Heirloom Silver

One of the things Mom gave me recently was a pile of silver pieces that we had won as awards back in the days when we were exhibiting cattle at fairs and shows.  I think all of it is silver-plate and all of it was badly tarnished.  I hated to see it go to Goodwill or somewhere like that but I also hated the thought of polishing all of it and had no idea where I would store it especially since we were consolidating or getting rid of all the things in the basement to make room for Mike's mother to move in.

For a while it sat in a stack on an extra chair and I simply ignored it.  Then, I set it down inside the flour/corn meal bin to get it out of sight.  Then, one day back in the summer I ran across a post by Ann Drake at the blog On Sutton Place.  She made cleaning silver seem more approachable than it had been years ago when Mom would have us use an old T-shirt, stinky silver polish, and lots of rubbing and scrubbing so that the pieces could be used for a friend's bridal shower or wedding reception.  So, I decided to give her How to Clean Silver Naturally method a try.

I am a believer in Ann's method!  Oh, there was still a good bit of rubbing and polishing required but I think maybe that was because the pieces were so tarnished.  All of them had so much tarnish that they had a black look to them like the bowls stacked above.  I know that tarnished silver as decoration is quite trendy right now, but, like Ann, I really like the shine of the silver when it is cleaned up.  In the center of each tray and on the side of each bowl is engraved something like Champion and the year - most of them are from the 1980s.

As you can see, they all cleaned up pretty well!  I took just a couple of pieces at a time and placed them in the hot water, baking soda, salt, aluminum foil solution and let them soak for about ten minutes.  Some pieces got soaked twice.  Then, I took a little toothpaste and worked on the places where tarnish was still clinging.  A quick rinse with hot water, dry with a soft towel, and I set them on the table to dry - and easily admire.

 The clean pieces sat on the table for a couple of days while I tried to think of where to store them.  I decided that I wanted to try to put as much of it to use as possible.  I don't mind using the trays to corral things or draw attention to a collection since I think it will be fairly easy to clean now.

One tray went to the guest bath as seen above to corral a wax scent burner/night light, a mug for the grands' toothbrushes, a crock with lavender sugar scrub, lotion, and a candle.  Later, I thought the size of it would be better for another little collection and was replaced by an oval one that can be seen in the corner of this photo.  (You can also see how I added a little bit of fall to the guest bath with that ceramic pumpkin.)

The smaller round one went into the front guest bedroom to corral my childhood blue and white tea set - or what is left of it.

One tray went to the den to corral a trio of items on the ottoman/coffee table.  I did a bit of a switcheroo and used a little larger tray later.

The larger tray fit well on the ottoman/coffee table.  So, I had to do a bit of thinking to decide what to do with the one that was here.  It was a bit older and was awarded for a different reason than having a fine cow.

That tray is one that I won as a showmanship award the year I graduated high school.  I teased my daughter-in-law that I was going to give it to her for Christmas along with my high school drape portrait.  Instead, the tray got moved to the kitchen.  I put a command hook on the back to loop a burlap ribbon through and hung it on the front of the china cabinet.  The bay leaf wreath that was hanging there had started to look faded and tired because it was so dry.  I liked the look of the greenery hanging there.  So, I moved a preserved boxwood wreath there but it just lacked substance.  Rather than going out and buying a larger preserved boxwood wreath, I think the silver tray added the bulk that was needed.  Plus, it added a bit of sparkle to the front of the cabinet.  I simply wrapped a piece of twine around the boxwood wreath and hung it down in front of the tray.

Some of the other trays are scattered around the house and used to group a few items together and a little narrow one sits on the base of the china cabinet and holds a twig pumpkin right now.  The juxtaposition of the shiny silver and the rustic natural twig pumpkin looks nice.

If you look closely into the china cabinet, you can see that I have four of the smaller trays propped up in the four corners of the cabinet behind a china plate.  The little bowls are stacked inside the cabinet as well because I couldn't think of a purposeful way to use them right now.  At some point, maybe I will, though and knowing that they are pretty easy to clean makes me not be concerned about them just adding a little sparkle to the kitchen.

It makes me smile a little bit that I could come up with a practical use for something like a silver tray award.  So, my 'heirloom silver' that was awarded to us for having outstanding cattle once again has a part in our life.  And maybe when the time comes for the grands to honor their friends with bridal showers or use at wedding receptions, we can easily clean it up and make it purposeful as well as sparkly and pretty!

Beautiful Snowy Sight

Our daughter-in-law, Bonnie sent this photo of one of their Angus heifers that she snapped last week.  Since I got to stay inside and didn't have to venture out to be the caretaker of livestock for once, I thought this was a beautiful sight.  Thanks for sharing, Bonnie!

The Boys

On the first snow day we had earlier in the week, Mike and I went out errand-running and stopped in over at Mom and Daddy's to check on them and their boys.

They came up to say hello.  So, we gave them some grain and a good looking over.

I thought it was ratherr funny that this nosey guy kept trying to watch me and eat at the same time.

He would turn his head sideways and stick his tongue out to rake in some of the pelleted grain.

I kept missing the tongue and finally, it was like he knew what I was trying to do and he gave me this look:

"Here.  You want to see my tongue?"

Fixin' Fence

We've had a couple of weeks with rough winds.  This made for some downed limbs.  This made for some need of fence repairs.  My dad hasn't been as full of vim and vinegar lately as we have enjoyed in the past, so we assembled a Saturday Fence Fixin' team yesterday.

My brother-in-law, Dwayne, neices, Megan and Madalyn, and Megan's fiancee, Adam trekked the hour drive and got a jump on the fence fixin'.  Mike and I gathered up some extra supplies and made our 20 minute trek to the farm.  Bryan and his family had come for a visit.  So, Bryan joined us a bit later.

Once the team was assembled, we made a collaborative effort to get as much done as possible using the daylight hours.  Dwayne made quick work of some downed trees by cutting them up to get them off the fence.  Megan, Adam, and Madalyn stacked most of the cut pieces in the back of Mike's truck.  Mike began gathering up the broken and rusted pieces of barbed wire.  I picked up the loose branches and made a brush pile.  Even though the temperature was a bit on the cool side, I think we all worked up a sweat.  We were so busy that there were very few photos made.

Here is a shot of most of the crew in action with Mamaw checking us out.

Dwayne, Adam, Megan, and Madalyn had one little calf-lot shored up when Mike and I made the scene.  We simply moved down the fence securing it. If there was broken, rusty, dangling wire, we took it up.

Madalyn and Dwayne securing some strands of wire to a T-post.

Bryan joined us, wearing some of Papaw's coveralls.  Then, he and Adam became the primary post drivers.

Adam and Bryan teaming up.

Madalyn and Dwayne teaming up.

Turns were taken to attach the clips securing the barbed wire strands to the posts.  Sometimes an established tree served as a post and the wire was secured with steeples.

Bryan swinging a hammer.

Adam swinging a hammer.

We would work as teams stretching wire from one tree to another and securing it.

The guys would drive a couple of posts to provide more stability.

We would add clips and steeples to attach the wire to the posts and trees.

Mike would shift a bucket from tree to post and camp out a minute or two to add clips.  The crew in the photo above shows Madalyn with the can of steeples and fence clips she sorted and made ready to hand to her Uncle Mike to make the process move along smoothly.  Megan was headed to the truck for another metal T-post.

Dwayne heads for the green bucket.

The green bucket served as the anchor for each section of work.  It held the stretcher, steeples, clips, pliers, etc.  We kept the spool of wire for patching nearby and the water jug with cups was stationed there as well.  As we moved down the fence, these all-important items moved along with us.

When we were about 2/3 the way through the project, Mamaw, Lillie, Lydia, Jessica, Harris, and his puppy came to check on our progress.  The photo above shows our crew working along the fence-line in full force.

Harris and Lydia

These little fellows brought a ray of sunshine and a smile to all our faces!  They thought they were big stuff in the bed of Papaw's pickup truck, too.

Harris noticed that we all had gloves on and thought he needed some, too.  An extra pair of gloves were slipped on him like a pair of mittens and his little paws were a wee bit warmer.

After a few minutes of inspection, they headed off to run an errand.

Lillie and Lydia feeling like big stuff riding through the pasture in the bed of the truck.

Mike inspecting a couple of strands of wire to decide  if we needed to add or replace some.

Looks like an important conference going on there on the right!

At one point, Adam mentioned that Ford Motor Company would be proud and should be there filming a commercial.  There were these three trucks and then, Papaw's was on the other side of the camera.

This one was piled with extra fence posts, bits of wire, cut wood, and more.

Our work seemed to pass inspection and I feel sure that what we got done was an improvement and will hold calves in the different pastures...at least till the next heavy wind blows through.

Kids!

They like to run and jump and play.

They climb into tubs and out.  They snug down for a nap in the tubs.  They are just generally curious.

They like to climb and can turn even the smallest little rise - like the remnants of a bale of hay - into a hill for jumping and pushing and playing upon.

First, one will dash over and claim the top...

Then, a couple or three more zip across the lot to join him...

...the perkier and peppier they are the better!

A small group of kids gather together and start just climbing and pouncing and jumping.

The group expands and soon a game of king-of-the-hill breaks out.

First one is on top and then another.

One will give another a little head-butt or shove.

Then, it is the next one's turn to be the king-of-the-hill if only for a brief moment.

The next thing you know, it is somebody else's turn again.

There will be more running and jumping.

The crowd will thin a bit when one after another gives up or finds something else that captures their curiosity.

And a new game is discovered across the lot leaving the king-of-the-hill to reign supreme.

Then, a new game breaks out and the fun begins again.

Kids!