Being A Life Long Learner (LLL)

As I stowed casserole leftovers in the fridge last night, I thought, I should bring some of this to my folks. But then, I wondered if my simple shepherd's pie would be, well, too simple. At 86 years old, my father has become a close to a gourmet chef. Mind you, he and my mother are from the generation where the man would never set foot in the kitchen and the woman took care of all domestic household chores, including meal prep. Yet, a few years back, Dad developed an interest in cooking. He buys cookbooks at yard sales, checks them out of the library, and gets recipes and cooking tips on line. He makes everything "from scratch" -- no short cuts. He bought a freezer to put in the basement so he would have more room for his home made chicken stock and garden produce.

And, like most of the "greatest generation" who came of age during the Great Depression, he is quite thrifty. Have chicken bones? Make your own stock. That's much cheaper, and so much tastier than buying it in a box at the grocery store. Grow your own garden -- and he has expanded annually, growing tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, peppers, squash, and herbs. Now that Spring seems to be here, our chats have focused on planting, growing something new, cooking and preserving the garden bounty.

My Dad has always had various interests and hobbies, for as long ago as I can recall. Bass fishing...antique collecting...gardening...and now cooking. He knows his way around the internet, self-taught. He is still eager to learn more, do more, explore something new.

How cool is that?

Reflecting On Our Irish Heritage

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! My Aunt Ruth Riley always said, after this day, spring is here. In my family, we didn't do too much on this Irish day of celebration. My mother -- who is not Irish -- would dutifully cook a corned beef and cabbage dinner to mark the occasion and we'd have some bakery made Irish soda bread, too.

My Irish ancestors came to Fall River from County Cork, in the later 1800's, living in what is now known as the Corky Row District. John and Catherine Riley and their brood. They were a smart, industrious lot, the women rather bold for their day, attending high school and even college, living singly or divorcing. It was a matriarchal family system, unconventional in that time; my father spent his formative years growing up in a tenement house on High Street, with his mother, uncles, one aunt, sister and grandmother. The aunt toiled in the city's mills, spending long hours winding bobbins and chewing tobacco, which inevitably claimed her life. Eventually, my father and his sister moved to Somerset with his newly remarried mother and there, they left those early rough-and-tumble Fall River memories behind.

As with most emigrant families, the early memories of arriving in this great melting pot quickly fade. The Irish in Fall River -- and all over Massachusetts -- quickly overcame fear and bigotry. Catholic churches were built shortly after the first wave of emigration; St. Patrick's Church, "the Irish church" in Fall River was built in 1875. Irish social clubs were founded. Political influencers were born. My grandmother was a die-hard Kennedy family fan her entire life, forever honoring her roots.

Today is a day to celebrate our Irish heritage as well as recognize the trials and triumphs of all arrivals to this great country.

Collecting Flow Mulberry (Obsessive Collections Disorder)

I wouldn't classify myself as a hoarder. But, like most antique junkies, sometimes a little thing catches my eye and then one little thing is not enough. A few years ago, my mother, who always has a good eye for fine collectibles, spotted a little inky purple and cream plate at a local flea market. She paid a few dollars for it and presented it to me: Do you want this dish? It looks old.

I immediately loved the little plate, a perfect piece of flow mulberry. It was clearly marked "John Alcock/Cobridge" and "Vincennes". The Kovels website states that "mulberry ware was made in the Staffordshire district of England from about 1850 to 1860. The dishes were decorated with a reddish brown transfer design, now called mulberry. Many of the patterns are similar to those used for flow blue and other Staffordshire transfer wares. Oriental motifs, floral patterns, romanticized landscapes, and historical scenes are some of the patterns that appear on flow blue and Mulberry ware, and other colored transfer patterns."

Part of collecting -- and becoming obsessed with the objects of one's desire -- is learning about them. And, like falling in love, there is always something about the object which is irresistible. In this case, the somewhat blurry purplish design and landscapes were fascinating to me.

Since then, I've acquired a number of Vincennes pieces, some like new, some with crazing, chips or other defects of age and use. I've been able to buy the less-than-perfect dishes and bowls very reasonably, and while they will never have great resale value, I so enjoy them displayed on the living room mantle. And it all began with a single flea market find. Thanks, Mom!