Vintage Finds

Treasures from a local antique shop...

On top of my washing machine....

A few antique bars of Octagon laundry soap...

in the perfect enamelware bowl.

An ornate antique inkwell...

Now to find an old pen to dip in that inkwell.

I love to write with calligraphy pens and ink

in the old style.

Tonight I am writing a letter to a old friend.

Writing by the light of an oil lamp transports

me to another time and place.

Gourmet Soda Crackers

Self sufficiency is something that excites me.

If I can make something, rather than buy it,

I am quite happy.

We have really tried to change our diet over the past few years.

Self-sufficiency and growing our own food helps this

tremendously.

When I do have something to buy, I balance my choices

by either buying local or organic...and both whenever I can.

I have tried to stop buying anything processed.

I have made my own bread this year...for the most part.

I make my own biscotti.

So, why not crackers??

I made these Italian soda crackers last evening.

They are quite good...flakey and crunchy...and simple to make.

If you are interested,

go HERE

for the tutorial.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Leek Soup

I had promised, on my farm blog,

to post a recipe for the soup that I

concocted.

It is spring, and that means asparagus time!

What to do with all that asparagus??

How about Asparagus Leek Soup?

Here is what I did.....

Ingredients

2 leeks, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

5 large spring onions, sliced

20 large stalks of asparagus, cut into 1 inch segments

2 X 32 oz. organic chicken broth

2 tbsp. Herbs de Provence (secret ingredient in most of my chicken soups....always delicious!)

Simmer until vegetables are soft.

Another idea is to place cooked soup into blender to puree and then add some half and half.

Adding a couple of potatoes would be delicious, also.

Another idea would be to cook down a whole chicken first and add the meat to the soup.

This is a spice combination that I recommend adding to your spice cabinet.  It adds just the best flavor to soups.

You can find it at www.vgourmet.com

However, you can sometimes find it at Marshalls or TJMaxx.

Bon Appetit!

Beautiful Monday

We are home!

Home is more wonderful than I ever imagined.

What a stark contrast last week was to this week.

I am still processing all that I experienced in Haiti.

I have tons of pictures to share...

and much writing to do.

I need some time for all of my thoughts and feelings to crystalize.

When that happens, I have another blog page that I will post my

thoughts and pictures about our most incredible (albeit difficult)

trip to Haiti.

But for now, I am so glad to be here...

with wash blowing on the line.

I have a mile long list of chores to accomplish today.

One of which was to paint the clothesline poles to match the

adorable little bird houses on the top of each one.

The house is bursting with the aroma of

freshly cut lilacs.

And soon that smell with be joined with the smell of freshly baking bread.

Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to be home!

I have been filled with many emotions since returning home.  The people of Haiti haunt my thoughts and dreams.  They made their mark on my heart....forever.  Writing will be a good catharsis.  But that will be on another page....on another day.  

To all of you who sent me words of encouragement, prayers, and thoughts....thank you.

You have no idea how much that meant to me.

Til Next We Meet.....

Dearest Friends,

Just a quick note to say "see you soon" to those of you who check in on me from time to time.  Hubbs and I are headed to Haiti for a medical mission trip this Friday.  We will be working in a hospital in Carrafour ( a densely populated area of Port-au-Prince) for the next week....treating patients with chronic medical problems as a result of the January earthquake.

So many people have asked me if I am "excited" for this trip.  I find that this is a tough question to answer. Excitement does not describe my feelings....of which I have many.  There is a part of me that is anticipating this trip with the hope that I will be able to make some small difference for the short time that I am there.  There is a small part of me that is uneasy, maybe even a bit fearful, that what I see will be difficult to handle.  I do not look forward to seeing so many people living such desperate lives.  I do not look forward to seeing the ongoing suffering, the hunger, the pain.  These things, I know, will be indelibly etched into my heart.

(pictures courtesy of J. Spence Reid, M.D.)

I am glad to have the opportunity to dust off my nursing skills and once again put them to good use.

There is a small part of me that fears for my own  safety...the incidence of HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and many more diseases is incredibly high.  However, this fear is overshadowed by the knowledge that going is the right thing to do.

I have so many questions.....all of which will be answered, I am sure, in the coming week.

I am thankful for having been given this opportunity.  I am thankful for the life that I live.  My world is a happy one, free from suffering.  I am lucky, for this is not the case for so many others.  All of this makes me so acutely aware of how crazy this world is....that some should live lives of destitution and desperation, while others live lives of privilege.  

I pray, that in some very small way, I can help to make this world a better place....

I pray that some day all children born in any country of this world will live without hunger, without poverty, without their life being shortened by treatable disease.

I thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers.  I will share my experiences when we return home next week.

I am thankful for all of you who care about me....my life is blessed by your presence.

And so with two suitcases full of medical supplies and two suitcases full of teddy bears, hubbs and I join 5 other physicians and nurses on this trip to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, the 4th hungriest country in the world, where the average life expectancy is only 53 years.....amazingly, my age.

Vintage Lighting

If you read my blog occasionally, you will know that

I love all things vintage and antique.

If I need some special touch for the house,

I don't shop in stores....

I hit the antiques mall.

Wednesday Hubbs and I did a little antiquing.

It was my birthday, so I got to pick the

activity for the day.

Of course it was antiquing!

I was searching for the perfect oil lamp for my

guest bedroom.

You know, the fussy lavender bedroom.

(See Here)

A little searching, and 

I found exactly what I was searching for.

This lamp is a beauty.

It has wonderfully intricate cast iron work.

But, the best part of it is the mercury glass reflector.

It is almost impossible to find these lamps complete with the original

mercury glass reflector.

Hanging next to it (see top picture) is a cast iron

match holder.

Could there possibly be any more romantic lighting than this?

I can hardly wait for the sun to go down,

so that I can light it.

This lamp hangs above my turn of the century 

Thomas Edison Victrola...

...that still plays its very thick records....

by hand crank...

another one of my family treasures.

Here is the current display on the top of the victrola.

I love antiques, but antiques that still work and are useful
are my favorites.
I have decorated my home with items that could
actually save us if, heaven forbid, we lose power for
an extended period of time.
Or, if perhaps, someday I decide to get off the energy grid, altogether,
well, I suppose I am ready!

Spring Pinny

Although we had a bit of a cold snap this weekend,

Spring has definitely arrived.

The trees have buds.

The daffodils and forsythia have bloomed.

The bees are buzzing.

But, oh, it's too chilly to work in the garden,

So....a day of sewing instead!

Today I pulled a few apron patterns together

to construct an all new pattern....

A Spring/Summer pinafore.....

Perfect for serving luncheon, or picking flowers.

Roomy pockets, trimmed in crocheted lace....

I made all of my own bias tape for this apron, 

out of the same fabrics.

It's a bit time consuming to do so,

but it gives it such a coordinated,

polished look.

This pattern is a keeper.

Now, to take this over to my shop

(CLICK HERE)

....it's for sale, of course.

Spring Cleaning

I am curious about something.

How is one supposed to do Spring cleaning...

when it is so nice outside in the Spring.

I would much rather be outside doing some project than

in the house cleaning!!

Well, that being said, it still has to be done.

I have been trying to avoid buying harsh cleansers.

Today I used the end of my scouring powder.

For the past few years I have been using "green" products.

They tend to be expensive, though.

So, I thought to myself....

couldn't I use my homemade laundry powder and make it into a

scouring powder, too?

Today I did just that.

I took 1/2 cup of the laundry powder (see earlier posting)

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup baking soda

and placed all three in a jar, punched holes in the lid

 and made a label (I always like to make things look a bit fussy!)

Here it is: 

BUSY BEE

Clean and Green

SCOURING POWDER

I tried it out on a really messy kitchen sink and it 

sure made it sparkle!

The smell is clean and fresh, too!

Think of the savings!

Organizing Tip

Living this far out in the country makes being organized essential.  Especially with regards to my pantry.  I cannot just run to the store at the last minute if I need something.  This was in part the reason that I added a good sized pantry when we planned this house.  My pantry is outfitted with vintage cracker jars to hold all of my ingredients and keep them fresh.

In order to keep a running list of grocery items that are running low, I thought I would hang a clipboard inside the pantry.  I ordered a basic clipboard for less than $2 (no shipping charges...what a bargain).  I took it into my craft room and got to work gussying it up.  Vintage graphics gave it exactly the look I was after....

I laminated the front to protect it, made some grocery lists

 and hung it on a hook...

Now to add a pen on a bit of velcro, and....

Hopefully, this will help me to stay a bit more organized!

Mom's Kitchen

Just the words "Mom's Kitchen" brings to mind an image, emotions, a flood of fond memories.  Growing up, I remember Mom's kitchen as being the heart of our home.  Guests gathered there.  Holiday meals were celebrated there.  It was a simple time when families gathered together nightly over supper to discuss the events of the day.  And after the meal we did the dishes together (me standing on a chair to reach the sink...as it was my job to dry.)

I remember the vintage charm of that kitchen with its bright colors...home to a very "modern" chrome and formica table with matching vinyl padded chairs.  I have this picture in my mind of my mother standing tall in her 50's style dress, a half apron over it, with her hair perfectly coiffed, jewelry and lipstick on.  (I, on the other hand, was out playing in the dirt... most likely picking violets or loading my pockets with earthworms.)

With all of that in mind, it is no wonder that I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it.  And of course it had to become an apron.  An apron fondly named "Mom's Kitchen".

This apron will be for sale on my apron website HERE.  It is "one size fits all".  

Wednesday, Part Two

If you are interested, here are the graphics that I designed for my

Busy Bee

Clean and Green

Concentrated Laundry Powder

(click on picture for larger version,
then right click to save to your computer)

Feel free to grab either of these
and use them on you own packaging,

if you like...

I used two brown paper lunch bags inside of each other
as my packaging.

PS:  I have a load of laundry drying on the line right now.  This laundry soap worked great...all the mud and dirt that was on my jeans and shirts is gone!  I am sure that greasy stains will still need pretreated, though.  My laundry room smells heavenly!

Another Laundry Essential

On the subject of laundry essentials (see recent posts), I decided to make my own laundry detergent.

 I had seen a posting by my friend Mary Jane of the Beehive Cottage.  She posted a recipe which I decided to try.

It is super easy, super inexpensive and according to Mary Jane makes clothes sparkle.  I can hardly wait to try my

"Busy Bee

 Clean and Green 

Concentrated Laundry Powder".  

I had to package it in something "vintagey" so I made my own bags and labels.....

Recipe:

4 lbs. Borax

4 lbs. Washing Soda

4 lbs. Baking Soda

3 bars Fels Naptha soap (grated)

Only 2 tablespoons of this is needed for one load of laundry....so this recipe should last quite a long time.  I have a front-loader, so I will dissolve 2 tbsp. in a bit of warm water to add to the detergent dispenser.

I will let you know what I think of it after next Laundry Day.

More Laundry Day Essentials

Last week I made Minerva's Laundry Day apron with extra large, deep pockets for clothespins.  By the end of the week it was in the mail to Colorado. (Hope you enjoy it, Bonne!!)  That left me with a problem, though....still no place to put my clothespins.  So this morning, while a load was washing, I headed up to my sewing room to use up the remaining apron fabric.  I had no pattern, but I had a plan.   I thought I would shape a clothespin bag to fit over an old wooden child's hanger that I had.  A little bias tape and rick rack added and voila...........

Plenty of room to store my clothespins and handy to grab and throw in my laundry basket as I head out the door.

Moving to the country has once again given me the energy saving pleasure of line-drying laundry.  I love the smell of freshly laundered sheets that have been line dried.  And if I almost never have to use my dryer....well, think of the energy savings!!

Green Idea

We have been trying, in all that we do, to be as green

as possible.

I stopped buying plastic storage bags over a year ago.

Instead I bought this....

I keep re-using the ones I have.

I keep the ones that are given to me by others.

This bag had a cherry pie inside...a gift to Hubbs.

I simply washed and rinsed the bag and hung it on the rack to dry.

It saves me a little money.

And keeps the trash from being overloaded with plastic.

Which, by the way, doesn't decompose for centuries.

Long after humans are gone from the face of this earth,

our plastic will remain.... the reminder of our throw-away society.

If you are interested in joining me in this effort,

You can purchase one of these handy driers

Here or Here or Here.

Laundry Day Apron

A windy, rainy day afforded me the time to make this retro styled

laundry day apron.

It has four deep pockets across the front...

perfect for filling with clothes pins.

I just love the fabric. 

It is one that I have been hanging onto for a couple of years.

Vintage ladies...involved in all sorts of laundry day chores.

The pockets are a companion fabric....laundry day essentials.

Now that my embroidery machine is back from its repairs,

I am able to do fancy stitches once more.

Now, to move this little apron over to my selling blog (here).

I think I shall call her

"Minerva's Laundry Day Apron"

(She might make a good Mother's Day gift.....)