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Something to Chew On: Mystery Dish Had a Simple Use

I came across this sweet little porcelain dish at a neighbor’s garage sale years ago. Not knowing what it was at the time, I bought it for a quarter, recognizing the workmanship and lusterware glaze as marks of vintage quality and put it away for safe keeping, right next to the other china cupboard odds and ends. It’s a very small dish with a puppy sitting on one edge. It measures just three by two inches in size. The reverse side carries the mark Germany 757. I knew right away that this small porcelain dish was well made and collectible — but just what was it used for? I ...

Chalk Up One For Mom

There’s a saying that what goes around comes around. I believe that more than ever. Today, there are many popular TV shows featuring designers and home sellers. Some shows bring us designers for building homes and designers for decorating those homes. Each is as different as the next, which makes me wonder what is really fashionable in today’s modern homes. And during a pandemic when we have all been hyper-focused on amusing ourselves in front of the TV, I will admit I have watched more than my share of these shows. Sometimes I find myself smirking at the insane designs of ...

Mechanical Banks Inspire Nostalgia

In this day and age, the idea of saving pennies seems quaint. But a penny bank was one of the most common children’s gifts throughout the Victorian age. Up until the 1950s penny banks and piggy banks remained popular as a way to teach thrift to youngsters. About the time of the Industrial Revolution, saving coins became entertainment as a fascinating new gadget made its appearance — the mechanical bank. Still considered by collectors one of the outstanding products produced in this era, mechanical banks are enthusiastically collected by thousands of fans all over the ...

Vitamin D

Dear Heloise: With so many of us spending time indoors due to health concerns, we’re not getting enough vitamin D, and this is especially true for the elderly. Besides pills, what foods are rich in vitamin D that we can add to our diets? — Adell D., Newport, R.I. Adell, vitamin D is important in our diets. Here are some of the foods that you can eat to help keep that vitamin in your daily intake of food: * Cod liver oil * Herring * Swordfish * Salmon * Egg yolks from range-free chickens * Fortified foods, such as cow’s milk * Orange juice * Some breakfast cereals ...

Son May Be Hasty In Plan to Sign Up for Fatherhood

DEAR ABBY: My 25-year-old son has been dating a girl for two or three months. She seems very nice. She has two children and is pregnant with her third child. She’s due in three months. The child is not my son’s. I was told by some friends of my son that he’s planning to sign the birth certificate as the father. He understands the implications. How do I convince him that, although he feels like he and this girl will be together for the long haul, this is a poor decision to make, especially because of the short length of time they have been dating? — TOO MUCH, TOO SOON DEAR ...

Warm Meals for Cold Times: Getting to Know Root Vegetables

If you've been to a farmers' market lately, then the reality of seasonal cooking in the middle of winter has plainly revealed itself to you. Tis the season for root vegetables, and not a whole lot else. But there is beauty to cooking with the season, not just because it feels in sync with ...