Friday thing : spoons

For fun and for function

After I became a real¹ tea enthusiast, I discovered a need² for a dedicated supply of spoons at my fingertips. I had grown weary of moving all the way³ across the kitchen from my kettle to the silverware drawer every morning & afternoon, plus our service set has only eight teaspoons so they were depleted within a few days - sooner if we ate any cereal or yogurt or soup.⁴

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Friday thing : my kettle, Tom

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A couple of minor issues converged around that time to help me to remedy this situation: we’d inherited some of my in-laws’⁵ Oneida silverware along with my mother-in-law’s souvenir spoon collection, plus I had a dozen china cups⁶ in the cupboard from my daughter’s tea party birthday. I hadn’t decided what to do with all of those spoons but knew I didn’t want to give them away. The cups weren’t being used either though I wasn’t sure if my kids were done with tea party cosplay yet. Suddenly I realized I could use the vintage spoons for my tea needs, and I would stash them in the party cup that had suffered a chip⁷ on its the rim during the celebration.

When my children later gave me a cute antique mug that unfortunately had a narrow,⁸ uncomfortable finger loop, I traded out the old chipped cup for it. And since it’s a bit bigger, I’ve continued to add to my spoon stash with some of the pretty Community silver pieces my grandma bought with Betty Crocker coupons as well as a few thrift store finds.⁹ Vintage silver spoons are ideal for this use since they tarnish,¹⁰ which isn’t a great mouth feel when used for eating but doesn’t matter for sugar-stirring.

(Left/Top) Iowa, two Californias, New York, and Oregon (Middle) Close-up of San Francisco Exposition Tower of Jewels detail (Right/Bottom) Oneida Community My Rose pattern & Berkshire by 1847 Rogers Bros.

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This preoccupation is, I am acutely aware, borderline obsessive behavior. But it brings me a particular joy to see & use these spoons a few times every day, taking a moment during my quiet tea preparations to remember my mother-in-law and my grandma. I like making brief subliminal connections with these two, both outwardly mild & reserved¹¹ yet fiercely convicted, strong smart women.

I was not explicitly meant intending this to be a lesson on Spoon Theory and yet here I am, keeping count & taking care.

“The law of conservation of energy tells us we can’t get something for nothing, but we refuse to believe it.” — Isaac Asimov

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1. Meaning I realized what good tea tasted like (sorry, Lipton lovers) and wanted it often.
Okay and yes I imagined myself a calm & refined Downton Abbey resident whenever I brewed a cup[pa] and sat drinking it pensively by a window.

2. Basically stirring sugar. That’s it. Don’t judge. However, also available for cocoa and coffee.

3. Maybe 10 feet. #MorningsAreHard #AfternoonsToo

4. Ice cream can use the big spoons. As can chili. Anyway, carry on.

5. Likely first belonging to one of their parents - there are some in the Noblesse pattern and others in Deauville, which were only produced until 1950 at the latest

6. Bought at Goodwill with saucers for less than $2/set, totally worth it for the kids to have a couple hours of feeling fancy + no paper cup/plate waste! #SavingTheEarth

7. I eventually donated the rest back to the thrift store, though I kept the matching saucers for dessert at Thanksgiving and other parties.

8. Did mothers have thinner fingers 75 years ago??

9. Some I also use as practice templates for my metal stamping hobby, including the marginally [once] valuable 1847 Rogers Bros spoon. Oops.

10. No, I do not frequently polish my silver. So much for the Downton Abbey delusion I guess.

11. For the most part…I did witness a few totally justified outbursts and frankly they were as inspiring as the moderate moments.