There are many reason why I love my Alfalfa Field

Unlike my Garden...

Where I spend hours and hours weeding

I don't have to weed, water, cut or fertilize my Alfalfa Field

The field beyond my garden is tended by a young and conscientious Farmer...he makes me look good

Poppies, Daisies and cornflowers (these are perennial Bachelor Buttons) remind me of wheat fields in central Europe

Simple Flowers and one of my hand painted Jugs are always welcome in my House

Gina

Why are your dinner plates called "China"?

 These plates, which I painted,  are ceramics, not china

(Repost)

This is my plate, It isn't China because it has been fired to a lower temperature

I painted this design on the rim so that it can be seen even if the plate is laden with my favorite meal

So why is our tableware called China?

Dutch Explorers reached China as early as 1596. The Dutch East India Company started to import Chinese porcelain to Holland in 1602.

China kept it's secret of making Porcelain for 900 years. True Porcelain contains 2 substances known from their Chinese names as "Kaolin" (a very fine white clay) and "Petuntse" (a rock, Feldspar) which fuse at high temperatures to form a natural glass.

Every European Monarch, worth his weight in salt, had in his employ an Alchemist with the mandate to produce gold. An 18-year old German Alchemist, by the name of Friederich Boettger, uncovered the secret of how to make hard-paste Porcelain. Boettger had a dubious reputation and was arrested and kept prisoner in Dresden by the order of "Frederick Augustus the Strong", elector of Saxony. Augustus was aware that Boettger was hoping to manufacture gold from base minerals.

Augustus the Strong was also very fond of fine Chinese Porcelain. He traded a regiment of 600 soldiers for 151 pieces of beautiful white china. All along, the 2 Chinese secret ingredients, kaolin and feldspar were fairly abundant and known in Europe. Kaolin powder was used in powdering wigs of the fashionable gentry.

A Dresden scientist, by the name of Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus, a Prussian Nobleman, had been trying to discover the secret of true Porcelain. Recognizing Boettger's talent, the two joined in a quest, less hopeless than the alchemist's search for gold.

Having discovered the Chinese secret of combining kaolin and feldspar, Boettger in 1708, achieves the first practical formula for porcelain. The first pieces of china are sold at the Leipziger Easter Fair in 1710.

And now you know why your China is called China.

Gina

All plates painted by Gina

Identify this flower and you win a prize

The first reader who can identify this flower will win a prize

WE HAVE A WINNER !

Anonymous from Germany correctly identified the

Herb of the Year 2011

Armoracia rusticana
Commonly known as Horseradish
belonging to the family Brassicaceae

Congratulations Al/East Germany (Anonymous) 

This is the flower

And these are the leaves

Here is another picture, another clue for Karin, who lives in the beautiful Dordogne region of France.  Karin is determined to solve the mystery. 

And this is your prize

6 little cotton drawstring bags to hold your treasures

Have a lovely weekend my dear Blogging Friends

Gina

Drying Pansies

Pansies are very easy to dry and so are roses and hollyhocks

Dry them in ordinary builders sand

For more detailed information see an earlier post

Fill container with about 1 inch of sand
Cut off stems and lay Pansies on top of sand

Keep pouring sand on top of flowers until they disappear

Add another layer of flowers and cover completely

Cover with thin cotton cloth and let stand in warm place for 3 to 4 days

Slowly pour off sand and apply pansies to wreath form

Or press pansies in a book and apply to candles, lampshades, wreaths, stationary.

But nothing beats Pansies straight from the garden


Gina

An Invitation from "The Tablescaper"

The Tablescaper is having an Anniversary

"Where do you keep it all - Part Two ?"

I keep most of the "good stuff" in this Italian Cabinet

China from Bavaria

Crystal from Austria

This cabinet is in my dining room, it could be used in any number of rooms and hold any number of different items

I like my hand painted dishes out in the open...

ready to use

Hand painted dishes from Italy

Ready for the next Fish Dinner

Albarelli,  hand painted Apothecary Jugs holding my dried herbs

Maiolica Plates I painted.  Being showcased in a plate rack, hand carved by Gene 

More hand painted Maiolica, some I painted some I have collected over many years

And collecting just for the sheer joy of color

Have a lovely weekend my dear blogging friends and drink a toast to all of your Hostesses and Hosts 

Gina

At the Top

My blogging friend Mark of "All ThinfsRuffnerian"

doesn't miss much

Mark noticed the ornament at the top of my house from a recent blog post

What you see on top of my house is a detail from a large woodcarving.
I had a mold made from which the roundel was cast

 My Father was a Master Woodcarver from the Old Country
When we built our new home I wanted to honor my Father.  He is the one who encouraged me to follow my dreams, however grandiose, however small.

My Father's trademark, every chisel mark is left in the carving

These Lion head table legs belong to a large Chess Table

My Father carved with ebony and walnut exclusively

Two of these heavy pieces used to hold up a glass coffee table
Too many friends scraped their shins

Mark, did you also notice the tiny bird sitting on the ledge, I didn't. 

And what about the Lion of Venice, just above the door, which I had carved in Mexico?


Gina