Birthday party for a secretary!

     Tim Puro invited us over to see a beautiful secretary he's been working on, the one Bill worked on the locks for.  I say Birthday because someone gave "birth" to it nearly 200 years ago and Tim restored it for another long segment of time.  A rebirth, if you will.  I had seen it before but never in so polished and beautified condition.  While I was there he showed me a chair wholly decorated with faux graining to look like rosewood.  A comb was used on the legs but the back was done with brushes by hand and a lovely job they did too!

I can't wait to try this out on something, as soon as it gets warm enough to work in the garage.


While we were out running errands Thursdays we accidentally stopped at Blue Moon Consignment Shop.  There I found a quarter size dresser just right for Ma in the long winter.  We brought it home and found that the backsplash was loose.  So great was my enthusiasm that we commenced to fix it right on the breakfast table, even in the kitchen amongst the dirty dishes.  A few tense moments when the tiny clamps slipped and we resorted to giant rubber bands.  Whew!  There's never a dull moment around here!

It's just the right size for Ma and I am already thinking of the things I need to make to put in the drawers.  Red flannel long underwear, bloomers, stockings, night gowns and bed caps, for starters.

Here is an item from my able assistant:
     "Today me and Ana went to Spring Mill Park and walked in the woods. It was a very lovely day and the birds were out and we walked all the way to the road on trail number three which was a long way for Ana to walk.  Then we walked back to the car to have a little snack before heading into the village.  We noticed a cave that was not mentioned in the map so we thought maybe it had not been discovered yet.  Or it might have been a small crack, (sigh).  This is my report, Eliyah"

     Last thing, I want to show you the orchid, which has four flowers open now and three more to go!

This has cheered me up no end!

Bright Ideas

     It turns out that I am allergic to carpet beetles.  Nobody else here is, just me.  And how allergic!  Big red welts and how it itches!  But we have learned that a thorough cleaning and vacuuming reduces the chances of my having a new crop of welts considerably.  So once a month now, I deep clean.  Move all the furniture, vacuum all the carpet, mop all the floors.  Fresh sheets every few days.  The Victorians would consider that the bare minimum of house cleaning, I'm sure. Last week I did all that.  I was a cleaning fiend.  And afterward, I got my self a prize.  Some "Nick and Nora" Pajamas.  Extra Large, but of course they lied.  They almost fit but were too tight in places.  I was undismayed.  I added large white gussets where space was needed and now they fit perfectly.  These are really Spring time pajamas.  Notice that some of the birds are reading books,  truely these are Ana Pjs.

     At Christmas, the people who supply me with eggs gave me a sweet squash, which I kept on the counter as a decorative element.  Then I decided to use it.  I baked it whole, cut it in half, cleared out the seeds and mashed up the pulp.  I was surprised how sweet it was. Some I ate on the spot.  The rest was made into a curried soup with some chicken and broth and served with chicken salad  with grapes and pecans.  What a lovely lunch to have in winter with a friend.  Afterward we went to Spring Mill Park for an early look around.  Luckily it was almost warm that day.

     Bill and I often talk about Little House subjects, especially when we are working on a project or reading a related book.  Right now I'm reading  Little House, Long Shadow by Anita Clair Fellman.  Such analytical books often bring out my most argumentative side, believe me!  I am loath that any criticism be leveled at my heroine Laura.  So it is not surprising perhaps, that Bill has dreamed about the Ingalls.  He woke up this morning talking about a restaurant dedicated to the Little House Books.  So I got busy and made up a menu.  It was a good excuse to make biscuits for breakfast too!

     Now all I have to do is win the lottery to open a half dozen or so Restaurants!


     The last bright thing is this, after all these weeks, the orchid is finally beginning to bloom!  One wouldn't have thought it would stay in the bud so long!  The last picture I took for you was a month ago! 

     I am so happy it's March and almost not Winter any more!

February!

     I always hate February, it seems the dreariest month of the year.  And I've had my share of dreary events in February.  This is not the first death.  For Eliyah's Father has died mysteriously at the age of 60.  I felt helpless watching the family grieve.  Of course, everything is the same here on the days he comes and I think that is what I can do.  Just be the same.

     Even my new teapot candle-holder seems sad!  Of course that's only from one point of view!

     A couple of weeks ago some juicy oranges arrived by UPS, a total surprise to me.  With them came two large plastic bibs!  And believe me you need them when you eat these oranges!

 I have finally put away almost all things Christmas and made a matching brown tablecloth for the dining table.

I like to put spring flowers out in the midst of winter!  But I'm sorry to say that the tablecloth is now obliterated by the work on the "Long Winter" scene.

 First I tried to corral everything in the new orange box.

 But that soon proved inadequate.

 These chairs have been rejected on the basis of style and also being a little bit too large.  We are using 1/4 scale.  If you look carefully in the large basket you will see the knitting needles Bill has made for Ma to knit with.  I am looking for very fine yarn to start the knitting with.

My daughter Jude has offered to make the heads for each of the characters.  Samples and photos and measurements are being gathered to mail to her.  Looks like I might need that Zen book too!
     I am anxiously watching to see if my orchid, which my daughter-in-law gave me two years ago is going to bloom by Valentine's Day.  It didn't bloom at all last year.  Then when we went to May's Green house the clerk there advised me to use more water.  And not ice cubes at all.  Three cubes melted down to 1/3 cup so I increased to 1/2 cup once a week,(on Sundays) and now it has some 7 or 8 buds.  I am ridiculously excited.  I don't have a green thumb and having something bloom seems like an unexpected gift!

     This is the coldest weather we've had since the demise of the furnace.  It has become hard to keep warm, unless one hugs the stove.  The laundry room and the work room are running about 50 degrees, which seems very cool to my shoeless feet. heavy socks not-withstanding.  Even the kitchen is chilly.  It is true we are currently burning the scrap wood and saving the dry oak for later, but it is also true that we will start the last truck-load of wood sometime this week.  I certainly hope our wood man will be able to get out and chop some more wood for us!
     Friday we drove to Plainfield to shop at Gilly's Antiques.  I found a treasure trove of miniatures for Mary Lincoln:  A lovely glass-walled what-not.
Here is the tea set on top:

And then with the carved box on top, which do you like best?

And finally with the tiny glass doors closed.  Look carefully to see the tiny latch.  I'm thinking the tiny Noritaki oval dish should have a little rack to make it easier to see.

Then I found some items in a larger size that I think would make a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder's "The Long Winter"  :

 See the coffee grinder, in which they ground the wheat all winter?  The kerosene lamp which ran out of kerosene?  The tiny clothespins with which Ma hung out the laundry to freeze dry?  There's a coffee pot, a tea pot and a baking tin, even a sifter.  However these are not the same size as doll house items.  They will require made-to-order dolls.  And a much taller room.  I suspect it will take me nearly a year to get it all together.  It would be fun to have for next Christmas.

     Last week, after the monthly shopping trip, Chicken breasts went on sale for .88 cents a pound.  So, though I am not yet completely out of chicken, I had to go and buy some.  There was a limit of two packages and each package was about 5 pounds so I boned 10 breasts and made 11 packets of white meat.  We had some fresh, cooked in wine and mushrooms for Sunday night dinner.  The pot of broth I made from the carcasses is stored in the garage until I get all the bones out and boil it down just a little more.  I notice that now one can buy little thin plastic bags to wrap individual pieces in but I just wrapped them in waxed paper, like I have always done.

  Five just fit in a one gallon resealable bag.  Now the little freezer is quite full.  Something that always makes me feel rich.
     Last week I got the idea to bake the tortillas in mixing bowls so we could have a sort of fajita salad.  I sprayed the bowls with Pam and baked them for about 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  We loved this variation and have already had it again!

Fajita salad in tortilla bowl with beans and rice on the side.  Covered with cheese, sour cream and salsa.  And French Dressing too.

     We have spent this day watching the Inauguration, tissues at hand because we were tearing up from time to time.  I am still waiting to see the gown Michelle has picked to wear to the dances tonight.  

After Christmas

I've studied a lot of books on English life-style, from housekeeping to fashions to needlework and read lots of English Village Mysteries.  I do enjoy the English way of life.  And I'm looking forward to tonight's Downton Abby.  But I've been thinking ......how much of our lifestyle here in the states reflects English antecedents?  Aren't we, the "melting pot" strongly influenced by English customs?  Clothing, well, though we are always buying "new", there is really nothing much new: suits, ties and shirts, sweaters, even overalls and work shirts haven't changed much in hundreds of years.  Women wearing pants may be considered new but  jodhpurs have been worn for horse-riding by women for a long while.   And then we have the manicured lawns like English Estates.  The large houses with lots of room for entertaining, though most people don't entertain much anymore.  It is frequently mentioned in ads for new houses  We like to see ourselves as the "getters" rather than the servers in life, at all economic levels.  In fact, isn't entitlement rampant today in our society?  I would love to hear your arguments.
     On Christmas, I got out the one tablecloth we only use once a year, because it sports bells on the crocheted lace around the edges.  Here is our Candle-lit Christmas scene.  There's a glimmer on top of the little tree too but I assure you it's just a reflection!

 In the center of the table I placed another crocheted doily.

Because I always like to have biscuits on my table!

     Since the holidays, Bill and I have been very busy on our many projects.  Bill has been working at a job repairing six locks for a large piece of furniture being restored by Tim Puro.  I have found him at all hours, sitting on the floor near some outlet, happily grinding something metal.  Now they are all working beautifully.

 
 And between us, we redesigned Miss Hickory's room.  Now it has windows with lace curtains!  I've added things and subtracted things.  My head is taken up with the tasks she must be prepared to do.  Bill has ordered her a dish pan!  Note the new flooring.

 Since she is an ongoing project, more photos of her later.

Cliff Hanger

     I've been thinking all along, "Why would the Congress or the President want to lower our taxes?  Or reduce spending? Isn't the whole point to grease the government with some fresh cash?  Why would they care if the ones who pay the taxes are the poor?  Governments have always lived off the backs of the poor."  But I wanted to believe that somebody was going to look out for the poor guys, the 99%, in other words, us.  Now it seems that is just a myth, a fairy tale.  We'll see . . . .

     Christmas this year has been a bit hard for me.  Last child has gone, you know.  I have had to relinquish a lot of traditions.  I did get into some lovely holiday cooking though.  I felt inspired to whip up some low carbohydrate goodies.
    
     For Thanksgiving we had a large baking chicken with dressing and lovely gravy.  I tried  to eat only token portions of dressing and potatoes.  There were fresh green beans.  We had sparkling pear juice with our dinner.  And ate by the light of the oil lamp.

Other yummy treats were Fajitas with baked chips of cut up tortillas and mashed avocados and sour cream.  Then sliced spiced chicken, cheese and bacon club sandwiches with Clam chowder.

 Then on Thursday we had "Little bits and pieces", meatballs simmered in mushroom soup, skewers of cherry tomatoes, cheese and cocktail onions. . .
 and nut and raisin bon bons.  Note my Brother Larry's hand-made card as decoration on the table.

 This was a new menu and it was so successful we are planning to have it again tomorrow night.  Christmas night we're going Mexican!
      One of the last things Eliyah and I cooked before his Christmas vacation started was Tuscan Bean Stew. White beans cooked in the crockpot with tomato bits, lots of garlic, some carrots and celery, smoked sea salt and at the end, half a pound of  thin sliced peperoni.  That was yummy indeed!
     Now I must go in the kitchen and bake a pineapple pie for Bill.  And a few Mincemeat tarts for me!

Black Friday

     "Why is it called Black Friday?"  my husband asked.  "Is it that miserable?"  He was contemplating buying frenzies at Big Box stores.  He only likes Antique Malls.  There he is an indefatigable shopper.  
     "No," I replied, "It's about being in the black, financially."  And I thought about what I had said.  The stores would be in the black, making a profit, but what about us, the buyers?  Would we be in the black?
     According to the early morning National news (3:30 am) credit card debt is up and so are defaults on credit card payments.  So no, we wouldn't necessarily be in the black.  More likely in the red, trying to right the economy on borrowed money.  Then I saw an item on the computer, spam most likely, saying "boycott shopping on Black Friday. Instead, make it a no-buy day."  And I thought, "That would keep us in the black!"  I really like the idea.  It fits right in with my buying diet.  Not that I'm so good at it.  We went to the Southport Antique Mall last week.  I didn't spend much but I did buy.  Not new stuff but that doesn't really get me off the hook does it?

Character Doll, Old woman with glass eyes.

The Basket Seller

     I can't make out why the old Woman is dressed in a pinafore like a little girl.  Of course, she is naked at the moment and I have done major surgery on her, giving her elbows, knees and wrists, so that she can be posed.  I've been to Joanne's and gotten snippets of purple and red to make her a dress and hat.  The basket lady's face is faded but I don't intend to strip her down.  Maybe a little judicious face painting is in her future.  What fun!

     

     As I mentioned previously, we are back on the once a month grocery shopping schedule.  Last month I bragged that we had saved $50 doing that but now I have to report that I spent that money on sale meat and things we ran out of, such as butter, white bread and soft drinks for my Husband.  This month I spent over the allotment but after all it is Thanksgiving.  And Christmas is coming up.  The little house is full of food and goodies.  One of the things I did was to buy bones and make beef broth.  I saw it done on the Victorian cooking videos I saw on youtube.

     It wasn't a short task, in fact it took two days to finish.  The meat and vegetables were first roasted in the oven, then cooked all day, cooled and skimmed, then, the next day reduced a bit.  I got 4 pints of pretty but rather carrot flavored beef broth.  For what I spent, I could have bought the most expensive bouillon available!

  

The recipe recommended throwing the meat and vegetables away but I couldn't bring myself to do that, but minced up the meat and using some of the broth made an excellent Strogonoff for Sunday dinner.  On Monday I had not planned anything nor taken something out of the freezer so I hurried to make some tomato soup (tomato sauce, canned milk, some tomato paste, dill weed) and grilled some cheese sandwiches.  I felt guilty about it just until Bill sat down and rubbed his hands and said "Oh, good, one of my favorite meals."

     Eliyah and I went to May's greenhouse to look for miniature plants and found many to choose from.  They didn't cost much either.  So we chose miniature palms, frittaria and a small fern.  Here are the terrariums we made"

       We are cooking at home alone for Thanksgiving.  A difficult choice but we plan to eat out for Christmas.  We did the same thing for our Birthday and Anniversary, ate out on one and at home the other.  After all, I make good feasts.  In fact, Bill insists that my food is better than any restaurant's, although he loves to eat out.  My menu is entirely predictable, though I won't be eating the mashed potatoes, I'll have a dab of sweet potato plain.  Also only a dab of stuffing.  No cranberry sauce but I'll be making a cheesecake out of Victoria Magazine with a glaze of cranberry juice  thickened with geletin and using sweetner rather than sugar.  So carbs but not unlimited carbs.  Now that I limit carbs, I find not much need for sugar, it's far too expensive in carbohydrates!  That surprised me but I confess that there are many proteins that I actually like better than sweets.  This week I made Pate' or chopped liver, if you will.  Flavored with sour cream, dill and spring onions, it is a delicious snack.
     I am reading a book, "Disaster" about the history of Earthquakes, floods, plagues and etc. 
I have to say, it is making me very thankful this week.  My petty complaints don't mean much beside catastrophes which do away with 90% of the population!  Nothing like being put in one's place.  A very Happy Thanksgiving to you all!