Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary

Dear Logan....thank you.
Butter (not sweet Butterboy) is put on the plate with the butter knife....
each bite of bread is then buttered from the butter put on
your bread plate ...with your OWN knife...
not the common butter knife....
(Now I understand how Miss Manners gets so exhausted!)


Oh, the Trials & Tribulations of being raised by a Mom who MUST have
co-authored that "eddi-kut book" with ole What's-her-name!

Bread & Butter Chapter:

There were always TWO styles of "Butter Knife" on the table -
1) ONE common Butter SERVING Knife - a wierd-lookin cross between
a knife and a fork - like a bent knife - designed for ONLY a right-hander!
The Butter SERVING knife rode around the table on the common Butter
Plate - the "supply" dish that carried a 1/4 pound stick of butter.
"Please pass the butter" got you the Supply Plate
WITH it's companion Butter SERVING Knife riding along -
ready to fall off as soon as you touched the plate!

Butter plate HELD in your left hand, you sliced off a suitable
(Not so MUCH, Johnny!)
hunka butter which you then transferred to you OWN Bread Plate.
Butter SERVING Knife was then returned to the Butter SUPPLY Plate -
and you "bothered" someone else at the table to get rid of the Butter.

Next, grab a roll - (Johnny! - "Ask" to have the rolls "Passed"!)
"Take" the roll dish; then pluck one out from under the nappi-kin they
were always hidden under ... then try to get rid of the Roll Dish...

Now "break" the roll or bread slice (another NO-NO - trying to butter-up
a whole roll or slice of bread!)

HALF a roll or slice in Left paw, pick up YOUR Butter Knife -
that lil "shortie" knife with the rounded end - NOT your main cuttin knife! -
and butter ONE (small) byte atta time!

Peas, Corn, and other "Hard to Eat" stuff

Dad came from a "Proper Eatin" Family just like Mom did ...
But he'd learned a few Tricks that he passed along when
Mom went to get something from the kitchen!

Corn & Peas -
That stuff that just would NOT jump onna fork and make it all the
way up to your mouth?

Dad's FIX:
First - ALWAYS "save" a "backstop" on you plate - something you
could *herd* those pesky PEAS up against and use to *hold* em
still whil you slid the fork under em!
Good Backstops were a hunka meat or better yet -
a nice pile of Mashed Potatoes!

"Loadin" da peas was only half the battle ... ya had to get em
"delivered" to your mouth!

Dad's FIX ~
"MIX" em with something "sticky" - gravey was his first choice!
Or he'd do a Combo-Load ... em into the mashed spuds
and then scoop a bit of the spuds on the fork WITH the peas ...
the spuds made a lil BackStop on the fork - a sure way to deliver
*most* of the peas to your mouth and not your lap!

If we had "Company", Mom would "Go Formal" and pull out ALL the *stuff* -
Polish the "Good Silver" and lay out ALL the "Specialty Tools" -
Servin and Carvin stuff that didn't often see daylight ...

And Dad would go "Hill-Billy" - "HEY, what's THIS Do-Thingy for!?"
Mom would just and

Ahhh, the Gud Ole Daze!

/s/ Phred