Happy End of Spring!It has been an amazingly busy time here at My Granny's Attic Antiques and the Staley household. Our youngest daughter is graduating from high school on the 24th and prom was last weekend.
We have been making visits to schools and she has been trying to decide "what she wants to be when she grows up." My advice was not to worry… I still don't know what I want to do, even though I am pretty darn happy doing what I am doing. She has decided on Cosmetology School and that suits me just fine. Of course we had to throw some drama in and I almost burned the house down with a candle. The fire wasn't bad but the smoke
and fire extinguisher made a horrible mess. We adopted a puppy a month ago from the shelter. He was only supposed to get up to about 40 lbs. but I think he will surpass that by a mile. He is now only 4 months old and is at 30 pounds. He and my Cocker are under my feet as I type this. The antique sales and auctions have been phenomenal so look for many antiques, collectibles and just good old stuff in the shop now and after things calm down a bit next
month. I have been trying to make some changes to the shop site but this is slow going. Of course, what kind of mother would I be if I did not offer to show you photos of my little brood. You can see those here if you want to take a peek. 
Antique and Collectible Question & Answer During the course of a week I get numerous emails filled with questions. I have picked a few to answer
below. Q) How do you tell the difference between cut glass and pressed glass?
A) The main way to tell the difference is to feel it. Cut glass feels sharp on the points of the design whereas pressed glass will feel dull or smooth. The facets in cut glass are sharper and the glass can be of irregular
thicknesses. Pressed glass pieces will show mold seams, where the two pieces of glass were fused together, they will often run the length of the glassware piece. Mold lines are a dead giveaway to pressed glass. Cut glass will ring like a bell when you thump it BUT... do so very carefully, as glass of the "American Brilliant Period" (from about 1880 to about 1910) contains a lot of lead and this makes it very brittle and thumping it can also
shatter it. As many years as I have been messing around with antique glassware is one of those areas that can still stump me. You have got to handle a lot of antique glass before you feel confidant in telling the difference between the two as the difference is sometimes very subtle. A few manufacturer names from the American Brilliant Period are; Dorflinger, Egginton, Hawkes, Hoare, Jewel, Libbey, Meriden, Sinclaire, and Tuthill. I read that there were about 1,500
different glassware patterns made many of which came in complete table settings so there is something for every antique glassware collector.
......Read the Rest of the Story
What Is Your Favorite Sandwich?
We have a large vegetable garden and grow homegrown tomatoes. This time each year I am like a moth drawn to a light looking for that first tomato of the season so that I can enjoy my favorite sandwich. Tomato, fresh basil with Hellman's mayo on wheat bread. Sometimes I will add bacon but I enjoy them the best with no bacon. As we were putting in out tomato plants last weekend I started thinking about favorite sandwiches. My ex-husband liked fried bologna sandwiches, my current
husband likes fried egg sandwiches. I have a set of books on the Depression during the 1930's and one of the "favorite" sandwiches from that time seems to be onion sandwiches. Some folks sautéed the onions in butter with a little salt and pepper, but many ate the onions raw on bread with butter. If you had chickens you ate a lot of egg salad or boiled egg and beet sandwiches. They would boil the eggs and put those
in a bowl with pickled beets, let them sit overnight and the next day at lunch time you would have a very colorful sandwich concoction. Spam, good old Spam is a favorite for many. I will fess up that every once in awhile I have to have a Spam sandwich, not cooked, just straight out of the can with the jelly goop wiped off, on white bread with mustard.
The creativity that goes into peanut butter sandwiches is pretty amazing. PB and pickles, PB and bananas, PB and mayo, PB and scrambled eggs, PB and Spam and PB and mustard. Send me your favorite sandwich and we will post all of the tasty responses in the next newsletter.  Speaking of Delish Food ..... Vintage Recipes A gracious visitor to the shop site sent us this Depression Era recipe. I haven't had a chance to try it with all of the craziness around here but I am going to when I have my granddaughter for the night. "CITY CHICKENS"
- 1 lb. ground veal
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 2 eggs, beat well
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Crushed Corn Flakes
- Cooking oil or lard
- popsicle sticks
Mix ground veal and pork with 2 beaten eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Take popsicle sticks and form meat mixture into "drumsticks" {as in chicken} around them. Leave about 2 inches of the stick for holding while eating. Roll or dip "drumstick" in crushed corn flakes, and fry in oil, to lightly brown all around. Then put flat in baking pan. Pour in 2 cups hot water. DON'T LET YOUR DRUMSTICKS TOUCH IN THE PAN. Cover with foil,{ mom
used a cookie sheet!!} bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for a couple of hours. Take foil off and they are ready to serve with mashed potatoes and corn.... well that's what we mostly had.
"This was so common at our house during the lean years. In those days, real chicken was more of a treat! My dad got some baby chicks to raise for food. oh I hated to see headless chickens flopping around on the cloths line!!
Popsicles was our treat too, and as soon as the whole family thoughtfully saved every stick after having the treat, my mom would wait till we had enough for our meal of "CITY CHICKENS". THEN SHE SCRUBBED THEM IN THE DISH PAN ALONG WITH THE DISHES AND LAYED THEM ON TOP OF OLD SIDE GAS OVEN TO DRY. SEEMS LIKE IT WAS ALWAYS WARM, SUMMER AND WINTER. MY JOB WAS TAKING THE ROLLING PIN AND BETWEEN WAX PAPER , MAKING CRUMBS FROM THE CORN FLAKES. MY BIG SISTER GOT TO MOLD THE DRUMSTICKS AND
MY BROTHER ROLLED THEM IN THE CRUMBS. DAD LATER WOULD COME IN FROM WORK AND JUST EAT AND ENJOY. We thought this was a special meal. did`didn't know these meats were more available in those days. I hope you enjoy at least reading this and also ,these days you can buy flat sticks at a number of stores!!! I sent this recipe to a publishing mag, who were trying to find depression era dinners, etc. and foods, that people had to make up and make do. They put it in the book and
sent me a free book. That was 20 yrs. ago." Thank you so much for sharing this Beverly, let me hear from everyone who tries it. You could probably substitute a low fat ground beef for the veal if you need to.
......I have 2 more vintage recipes and free recipe cards for you here
Out and About - Great Finds:
Sometime back my daughter and I were on a personal shopping trip for a customer. This entails going to numerous antique shops looking for specific items. Toward the end of the day we visited an antique shop, we went in and I found a few things that I just had to have and when I was checking out I inquired about some
old wartime letters they had. The owner told me that the letters included several telegrams of condolence, he went on to say that apparently a soldier was killed in the war and the telegrams were to his family back home.
......Read the Rest of the Story
Antique Marks and Backstamps - Buyer Beware I have been in the antique business for over 25 years and have seen more antique marks than I can remember so when I see
one that "just doesn't look right" I go with my gut and don't buy the item, even if the quality and workmanship indicate otherwise. It has also always been my principal, even when we had the shop, to research everything I am not familiar with the history on before I place it up for sale. I don't second guess or make assumptions based on appearance. I look it up. When we had the store I would affix little tags with this history on the
item, with my online antique shop I have a database on antique marks and the manufacturer's history. I do this because I want to educate the buyer as well as other antique collector's and I want to try to convey that I know a little bit about what I am doing. .... Read the Rest of the Story
Fun and Interesting Web Sites I Have Found Here are a few websites I thought that you might enjoy:
Thank you once again for your patronage. I appreciate you and your time. To those of you with loved ones in the Armed Forces my thoughts, love and prayers are with you all. Be sure to visit the shop for many great antiques, collectibles and just some goodies I have picked up here
and there. Next month I am going on a week shopping trip and I will be taking several others throughout the summer. Please let me hear from you. I wish you all the best. Until next time.
Michelle aka Granny
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