Storing Wheat

Back of the loaf is the snowy flour, 

And back of the flour, the mill, 

And back of the mill is the wheat and the shower,
The sun and the Father's will.  ~Anonymous

Here's a good tip on Storing Wheat, from an old Ensign magazine:

"We purchased four shelf boards, and by stacking the three-pound cans we made a wall bookshelf.  These we painted the same color as the wall.  The total cost was seven dollars.  We have a lot of fun when friends compliment us on our new bookshelf.  We tell them there is more there than meets the eye--food for the body as well as food for the spirit.  They are amazed when we tell them about the 420 pounds of wheat stored there."  ~Bernice Ketner  Above is a picture found on Pinterest which gives a similar idea.

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorials

I made my oldest daughter a t-shirt quilt when she graduated highschool in 2008.  That was way before Pinterest, and all I knew about these quilts was a little blip I had read in Country Woman Magazine.  

What I decided to do since I was a novice quilter, was to use kid-friendly quilting instructions found in "I Can Quilt!" by Sandra L. Hatch and Sue Harvey.  The quilt shown is from Lesson 7, Four-Patch Fun Quilt.  We have used this pattern to make quilts to give to children's hospitals and children in other countries.  I highly recommend this book for new quilters or for kids learning to quilt.

I have two other children I would like to sew t-shirt quilts for and so I began Pinning tutorials to try.  Here is my collection of t-shirt quilt tutorials on Pinterest so far:

Follow Heather Allen's board Sewing T-Shirt Quilts on Pinterest.

I would really like to grow this collection of links so if anyone knows of any good sources for t-shirt quilt tutorials or just good photos, please let me know :-)

Favorite Store-Bought Baking Mixes

and What You Can Make with Them...

These hand pies were made with Pioneer Baking Mix.  I baked these in the oven with apple pie filling, but they also make great meat pies.  So quick and easy!  Fill with Sloppy Joe mix and maybe some shredded cheese.

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix--the first dish I learned to make (in a seasoned iron skillet of course!)  I also like using the Jiffy Pizza Crust to make the yummiest bread sticks.  You can find a picture of my breadsticks and the recipe here.  (Just found this great vegetable side with Jiffy: Corn Pudding.

Krusteaz Pie Crust--Just soooo easy!

Pioneer Baking Mix--light and fluffy, beautiful :-)

Their gravy mixes are delicious and easy as well!

Big Fish Book Review

Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love getting books sometimes that you end up reading in one sitting. It can be so satisfying to read a book from beginning to end and get the whole sense of it at once. I decided to read Big Fish after watching the movie recently. Because I'm not a fan of Tim Burton (sorry!), I never bothered with the movie. Then someone brought it home and I've watched it like five times since! I love that movie!

Big Fish the Book

Big Fish the Movie

For one thing it was filmed in my home town, Montgomery, Alabama. My daughter attended college at the campus where they filmed (not Auburn!) which is also in Montgomery. The book and movie is about facing our own mortality. The fictional son records his father's "fish tales" and interspersed throughout the book are the final moments of a son with his amazing but definitely flawed father. By the end of the book, the son seems to come to terms with his dad.

"I looked at this old man, my old man with his old white feet in this clear-running stream, these moments among the very last in his life, and I thought of him suddenly, and simply, as a boy, a child, a youth, with his whole life ahead of him, much as mine was ahead of me. I'd never done that before. And these images--the now and then of my father--converged, and at that moment he turned into a weird creature, wild, concurrently young and old, dying and newborn.

"My father became a myth."


What do you think?  Is this Tim Burton's Best Movie or do you prefer another, and if so, why?

Blog Index, page 4

Family Records

Family History
Family Reunion Calendars
Heritage Albums
Not Your Grandma's Journal!
A Book of Remembrance
Book of Remembrance FAQs
Kid-Sized Personal Histories
Family History Albums

Scrapbooking
Holiday Photo Tips
Photo Preservation Tips
Fast, Beautiful Album Pages
Be Organized And Do Fast Pages
Awesome Family Vacation Albums and Journaling!
Photo Capturing Your Pets
Fabulous Journaling and Merger Layouts
Baby Album Page Layouts
Touch of Class: Graduation Layouts
Family Albums
Simple Hand-Drawn Scrapbook Borders
Page Layouts with Hearts, Stars and Circles
Scrapbook Layout: The Balance Game
Fast, Beautiful Album Pages
Family History Albums

Women's History
They Shall Call You Blessed (Grandma)
Homemaking Journals (Aunt Phala)
10 Things I Learned from My Mom (Mamma)
Country Girl (Grandma)
A Time to Die (Grandma)

Family Night
Do You Know Your Family?
Family Reunion Calendars
Christmas in July
Resurrection Eggs
St. Patrick's Day FHE
Including Family History

Newsletters
Church Newsletter Ideas

Vintage Desserts: Brownie Pudding

An avid collector of vintage cookbooks, my overall favorites are Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks.  We have three from various decades in our house (not to mention other BHG specialty cookbooks).  There is always a Brownie Pudding recipe because this is a best loved dessert.  It comes from a January 1944 Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

1944 Better Homes and Gardens Brownie Pudding

My oldest daughter makes Brownie Pudding every chance she gets.  The house smells wonderful and what a welcome sight on a cold winter's day!  Children would probably find the results of this recipe "magical."  This is a recipe I'm sure your family will love!

Do you love Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks too?  What is your best-loved recipe?  I would love to hear from you!

Brownie Pudding  (recipe HERE)

(Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. milk

2 T. cooking oil

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (or pecans), optional

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder 

1-1/2 c. boiling water

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Grease an 8x8x2-in. baking pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, the 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, the baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla.  Stir in the nuts.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan.  In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and the 1/4 c. cocoa powder; stir in the boiling water.  Slowly pour water mixture over batter.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 45 to 60 minutes.  Serve warm.  Spoon cake into dessert bowls; spoon sauce over cake.  If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream.

Abbreviations: 
T. = tablespoon
t. = teaspoon
c. = cup

Relief Society Birthday Ideas

Hey ya'll!  This is a picture of a Relief Society celebration I helped to decorate with my good friend.  She had a huge collection of clown figurines.

1980's Relief Society Dinner with the "Big Top" theme.

The tables had balloon bouquets and were dressed to look like "under the big top."  We always had new people in our Decatur, AL ward so it was really nice to have a spotlight table where new sisters were asked to showcase some of their favorite things on a little table to help us get to know them.  

March is RS birthday time, so for those of you wanting Relief Society birthday ideas, check out my Relief Society Pinterest Board.

Do you have a Relief Society or church Pinterest board?  Let me know because I really would like to follow more of them. 

Updated Armoire in Vintage Green

Finally!  With the help of my husband, I finished this DIY armoire.  I painted the whole thing a vintage green with oil-based paint because the wood was not in very good shape.  There was a very heavy mirror in the door that I took out because I wanted to do something a little French country by adding toile and chicken wire in the door.  I will reuse the mirror by having it professionally framed and hanging it horizontally on a wall. On the back of the mirror (which is original to the armoire), was the date November 16, 1928.

My husband made new feet because the ones that were on it did not look original to the piece and did not really match.  My inspiration comes from

Flea Market Finds Before & After: Home Decorating with Makeover Miracles.

source

With all my DIY projects, I am kind of trying things out on a smaller scale that I might want to do for a bigger project later.  For instance, these knobs very cheaply purchased from Target, are what I would like to buy for my kitchen cabinets when I someday update them.  I would buy a more expensive and durable brand than these because they have already had to be repaired with strong glue.

Also, I love the mini green-tinted glass tiles for a kitchen back splash.  I would really like to use them on an even bigger scale in the bathroom (subway tile-size).  My husband put this tile on the lower top of the dresser.  I wanted this part of the dresser to be more durable.  I learned quite a bit about glass tile by doing a small-scale project with them.  Over-all, I am pretty satisfied with how the dresser turned out and I think this update will last for a long time and helped to protect such an old piece of furniture that probably was not very expensive to begin with.  I find this vintage armoire to be a charming addition to my home.

My big passion these days is to study every blog post I can find to prepare me for tackling my old kitchen cabinets.  I am absolutely terrified of painting them because I want them to be free of streaks and drips.  I have found some really great ideas with this problem and how to antique the cabinets as well.  Here is my Pinterest board for all the cool ideas I have found for my cabinet re-do project.  Please send me any of your favorite Pins as well and let me know if you have a similar board so I can follow it!

Follow Heather Allen's board Home: Cabinets Redo on Pinterest.

Vintage 1941 Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite cookbook is Better Homes and Gardens.  I have two copies, both of which are falling completely apart.  One I received as a wedding gift twenty five years ago.  My daughter has a third copy.  I recently found a Better Homes and Gardens chocolate chip cookie recipe that interested me because it used equal parts shortening and butter.  

Any time a cookie recipe uses shortening, I know it will turn out beautifully—crisp on the outside, gooey goodness on the inside.  This recipe turned out perfectly the first time, and more importantly, the raw cookie dough was delicious!   

What do you think?  Do you prefer using shortening in your baked goods.  Does it make a difference?

Vintage 1941 Better Homes and Gardens Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Get the recipe HERE.

1⁄2 c. shortening 

1⁄2 c. butter 

1 c. packed brown sugar 

1⁄2 c. granulated sugar 

1⁄2 t. baking soda

2 eggs 

1 t. vanilla 

2-1⁄2 c. all-purpose flour 

1, 12-oz. package (2 c.) semisweet chocolate pieces 

1-1⁄2 c. chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (filberts) (optional) 

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. 2. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. 3. Beat mixture until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. 4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. 5. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. 6. Stir in remaining flour. 7. Stir in chocolate and, if desired, nuts. 8. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 9. Bake in a 375 degree oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 10. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. 11. Makes about 60 cookies. 

Note: To measure shortening with ease, place plastic wrap in the measuring cup and pack cup with shortening using a rubber spatula. Pull plastic wrap out of the cup and drop the shortening into the mixing bowl. Throw plastic wrap away—no mess!

Decorating with Vintage Linens

The bathroom needed a quick curtain when I finally retired some defective plantation blinds.  I loved the idea of using vintage doilies, cut work, etc. to decorate simple curtains and took a piece out of my stash for this quick fix.  

I really like cafe curtains.  They provide ample privacy, plus they’re easy to open and let in plenty of light and air when desired.  I was inspired from a photo where doilies had been randomly sewn onto similar curtains.  My bathroom also has an open space in the sink cabinet where the laundry basket is kept behind two matching vintage pillowcases.  

The lace at the bottom was handmade.  None of my collected pieces of vintage linens are in perfect condition though I have made an effort to keep them carefully laundered.  I feel that the faint stains, worn areas, and other imperfections give the pieces charm—a story.  It is hard to believe there was a time when women would have the knowledge, time, and inclination to make beautiful, comforting, and useful decorations for their home.  I am glad to find any way I can to incorporate such history into my own home.


I am looking for more ways to use my stash of hand-made finery.  Share your ideas of how to use vintage pieces like the ones I have shown.