Goodwill goes Italian

See this bowl? It is an Italian ceramic one that my mother-in-law gave me a couple of years ago. I love it and it's the perfect size (6 inches high by 9 inches diameter) for pasta salad, or potato salad, or any kind of salad. I love the colors and its versatility.

 

Well, yesterday on one of my regular forays into our local Goodwill store, I found her little sister!

 

She is 3 inches high and 4 1/2 inches across. Perfect to hold sauces, salsas, or veggie dip. I couldn't be prouder! The only problem is now I realize that there was more than likely a set of sister bowls in in-between sizes.

The mark on the bottom is "ceramiche alfa". Alfa is an Italian ceramic tile maker that once made pottery as well. I looked on Replacements, Ltd., but they don't carry that pattern. I also went through eleven pages of Italian pottery on Ebay with no success, although I did see several pieces that I would like to own.

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My other Italian purchase was this book, The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland. I read it several years ago when my wonderful friend Lynn, the art history expert on Italian Renaissance, recommended it to me. It is the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, who was the first woman elected to the Accademia dell'Arte after years of struggle as an artist. At a young age, she was raped by her painting teacher, Agostino Tassi, and then put on trial for accusing him in public. It is a fascinating story.

If you would like to see a film featuring the the paintings of Artemisia Gentileschi, I highly recommend "Painted Lady", starring Helen Mirren, my most favorite actress. It was originally a two-part mini-series for the BBC and it was shown here in the states on Masterpiece Theatre about ten years ago. Dame Mirren is astounding in her portrayal of Maggie Sheridan, as she is in all of her work.

For a very different perspective on Gentileschi's life, there is the movie "Artemisia", which presents Gentileschi and Tassi as consensual lovers.

Goodwill keeps me warm

Kaitlyn and I were killing time yesterday, so we went to the Goodwill thrift shop. I like to look for unusual dishes and table linens. I found this sweet little crocheted afghan made with wool thread. It is sooo soft and warm and it isn't too large. It's just big enough to throw over me while I watch television.

The person who made it must have used a very small crochet needle. It has really fine stitches. I put it next to one I made a long time ago. The stitches on mine look huge next to this one. It makes me want to go out and buy some wool thread and make one myself, but the old wrists won't let me. The repetitive motion kills me.

Kaitlyn turned three on Wednesday! She still wants to say she's two. I guess it will take a week or so to realize she's a big three-year-old girl. Her party was low-key with it being in the middle of the week. She was fine with that. She doesn't like being the center of attention. I can't believe how much older she looks in these pictures. She's growing up.