ca. 1915. Grandma is standing next to her mama. (Love how the house looks tilted. I saw this house last June. It is in really bad shape, but it is not tilted. lol) As usual, click on pictures to view larger size.

This Grandma (I can't figure out how to link to older posts):





The strangest thing happened yesterday. This was just a fleeting thing, but it was so very real.

I was working in the kitchen. Was I cleaning the stove top, wiping out the oven, or emptying the corn starch into a bug proof container? I don't remember, and I guess it doesn't matter. Yes, I do to remember. I was sifting the cornstarch into a container to make sure there weren't any bugs in it.

Just as normal/natural as could be, I realized my grandmother was off to the side and a little behind me. I told her that most young people now have never been so poor that they have had to sift the weevils out of the flour. They would just throw it away and buy new. (I can remember lots of times having to sift out the weevils. I can remember Grandma doing it, too, so it didn't gross me out.)

Then Pete dog walked through the kitchen. Not Grandma and Grandpa's Pete (Pete I with Patches ? as a puppy):




but Pete II:




Grandma spoke to him. But Pete ignored Grandma. I told Grandma that this wasn't her Pete; this was Pete II - the new Pete. I had the distinct impression that Grandma's feelings were hurt. Then she was gone.

I was working in the kitchen. Grandma's kitchen. I was not conscious of the date until just this instant. Grandma Margaret b. December 1908, d. February 10, 2008. Grandma, oh, how I miss you! God grant peace to your soul.



And, you may now honestly say that I am completely "losing it".

****

Update to yesterday and Sunday dinner comment

Below the recipe updates is the comment to The Haven of Home post.

Yesterday I posted an untried recipe, and Aunt Amelia commented with a recipe. I made both. They were wonderful! THANK YOU :)

Here they are again with some editing/comments:
(See yesterday's post for source) Slap a hunk of beef in the slow cooker (I think I had a 3lb rump roast), sprinkle on some Italian dressing mix (the powder stuff)* and then add 12oz of beer. Cook on low for 10ish hours. We ate it with some of the jus and I'm gonna make burritos and something else with what's left over!! * The powder stuff - I used Good Seasons brand. Ingredients are in this order are: sugar, salt, sodium citrate, garlic, onion, spice, red bell peppers, carrots, monosodium glutamate, xanthan gum, green onion, guar gum, natural flavor, apocarotenal. Do we really need all that extra "stuff"? Next time I'll make my own.

Because I had a large chunk of beef it wouldn't fit (as it was cut) in the 2.5 quart Crockpot, so I used the 4 quart slow cooker. Well, after 10 hours, the roast was still hard as a rock. It had now shrunk in size, so I transferred it to the 2.5 quart Crockpot and turned it on high. It took another 1-1/2 hours, but it finally got done. It was so tender and tasty.

What I should have done: I should have used twice the amount of liquid (to cover most of the meat) and started the roast on high and then turned it to low to simmer, OR I should have cut the roast in half and put it in the Crockpot. The Slow cooker evidently doesn't get as hot as the Crockpot?

What I could have done: added onions, potatoes, carrots, celery.

****
Aunt Amelia's recipe for beer bread - with my editing:

It's a very quick bread with only 3 ingredients... 3 cups of self-rising flour (or 3 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder) , 3 teas. sugar and 1 can of beer. Stir just until mixed. Put in greased loaf pan in oven at 350 for 1 hour. :-) It is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My bread was done at 50 minutes, so be sure to check (carefully - you don't want it to fall if it isn't done!).

****
Roxanne at The Haven of Home posted about Sunday dinners. It sure brought back memories.

Here is my comment:

Our Sunday dinner was usually between 2:30 and 4:00, depending on what time Grandpa had to go to work Sunday night. There was always company, or we ate someone else's house.

Sunday (dinner) prep actually started during the week.

Sunday dishes and "silverware" were used every week, so they were already clean. (Unless there was lots and lots of company, we only used the real silver and china on holidays so then it all had to be washed and polished.)

Table cloth or cloths would have already been "spotted", washed, and ironed.

Any yard work done. When I got to be about 11, I had to do this on top of cleaning the house, sewing, ironing, baking, etc. (I think that is why I'm so lazy now. I worked my butt - excuse me - off when I was young.)

Church clothes would have been prepared during the week, too, but there still seemed to be some minor disaster on Sunday morning. LOL

The older children helped fetch and carry, watch younger children, sweep front steps and sidewalk, hang up guests' coats, etc. Young children helped by picking up toys and fetching and carrying, too.

Saturday:
-Saturday morning clean house from top to bottom - except kitchen.
-Wash sheets and remake beds.
-Bathrooms - check toilet paper supply, check hand soap supply, clean whole room thoroughly, wash combs and brushes.
-Saturday, after housework was done, bake cookies, cakes, pie, breads, and make any other desserts (except pudding or cream pies - unless going to be eaten on Sunday) for the whole week.
-Saturday afternoon or evening make Jello salads or other for Sunday.
-Saturday morning or afternoon squeeze in the week's grocery shopping.
-Saturday afternoon or evening clean kitchen. Mop and wax floors. (After baking and the groceries were put away.)
-Saturday evening while preparing supper cut up the chicken (if necessary). (It was almost always fried chicken until I was 14!)
-Clean, polish and buff all shoes
-After baths Saturday night: scrub tub again, wipe up floor again, put out all clean towels.

(We did all this and still had some time to play. How did we do it???? Wellllll, we were limited to 1 hour of TV per day and this was only if parents allowed it.)

Sunday after church: have big breakfast and clean up, read paper (adults) (I usually had homework to do), then start dinner preparations.

Someone would coat the chicken - a child usually did this.

Put chicken in skillet.

Someone else would be peeling potatoes. Sometimes this was done ahead and the potatoes kept in ice water. These would be put on to boil.

Someone would peel carrots, cut celery sticks - sometimes this was done on Saturday.

Someone else would be setting the table. (This could be done ahead if there aren't pets in the house. We usually did it while the meal is cooking.) This included any condiments, butter, jellies, pickles (served in dishes not jars), salt and pepper. Napkins were folded and placed under the forks. Young children would help with this.

Put bread in to warm. OR, mix up biscuits and get them in to bake.

Put vegetable(s) on to cook. (These were cooked forever. I think it went back to the time when people had to worry about botulism.)

Make coffee.

Check potatoes. Drain if done. Mash if that is what you want.

Last minute: (This is where older children really come in handy. lol)

set out salads and/or relish tray
make gravy (when meat was done)
dish up
take food to table
pour drinks (never alcoholic)

Rules at our house (which my dad and brothers have completely forgotten):
No one started eating until everyone was seated
Everything was passed around the table (with exception of something very hot and/ or very heavy)
No clearing of the table until everyone was finished eating. We sat and visited while everyone finished snacking on olives, carrot sticks, that last dinner roll, etc.

Table was cleared except glasses/coffee cups (We never had enough to clear those and set out clean ones.) Children helped or older children did it all.

Depending on schedules dessert was served immediately or later.

No matter what, another pot of coffee was started. lol

If dessert was to be served immediately, we did that then cleaned the kitchen afterward.

If dessert was served later, the food was put away and dishes started.

It was a lot of work, and I was always exhausted on Sunday evening. If we ate again, it was something very light and simple. The dishes were always done, again. The kitchen and dining room floors were swept no matter what and mopped if necessary. Then I had to do homework. (I had tons of it!)

But, I remember those days as being filled with family and friends, lots of laughter, visiting, and over-hearing things we young people were probably not supposed to hear. :)

Come on Baby Light My Fire

A thrilling title for a not so thrilling subject. (groan)

Remember junior and senior high science classes?  I always dreaded the chapters on heat and electricity.  I thought when I got out of high school I'd be through having to study about these two "horrid" subjects.  Oh, no.  They popped up in college - several times.  Now, as a home owner these subjects never go away.

Electricity.  What would we do with out it?  Sure, we CAN, but who really wants to? 

Heat.   This is what heats my mom's house:

Pellet Stove

(pic source:  Quadra Fire)

(I love the English language.  It is a stove that burns pellets.  It is not made of pellets.  lol)

Pellets

They look kind of like miniature Presto Logs

This pellet stove gives off a wonderful warm heat like a wood fire, but it is controlled by a thermostat.  The stove turns on and off  like a furnace, so there are drafts.  It takes electricity to light the stove, control the thermostat, turn the auger, and run the fans.

The stove has to be fed the pellets.  One needs a large dry place to store the pellets, and they have to be hauled into the house.  The bags are heavy, and it takes about a bag a day to warm the house.  The stove has to be cleaned often - similar to a fireplace.  In other words, a pellet stove is pretty "high maintenance".  The advantage of pellets over wood is that they are fairly clean to store.  Also, there are no splinters, chopping, bugs, dirt.

Update:  Aunt Amelia had some good questions.  Before my step-dad got too sick, he brought in the pellets as needed.  Then, Mom did, by the small bucket-full.  (My step-dad didn't want anyone to help - dementia.)  When my step-dad passed away, my brother would bring in a bag of pellets, but Mom still had to carry them from the back porch through the house to the stove.  Then I actually had a brilliant idea.  Doesn't happen often.  lol   My brother dug one of these out of the shed (only ours isn't so bright and shiny):

The wash boiler sits right next to the stove and holds two bags of pellets.  Mom didn't have to haul pellets anymore.  All she had to do is use a scoop to fill the hopper.


So far my husband has been packing in the bags and filling the boiler.  Bless him.  If I have to, I can go to the shed and get them by the bucket full.  I can lift a bag, but I'd rather not.

AND this:

 Wall heaters

(A heater that is installed in the wall.)

Baseboard heaters

(A heater that is installed instead of a baseboard.)

Only instead of pretty white ones, these are the old ugly tan ones.

My boring point is that all of these take electricity to work.  This area is notorious for the power going off.  The only thing in the whole house that is on a battery back up is the computer.  I don't think the computer will keep the pipes or inhabitants from freezing.

UPDATE 2:  In years past when the power went off, my step-dad would bring in the generator.  Mom couldn't do that, and I don't think I can, either.

On the bright side - at least there are heaters.  Some people aren't so lucky.

Now for your listening pleasure:
This is the short sweet version (about a 15 second commercial first, sorry).  The embedding is disabled on this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LtPVBqQsf8

Long live version - watch at your own risk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6x_m4zvFs&feature=fvw

How We Started The Pantry

This is how we started our pantry. I need to restart this process to figure out what needs to be added or eliminated. And, it would help create a food budget.

I'd post pictures of our pantry, but it is completely disorganized not to mention really dusty. (Time for a major overhaul. Note to self: Drinking water needs to be used up and replaced.) Our pantry is basically several sets of metal shelves that are set up in a U shape in the corner of what was the rec room.

In my previous post where I explained why I keep a stocked pantry, I don't think I mentioned that I'm also worrying about the country's state of affairs. I think stocking up is a really good idea. I've been adding more prepared foods to the pantry - things that if the power goes off they wouldn't have to be cooked before eating (canned meats, vegetables, etc). They may be expensive and not taste the best, but we wouldn't go hungry.

***
When we started our pantry we were really poor. If we were really lucky, we'd have a couple of dollars left at the end of the pay period. Sometimes we'd have only 50 cents left. A few times we were down to 10 cents when the next pay check arrived. (For two years, we didn't go to a movie, go bowling, or do much of anything that cost money. We didn't drink alcoholic beverages. There was seldom juice, ice cream, soda pop, candy, coffee, or tea in the house.)

After running out of food a few times, my husband figured out that with his erratic schedule we had to buy more food when we went shopping. We didn't know when we'd get to go again. To do this, we needed to know how much we could spend at the grocery store, how much food we needed, and how much it actually would cost to buy it.

***
We lived in a single wide mobile home. The floor plan was rather unique in that it had a small room off the kitchen. This room had a coat/broom closet and a space for an upright freezer. (It even had a door to the outside. This room was an amazing feature for those of you who are too young to know about mobile homes.) The manufacturer called it a mud room. We called it our pantry.

***
*Dh made a list of all the different foods, cleaning supplies, paper products, and grooming aids we had on hand. (It wasn't much. This was before we had stocked a pantry and before we had a deep freezer.)
*To the list, we added what we were out of that had to be replaced.
*I figured out a menus for each meal for a month.
*I then figured out how much food we would need to make up these for just the two of us.
*We added to the list what we absolutely had to have to get by until the next shopping trip and what was needed to make up the meals that were on the menu. (I have always kept a grocery list on the refrigerator and/or by the phone.)
*Then we added what we would like to have (juice, jelly, fresh produce, lunch meat, ice cream, chocolate chips, pop, etc).
*This all was written down a single column on a few sheets of school notebook paper. (I can't remember now if like items were grouped or if the list was alphabetical.)
*Dh added columns across the paper: package size, price per oz/ea/pound/whatever, store name. I typed this up using carbon paper so that we had several copies.
*Then we took our list and went product and price shopping.
*Actually, this took a few shopping trips to get a good idea of which stores consistently had the best prices. (We seldom could go shopping when what we needed was on sale, so we looked for the best over all prices.) We filled in the columns on our list. We bought by comparing, changing brand and/or store, or duplicating an item if the price was right. We'd buy larger containers of non-perishables.
*We kept track - to the penny - of what we spent. If a needed item was on sale, we'd add an extra to the cart until we reached our spending limit. Sometimes we'd have to decide if we really, really needed an item. Sometimes we'd go over budget just to get the bare necessities. Sometimes we had enough money to add some extras.
*Somehow, slowly our pantry was being stocked.

***
The menu planning kind of went by the wayside, but we kept this list updated for probably 15 years. (It's kind of ironic that when we could have put it on the computer is just about when we quit keeping track of prices!)

***
If I remember correctly, we finally mostly shopped at two stores - one was Safeway and the other (I think) was locally owned. We'd only go to the other stores if a sale was good enough to make it worthwhile.

***
Even with all our careful planning we'd still sometimes run out of things. A piece of meat would be half fat or gristle. A recipe that said it made 6 servings would barely feed us one meal. I'd forget to write something on the list or forget to take the list when we went shopping. We'd have unexpected company. Sometimes there just wasn't enough money to buy everything we needed.