When Given Lemons

Sometimes in life we are handed lemons!

Some people like to make lemonade when given lemons.  Dan and Rick are known for adding a few more ingredients and making their famous lemon bars.

Last night we thought we'd make some lemon bars for Trevor.  Many of you remember Trevor from working for us at the Little Antique Mall while he was going to High School.  Trevor graduated several years ago, went to college for a bit and is now serving in the United States Air Force.  We are so proud of him.  It's time to send Trevor lemon bars!

The first thing you need to do is to remember to preheat your oven which requires turning it on.  It seems like a simple thing but at times we have forgotten this simple step.

You need a good bowl and tonight we decided to use a Texas Ware Bowl.  They are vintage, are very sturdy, easy to clean and are even dishwasher safe.  

In goes the flour!

We always use real butter.  It is essential.

Now comes the hard part.  Beating the butter, powdered sugar and flour

 into little balls.

But once that is done it's easy to press the mixture into Dan's mother's glass 

pyrex baking dish.

You pop that into the oven and let it bake until the crust is done.  We have a cross and font over our oven.  I must admit I do invoke the name of the Almighty from time to time when cooking.  I have also been known to pray while baking.

While the crust is baking we select another Texas Ware Bowl and pour in some sugar.

You need eggs, too!

It's our lucky night around here...double yolks in one egg.

We need some lemon zest to add to the mix so we grate fresh lemon for that.

And since we're doing lemon bars fresh lemon juice is extremely important!

After we whip that all up good we add some thickening agents like a little flour and baking powder.

Blend that and pull the crust out of the oven.

Pour in your lemon filling.

It levels itself out and is ready to go back into that oven.

While it is baking for another 20 or 25 minutes we fill the powdered sugar shaker.

Out of the oven those lemon bars come!

We cover them with a liberal amount of that powdered sugar.  This photo did not turn out so good but trust us when we say that the top is covered lavishly with white powdered sugar.

We like to let them set over night and then slice them to pack for Trevor.

Trevor is family to us! This Memorial Day Weekend we would like to thank Trevor and all of his peers who are currently serving so unselfishly to guard our country and our freedoms.  We sometimes worry about the safety of our country and its future.  But when we think of the brave, smart young people like Trevor we realize that things are in very competent hands and our future is bright and secure.

We would also like to acknowledge all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Thank you to all who have gone before us and made such a great country for us to live in!

We wish you all a good and safe Memorial Day!

The Pixie Kitchen

Those of us who traveled the Central Oregon Coast from the mid-1950's on to the mid-1980's, or so, knew about the Pixie Kitchen Restaurant in Wecoma Beach which later became part of Lincoln City, Oregon.  As a child it was a real treat to go to Pixie Kitchen.  We only visited the Pixie Kitchen, in my childhood,  a couple of times as we journeyed from Eugene, Oregon to visit my Grandfather who lived in Tillamook, Oregon.  During the annual Antique Week Celebration in Lincoln City, this past February, we celebrated that old historic restaurant and Pixieland.  We put part of our Pixie Kitchen collection in the front display window of our business the Little Antique Mall, Inc. for the celebration.  We photographed some of it as we put it away after the event was over.  However, we always have an original Pixie Kitchen table in our coffee lounge area of our Mall.  Here is picture of that table. 

When you dined at the Pixie Kitchen you looked out into the Pixie Garden.  It was a whimsical affair with Pixie's engaged in different activities.  It all seemed so magical back then.

The Pixie's also had friends in the garden.

Fishing was big on the Oregon Coat in those days so of course Pixies fished, too.

You know summer is coming when the Brown Pelicans return to the Oregon Coast.  A pelican could always be found in the Pixie Garden.

But the Pixie Kitchen was also about dining.  

Here is a placemat from the latter years of the Pixie Kitchen!

Everything was about Pixie's even the coffee cups.

When you entered the Pixie Kitchen Restaurant you walked by carnival style mirrors that made you look short and stocky or tall and skinny or all wavy.  When you left the Pixie Kitchen you passed the Gift Shop.  You could find Pixie Figurines along with all kinds merchandise, most of which was made in Japan, with Pixie's on them.

This is one of my favorites and it sits in my office.

The Pixie Garden figures can often be found decorating our "back room" at the Little Antique Mall.  

There is a very sweet book available now at Bob's Beach Books titled "Pixies in the Valley" by Mike Stone.  Mr. Stone writes all about the history of Oregon's Pixie Kitchen and Pixieland.  You should pick up a copy sometime.  It is a very enjoyable and easy read.

Love of game boards started with my Great Grandmother

I really do believe that my love for game boards came from my Great Grandmother.  I don't have many pictures of her but here is one with her,  my Great Grandfather and my Mother.  This was probably around 1936.

My Great Grandparents met and were married in San Diego, California.  They later moved to the Pacific Northwest and settled in Carlton, Oregon.  They were married for 72 years before she passed.

My Great Grandmother's name was Asenath Mae Rick.   I would visit their small farm as a child and my Great Grandmother loved to play checkers with me.  We spent many, many hours playing checkers in her living room, her dining room and out on her large covered porch.  Those were good times.

I recently opened a box that had been in my family for some time and was passed down to me.  As I was going through it I found this small cloth bag and my heart stopped!  Could it be what I thought it might be?  Ironically the bag has printed on it in red letters "Here Is The Proof."

As I poured the contents out of the bag I was so happy to find that it still held what my Great Grandmother used to keep inside of it.

They were her checkers!  The very checkers that we used when I was a small child all those years ago.  Those wonderful wooden checkers.  They are just as I had remembered.  The "red" ones are really a magenta in color.  They don't all match and have been heavily used.  They are treasure to me and I love having them.  They bring back such great memories.

I believe it is those childhood memories of playing checkers with my Great Grandmother that started my love affair with old game boards.  Many of them, we have collected, are home made.  This is a smaller board and I love the old paint. I found it in one of the booths in our antique mall.

This old board we found in Vermont!  The old mustard, black and maroon paint really makes this board special to us.

Dan gave this one to me for my birthday one year.  It is made by inlaid wood.  I love this board and my Great Grandmother's checkers fit on this one just fine!

This board is made from different woods and is quite spectacular and was found at the Little Antique Mall in Lincoln City.

As with many things that we collect it comes back to family.  This board is from Dan's family.  He can't quite remember whether his father or his grandfather made this one.  The craftsmanship is excellent and the wood beautiful.

We hang our game boards on the wall, put them on top of tables, prop them up around the house.  We love game boards.

For me it started with my Great Grandmother all those years ago--
playing checkers!

Our inspiration

Really comes from Danielle Herbert.  Danielle is a friend and worked with us at the Little Antique Mall.  She encouraged us to begin a blog.  If we are half as creative as Danielle is with her blog we will feel successful.  Take a little time and see what Danielle does by following this link (you may have to copy and paste it in your web browser):

http://daniellesserendipity.blogspot.com/

Happy May Day Everyone!