AN AWARD AND YUMMY APPLE BUTTER BARS

Chari at Happy To Design has bestowed upon me this award, a Blogging Friends Forever gold card. How great is that? Please check out her blog to be dazzled by her sense of design.There are three rules attached to this award: l. You may choose five people/blogs to give the award. 2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog. 3. One has to be a new follower of your blog or live in another part of the world.

I would like to pass this award onto the following who I would be honored to think they were dedicated followers of my blog. It is more that I am a dedicated follower of THEIR blogs. At any rate, I always enjoy their thoughts when they comment on my posts.

Dot at Picket's Place

Sue at Rabbit Run Cottage

Sally at Smiling Sal

Cindy at Just Another Day in Paradise

And for a new friend, I would like to pass this onto:

Jill at At Home in the Country

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Here is a recipe that has been around for years, but usually it has a filling of a fruit jam. I rarely see it as my family likes it -- with apple butter.

This is what you need:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)

1 1/2 cups apple butter

Stir flour, soda, salt, oats, and sugar together. Add melted butter stirring thoroughly until all dry ingredients are mixed in.
Press half of oat mixture firmly in greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread with apple butter. Pat remaining oat mixture lightly on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Try to wait until they are cool to enjoy!


Thanks for stopping by,


Sally

WEEKEND YARD SALES & LUCKY SEVENS TAG

We went out to the yard sales this weekend and found a few things. The quilt in the background was the first thing I found for $5.00. The blocks are old with fabrics from the turn of the 20th century, but I think the quilt was put together in the 1970s. It is nicely hand quilted and worth more than the price I paid!

The picture in the foreground is a 1940s print in a nice frame for only $3.00 and will probably be a present to a friend.

The two cactus cowboy lamps were $1.00 a piece, and we will sell these on ebay.

The tin tray is a picture of an elk by James L. Artig and was $2.00.

And finally, I always look for Condensed Reader's Digest books because I enjoy reading them and they have such pretty covers and end papers. This one is from 1953 and was 10 cents.

Not bad for $12.10 total.

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I've been challenged by Cindy at Just Another Day in Paradise to do the Lucky Sevens Tag. So here we go---

Seven things I plan to do before I die:

1. Return to Paris, France.

2. Make a difference in some one's life that I don't know.

3. Finish organizing the 120 years of photos that I somehow seem to be in charge of doing.

4. Get my house in absolute impeccable order. I don't want anyone to have to say, "Oh my, what a mess!!"

5. See my grandchildren grown, healthy, happy, educated and have a relationship with God.

6. Grow in my Christian faith.

7. Reach our 75th wedding anniversary.

Seven things I can do:

1. I can sew anything -- Halloween costumes, clothes including suits and coats, drapes, bedding, and table linens.

2. I can play the piano.

3. I can be frugal and do things on a dime.

4. I can get a decent meal on the table day after day.

5. I can quilt, knit, and embroider.

6. I can be happy lounging around and doing nothing.

7. I can hold a grudge - not a good thing, but I'm working on that.

Seven things I can not do:

1. I'm hopeless at any thing athletic.

2. I can not make pie crust.

3. I'm no good at gardening - the bugs eat me up, I hate having my hands dirty, and I have a brown thumb.

4. I can not sing, but I still do!

5. I can not crochet - my grandmother always said I looked like I was shoveling coal.

6. I have no aptitude for languages.

7. I can not put a book down once I have started reading it.

Seven things that attract me to Bob:

1. He chose to marry ME 50 years ago.

2. He has a work ethic that never quits. After working hard for 44 years as a civil engineer, he now substitute teaches in our local school district, does all of the yard work, does anything around the house that I ask like painting, etc., he restores and refinishes furniture for resale, AND he cleans bathrooms.

3. He is a dedicated father and grandfather.

4. He is a great son with infinite patience with his mother and other elderly people.

5. Despite having been diagnosed 49 years ago with a form of Muscular Dystrophy, he has shown true grit and managed to keep moving and out of a wheelchair.

6. He laughs at my weird sense of humor.

7. He has given me the ultimate luxury of being able to stay home all of these years to be a wife and mother.

Seven things that I say most often:

1. You're home now.

2. What do you want for supper?

3. Let's go for a ride and get a Coke.

4. I don't want to get up.

5. What are the kids up to?

6. Go for it.

7. Here's the remote. You find something to watch.

Seven favorite foods:

1. Mexican food

2. Tapioca Pudding

3. French toast

4. Donuts

5. Onion rings

6. Home-grown tomatoes

7. Brownies with nuts

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Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

YARD SALE FIND!!!

Recently I found this little cupboard at a yard sale for $15. When I opened it up and saw all of the little cubby holes, I couldn't resist buying it.I dug around in my scrapbooking papers and found these paisleys in different colors to cover the back of the cupboard.

The little cubbies are perfect for displaying some of my small collectibles.
Here are little pumpkins with a Fall-themed plate and a couple of my antique Thanksgiving postcards.



I also like my small collection of antique doll dishes in the cupboard.

Some of my favorite sewing collectibles!!!

A little wooden sewing box and a trade card.

How funny is this monkey trade card mending little monkey's britches?
A wicker sewing basket, a floral tape measure and several generations of my family's silver thimbles.

Any ideas of what else could be displayed in this charming little cupboard?

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

PORTOBELLO FLEA MARKET

Have you seen the movie "Notting Hill" with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant? It was a favorite of mine a few years back; so when we were in London recently, I had to check out the Notting Hill area and especially the Portobello Flea Market.

We were told to get there early as the crowds start to get really large by 10:30 a.m.


One of our first stops was for a delicious sweet crepe for our morning snack. We sat to eat on some steps at a doorway that led to an apartment; and visited with some delightful locals.
The crowds started to build, so we continued on our way checking out more great looking food!

Look at the beautiful tulips!

Different flavored olives to buy by the cupful.

Fresh fish!!

The meat market with "baby chickens"???

We got so engrossed with the shopping opportunities that we neglected to take any pictures of the antique booths except this one with beautiful linens.

There was booth after booth of luscious sterling silver and dishes, ethnic treasures, tools and other little treasures.

There were street musicians.

We managed to spend some money on an old wooden plane, a black cashmere hand-embroidered shawl, silver charms for every one's charm bracelets, London t-shirts for the grand kids, and other little wonders to remember our morning on Portobello Road.

It was very warm that morning and we had walked about 20 blocks, so we found a little lunch counter over an antique store for a lunch of sausage rolls and a cold drink.
Then it was time to say goodbye to the English bobby.

Then we went to the subway station to head to the cool, calm and quiet of the Victoria and Albert Museum for the afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for once again hosting Tablescape Tuesday.

I thought it was time for a "Last Rose of Summer" lunch on the front patio.

I was able to pick a few last roses for a bouquet for the German Lustre sugar bowl.

The octagon dinner plates are Austrian "Royal Innsbruk" and belonged to my Great Grandmother. The salad plates, cups and saucers, and the coffee pot are English Royal Albert "American Beauty".

The stainless steel is Oneida "Damask Rose" and is new, but I also have sterling silver in the same pattern from the 1950s.
The fruit bowls are German lustre.

The rose cake plate is Prussian, and the crystal is pink depression-era and belonged to my Grandmother.

Fall is definitely in the air here in Colorado. Hope you enjoyed this last taste of summer.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

A PIG ROAST, A POTLUCK, AND A RECIPE

Last night a couple from our church hosted a pig roast. The 130-pound pig was roasted on a revolving spit over a wood fire in this apparatus.
After 24 hours, Mr. Pig was removed from the spit and the meat was so moist and just falling off the bone.

This is a small part of the crowd of about 100 people waiting around for a taste of that pork!

Every family was asked to bring a side dish to share as potluck with the pork.

Lots of good eating going on here! There was probably twice as much food as shown in these pictures.

For my contribution, I took a corn souffle, a recipe from Bob's family.



Here's what you need:

1 16 oz. can whole corn, drained

2 16 oz. cans creamed corn

1 whole stick of butter or margarine, softened

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

2 eggs

Mix all ingredients and pour into a 6-cup baking dish. Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 minutes.

This recipe is easy, travels well, and everyone seems to like it. I always come home with an empty dish.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT LAUNDRY

My favorite household chore has always been laundry. There is something about taking a pile of dirty laundry on the floor and turning it into clean, folded clothes and linens that appeals to my inner organizational self. We bought our first washing machine, a shiny, new General Electric machine, when we were 20 years old. We lived in a rented, furnished apartment and didn't own a stick of furniture, but we had a washing machine!

I learned how to do laundry from my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother -- all women who were born in the 19th or early 20th century and were very proud of their laundry skills.

You know the basics like no red shirts washed with the white underwear, etc. But, here are a few so-called rules from the matriarchs of my family:

1. Use hot water, lots of soap and wash the "devil" out of them. Get rid of all evil!

2. The clothes line was where you dried everything. In later years, my mother and grandmother had clothes dryers, but the line was still the method of choice.

3. Clothes lines should always run north & south for optimum sun and wind exposure. The clothes will dry faster, and you can fill the lines twice in one day.

4. The best clothes lines are made from 4" cast iron pipe for maximum sturdiness with the ends closed in to keep the wasps and bees from nesting.

5. Always hang clothes in a logical order -- all socks hung from the toes with the heels facing the same direction, etc.

6. Of course, there were lots of rules about washing cloth diapers. Believe me you haven't lived until you've washed a diaper pail full of dirty diapers every day for years. I have to admit I did enjoy hanging them on the line, especially when there was snow on the ground to whiten them (another hint from grandmother).

7. Here's my favorite: When you are pregnant, never, never hang up clothes on the line. Your baby will be born with the cord wrapped around its neck. I think we can chalk this up to an old-wives tale.

8. Then there is ironing. Sprinkle the ironing with warm water, then roll and wrap in an old, clean sheet overnight. No steam irons for the dedicated. After ironing pillowcases, fold them, and then iron in the fold creases. That way your guests will be assured they have clean bedding. Same thing with cloth napkins.

9. My mother thought that even the cleaning rags should be ironed -- she said that they look better in the drawer and the ironing helps kill germs.


See those creases in the cases at the back of the photo?


Do I pass the test?



These are only a few of the tidbits I was taught. It's a wonder I still love to do laundry.




Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!!!

I've been tagged by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to list 7 random or weird facts about myself.

Here goes----

1. A random fact: We are parents to one biological child and one adopted child. I feel so blessed to have had both experiences. "Caring, not bearing makes a Mother!!"

2. I eat the same thing every morning -- a bowl of Cheerios with 3 teaspoons of crunchy peanut butter and covered with milk. My family thinks this is weird, but I don't!

3. A random fact: When I was young, I wanted to be an architect; but I was told by the school counselor in the 1950s that girls didn't do that. How sad is that? What is sadder is that I listened and didn't give it a try anyway. It's o.k., though, I have been very happy with my life!

4. A random fact: Both of my parents, one grandmother, and I were all born in the same little Colorado town.

5. Is this weird or random? I'm the jeans and t-shirt type. I hate to dress up, rarely wear make-up, and I have wash and wear hair. I'm not into "girly gadgets", yet I am far from the tom-boy type.

6. A weird fact: I can not stand to have my hands messy when I'm cooking. You will never catch me mixing anything with my hands. I can barely touch raw meat, but to touch grated cheese is the worst!

7. Now this is weird: I went on a date in high school at night to the town dump to shoot rats from the hood of the car with a 22-rifle. It turned out all right, though; I married him anyway!

I'm going to pass this on to anyone who hasn't had a chance to play. Please join in!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is once again hosting Tablescape Tuesday, and I thought I would join the party this week.

Last week, we had two other couples over for dessert; and I wanted to give the table a hint of Autumn.

For a simple, fast and inexpensive centerpiece, I used my ceramic pumpkins (recently purchased from the Dollar Tree) elevated on an old rusty, tin drawer. Then, I just filled in with pampas grass and leaves from the yard.

The underplates, glasses and cups & saucers are Fostoria "American" from the 1940s.


The fruit plates are vintage Schumann Bavarian china with each plate a different pattern of fruits, nuts, and leaves. All of the dishes were inherited from my mother.


Dessert was blackberry cake with the blackberries picked that morning from Bob's garden.

It was a nice laid-back evening with friends!

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In answer to questions about my previous post on My Favorite Collectible, aesthetic movement transferware dates from 1870-1900. This type of design was in answer to the formal and rigid Victorian years. It is Asian-influenced with asymmetric and geometric patterns and scenes. Please refer to today's post of B.J. at Sweet Nothings where she explains the transferware process.

The aesthetic movement transferware dishes come in several colors including blue, red, and brown. They are available on ebay; but because of their scarcity, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt when we travel to different places. My greatest score was in New Mexico where I purchased nine pieces for $36. I also have found great pieces in Maine and Texas.

My husband made the black hanging cupboard for my transferware. The stain color is ebony, and the back is painted with an Ace Hardware brand of paint color called
Dried Tomato (very similiar to Sherwin Williams Antique Red #7587). After the red paint dried, he went over it with the ebony stain, wiping before it dried, and then applied two coats of polyurethane.





Thanks for stopping by,

Sall