The DUZ Connection

Last year when we visited Aunt Nell and Uncle Tommy, in turn for a small donation to local tornado victims, they gave us their collection of Golden Wheat dishes.  They are well cared for and in excellent condition.  I remember seeing these dishes when I was a young person.  I love the pattern.

Table Set for Company

1950s Pattern

Gold Rims Mean Hand Washing

Gravy Boat Adds to the Collection

Duz Detergent Contained Several Kinds of Pieces

Close Up of Luncheon Plate with Golden Cutlery

We gave a luncheon for some friends as a Thank You for the man helping Walter make a frame for a puzzle he had finished and wanted to hang in our dining room. They also remembered the pattern and how they were collected by 1950s families. Their thank you note referenced the "special dishes" we used for their visit. Maybe I mentioned too many times that they were hand wash only. The average family in this country did not own a dishwasher in the1950s. I am not sure when the dishwasher was available to the public.

I did some internet research on the pattern and found the following:

 

"In the 1950s Duz Detergent began a promotional campaign which involved including a piece of 22K gold-trimmed Golden Wheat dinnerware in each box of laundry soap. 

Each month an additional plate, bowl or serving piece was added to boxes of Duz, to entice customers to buy the soap in order to acquire the dinnerware. Duz detergent gained immense popularity for offering this promotion.

The dishes were made by the Homer-Laughlin Company, one of the largest pottery companies in the United States from the 1920s to the present day, who produced the Golden Wheat dishes between 1949 and 1966.

The range of pieces included platters, luncheon plates, salad plates, bread and butter plates, soup bowls, berry bowls, vegetable bowls, cups and saucers, sugars and creamers, salt and pepper shakers, gravy boats, cake stands and more. There were also matching juice glasses and tumblers.

In appearance, Golden Wheat dinnerware is rimmed in 22k gold bands with decoration picturing spears of wheat bending in the wind.

The pieces given away in boxes of Duz include a stamp on the bottom which reads: ‘Golden Wheat. Made in USA, 22k Gold, Oven Proof’, with two little wheat sheaves either side. It does not state the maker."

Yesterday Was Supposed to be a Great Day

Yesterday was supposed to be a great day.  It was to be the day that my sister, Jean, was to call me to say that she was in remission from her breast cancer.  It was going to be a time of celebration and exhilaration.  But that was not what the doctors told her.  Instead she is not healed.  She is to restart radiation on Monday.   She was given aloe and some creams plus a Cool Gel pad to put over the skin in its worse spot.  Her skin is red and blistered and she is generally fatigued.

To assist in her healing, her doctor told her to stay in bed for as much as she can.  She is not bed-ridden but will know her strong and weak times and should listen to her body during the following days.  Jean says she has pain under the surgery scar and under her arm.  She had 17 lymph nodes removed, so no wonder there is pain or sensitivity there.

Walter and I both talked to her.  She is trying to stay upbeat but the undertone is some depression.  Who wouldn’t be depressed after so much hope for remission?  I am struggling for understanding.  She turns 60 on August 31.  We had planned to go where she lives and “party” for a few days.  Now she thinks she will not be able to do so.  Walter and I are trying to decide if we should go anyway and just spend a few hours with her each day instead.  She lives in a tourist area, so we should have plenty of things to amuse us other than family time.

We can’t give up.  We must stay the course.  God is good!  He will provide and he can deliver.

My niece, Elizabeth, who looks a lot like my sister did in her early twenties

When I Think About Friends...

August 15, 2012

When I think about friends, I think of people who have a strong internal moral code with a dedication and a loyalty of the deepest kind. They would be willing to go the distance with me when the future looks uncertain. If I shot someone, not only would they keep it secret, but they would help me dispose of the body.  And all the while drink pink lemonade on the veranda with me as if nothing had happened.

Friends like that come along about once in a lifetime.  So if you have found people like that, hold unto them for dear life. Nurture and love them without reservation.  I have a few friends like that, strong and uplifting, funny and irreverent.

I got to have lunch with a couple of those dear friends on Wednesday at a Mexican restaurant in Brentwood.  My soul was nurtured and my cup ran over.  They have been with me during the entire cancer diagnosis and treatment of my sister as well as my own health issues.  A gentle hug from them means so much to me.

So I am adding a picture of them to this blog.  I assured them I would only use a flattering picture.  I hope they agree that this is a good picture as I only see beauty when I look at them.  They are beautiful people and I am blessed with having them in my life.

Me, Charlene and Kathy at Cinco de Mayo

 

Thanks for lunch you two.

A Frugal Tropical Paradise Party

Getting to know your neighbors is sometimes difficult.  Sometimes you have to throw a party! 

Walter Relaxing Before Guests Arrived

Back in June our neighbor retired from teaching at a local high school.  In his last few months he really looked forward to being out of the classroom.  We would like to get to know him and his wife better so we decided to give him a Tropical Paradise themed retirement party.  We invited the closest neighbors and the honorees adult children. They had lived in Hawaii for a few years so we decided to let him revisit a time from his early years.  A wall mural and a retirement banner dressed up the living/dining room.

Buffet Prior to Placing the Coconut Pies

I made Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Carrots, Baked Beans and Coconut Pies.  The guest of honor brought mixed fruit.  It was a perfect compliment to the menu.



Closeup of Fruit Centerpiece I Made

Guests dressed in their tropical best - mumus, leis, and Hawaiian shirts.  I am always a frugal gal so I decided the choice for a centerpiece would be tropical fruit that could be eaten later.  So I piled up bananas, lemons, limes and grapes around a fresh pineapple.  It matched the theme and provided fruit for the next couple of days for us.  No waste.  Fit the budget!

We received the nicest Thank You card from the honoree.  The party seemed to strengthen the cul-de-sac closeness.  I want to build on that sense of neighborhood during the next few months.  If everyone is just good to the people they live next to, the country would be a better place to live.

Just my opinion.

Speaking of frugal, I over- cooked for the party so I had lots of good leftovers.  Walter and I just called a few people who we know at our church and invited them over for a leftover lunch the next day.  Everything was good and we got to enjoy hosting two parties for the preparation effort of cleaning, cooking and decorating for one.  Now that is frugal!

Green Bay Packers Fan

Grandson Chandler is twelve years old. He loves Green Bay Packers football.  So what better gifts for him than all things Packers?  We visited him and his family so we could give him his presents.  I believe we did very well on choosing Packers items he would like.

Wow a watch!

Sunglasses are just the thing

Siblings Kash and Nola peek at the leather wallet.

Wallet for all his birthday money.

Perfect fit.  Now cut the tag off!

Nola shows Grandmother where she wants an earring.

She is two.  Is it too young for pierced ears?

Let's just read to each other.

Grandpoppie and Kash share a laugh.

Totally happy Chandler with Green Bay wallet, watch and sunglasses.  Good job Grandmother & Grandpoppie.

We enjoyed visiting with everyone.  As I reminded Chandler, twelve is only 364 days away from being a teen-ager!