visiting.

For my friends who do not know what Charity Shops are, they are shops which raise money for the British Heart Foundation, Cancer research, plus many other charities.  People donate books, clothes, china, jewellery, anything which they no longer want to the Charity Shop, who in turn sell the items. The money raised is given to the appropriate charity.  It is a great way to raise money and recycle goods....what is the saying "One person's junk is another person's treasure".

We decided to travel by bus....and it was a bright red double decker bus. It has been many years since I  have ridden in one.  

When I was younger we certainly did not want to sit on the first deck as that was where the "oldies" sat. As young teenagers we all wanted to sit on the top deck, as it was "cool", but these days, I prefer to sit down below (oops I've turned into an "oldie" when did that happen). Maybe next time I will travel upstairs, just for the fun of it.

Anyway, I digress. We arrived and found a lovely shop called Chillingham Collectables. This shop is  owned by Jacqueline Buchanan and it's contents were fascinating. We lost quite a bit of time in there, enjoying what was on offer.

I love what Jacqueline has written about her stock, "Pre-loved collectables"....and isn't that just right. As you know I love vintage items which have been owned and loved by someone else, so the term pre-loved sounded perfect to me.

Where would we be without

 pre-loved blue and white

These handsome pre-loved

Staffordshire Dogs

 Beautiful  pre-loved beaded handbags

 which are gorgeous.

Pre-loved Edwardian Shoe Buckles

(I see an embroidery design emerging)

An intricate pre-loved fan style brooch

This pre-loved carriage

.....and this was only in the first room.  We had fun in the second room which was filled with gloves, hats, bags, materials....well the list is endless. In this room we found some old Newspapers....I could have bought them all, but that was not realistic, so after much consideration I chose a copy of The Newcastle Daily Journal, dated Thursday 14th January 1926.

Then we ventured into the third room and boy oh boy was I happy, I found a book called "Mattie and Bessie", which was printed in 1887 and given as a gift in 1888.  

My next find, which I bought, were two cookery books from 1965...."The Shop and Cook Book" and "The No Time to Cook Book".  These are interesting cookery books.

Later in the month I will show you the newspaper and also the books. I did not show you today, as they each need a page of their own to do them justice, but I was so excited about my finds that I wanted to tell you about them.  

We did carry on and find some brilliant Charity Shops and guess what, that is another story.

We had a fun time together and were exhausted when we returned home, well I was. Gloria went to a Zumba class that evening, while I went home and put my feet up.

This week I shall be joining: Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Have a lovely day and I will see you later in the week.

BULGAR WHEAT SALAD

Good Morning to you,

I appreciate, that in many parts of the world,  it is cold and it is snowing, and your looking at the title of my post and thinking, I have posted this recipe in the wrong season, as this is a summer recipe. You are also thinking, the last thing you want to eat is a salad.....but please do not be put off, as this is a simple, but delicious salad which I enjoy during our very cold winter months.

This is a Bulgar Wheat Salad and yes, you will be pleased to hear, this is a simple salad. After all the Christmas and New Year cooking, I am happy to eat something which takes 15 minutes to prepare and which is healthy.

Bulgar wheat is used extensively throughout the Mediterranean and I first came across it whilst living in Cyprus.  It has a slight nutty flavour and can be used in a variety of ways.  I use Bulgar Wheat in soups, in stuffings, in salads or as an accompaniment to  meat or fish dishes.

   

 This recipe is not an exact science, as this salad is often made up of ingredients from my store cupboard or fridge. For instance, the Bulgar wheat I have used for this recipe, I set aside from  the previous evening's meal, and placed it in the fridge, with the intention of making this salad the following day. Sometimes I grate the carrots, but today I have left them in small chunks.  Omit the carrots and add tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber, then add small chunks of fetta cheese, tuna fish or chicken if you prefer.  If you enjoy garlic, add grated garlic or add a small amount of pesto (see how to make your own) The additions are endless.

But for the sake of guidance I will give you the weights of the ingredients I used. 

 INGREDIENTS

 These amounts serve two people

1/2 small white onion, chopped 

(use red onion  or

2 spring onions if you prefer)

4 oz cooked Bulgar wheat

1 carrot chopped or grated

4 small tomatoes or 1 large tomato chopped

1/4 large cucumber chopped into small pieces

9 sun dried tomatoes

1 Little Gem lettuce, shredded 

8 stoned green and black olives

1 tablespoon of oil from the sun dried tomatoes

A squeeze of lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 Cook the Bulgar wheat as indicated by the makers instructions

Place in a bowl and allow to cool

 

 Add the chopped onion 

 

  Add the chopped or grated carrot

 

Add the chopped tomatoes and

cucumber 

Add the sun dried tomatoes

chop into small pieces if you prefer

 

  Add the halved black and green stoned olives

 

 Add the shredded lettuce 

 Add a tablespoon of olive oil from

the sun dried tomatoes

A squeeze of lemon juice

Sea salt and  black pepper to taste

Mix the salad together

  

Good quality sun dried tomatoes are expensive to buy, but they are so much cheaper to make yourself. During the summer, when tomatoes are plentiful, I made my own sun dried tomatoes. When tomatoes are in season again, I will show you how to do this, so collect  two jars with lids then you will be ready to make your own. 

Just as an added thought,  if you are working, and you need to take a packed lunch with you, this salad is perfect.

  

Before I leave you, I have to apologise for my photographs, as they are not the normal size I would choose.  Along with many other people, I am unable to load my photos in the normal way. Blogger is having a bit of a problem, so I am loading them via HTML which works, but does not give the size of photograph I really want. Having said that, "something is better than nothing".

Take care and have a lovely day and I will see you later in the week.

A REVIEW OF 2012

Good Morning to you,

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me.....and I'm feeling good.

                                                                                                Nina Simone

How are you feeling, have you recovered from the Christmas and New Year celebrations?

I  am feeling good and looking forward to what the year 2013 has to offer, but I thought it would be fun to look back on my short time as a blogger and revisit some of the posts I have shared with you. For me, it would also be a useful reminder, of how much I have achieved during this time.

I began by, 

 Introducing you to my grandmother,

Ivy

and we baked her

1940's inspired

Fruit cake



 then you met my mother

Phyllis



and we baked

her 1950's

Swiss Roll

I shared,

my love of cooking
when we made this
Lasagne



We made soup together

and baked bread

We dried oregano together

We froze  

runner beans in the Summer

to enjoy in the Winter

We made Pesto and

I showed you how to increase

your stock of  Basil plants

I shared my love of

Greek food when I made

this Moussaka

and
Stifado


I shared my love of

sweet things when we baked

Chocolate Lime Cheesecake

and this wonderful

Chocolate Cloud Cake

 

I shared with you my love

of old magazines such as this

Picture Post Magazine

dated 19th August 1939

and this wonderful knitting book

which was given to

Pansy Greenacre

as a Christmas Gift in 1938



I shared with you

my love of bead work



and my love

of sewing,

We took a peek in my

garden, to share my love

 of gardening

......and what is more, I have loved every minute of it. Looking back I am amazed it took me two years to begin  my blog, Ivy, Phyllis and Me! It took a lot of gentle, but firm, persuasion from Natasha, to encourage me to begin.  The truth was, I could not believe that anyone would be interested in what I do, but you have all proved me so very wrong. I am thrilled that you are interested in my daily life, that you enjoy hearing my stories about Ivy and Phyllis and that you come back to visit me each week and for that I thank you.

The day I received my first follower was so exciting and that person was Karen from My Little Home and Garden pop over and enjoy a visit, I know you will be most welcome.

I hope you have enjoyed looking back as much as I have.

There is so much more, which I am looking forward to sharing with you this year so,

until next time, take care, and have a lovely week.