Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

Meritaten, how can you tell if CS pearls are real. I've never had real to my knowledge but wondered if it was the weight or coolness of them?

Umm, I do know how to test for real pearls but I'm not sure if it's something you'd want to do with charity shop jewellery or if they'd let you try it: you bite them.

Seriously. Bite down gently on a pearl with your front teeth. If it's a fake, it will feel smooth to your teeth and slip, real pearls are slightly gritty. It's hard to detect the difference with your fingertips, easy with teeth. As taught to me by a jeweller.

Yeah, but if they're cheap as chips and you like the look of them anyway, you could just buy them and if they turned out to be the real deal, you have a bonus.

GQ you are right my late Mum had some beautiful ones that my Grandfather had given to my grandmother on their wedding day and Mum inherited them.If you test them with your teeth they should feel a bit 'sandy and gritty if they are real. God know what happened to my Mum's ones I can remember as a little girl in the late 1940s sitting 'testing' them with my Mum by the fire.Its the first time I 've thought of them in over 60 years I hope where ever they went it was to a good home as my late Grandfather and Grandmother married in 1891 They really were beautiful and almost glowed.

Mum rarely wore them and would never give any pearls to anyone as she thought 'Pearls for tears ,Diamonds for years' meaning diamonds would always last forever, whereas pearls, to her brought sadness.Had some funny ideas my lovely old Mum.
She would grow carnations, but never have cut ones in the house for some reason I'm sure we all have irrational superstitions about things

My kitchen smelt gorgeous this morning and my rice pud looked devine I sprinkled some cinnamon in last night as I like it a bit spicy rather than sweet,that's puddings taken care of for the rest of the week.

Re; Hay boxes, I have a square wooden toy box that was turned into one of these back in the 1970s when we were having all the power cuts I used old duvet to line and thick driving travel rug and pillows around the top to hold the heat in At the time if you were lucky you would get three hours electricity in blocks so all the cooking had to be done then So I would cook a casserole and bring it up to the boil then place in the wooden box and completely smother it in blankets pillows and anything I could find to engulf it in insulation.Leave it for as long as possible and often overnight and the food was cooked and piping hot next day.I lived then in an all-electric house so times were a bit difficult then.

My oldest friend June, whom I am still pals with in Dartford lived 10 houses down from me and she had a gas cooker and sometimes I would be rushing down the road with a pot of half cooked food for her to finish off in her cooker .She was an absolute treasure and she still is I saw her last Saturday when she came down for my birthday and we have been friends for 43 years and have never fallen out once Our children grew up and went to the same primary and I was there for her whenher first marriage went wrong and she's just one of those people who would do anything for anyone to help out Bless her, find a friend like that, and you have a friend for life.

I still have the wooden box and its been through various things over the years, cooking box ,toy box for both of my children and all of my 7 grandchildren have used and played in it and is now reincarnated and holds all of my spare wool for my charity blankets It was made before WW2 by a very old friend as his 'apprentaship' piece in carpentry circa 1932 and still perfect 83 years later :):) My youngest DD has said when I shuffle off this mortal coil she wants it for her family and she will look after it as it holds so many good memories for her.Its well used and loved and has survived all those years :):)
Right well enough waffling time to get the kettle on for a cuppa methinks NSD today as I'm just pottering around indoors today
Have a good one what ever you are doing
JackieO xxx