Delusions of Southern Belle Grandeur

Above and below: Pumpkin Pasta for dinner

I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish and I wasn't sure if Paul was going to eat it (or if I was going to eat it for that matter but I do love most forms of squash). My fears were put to rest with the wonderful smell of the sauce simmering. It was really good and the recipe can be found here. The only thing I didn't like was that I thought that 1" pieces of kale were much too big. I might even substitute par-boiled broccoli instead of kale next time. I got to use my Le Creuset casseroles which I bought at an antique store in Edmond for super cheap. I think the large casserole was $25 or $30. I love them and I understand why people could pay full price for them and now I really really want one of their large dutch ovens. Call me crazy, but I get super excited over the Williams-Sonoma catalog.
Well, I've been claiming that I would buy the 4-disc Gone with the Wind and I finally did, along with the Southern Cooking edition of Gourmet and didn't realize the connection until I got home. There are so many things I have to make out of this issue! I could go for a biscuit or two right now...

I watched Gone with the Wind yesterday while I painted my nails, ate lunch, needlepointed, and worked more on Paul's socks, which seem to be the never-ending knitting project. I really didn't mean to watch the entire movie yesterday, but I did. And (don't read the rest of this sentence if you are one of the five people on the face of the planet who hasn't seen the movie or read the book) I still cry when Melanie dies even thought I've seen the movie at least 10 times already and I would read the book again in a heartbeat if it weren't so long. It's much quicker to watch the movie. The quality of the DVD is amazing. The film transfer is flawless and the sound could have been recorded yesterday. I was fascinated the entire time by how fresh the film is and it was made almost 70 years ago! Except for the look of three-strip Technicolor (which I love anyway and would use if I ever made a film) GWTW doesn't seem dated. I was also struck by how no one else possibly could have played Rhett Butler but Clark Gable. I just read the novel early last year and Margaret Mitchell's descriptions of Rhett and his mannerisms and speech are Gable and not just in GWTW, but in his earlier films, especially It Happened One Night and Manhattan Melodrama. Anyway, that's enough of me as a film critic, especially reviewing something that has been written about as much as GWTW.
From Gone with the Wind to one of my own Southern belle qualities--
The photograph above is my china pattern, Lady Carlyle by Royal Albert. I honestly picked this out in elementary school and have been collecting it since. Unfortunately, it was discontinued just a few years ago, so I have to look for it every time I go to an estate sale (I actually have found cup/saucer sets and a cake plate) and my parents keep an eye out on the internet. The last big shipment of Lady Carlyle had to come all the way from Ireland and took months and months. My parents are such lovely people for not having discouraged the bulk of my eccentricities and contributing to my collection on birthdays and Christmas.