I should clarify since my remark came across as offensive. Stainless findings attached to sterling handles became a good portion of the norm after WWII. They were quality pieces made that way by the leading silver makers & I wasn't trying to dis them. But within the past 20 years or so since Victorian silver has regained popularity (coinciding with the closing or moving of most of the American silver industry), all types of 'rare' pieces are popping up for the unsuspecting. Some with a one-size-fits-all, generic finding. It's my understanding that stainless wasn't used for knife blades until the 1920's & plated blades continued in use for many years. Therefore, if you find a supposedly rare, turn-of-the-century utensil with a stainless end, it probably isn't period, knives being the exception because the blades were meant to be replaced. If you like it, that's well & good but the piece isn't 100+ years old.

Shaun I live just north of the Tampa area and I've found that Walmart seems to stock up for the strawberry season. They are starting to really come in now so you should be able to find more supplies. I've canned for years and if it can be canned, I've probably done it. I entered our county fair some years back and won the grand champion ribbon. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Never entered again. The thing I like best to can is green beans. We used to grow them but now the deer usually eat them all. But my DH keeps trying. The joke is now when he wants me to order seeds, I ask him what he wants to feed the deer! I honestly don't know how our ancestors kept them out. We have lived here for 35 years and never even SAW a deer until a few years ago. A couple of years ago they ate everything but a beautiful row of blackeyed peas. I was beginning to be hopeful but, alas, one morning I could see where they had nibbled. I ran to Sams and bought a big bottle of cayenne pepper because I heard they did not like it. Next morning they were mowed down! I guess they like their peas spicy! With the economy like it is, we are going to have to try in earnest to keep critters out. We have deer, rabbits, and gopher tortoises all poised and ready for the first shoots to peek through. We can plant early here, usually beginning in late Feb. As far as equipment, if you want to do any veggies at all, you need a pressure canner. I found a nearly new one at a garage sale for about $30. It was one like coconut linked to on ebay. I really like that size. I have a larger one but it is more difficult to handle. I use the magnetic wand and an old jar lifter that uses the weight of the jar to grip the jar. I don't know if they can still be found. I think the Ball Book is an excellent resource, though I have some old ones I like better. I have an old Ball Blue Book that belonged to my grandmother that is marked 10 cents on the back! I wash my lids and put them in the crockpot, pour boiling water over them and they are ready when I need them. I always understood that the problem with smooth top ranges was that an uneven pot would cause hot spots on the cook top and could damage the rangetop. Garage sales are a great place for jars. They shouldn't cost more than 10 - 25 cents. Canned items can last several years, 2 or 3 at least, if properly stored. Don't store them in a shed in South Florida! Put them in boxes and stick them under the beds or somewhere cool. BTW, you really do not have to use salt in your canned vegetables. That is only for flavor. So if you have someone on a low salt diet, reduce it or leave it out. Anyway, happy canning. Carol

They are 30'ish. If you haven't thought of it yet, you might consider heirlooms, or family hand me downs. I had a friend who at 50 had to drastically downsize and I helped her organize and sort though her enormous household of accumulated belongings. She wanted to toss or donate a whole ceder chest full of linens and a cigar box that had her grandfathers single edge shaver a pocket knife along with some other low priced mantiques that had been handed down and held onto. I told her no no no -don't toss, give them to the kids. She had a son and daughter in their mid twenties, and even though they were both renters, I suggested she offered them to her kids first. She didn't think they would want them, but I convinced her to at least ask them before chucking the lot. For the son, the simple gift felt like a coming of age moment, and the prefect time in his life to connect to his ancestors. The mantiques were small enough he could set them on his dresser, or tuck them in a drawer. I told her that every girl would like at least one nice table cloth and napkins, even if they're only used for a single Valentines day in her lifetime. She had a brunch and invited her daughter and her daughter's friends, where they sipped champagne and pawed through the doilies and table cloths and all the girls went home with something special, while the woman had a chance to tell the stories connected to the pieces. As far as a beginner household, a large matching set of tupperware replaces all those sour cream containers you can never find a lid to fit tightly on. A ladle, for some reason is the type of thing folks buy last like wise a whip. But a really good, heavy vegetable cutting knife always seems like an extravagance once you start shopping for them, so it's another purchase often put-off indefinitely (look for 3 rivet handle). And as simple as it seems, several matching dishtowels (4-6) washcloths (4-6) with matching pot holders make a kitchen look special, even if you are buying them at the dollar store. This post was edited by Lilylore on Sat, Oct 25, 14 at 13:25

Hilarious!! I am not the least bit sheepish to say I shop WS! I can both celebrate and laugh at WS and my own purchase habits. It's like the riffs on J Peterman or the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. It's all in good fun to play with their marketing gimmicks -- meanwhile, here we all are talking about.... yep, Williams-Sonoma! I have purchased a number of their specialty pans-- you know, the ones I absolutely could not live without but then turned around and sold at a garage sale for $2 five years later! One very happy guy took home all the madeleine pans and the nordic pumpkin cake pan.. along with a number of cookbooks that "I simply could not live without"! I have the lighted salt/pepper grinders-- and I've given them as gifts. Who knew the dangers of seasoning in the dark!? I love my all-clad waffle maker. I genuinely hug it as I pull it out of the bottom of the pantry for our once-every-two-years multigrain waffles. And seriously.. I choose not live without my kyocera kryotop ceramic chef's knife! I broke one, lost one in a move and am now working on my third... happily ever after!