April 30th, 2011 § § permalink
Various materials and precious metals or gems have over the years been assigned to anniversaries – paper for the 1st up to diamonds for both the 60th and 75th. I have no idea who established this custom, but whoever it was must have realized that once one has been married either 60 or 75 years, even though a diamond may be forever, they don’t have too many forevers to enjoy and the heirs will soon be grabbing those family jewels.
I have not seen a comparable tradition for birthdays other than assigning precious or semi-precious gems as birthstones to correspond with the month of one’s birth. In the case of April the diamond is generally listed as that month’s birthstone though opal and sapphire have also appeared on some lists.
So today on Alice’s 134th birthday, let’s add a diamond to the birthday feather for her birthday hat and celebrate with a spot of tea.
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December 29th, 2009 § § permalink
From the imagined journal of Alice B. Toklas:
“1.January 1910, 27 rue de Fleurus
All the guests have left and Gertrude has retired. What a glorious evening!
And so a new year begins with the most wonderful of news which I will share at the end of today’s entry, saving the best for last.
Paris, 1910
I was asked by Gertrude and Leo to assist in preparing the holiday’s food which I did with pleasure. There are so many recipes that I have collected from my grandmother and mother and many of our cooks that someday I may have to do a cook book.
Assisting with soirées here has become such a pleasurable task as I have become quite familiar with the household as I come daily to transcribe Gertrude’s notebooks on the Smith-Premier typewriter—a marvelous apparatus.
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