JuliaunasNana

When I'm polishing copper pan bottoms, I halve a lemon rub salt on it, rub pot with it. Repeat, adding salt and squeezing lemon juice as necessary, scrub with toothbrush if necessary to get under handles and in small spaces. I think this should work on silver. Also, to keep antique look of silver, this keeps the abrasive from wearing away the tarnish in the design lines and cracks. If you dip it in silver polish, it will look brand new and may lose some of the wonderful aged look. In another section on this site I seem to remember something about aluminum foil and boiling water and maybe baking soda? Can't rightly remember, maybe on one of those 1000 uses for baking soda links that have been posted.

I've recently started going to the ads online (www.safeway.com, enter your zip for weekly sales and pick your desired store, also http://www.frysfood.com/savings.htm) then I make my list based on the prices I compare to ones I've recorded alphabetically in a spiral notebook. Sometimes I keep my receipts from grocery shopping if I've bought new things and to build up my pricebook, then when I get a minute I sit down and go through them line by line and write the items in my pricebook. It helps me not make purchases thinking I'm getting a good deal.

he he he!

I have a picture in my mind of a crachety old hen hobbling around, crutch under one arm, carrying the egg under the other wing of a disrespectful youngster who has left her chicken child unattended. "you get back here, whippersnapper, and mind this egg, you hear? you're a mother now, that comes with serious responsibility. you'd better straighten up and fly right...!"

I went to the local library book sale recently and picked up a couple books for Christmas presents ($1-2 each!) I got a murder mystery for the FIL and fell in love with it myself and have almost finished reading it. (is it tacky to give a book I read first?) It's by an IN author Larry Incollingo, called "Crowfoot Valley". I'm not usually one for murder mysteries, but the author describes the characters so beautifully, and the old rock quarries turned swimming holes, that I am completely entranced. The tragic elder female lead is a shadowy figure, just doing what's necessary to adjust from her simple farm life to one of prestige and money and now back to impoverished solitude again. Inspiring message about the resilience of women. If I don't give it to the FIL (DH will advise if he even reads, and if this Pizza Hut Franchise owner would be offended by a used book) maybe we can start a book exchange and I could mail it to someone on this list who finds it interesting Here's to winter and days/nights spent curled up on the couch with blankets and tea, lost in a paper world! I'd also be up for a book club type of discussion here with someone who wants to read a book simultaneously and write about it in the forum. My creative juices could use something to marinade...

I freeze milk all the time, and though I've read it may separate, mine hasn't. Maybe a too-cold freezer affects it? I wonder if you mixed in just a cup or so of reconstituted powdered milk whether it would keep it from separating again once it's thawed? I've been stretching the milk by mixing in powdered once it's about half gone and so far no one has noticed! (he he)

Hi.

I prefer money to benefits such as flex-time, though my current job gives me good medical benefits and decent pay. The job is stressful and filled with small town politics, and I have to work 12 hour midnight shifts so I consider leaving quite often, but because of the size of my checks compared to my last few jobs, I stay and just silently pray for another to come along with equal financial offerings. I wouldn't say money is *the* motivator for me, but it makes the rest of my life easier and allows me to play. I feel like I deserve more money for working harder, so I guess a raise would keep me content and working, making me feel appreciated. (Empty praise doesn't do it for me.) My long term goals include financial stability, so I guess money is a long-term motivator for me.

I'm female. thanks

Actually, I don't really like to play croquet. Those wicket little balls have a mind of their own. I'd rather go outside and play with the ani-malletts. Now jacks, that's another story. Think I'll get myself some for Christmas

But the person below me once had purple hair.

Funny you should ask about sewing, I just spent the night making a Grim Reaper costume with my DB (dear boyfriend). We work nights right now, so spent midnight til 4am figuring out this pattern. ...Okay- truthfully, I messed up the cutting of the pattern the first time a few days ago and we had to go get more fabric and do it over... Did you know that the little tabs that say cut here to extend (or something) mean that you have to make your own calculations as to adding fabric quantity, and with a vee-shaped tunic piece, if you spread the pattern piece by cutting said tabs, two pieces will no longer lie side by side on six yards of fabric??? This is why I laughed out loud at DB when he said couldn't I just throw something together without a pattern and all that fuss. So, he ended up helping me every step of the way this time, reading me the cutting and sewing directions, even asking if he could sew the long straight seams (and giving the project back when it "got complicated") It was great bonding, and he just loves his robe. Now, my costume is a Joan of Arc thing that I cut from a sleeveless evening gown made of silver mesh with a black liner. It's tunic length now and looks like chainmail, and I kept the bottom length I trimmed for a sash. I wear a wicked dagger on a leather belt, black very butch boots with silver rings on the sides, black tights, and a monstrous crested jewel cross. Look out England! (Joan wore men's clothing both so she would not be recognized and attacked if captured, and to secure pants and tunic together with points and laces in order to protect her chastity from those she traveled with.) I was hoping 9yo DSD (dear step daughter) would want to be a princess, she was just in a family wedding and has a gorgeous white dress, and I wanted to curl up her hair and have her wear my tiara (yes, every girl should have one on standby) but alas she went to Sprawlmart with DB and he bought her a Scream costume off the rack and now she wants blood dripping down her face (his daughter, truly.) 13yo DSS will be lying in the coffin pushing the lid up scaring people as they come by-oh my. (We don't get trick or treaters due to our remote location, so our only visitors will be fam and friends, thankfully, who have been visiting as DB has been setting the goulish scene.) Alas, I will be standing by with much hot spiced cider near the bonfire warming the sickle-bearing demon and sadly misled children. And handing out carmel apples and popcorn balls (times have changed, since my childhood where we had home sewn lion and leopard costumes with long stuffed tails trailing behind.)

chx

Thank you, Lois. My darling chickens came up on my porch today while I was sleeping (shift work) and ate every cotton picking one of my seedlings from the herbs I'd planted in a pot by the door. I could just wring their adorable little necks! I'm going to spray the next batch of plants down with red pepper tea every day. Those chickens better start laying soon, cuz until they start earning their keep, they are getting mighty close to becoming Dutch Oven supper...

( roar ) -chx

Darlene, this site: http://extension.usu.edu/files/foodpubs/cangui5.html says to skim off "excess fat." This seems to imply it's a food quality issue rather than a safety one. And I agree, it's impossible to remove all the fat, and if we had to, it would hardly be worth canning the meat, I think! Also, I took a master food preserver course years ago through the state college extension office, and we heard lots of stories of people being poisoned by improperly processing their food. Please be sure to use modern methods (pressure canning for poultry) and tested processing times rather than historical or traditional methods, because foods have different acid contents now (tomatoes and beans, for instance) due to altered soil quality and chemical residues, and a can of green beans not boiled long enough really can kill a whole family. Lots of people get lucky making jam the way their Gma did years ago with parrafin , but I don't think it's worth the risk to ignore modern research- (medical research has come a long way, for instance, but I doubt we'd go back to old ideas about germs and using leeches to strengthen a sick person, rather than following a doctor's advice...) The extension office websites I've seen all show their food preservation manuals online, so you shouldn't even have to buy a book or take a class to be sure you're doing everything you can to protect your family

thanks,

chx

so do they really work? I've been wondering about this for awhle...

I'm so glad you brought this up, I've been meaning to research some old songs, and this got my backside moving.

The silliest favorite song I know is "Fried Green Potatoes."

My favorite girl scout camp song is "Julie Anne." Here are the lyrics:

JULIE ANNE

The shady side of sunny mountain

That's the place it all began.

There once lived the fairest maiden,

And her name was Julie Anne.

Julie's beau was tall and handsome

Just a poor boy with treasures few,

Still he promised rings of silver,

For to prove his love was true.

CHORUS

Have you seen her in the moonlight,

Silver rings upon her hands

Now she wears a crown of sorrow,

And her name was Julie Anne.

Wake me early in the morning

Ere the birds begin to sing

I'll get silver from the mountain,

And I'll fashion ye a ring.

Off he rode across the mountain,

When the fields were wet with dew

But instead he went a ramblin'

And a courtin' Jenny Lou.

CHORUS

The cabin door was standin' open

On that wild and windy night

And the hound dog he lay a dyin'

In the gloomy candle light.

They found a shattered empty rifle

And the shawl she used to wear,

But they never found Miss Julie

They never found the hungry bear.

CHORUS

Alternate verses:

He said, I am just a poor boy

Gold and money have I none

But I'll take silver from the mountains

And I'll fashion you a ring

Off he rode into the shadows

When the fields were wet with dew

But instead he went a-roving

And he courted Jennie Lou.

Have you seen her in the moonlight?

Silver rings upon her hand

Now she wears a crown of sorrow

And her name, and her name is Julie Ann

Cabin door was standing open

On that dark and windy night

And her hound dog lay a-dying

In the lonesome firelight.

Alternate titles: Julianne and Julie Ann

One version was attributed to Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels, but it is not known whether the song was originated by Sparks.

tune: similar to Wayfaring Stranger^^

Oops, never mind, I found the manual packed away with my pinking shears. Thanks!

Does anyone happen to have a sewing machine manual for a Singer 4832C? I have the machine but no instructions. thanks

Well now, I've traveled and lived all over, my favorite places were Portland, OR and Black Mountain, NC. Now I live in sunny AZ with a wonderful man and a bunch of animals and two children. I miss the water, but after the rain forest, I'm so happy to be having days upon days of glorious sunshine. I'm a part time student as well as working full time and trying to get my sewing projects going again and organize all the improvement projects we're juggling. I have a definite old-fashioned bent for a youngun, I've always baked break and pies and sewn little things and dressed in aprons and old fashioned shoes. I'm new to this posting board stuff, so excuse my learning curve here.

Nice to be here,

Mira Bai

Hi Dee, thanks for the warm welcome. I wish we were on a real porch with some sweet treats! I'm raising my first batch of chickens (8 hens, ready to lay any time) and am totally infatuated with them. I had no idea they had such personality...

Hi Cat. Noticed your penchant for researching recipes, do you know how to make regular store tapioca into chocolate tapioca? Do you think I could just add a box of chocolate pudding mix to the pan when cooking, or would I have to add more liquid also to keep it from being too thick?

Hi Joan. Thanks for the info. I'd love to have you take a crack at making me a signature. The URL with the graphic is http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...DUTF-8%26sa%3DN come to look at it, I don't know if it will load after all-looks funny. It's a painting of a child feeding chickens. just something cute, not attached to that pic in particular. thanks : ) enjoying the site so far!

Hi Westbrook. I'm new to the site and was interested in your post last month about having patterns available if Buttercup sent you her ideal apron specs. I had an apron long ago that I got at a craft show. Sadly (for me) I gave it away and can't find a pattern to replace it. It was a bib apron with a full gathered skirt. It had no ties, only wide straps that crossed in the back, so I would put the straps over my head and it would stay on just fine. I'm a small (busted!) size 10/12. I guess I could just find one with wide straps and cross them when I was sewing it, but I'd prefer to have step by step directions, as I haven't sewed in years. Thanks for any help!

Hello. newbie here. here's a page with a graphic I like but I don't know if it will work or how to fuss with it. here's a quote also, "There is no duty more obligatory than the repayment of kindness." -Cicero

thanks, chxfarmwife