Illustration from Breakfast, Dinner and Supper, by Maud C. Cooke

My grandmother gave me a number of early kitchen tools, most of which I could identify. One, however stumped me. It was cast iron and no one I asked could come up with its use. Many suggestions but …

This weekend our house is to be on a house tour and I was straightening up my cook book shelves and on the highest—I need a ladder to reach it—I keep old cookbooks. One, Breakfast, Dinner and Supper, by Maud C. Cooke, 1897 had illustrations of different tools and there it was page 104. A FISH SCALER.

Engraving of cast iron Fish Scaler c. 1897

Maud C. Cooke tells:
“Pour vinegar over fresh fish to make the scales come off easily…To scale a fish hold it by the tail under water (which is salted) in a deep pan… scrape the scales from the tail towards the head. The scales will come off easier under water and will fall to the bottom of the pan instead of flying about.”

We had a wonderful time researching menus, seeking places to purchase ingredients and trying out the preparations in order to have some idea what we were doing the night of the dinner.

Setting the table and choosing dishes for all the various things served at once was a challenge and fun. My Mom has given me dishes that she had bought on Okinawa when we lived there in the early fifties. So, we took liberties with some of their purposes and added others, picked up some bamboo mats and tied our napkins with twine.

Table setting for Japanese Theme Dinner-First Course

Table setting for Japanese Theme Dinner-Main Course

Using the book, Japanese Family-Style Recipes by Hiroko Urakami, our main course was:

Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup (Wakame No Miso-Shiri)
Yellowtail Teriyaki (Buri No Teriyaki—we used Striped Bass)
Simmered Japanese Squash (Kabocha No Nimono)
Braised Daikon with two ground sesame seed sauces—black and white. (Furofuki Daikon)
White Rice with a side of Tsukemono (Pickled Cabbage)

This was the last fun thing we’ve done in a while as this was the night Bob’s leg began acting up and that’s been a very long story, but now he’s on the mend and …

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Sooooo, I’ve been playing with my phone. In addition to Sketchpook pro which lets one add photos to layers to use with their drawing tools, I’ve downloaded Tiffen’s Photo fx which contains all sorts of filters, grain presets, etc, etc, etc! There are so many other apps but this is where I’ve begun.

Working with iPhone photos and apps.

I teach a class in typography and whenever I cover a subject I see examples of it and its abuse everywhere. I’ve been covering the use of quotation marks, apostrophes and prime or hatch marks.

(Prime marks are straight up and down and are used with numbers to indicate inches or feet. Quotes and apostrophes are curved or slanted, depending on the font. )

They are used incorrectly so often that people have begun to accept them when they would not accept a straight up and down comma. (Hopefully!)

It was my Mom’s birthday and we took her out to dinner. The food and service was very good but the typography was all over the place. The other samples are within a few blocks of her condo. So, Type Geek had to document them. (click image for larger view)

Exterior sign for Aldo’s

Two more exterior signs—same restaurant

Logos on plates and menus

Two signs—two apostrophe treatments—same place.

What’s this?

PA Barn Loom-click image for larger view

I would like to find it a home, perhaps an historical society etc that could restore it and use it in demonstrations. All I ask is that you pick it up and take it away. It is on the third floor in Philadelphia, PA. I have no idea of its provenance and neither did my friend.
If interested, contact me at: beth@emmott.com

It was a wonderful event, a bit rainy but that did not dampen anyone’s excitement. I’ve seen the ponies from time to time as they were being worked on and have ridden on the almost finished carousel in its temporary home but this was different.

Name in cement and in her new home!

Sitting joyously in its clear pavilion (designed by French Architect, Jean Nouvel), jutting out into the East River it is spectacular. From the stainless steel lettering laid in the concrete proclaiming that this is “Jane’s Carousel made in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company” to the ribbon for the cutting ceremony every detail was complete. Guests were even given a special horseshoe as a souvenir! (Vincent Farelli would have loved this!)

Ribbon for cutting ceremony!

If all this wasn’t enough, when night falls and the doors are closed, large concealed curtains descend from the edge of the ceiling and shadows of the rotating ponies are projected from within. Magic!

Spectacular view and at night!

Some online links for this are:
Official Site
First Ride
At Night