Good Morning

It is cold and cloudy here this morning, with some snow and icy slush on its way a little bit later. I've already got my crock pot simmering some good vegetable beef soup and I plan to make a loaf or two of bread later on today. A good fire, soup, bread, and family are the best part of winter evenings!

Are any of you watching the Jane Austen series that PBS is running? We have watched all of them so far, and plan to see the rest. I liked the first one, Persuasion, but I already have another version of it on DVD and like it better. I did enjoy Northanager Abbey--much more so than the book, in fact! The Pride and Prejudice that they are going to run is my favorite version of that movie.

Here is a link for any of you unfamiliar with the current series that PBS is running:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/arts/television/19bell.html?ref=arts

Have a gread day--and stay warm!!

R~Mary

Good Advice From Days Gone By

I happened upon this nifty little vinegar book at a flea market a few weeks back. I love the cover, and soon managed to Google up the results that this exact company does not exist anymore, as it eventually evolved into just Spea's.


I always consider it a 'treasure' when I find a little bit of Arkansas 'history' in a flea market and this little book is just that.


Besides it's many recipes, it has many helpful hints. For years now, we have used apple cider vinegar for many things, including acid reflux, sour stomach, skin problems, athlete's foot, sore throat, flea prevention (added to pet's water), as well as using it as an excellent cleaner when mixed with baking soda.


According to the hints in the back of this little booklet, apple cider vinegar is also good for bruises, used as a cold compresses on the head for headaches (I'm not sure I could breathe well with that one!), bathing, and treating animals for mange. . . the list goes on and on.


I think of how many individual products that we purchase today, when our ancestors of not-to-long-ago depended on just a few sources for their many needs. I'm always looking for ways to simplify and use a little bit of 'thrift sense', so I think I am going to expand my uses of vinegar!


I'd love to hear any of the thrifty tips that you have to share.


R~Mary

Warm Monday Morning!

Are you mad? About muffins, that is! This cookbook is the newest to my collection. This morning, while munching on a Buttermilk Muffin (not from this book, but a family favorite of ours), I finally got to browse through this new book. Mad about Muffins by Dot Vartan is definitely going to be a keeper.

Lemon Cheesecake muffins, Cherry Cheesecake muffins, vegetable garden muffins, and my favorite--Chocolate lovers muffins!

As usual for me, I purchased this book off of Amazon. So many people complain that they can't stop buying from ebay, but it is Amazon's music and books that I cannot resist!

I'm sure that all of you have noticed my very sparse blogging lately. That is due, in part, to a project my oldest daughter and I have been working on. We are opening an online store for our folk art, country, and primitive crafts! We are very excited about this and hope to get our store on-line sometime this week. We have a blog for our site that is in the beginning stages. It is called Cordwood Cabin Primitives and we are enjoying trying to put it all together, along with the store.

I hope that all of you are having a great day and keeping away from all these cold and virus bugs going around!

R~Mary

!

Sunday Morning

Good morning! It is a cold, sunny start to our day, here~hope yours is just as beautiful.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
PSALM 33:20-21

Have a blessed day,

R~Mary

Look!

This amazing photograph, sent to me in an email, was taken at Camp Dodge, IA in July of 1918. There are 18,000 soldiers posed to form the Statue of Liberty. Go to this site to read the story of this photograph: http://www.snopes.com/photos/patriotic/liberty.asp .Be sure to visit the link at the bottom of that story to see more amazing pictures.

R~Mary

Wednesday Morning

Good morning to you all! It is a chilly morning outside--20 degrees on our porch. It seems even more chilly, since we had three days of really gorgeous weather. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and even early yesterday, we had temperatures in the 60s and 70s!

But yesterday, by noon, a cold north wind started blowing in and our mini burst of spring weather was over! Which put me in the mood for cookies.

Oatmeal cookies, to be exact. I have never had much luck with making oatmeal cookies, so I started searching the web for the 'perfect' recipe. Do you know how many hits I got for 'oatmeal cookie recipe'? With 149,000 hits, I guess other people are looking for the perfect recipe, too.

I finally settled on the one below--with a few changes, after reading the reviews by people that had actually made them. People are very opinionated about cookies! Anyway, these are probably the best oatmeal cookies I've made--so far, anyway!

Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of instant vanilla pudding (powder, not made up--save the rest for the next batch!)
3 cups rolled oats

1 cups craisins (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained)

Preheat oven 350.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and pudding; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tblsp. onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I flattened them slightly).

Bake 10 to 12 minutes. (I used an insulated baking sheet--so if your is not, you may want to adjust to a shorter time). Bake until light and golden--do not overbake. Cool completely and store in airtight container.

Have a great day!

R~Mary

Epiphany--January 6

On January sixth (Monday), much of the Christian world will celebrate Epiphany~celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

MATTHEW 2:1-12

This is a link to an article about the Appalachian Mountain celebrations of Epiphany--Old Christmas: http://www.telliquah.com/OldXmas.htm I love to read about old mountain traditions and lore~I hope you enjoy the link.

Have a blessed Sunday.

R~Mary

Goodbye Christmas Tree!

I just love this little bird ornament!

Our Christmas tree is being un-decorated today. I know some of you are probably way ahead of me on this. I love looking at it, and if it weren't for the space it takes up, I'd love to have it up a little bit longer.

The pretty lights are so cheery and warm looking that they are the hardest for me to part with. They are still on the tree today and will probably stay until tomorrow.

Our weather has turned off really cold (for us!). This morning it was only eleven degrees on the thermometer out on our porch post! The crazy thing is--it is supposed to be 67 degrees here on Sunday! Really, I'm looking forward to it. Eleven degrees is just too cold for my Southern bones!

Hope you are having a great day.

R~Mary

Good Morning!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!!!! I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

I am looking forward to the new year and all it has to bring. You are all special friends to me~I want to thank you for the wonderful friendships that I've made and I look forward to 'meeting' even more new friends this year~2008! (I wonder how long it will take me to get used to writing 2008??! )

R~Mary