Monday, November 13, 2023

Comments and a Kilner Jar


This is another shopfront from my walk through East London a week ago. That guy was gesturing to someone inside to open the side door for him. Don't you love that hand-painted sign?

Blogger is giving me fits this morning, not letting me upload photos in my usual way. I'm having to drag and drop them from my desktop rather than using the upload tool. Let's hope it's a transient problem.

I had a very low-key day yesterday. I walked Olga in the morning but otherwise we didn't leave the house. The weather was damp and gray and I stayed mostly on the couch reading "Barnaby Rudge." I'm 150 pages in and it's not bad, though there's no sign of the Gordon Riots yet, and they're supposed to be the centerpiece of the book. Dickens does like to set the stage.

I considered going on another photo walk and even had some ideas for where to go, but the weather was so uninspiring I just couldn't do it. As I'm sure you've read there were massive protests over Gaza in London this weekend and I sure didn't want to get in the middle of those. As I told someone not long ago in the blog comments, I don't feel like I have a dog in that fight -- at least not more than I do in any humanitarian disaster -- and it's such a poisonous issue with so many opinions being bandied about that mine isn't likely to make a bit of difference. Perhaps that's cowardly, but seriously, is there any more toxic subject for debate than Israel and the Palestinians?

I got mostly caught up on blog reading, which is a plus. Oh -- someone asked me when I answer comments on my blog. Here's the deal on that: I do answer them, in most cases, but it often takes me a while. My blogging routine is to get up in the morning, make coffee, and sit down and write a post. Somehow I work a shower, breakfast and a dog walk into the schedule, and then I go to work. Once there, I answer the previous post's comments, unless I'm too busy, in which case I may not get to it until the next day. The afternoons I reserve for reading and commenting on other blogs. If I don't answer comments by the second day, I usually just let them go -- no one's going to be looking back any earlier than that for my responses, anyway. I do read them all, though.

So, long story short, I try to answer them and I'd estimate I do about 75 percent of the time. But sometimes, life happens instead!


Here are some items I found on the street while walking the dog on Saturday. A neighbor put them out with some other stuff by their trash bins, and I first passed them walking Olga to Fortune Green. I thought, "If those are still there when we come back, I'll take a look." And they were, so I grabbed the heavy cut-glass relish tray and brought it home to Dave. I told him about the jar and he sent me back for it. (So in this case, he can't complain about me bringing stuff home!)

The jar is a Kilner, which is an old name in British canning -- kind of like Mason jars in the states, I think. You may remember I once found a broken fragment of an antique Kilner jar on Hampstead Heath that I kept on our windowsill for a while. This new one is quite nice. I told Dave we should use it for Olga's Dentastix!

Oh, and some more exciting vacation plans are in the offing. It's a long way away, but Dave and I have reignited our plans to visit Brazil and Argentina. You may remember we had a trip to Brazil planned in 2020, before Covid hit and derailed everything. I've made a reservation on a new package holiday that will take us to both countries next summer. I'm not crazy about the idea of leaving the dog for two weeks but here's hoping we can sort that out without too much trauma for her. We have to live our lives, after all!

21 comments:

  1. I think that your glass " tray" might be part of a dressing table set. I have my Mum's and will send you a photo!

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  2. I love that cut glass tray!
    I clicked on that link in your previous post, curious as to how many volumes my blog would have and the total cost. Well! After about FIVE hours of it "analysing" it finally reached 99% which was 27 volumes at a total cost of $3808.20
    I won't be getting the books done, but I did have a "look inside" as the little swinging badge suggested and now I'm thinking I shold repost some of that earlier stuff from the days when I was much more chatty and posted daily.

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  3. "Is there any more toxic subject for debate than Israel and the Palestinians?" Yes there is! Indeedy! Is a "weenie" a hot dog or a sausage?

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  4. I like that jar with the sealing lid. Those are handy for storing stuff in the pantry. We store a lot of pasta, rice and beans in those.

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  5. Those are great finds for Dave! Well done, getting them home-- I like them both and would have probably picked them up, too!

    I'm with you on Israel and Gaza. It's terrible, period.

    That sign absolutely boggles my eyes and brain!

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  6. The tray is too much for me, kinda fussy for my tastes but I love the shape of the jar!

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  7. Nice, nice finds. The crystal tray is gorgeous but of course it's the jar that charms me. I do love things that hold things.
    I am so excited at the thought of you and Dave going to Argentina and Brazil! Yay!
    There is so much going on that first photo and I love it. I think the sign is excellent! Someone put a lot of effort into that. And the body language of the man who wants them to open up is so great. That hand! Good snap, Steve.

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  8. Ooo - I can't wait for your South America trip! And the LA one too. I'm traveling vicariously through you (which sounds entirely too creepy so never mind).

    I like the big jar - it seems like it would be really useful.

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  9. Thanks for explaining about comments, Steve. I know you are busy and I understand that you can't always get to them. I do enjoy your blog either way but it's fun to have a reply. So I appreciate when you do.
    Sounds like a fabulous trip for you and Dave!
    I love your pretty finds! I would have picked those up too!

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  10. Opinions on the Israeli Gaza situation can get you some nasty comments. Our comments or most other people's comments aren't going to solve anything. I didn't know that you reply to comments. I wish there was some sign that would say when someone replies to a comment.

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  11. That cut glass tray would make a wonderful suncatcher. Are the handles open that you could feed wire through to make a hanger? Ps I would not had to go back for the jar; it would have come home with me on the first trip! And another trip in the planning! Dave, Steve and Olga: living the life!

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  12. When I first encountered your very systematic method of replying to commenters, I thought this guy is such a librarian! Born to bring order and use out of chaos..

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  13. Also about vicious debate, how about the Jaffa cake:biscuit (cookie) or cake debate? It rages.

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  14. You made me curious whether "Mason" was actually a brand name or just the type of jar. Evidently it's the jar itself. Most of mine are Ball or Kerr. I love the lid on that one you found. I would be perfect for storing Olga's treats!

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  15. I had to Google the jar names to find out they are as I thought preserving jars, here often called Fowlers vacola jars, or just Fowlers jars.

    South America has always appealed to me but not enough to actually visit. It is just so alien.

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  16. The middle east crisis is so front and central it is hard not to have an opinion. My deep sorrow is when the riots and demonstrations take place in other countries when we could be starting a dialogue.

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  17. I agree about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; no matter how tactful or reasonable I try to be, it seems to inflame one side or the other. Even both at times! So, I mostly keep my mouth shut and don't blog about it either. My older daughter has been to Argentina and enjoyed it; several relatives and friends have visited Brazil and loved it. I have a former student who has lived in Sao Paolo (sp?) for many years; she wrote on my Facebook yesterday when I complained about the weather that it was 98 degrees in SP. Yikes!

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  18. "Dickens does like to set the stage" made me chuckle. Yes, yes he does.

    The conflict in Gaza is just plain sad. I saw the news coverage of the premature babies who need incubators and don't have them; instead they were lined up on one hospital bed, in the cold. It's inhumane to bomb hospitals. I despair of any peace in that region, ever.

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  19. Yup, those riots made the news here. The upset in the cabinet also made the news.
    I can't believe someone left that dish and jar on the street. I'm glad you grabbed them both.
    Those travel plans sound exciting. Good for you!

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  20. What treasures! I would have taken those home, too.

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  21. Frances: That's an interesting idea! I'm not sure, though, because this tray is rather bowl-shaped, with sloping sides. To me it seems more like a food dish of some kind.

    River: Yeah, it does take a while to process all that information. I suppose printing just our favorite posts might be an option? There is a tool that allows us to select specific posts but I didn't try that.

    YP: LOL! I'd say sex jokes in general are dangerous territory.

    Ed: Exactly! It looks perfect for dry goods.

    Jeanie: Yeah, it's not the clearest sign in the world. I think parts of it have faded which might make it look even more garbled.

    Bob: Oh, I agree. I'd never have bought it. But for free on the street?!

    Ms Moon: Thanks! Yeah, I like the guy's gesture, too. You're like Winnie-the-Pooh, who as I recall always liked "a useful pot to put things in."

    Bug: Not creepy at all! And much cheaper! LOL

    Ellen D: Thanks! As you can see, I'm answering these comments two days later. I do my best!

    Red: Yeah, it's too bad Blogger won't send a notification of a comment response.

    Debby: No, unfortunately, there's no opening to hang it. It can stay propped on a windowsill, though!

    Boud: Well I come down squarely on the side of cakes, since that IS the name, after all, but I agree it's borderline. :)

    Kelly: Oh, that's interesting. I always thought Mason was a brand name too. I guess it's like Frisbee -- a brand name that has come to represent all similar objects.

    Andrew: I've never heard of a Fowlers jar! Yes, South America seems very exotic to me, and one of only three remaining continents I've never visited. (The other two being Australia and Antarctica.)

    Caro: There are few issues that ignite such passions, tied up as they are in questions of religion, identity and oppression.

    Margaret: Yikes is right! We'll be there in winter so hopefully it won't be too chilly. Brazil should be fine but I think Argentina can get mildly cold.

    Jenny-O: It's inhumane to bomb hospitals, but it's also inhumane to house military installations and personnel within or beneath hospitals, as Hamas has allegedly done. (At least according to Israel.) It's all a tangled mess.

    Sharon: The cabinet changes are mind-blowing. I can't believe we have David Cameron back again! Like he didn't do enough damage the first time around!

    Mitchell: Keep your eyes open while you're in town and maybe you'll find something similar! LOL

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