Dinner with Friends before Driving to 7th North American Mushroom Conference in New Orleans

 

On March 4, 1988 we had dinner at our home for our closest friends, informing them that Campbell Soup forced us to move to Pennsylvania. 

Such a SAD tiding! 

We loved Dublin, Georgia and our friends and home and garden...

Since we would be leaving next day for a long drive to New Orleans, I used French paper lace placemats.

Delft white picture frames for each place setting with our spring flowers.

Setting in our dining room...

Using my Dutch Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet cutlery.

You also see my Delft white swan, as a napkin holder...

Related posts:

Caring for our Squirrels while at 7th North American Mushroom Conference in New Orleans | previous post

7th North American Mushroom Conference at The Roosevelt in New Orleans | previous post by me

Review Quotation: Pieter J.C. Vedder; One of the Best Teachers in Mushroom Growing in the World | previous post by me where Pieter's boss compliments him at the 7th North American Mushroom Conference we went to...

7th North American Mushroom Conference Pieter J.C. Vedder CO₂ and Temperature Management | previous post with lecture that Pieter gave

HAPPY EASTER 2018

Already for quite a while I had the photos...

So, here I will use them for wishing all my readers a HAPPY EASTER 2018!

Yes, one of my sewing creations, quilted and padded place mats with matching napkins.

Photo got made on Sunday, March 20 of 2005

Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet silverware and for dessert the Bridal Rose by Alvin in sterling silver.
Fragrant daffodils...

Used here in a table setting for a dear friend on her birthday in 2007

Same as the 1st photo but now with flash light.

Those picture frames are always lovely for individual use at table.

Round silver napkin rings we had made in Indonesia.

Wishing you a HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!

ONLY 3 French Antique Christofle Silver Pieces Left...

Guess that before it will be Christmas, there is none left of my almost sold out Antique French Christofle Silver Pieces.

6 Antique 1900 French Christofle Gallia Knife Rests Art Deco in Original Box: click Antique knife rests.

8 Antique Christofle Knife Rests with Fleur de Lys, just click the above mentioned link.

Vintage French Christofle Gallia Oval Napkin Ring (1935-c.1975): Sorry Sold Out...

Just in case anyone would love to add any of these to their collection of fine silver ware, for a festive table setting.

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Comments are off.

Table Setting With Picture Frame Vases and Place Cards

Still regret for not having kept more than 6 of those Delft White Picture Frame Vases... They sold like hot cakes! BUT, I sure love to use them with my Table Setting, together with our silver Place Cards.

It was once again Pieter's turn for hosting a 3–course dinner at our home for his Monday Night Club.

We happened to have still some of our white azaleas and together with a sprig of Rosemary, they worked perfect.

Also my French Christofle silver knife rests were put to use.

I've almost sold out on my Spectrenoir... (click the hyperlink).

My extra long French Le Jacquard damask tablecloth with napkins work fine with the additional small oak table added on in the back.

Chargers are French Pillivuyt Sancerre, also available at Replacements.

Our dining room set is solid French oak and also the floor is solid oak planks.

But instead of the Delft White Picture Frame Vase I used a little perfume bottle with silver embellishment, a dear gift from our boss in Italy.

The soup spoons, as well as the dessert spoon are Alvin Bridal Rose (Sterling, 1903) and by now you all know that I love ROSES. Clicking the link you find more pieces by Replacements Ltd.

Our solid silver napkin rings we had made in Indonesia while we lived and worked there.

This Picture Frame Vase is holding 2 Ice Wing Narcissus.

Hope you enjoyed my Table Setting and thanks for your visit.

Related links:
{Large Delft White Picture Frame Vase} | previous post by me
{Delft White Picture Frame Vase} | previous post by me
{Cooking Dinner for Twelve at Our Home} | previous post by me
{Tuesday May 4, dinner with friends} | previous post by me
{Table Setting for Friends} | previous post by me
{Mother-in-law's 1930s Société Céramique Blue Boerenhoeve Transferware} | previous post by me

{Cooking Dinner for Twelve at Our Home}

Only one week after we got our new Miele Dishwasher installed I had to prepare a dinner for 12 at our home.

For Pieter's Monday Night Club as we were to host the 3–course dinner...
Imagine, cleaning all that mess and having a neat home, shopping for the ingredients and cooking...
Shopping means a 2 ½ hour drive to Atlanta, one way!
This is one table setting, in our dining room for 9.
Tabecloth is French Le Jacquard Français.

And 3 more in our bay window section in the kitchen.
Tablecloth is French Yves Delorme.
Monday, January 25...

At Costco Wholesale we did buy this great and very healthy salad.
It comes with dressing, variety of nuts and seeds!
That helps for making things easier...

These delicious wheat rolls are from Whole Foods Market

Snow Flake Rolls they are called...

(Added this photo later)

Tira-mi-su I made the evening before... A favorite dessert at our home.

I would prepare a German style dinner and as meat choice I had Pork Tenderloin, baked in the oven.

Red potatoes, just pre-boiled and then pan fried.
I did keep them warm in my 30" Miele Convection Food Warming Drawer with dual heating system. drawer in the staircase area.
It is great, getting things out of the way and ready to clean up the cook top and kitchen counter.

From Cost Plus World Market I did have this Red Cabbage Salad from Lowell foods.

And yes, I did for once cover the Le Jacquard Français tablecloth with a soft plastic that I have... This is a HUGE tablecloth, I've added a small table at the end, from the Rose Suite downstairs.
Not easy for ironing such size so this saved me from doing that.
My Pillivuyt Sancerre serving plates combined with Cream Colour on Cream Colour by Wedgwood for salad and later also the bigger round dinner plates for the main course. I kept those in my Miele plate warming drawer...

Cups & saucers from the same Wedgwood Cream Colour on Cream Colour and dessert plates for the Tira-mi-su.

Table setting for 3 in the kitchen.
Often I use the round teak table from the balcony for ourselves, set also in the kitchen.
Here no Wedgwood china is used but instead the Pillivuyt Sancerre dinner plates.

Those Pillivuyt dinner plates also went inside the plate warming drawer for the main course.
   Seltmann Weiden Mirabell White plates for the salad.
I've also learned not to use my French Baccarat crystal but instead a cheaper crystal for glasses...

Hard to capture such a longer table from above...

Flatware is Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet and for dessert spoons silver Alvin Bridal Rose.
Sorry there are no further photos as it was only Team Vedder that did wait on these guests and no time for snapping any pictures from main course and such.

My French trolley from La Redoute, France that Pieter used in the veranda for creating a little bar...
The Baccarat crystal ice bucket with thong always comes in handy.
So that's my duty for Pieter's Monday Night Club as it is our turn to host the dinner.
The maximum I've done is cooking for 15.

I was sure glad when all was done and I also enjoyed the compliments about the food.
Next day I had severe back pain. That was mainly because that entire week, since our Miele dishwasher got finally installed and working, I had done the cleaning etc.
It is as I said above, for our home and garden, only Team Vedder!

{Crocheted Table Topper}

Crocheted Table Topper for layering with linen table cloth...

Yes, that is one more item I did hand crochet. My Mom had used to have a stash of Dutch, Durable cotton and I did purchase quite some skeins from her.

You see it right; there is a PEACH in that fruit bowl with some Bosc pears... even in mid-winter!

A nice table setting for three.

Crocheted from an Aarlan magazine, with obviously nicer thread that had a pretty sheen...

Funny that I could almost copy-cat everything in the above photo...

My white octagonal Seltmann Weiden Mirabell china from Germany.

French Baccarat Piccadilly, narrow and somewhat wider champagne flutes.

Dutch Gero Zilmeta Menuet 528 flatware.

Creamware Fluted Salad bowl made in Leeds, England by Hartley Greens & Co., famous since 1770.

Available at: Williamsburg Marketplace

The Evil Eye from Turkey is adding some blue...

Just a simple star pattern...

Added the  crochet pattern for those that would like to copy it...

{HAPPY EASTER 2014!}

To all readers, all over the world, I like to wish you and your loved ones a HAPPY EASTER for 2014! We are lucky that the heavy rain has stopped here, we got 3 inches of rain yesterday! Our 2nd Easter day is supposed to be sunny! In Europe 2nd Easter day is still being observed as a holiday but not so in the USA; but sunshine is always welcome.

A previous Easter Table Setting...

For more photos click: {Easter Season}

{Identifying Silver Grape Scissors from Sweden}

Yesterday I did show in my post the tiny, sweet Champagne grapes with silver Grape Scissors in a Rose Pattern. They also are often called Grape Shears.  

Mind you, they are actually not THAT large.

Do you see to the left where a space is cut out for placing the grapes' stem?

That way you easily can snip off a section of a larger bunch of grapes.

One person in her comment asked: 'How do you know the Scissor is meant for grapes?' This was Marianne from the blog: BiebKriebels or Library Jitters, if I translate this from Dutch. So as promised I will get back to the subject.

I learned that I made a spelling error myself, as scissor should be written in plural as scissors.

On my blog post, I've corrected that but in the URL it still shows as scissor.

English is NOT my mother tongue and overall, I guess that my English will be better than your Dutch...

Now let's look at the meaning of this silver TABLE SERVING or DESSERT SERVING piece.

In my book: FORKS KNIVES & SPOONS by Peri Wolfman and Charles Gold I found a nice mention of the silver grape shears. Read more about this Manhattan Design Guru below post...

At the bottom left you can read: One of life's little niceties -- sterling silver grape shears.

From one of Christie's auctions you can find above: A VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT DESSERT SERVICE

Just click the above hyperlink to go to the actual page.

 It shows dessert pieces like forks, knives, spoons, cheese knives, and one pair of grape scissors.

Again from Christie's: A GEORGE III SILVER-GILT DESSERT-SERVICE

just click on above hyperlink

Now, how did I identify my silver grape scissors as being from Sweden?

You can read here: the Maker's Mark:GRWR - City Stamp: M - 3 crowns and an S for Silver and Date Letter: R9

So what does this tell us?

On page 142, of The Book: Rosen-Bestecke (Rose Flatware) by Johanna Gehrlein from Silber-und-Rosen-Shop I found the marking from Sweden in the form of 3 crowns (seen in Abb. 2).

Johanna is a dear friend and her hardcover book with excellent photographs has proven to be invaluable!

Sure enough the Swedish Mark with 3 crowns and the S for silver is still being used.

Just click and scroll from link above.

The letter M I found here: Swedish Hallmarks and City Stamps and it stands for the city of Malmö in Sweden.

And my Silver Grape Scissors from Malmö in Sweden were made in 1967 according to the R9 hallmark...

This table you find from the very same link in the above City Stamps, just scroll down.

Hope this did answer Marianne's question!

Related links:
{Table Setting versus Table Scape} | previous post by me
{Silver Grape Scissors with Roses and Champagne Grapes} | previous post by me
Organizing Secrets from a Manhattan Design Guru Peri Wolfman | Peri is the writer of the book Forks Knives & Spoons and is now tableware designer for Restoration Hardware after she had been vice president for product development at Williams-Sonoma.
Less to Mess | interview with Design Guru Peri Wolfman from The New York Times, May 2013