Monday, May 21, 2012

Bonus With Purchase!!

Okay, so I thought this particular vintage item would be easy to find information about... turns out I was WRONG!

I think I need to explain.

When I was a kid, my mom had some big spoons that were used to serve vegetable; they were slotted or perforated spoons, so the liquids would strain off of the veggies. the handles were some black material, very comfortable in the hand. I've coveted them for years.

Then I went to this junk store and found some with the same handles... not the slotted spoons, but a couple of random forks. Over the years I've found a long tined fork, a pickle/fish fork, a bread & butter knife and a big spoon, and finally, a kind friend gave me the slotted spoon she had found at a garage sale. I also got my mom's slotted spoons at long last! The handles are kind of ruined, but I think that was probably the result of putting them in the dishwasher.

I went on Ebay several times, trying to find full sets, and couldn't and that is when, finally, I figured out where the items came from.
They were gifts-in-the-box bonus items with detergent!

Do you remember back in the 'good old days' when powdered laundry detergent - for example, a brand named Duz, and another brand named, pointedly enough Bonus - came with a 'gift' in each box? Bonus brand detergent appearently came with a towel in each box, and Duz, wikipedia says, came with glasses and plates.

But... darned if I can find the brand that came with cutlery in each box!! I suppose nowadays people would look askance at finding a knife in their box of powdered laundry detergent, but in the good old days, people expected brands to court them with gifts!!

So... do you remember this trend? Do you have any like these? Do you know what brand of detergent these came out of? It has to be something that was sold in Canada.

If you know, please tell me, but I'm also interested in any memories pertaining to bonus items in laundry detergent! Click on the photo to see a larger picture of these utensils.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

More to come...

I went to the mother of all garage sales on the weekend... 16,000 square feet of stuff! Well... I was in heaven, and bought far more than I ought to have. But not as much as I wanted. Of course.

I will be taking photos over the next couple of days and sharing my treasures, so... stay tuned!!

BTW... this photo is not of the sale. I wish I'd taken my camera!! Well, next year; it's an annual event. Oh, and the sale had the added benefit of being for a charity, providing shelter for women in need!

Do you like going to garage sales? Have you ever made an exciting purchase, or found something rare?

Today join me for Cozy Wednesday at Escape with Dollycas!! And she's hosting a Giveaway, too!
http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/2012/05/16/cozy-wednesday-with-victoria-hamilton-giveaway-too/

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

First Week Excitement & Queen Elizabeth Cake

My first-ever cozy mystery novel release has been an unmixed blessing. Those are rare, right? I had a couple of difficult days at the same time, but always, ALWAYS... A Deadly Grind and the folks who are reading/have read it was a bright light. The reviews have been wonderful, and so have the comments from readers.

However... I was clearly so overcome that I forgot to do one thing I had intended to do on May 1st, and that was post the photos of the Queen Elizabeth Cake from the recipe in the book! How did that happen??

Anyway, here we go.

I did make this cake to test it, and I have to say, I wasn't really expecting much.It is a simple enough recipe, kind of a date jut cake. Not many people cook with dates anymore... dates, the foodstuff, not the guy you're going out with... though... hmm... maybe Jaymie should try cooking with her date??

Anyway, back to the recipe. I made the cake, and even used the weird coconut brown sugar cooked drizzle thingie, and... WOW! This was a really yummy cake!! It was moist, and full of flavor - not bland at all, and yet not oversweet - and I knew Jaymie would be proud to serve it to the guests at the annual Queensville, Michigan 'Tea With the Queen' event!

Hope someone tries the recipe and reports back to me how it went for them!??? I'd love to hear about it.

In the days to come I'll be blogging at more places.

Update: Today I'm at Lesa's Bookblog... here is the link! Lesa reviewed A Deadly Grind and liked it... she really liked it!  Drop in and comment!!http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.ca/2012/05/victoria-hamilton-guest-blogger.html

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Bottle O' Buttons

Have you read my May 1st release, A Deadly Grind, yet? Well, in it, among the junk Jaymie buys at an estate auction, is a box of sewing odds and sods with a bottle of buttons in it. (She has a reason... read the book to find out why she buys the box of sewing stuff!! LOL) Being the borderline hoarder that I am, I do have a big bottle of buttons, and this is it.

Some of the buttons are old, ones I've been hauling around for 25 years. Some are those pesky 'one of' buttons that come attached to a new sweater or blouse. What the heck are you supposed to do with those things? I never lose buttons, so long after the sweater or top has gone bye bye to the Goodwill or Sally Ann, I'm left with the randomness of odd buttons. I've got a virtual tidal wave of weird little buttons in tiny plastic bags with random bits of thread.

But my bottle o' buttons has come in useful at times. I make hand wipe cloths for my kitchen using half a tea towel and crochet cotton, and I always need a big button for it so it can hang on my cupboard drawer handle, right beneath the sink. My big bottle o' buttons has never failed me yet.

So... do any of you have a mason jar of buttons, or am I alone here?