Memory Monday: The Jeep Accident

 When I was about ten years old Aunt Lottie and Uncle Leonard came to visit.  Our mother wanted to take them out to Raspberry Hill to see the view of town from up there at the top of the field.  Raspberry Hill was a many-acres pasture about a mile from the house and barn.  I don't remember where our older brother was but my sister, next younger brother, and I went on this trip.  We really loved Aunt Lottie and Uncle Leonard.  Aunt Lottie had the most delightful tinkle-y laugh you ever heard.  When she laughed everyone else laughed, too.

So we all hopped into the little green Jeep.  After Mother's first husband was shot down over Tokyo just days before the end of the War, she received a life insurance allotment.  There was enough money to purchase Busy Hill Farm and a little four-wheel-drive Jeep.  Some years later, after she married our father and started a family, they replaced that Jeep with another one which we all called the Little Green Jeep.  It had a hard top with a tailgate and a lift gate.  This  picture is not that Jeep but it is more or less the same thing.

If you go to the link above you will see more...

On the beautiful summer day in question the tailgate was let down  so my siblings and I could sit on it to ride out Raspberry Hill and the lift gate was raised.  We kids were so thrilled to be able to go along on the trip and even better, ride on the tailgate.  And off we went.

We were about half a mile from home when Mother went over a very rocky pot hole in the road.  As I type this I can clearly see that spot with the maple trees a beautiful canopy over the dirt road and the lush wet spot beside the road on the left.  We had just come down the hill past the road to what would become our youngest brother's beautiful log cabin by the Night Pasture.  (All our fields had names!  Night Pasture, Cross Lots Pasture, Raspberry Hill.)

So as Mother went over that bumpy pothole, as you can imagine, the tailgate was happy as we kids gripped each other BUT...the lift gate was not so great.  It crashed down on our heads with a terrible smash. And, you guessed it, our heads split open and blood came pouring out.  Mother had to turn the Jeep around but had to drive all the way out to Raspberry Hill to find a safe place for turning so she sent us back up the road to home so we could get the blood washed off.

At this day so many years later (at least 60 years...) I can only imagine how my father felt when he saw three of his little children walking back into the barnyard and the Loafing Shed and Feeding Shed where he had been working, howling their heads off and streaming blood down their faces.  My goodness!  Not a sight any parent would like to see.

We were cleaned up somehow and all survived the accident.  At this point I don't remember if we ever sat on the tailgate again, but I suspect not!  At least not for a ride!!

Repercussions: one of us had a small permanent lump on the middle of the head, one of us had a small permanent bald spot, and one of us had a different kind of permanent injury.

Fun stuff, as one of our sons is wont to say...memorable, anyway.

A Very Cool Thing! Really!!

 Last week we had a leadership meeting that was late afternoon into the evening so it was going to make supper at home at the regular time not possible.  The meeting (IN PERSON!!!! So great!!!) was an hour's drive away from home.  The leaders of the meeting had thought of everything.  Besides having a WONDERFUL, ENCOURAGING, INSPIRATIONAL meeting, they also made so fabulous charcuterie boxes for us to either take to eat on the way home or eat there together with other sisters.    My carload decided to hit the road (actually, I was anxious to get home before dark and my wonderful passenger was willing to pass up on the fellowship over food. I love her.) and eat when we got home (we were able to put off our pleasure for that long...you know the story about the marshmallows and the four-year-olds...).

This was what we received:

It looked so inviting with the napkin, the wooden fork and knife, the Relief Society seal on a sturdy window clamshell box, and the jute closure holding it all together.  And that was just the OUTSIDE of the box!  Inside, wowser!

Things that were in the box:

Sliced beef
Sliced ham
Sliced salami
Seedless grapes
Two kinds of crackers in cello bags
In little clear containers--
--Green and black olives
--Pimento cheese
--Mixed nuts
--Pineapple Red Pepper Jelly from Kroger
--A chunk of Brie cheese
And to top it all off--a Lindt milk chocolate truffle, one of my all-time favorite comfort foods

This will be a hard treat to top, if you are a competitive person.

We loved the box visually.  Definitely loved it for the pleasure and anticipation. Finally we loved it because it tasted so good.  I shared my box with Dear One. We both loved our treats.

The leaders of the meeting had also provided beautifully frosted cupcakes which I immediately gave to Dear One.  His comment: "Too much frosting."  Well, the frosting makes the cupcake, at least visually. I don't know what it tasted like but I like frosting. Sadly.  Fortunately many frostings are nasty so it is easy to pass on them after the first bite.

There were also cold beverages in bottles to take along.

These sister leaders did such a great job on the who meeting, INCLUDING supper.  I honor them and admire them for the whole works.

Munchie Monday: Very Healthy Treat--Baked Apple in the Microwave

 A dear friend brought us a wonderful new cooking pot today.  It is meant to bake an apple in the microwave.

We have been rather heavy on the not-so-good for you foods lately so I immediately put this dish to use.

We don't have a gadget that lets you just core an apple so I used the apple cutter which cores and sections the apple all at once,

The apple went into the dish.  I sprinkled a very little granulated sugar on top, less that a teaspoon, then sprinkled on cinnamon.  The apple was put in the microwave for 90 seconds.  It could have been eaten then but I wanted it just a bit softer so I put it in for another minute.

It was so good. I ate one section and Dear One ate the rest.  Next time I will do two apples, though one at a time then put into an individual serving bowl then cook the second one...

Such a beautiful dish and works so well.  It is about six inches across.  Thank you so much, S!  A winning gift.

Oh!  And the apple was a Fuji, not my favorite but it came in the final Misfits Market box instead of the Pink Lady apples I ordered so this is a good way to use up less than desirable apples.

Window Bird Feeder! orange

 Our oldest son was so kind as to send me a window bird feeder for my birthday!  I am so thrilled to report that we had our first visitors  (that we saw...!!) last night and several more today.

It is hard to see the bird feeder on the window because it is under the porch roof.  It was the only window in the house that I could actually service myself, even though Dear One was perfectly happy to take care of it wherever we put it.  I wanted to be able to do it myself.

Due to an obvious potential problem, I got some floral oilcloth, some paracord, and a couple of snap closures so I could attach the oil cloth over the wicker couch which we don't actually use most of the year. I poked some holes in the corners and attached some grommets to the top and some eyelets to the bottom.  Worked like a charm.  When we want to sit down we can just unsnap the back of the oilcloth and remove it.

We saw a red-winged blackbird and some other unknown brand of bird--reddish orange. I will sit at the window, well, at the dining room table so as not to scare the birds, and watch until I figure out what that bird it.

This makes me so happy!  Thanks so much for this wonderful gift!  And the seed to go in it!!!

Food Friday: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp!

 One of the joys of springtime in Vermont was the pushing through the ground of wonderful rhubarb stalks.  We had plenty of rhubarb and used it for rhubarb crisp, rhubarb pie, rhubarb sauce, even rhubarb juice though that entailed even more sugar than the crisp. Plus ginger ale.

Since we moved here to a place with a little land around our house I have been looking for rhubarb to plant.  Last week I found some beautiful fat red rhubarb stalks at my favorite farmers' market stand.  I pulled out a bunch and put them in my bag. I was SO EXCITED to see them there on the counter and  I asked if the farmer had grown them.  Nope!  They came from Oregon.  Can you believe it?!!  Upon further discussion I learned that you absolutely cannot grow rhubarb here in South Carolina, that is too hot, and that even the winters are wrong for success with rhubarb.  That is NOT what I hoped to hear when I saw that lovely pile of rhubarb.

Well, we did buy rhubarb but we also got a big basket of strawberries.  Those strawberries really taste like strawberries should taste. I think I will stop buying strawberries any other time of the year.  Unless maybe I am going to dip them in chocolate, but even then, the strawberries need to taste good, not just be a vehicle for chocolate...probably.

Anyway, strawberry rhubarb crisp as I made it.

3 stalks rhubarb, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups of sliced strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mix these together and place in a casserole dish.  Ours is about 6 inches by 8 inches and about 2 inches deep.

In another bowl mix well:

1 cup dry old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup very soft butter
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Put this mixture on top of the sugared fruit.  Bake at 350 degrees from 30-40 minutes until there are pretty bubbles showing around all the edges of the pan and a knife stuck in the middles shows that the fruit is all soft and cooked.

We really enjoyed this as is but if you are eating it hot out of the oven, a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes down pretty well.

When I asked Dear One how he liked it, he said, "Too many walnuts." I took issue with that and he said, "You asked for my opinion."  Well, yes, I did.  Having said that, I do like the opinion to be positive...!

Even after too many walnuts,  I ate one bowl-full and he ate seven...could not have been too bad, I think.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make it Do, Or Do Without...

 In the old days, well, back when my parents were children, there was a saying often used when someone complained about their 'thing' situation:  "Use it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do, or do without."  Our folks were not as hard-nosed about this as some people but still, we were fairly careful with our stuff as we were growing up.  Sometimes this adage comes out in life today!

Some time ago I came into some used sheets.  Sheets make great starting places for so much!  I am hoping to crochet a basket with the pink sheet that I turned into yarn yesterday.

To make the 'yarn' I went to YouTube because I wanted a continuous strip of bias fabric.  I knew how to do it but had not done it for so long that a little refresher was in order.  Pam Damour gave a wonderful tutorial on how to make bias strips of fabric.  

If I had watched that  video before I started,  it would have saved me an hour or more of work.  There were several things that Pam said that are such a help.  The first, and maybe most important one, is that you do NOT have to cut your fabric into a square before starting.  A rectangle will work just as well.  She used a fat quarter to show us what she meant.  

Starting the project, I had already gone to the work to fold, re-fold, square up, etc a pink nearly threadbare sheet  so I could make yarn to crochet a basket.  Being somewhat frugal, well, being frugal in SOME THINGS, I cut the remaining fabric in squares after squaring up the main part of the sheet.  There were four small squares.  When I finished with those four small squares they made 26 yards of bias strips.  The main sheet made 116 yards of bias/yarn.

Here is the yarn ball ready to crochet (or knit) with:

From sheet to this ball of 147yards of bias strip took most of the day.  The cutting of the strip took almost three hours...Having said that, if the basket turns out, it will be worth the effort. I will send an update at some point.  Well, the point will be when the basket is made!

Here is a Ravelry link to the basket I hope to make. I love the way it looks. I hope it is not too hard to make. I  may start on it this week. (The only things stopping me are the healing fingers and the "Use It Up Yoked Fair Isle Sweater"...but since it is way past time to be wearing such a heavy sweater, I may only do a few rows every day--once I start knitting again.)

Here is a screen shot of Esther Chandler's diamond trellis basket. I love it.  I do not know if I have the fortitude to make it but it looks sturdy, which is what I want.  The pink sheet I used for the yarn was a cotton/polyester fabric of which only the polyester threads are remaining.  The actual crocheting will not be as much fun as it would be with new 100% cotton bias strips but--use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without...especially since I am again on a no-spending challenge.This time I am challenging myself to a full month!  Can I do it?  I think so. I managed almost three weeks in February.  This will make Dear One happy because he can "catch up" with our savings ago more easily.

Accidents Happen If You Are Not Observant...

We had some curly kale arrive in the Misfits Market box last week.  Since it was rather limp I put it in a quart Ball jar of water to crisp up a bit before using.  The next day I took it out to use.  I had another use for the jar immediately so I rinsed it out then reached down inside and swiped around the bottom to see if all the slime, if any, was gone.

YOWSER!!  Two fingers were slashed!

Index finger and ring finger of dominant hand are out of commission.  You don't realize how often you need to use those fingers...at least I did not.  This blog post is taking forever to write because every other word is typo'd!

Here is the offending jar which I put IMMEDIATELY into the recycling.

 You can see the rough spot at the bottom inside the jar if you are looking for it. 

Word to the wise: Inspect everything before using to avoid such an unpleasant accident...