Schwan's

Happy Easter ALL

My niece Katie and I left Saturday afternoon to go to my brother's house in Missouri.

On my last trip, my sister-in-law said she could kick herself for not keeping one of these babies around. 
Does anyone remember these?

Back in the day, Schwan's used to use these 2-1/2 gallon tins to sell their ice cream.

In fact, they only distributed their ice cream out in the country.

On the farm, my mom would get one of these tins every two weeks.

(Yes, we ate that much!)

We didn't even have to be home.

The ice cream man would stop, automatically put one of these in our chest freezers in the basement, and catch up with us later for the money.

Those were the days when nothing was locked, not even our house.

Can you believe it?

Mom used to use these cans to fill up her famous peanut brittle at Christmas time, which WAS THE BEST!

I wonder if all the people that were fortunate to receive her care packages knew she kept all of her peanut brittle in these great tin cans.

I found a couple good looking ones with lids still at the farm so I thought I would surprise my sister-in-law.

Of course, you can't go empty handed so I started making ginger snaps, an old family favorite.

Mom had a couple of recipes with different variations but I made the one most of my relatives like best.

You can see I am using my Kitchen Aid mixer here, but I think I prefer my old Mixmaster mixer better.

Yes, I said that!

Does that make me a bad person?

I almost hesitate to say that out load.  No one speaks bad about the Kitchen Aid OR that they prefer something else over the Kitchen Aid.  No one wants to admit they spent too much money on the Kitchen Aid but I for one think they are overrated.    Just saying ...........

I lined the can with wax paper and after two batches of cookies, still did not fill the can up.

BUT my sister-in-law was thrilled to get it, and she couldn't wait for the cookies to be gone so she could properly display it on one of her top cupboards.  (Guess two batches were enough.)

Here is the recipe.  Since my husband only got 1 cookie before he left, I think I better make a batch for tonight.

3/4 c. shortening (I use Crisco)
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. light molasses
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/4 teas. salt
2 teas. soda
1 teas. cinnamon
1 teas. cloves
1 teas. ginger

Cream shortening & sugar; add molasses and egg; beat well.  Add dry ingredients, mix well.  Roll in small balls, dip into sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.  My oven heats hot so I don't keep them in any longer than 10 minutes.  We like them softer and just barely baked.

Have a great week!

Linking up with Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Romancing the Plaid

It all started with a few presents

My husband, (yes I know this is Kenny)

gave me this beautiful birdhouse to confess his love for me.

In return, I gave him this beautiful

Sweet, eh?

We chose a night out on the town in this attire.

When we came home, we fought over who was going to wear these

(so comfortable)

The next day we planned a family day at the beach

And our little rugrat wore this

You know the price of gas is outrageous, so we decided to conserve

and rode this.

It was a great couple of days!

And we lived happily ever after

romancing the plaid

Most pictures from Pinterest

because I don't own plaid.

Seriously!

But I wanted to fit in

and party with 

all the "mad plaiders"

during the Tartan Parade

so I made this all up.

Seriously!

Please don't be mad at me.

I just wanted to fit in.

To see SERIOUS plaid

check out all the entries,

and I mean REAL ENTRIES

at 

Favorites on the First

Tartan Parade

 If I did own plaid, my first piece would be this.  

I believe it is from Old Navy.

Have a holy HOLY week!

Recipe Valance

This is my cousin Bobi's recipe box,

from her mom, 

and my Aunt Doris.

 Bobi lives in Texas 

(notice the beautiful Blue Bonnets)

and I live in Illinois.

We don't see much of each other,

so we are thankful for Facebook.

It keeps us connected.

As she was going through her mother's recipe box recently, 

she came across several that came from my mother.

For those who still have their mothers,

you may not realize how precious something as simple as a recipe box,

with cards inside 

containing your own mother's hand writing

.......is.

They are cherished beyond belief.

I remember seeing a blogging post from Amy from

All Things Home

 using her grandmother's recipe cards,

and stringing them up as part of her decor.

Who would have thought of such an idea,

but it was brilliant!

I shared it with Bobi, and unlike me, 

she doesn't procrastinate. 

Here is what she did with her kitchen window above the sink.

I think it looks fabulous, and definitely made me smile.

Adding the blue bows dressed them up.

I love how time has faded each card a different color.

 

Bobi has great memories 

of coming home from school, 

with the house filled with wonderful smells,

and her mother cooking and baking food 

from these very recipe cards.

Now she is surrounded by that love.

I wondered if she thought her mother would think she is crazy.

"No, I think she would be honored", was Bobi's response.

"I have never enjoyed a valance so much."

She thanked me for the idea, 

but I really must defer the inspiration to Amy.

You can check her lovely blog here 

and check out her story.

 Bobi is one of those in our family that got the creative gene.  

 She painted this recipe box.

Look at those flowers.......

isn't it just charming?

A treasured box of keepsakes for sure.  

I'm partying over at Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special this weekend.

My vintage light purchase

As promised from my post yesterday  found here, I did purchase a lamp from my father-in-law's collection.  

The one that caught my eye was this very large, slag glass of greens and blues, with an ornate design covering it.    

Here it is at home.  The cord is too frayed so it will need to be rewired before I will plug it in.

I was told by buyer 171 it is a Miller lamp, and he feels they are more valuable than Tiffany lamps. 

There is quite a story with this lamp.  

Buyer 171 originally bought this.  

Later I asked if he would sell it (since now I was having regrets for not going higher).

He told me he could sell this lamp easily and double his money, but he would let me have it for just $300 over what he paid for it.  Not a bad profit for him, don't you think?

Well, I passed on it, all the while kicking myself.  (You know how that goes.)

Next thing you know, buyer 171 had packed up all of his winnings and left the Miller lamp behind.

It seems there was a flaw in the lamp that the auction house had not seen, therefore, it was not disclosed during the sale.

See some of the design missing?

Buyer 171 did not want it.  

Golly, guess that opens up the door for me.

I purchased it for the same bid.

You can always put this side to the back, and the flaw didn't bother me in the least.

Flaws are good.........we are all flawed in some way.

Now I am happy that I have a lamp from my FIL's collection.  I think my husband is happy too but losing that BSA clock (story here) is still stinging.

Have a wonderful Sunday folks!

Linking up with Tabletop Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and Ivy and Elephants What's It Wednesday

Vintage Lighting

I have always been fascinated with lighting.

It seems I'm always picking up another lamp.

My husband has learned to live with this.

This is one of my purchases last year.  A clarinet lamp made by Becky Detig from Grand Detour, IL.

Here is a table lamp I purchased at Carter's Cottage on my last birthday.  It is perfect for accent lighting at night, and to lighten up that dark corner by the phone.  Of course, I went to Carter's to get Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and left with additional items.  Carter's is a great shop for unique items, so if you are ever in the DeKalb, IL area, stop in or visit Christie's blog here.

This heavy thing hanging over our dining room table was purchased with the house.  It only looks decent at Christmas when it is covered with garland, bows and ornaments.  What do you think of it?  Pretty neat, huh? So far I have not found the "perfect" replacement that doesn't cost a fortune.

Which brings me to my father-in-law's estate sale held last Sunday.

He was an antique dealer but one of his passions was lighting.

Can you tell he liked lighting?

I was at amazed at his collection.  Even his kids did not know the extent or how diverse it was.  He had signed Tiffany, Pairpoint, Miller, Hamel, just to name a few.  He knew his stuff.

Even though this isn't a great picture, I couldn't resist turning off the lights and getting a picture of the "gallery" with those lights that worked and were without frayed cords.

I DID purchase a lamp, and it is in one of these pictures, but you will just have to wait until next time.

In the meantime, I'm linking up with Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special here.  The theme is Unique Lighting.  (Of course that is why I'm linking up.)

Until next time, see ya around.

Loss of TIme

Oh gosh, I have not been on here for awhile but my home computer is about to crash. 

Overloaded I fear.......it is very sluggish.  Sure signs of cease and desist on the horizon.

My father-in-law's first estate sale was held on Sunday. 

I was wondering why my husband was so quiet as we made the hour trek to the auction site early that  morning.

I thought he would be excited to see how well the auction personnel had cleaned up and staged all the inventory. 

The Wednesday prior I had been there to take individual pictures for the estate. 

Amazed I was.

They sure did a great job.

I hope to post some pictures in a day or so.

The lamp gallery was impressive!

The Civil War memorabilia looked awesome!

Even the artwork that had been tucked away for years looked pretty good.

All I know was that I was going to buy this BSA clock for my husband (and it actually works too.)

It had been in his family for years and probably should not have been put in the antique auction.

With my father-in-law being a motorcycle dealer all of his life, my husband grew up with those two wheeled machines, and when he was old enough, started working side by side with his dad. 

So, even if I had to pay the outrageous price of $500, I was going to get this baby back.

Welllll, it sold for $1000.

Can you believe it?

Needless to say, we went home without it. 

So disappointed.

Sometime in the afternoon as we were looking around and watching strangers walk off with their most recent purchase, my husband mentioned that it was very sad to see everything his dad had worked for all of his life, come down to a day at the auction.

Now I know why he was so quiet that morning.

Now I know why only three of the eight children showed up.

It was just too hard.

How callous of me to not recognize the strong emotions that something like an auction for your loved ones might bring.

I should have known better.

I only hope and pray that time will heal these wounds.

Until next time, enjoy this great weather we are having in the midwest.

Do you think we can put the snowblower away?

Crucifix and The Way

Do you remember the Bible "The Way"?

It was quite popular when I was younger.  


In fact, this is my copy.  


First edition 1972.  Check out the price ~ $5.95

Last May, our whole family was together again, in the church we all grew up in, First Presbyterian.


We had not been in that church since mom's funeral.


We were there for the dedication for the memorial gift we were giving in memory of our parents.

That was the day I got my Bible back.


A lady from the church said they were cleaning the choir room and found this Bible tucked away.


Mom probably had not been in the church choir since early 2000.


I was so excited to get it back, and found notes inside in her hand writing.

Precious!


I keep it close by now.


Today I purchased this Crucifix at church.

It is carved out of olive wood from the Holy Land.


Top capsule is incense from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a symbol of the Resurrection.

The left capsule is stone from near Mt. Calvary.


The right capsule are rose petals from the Garden of  Gethsemane.


The bottom capsule is soil from the Garden of Gethsemane.

 For centuries, Christians in the Holy Land have earned their living by carving religious art from the olive wood they have pruned from trees in their family olive groves.  


With high unrest in that area, more and more Christians are leaving the very place where our faith began.  Tourism is down and making a living has proved to be more difficult.  I am happy to support a just cause.  Besides, I may never get over to see the Holy Land so this is the next best thing.  


Have a good week everyone!

Don't Be Caught In That Dress!

Well, I was on my way to Culver's on my lunch hour today for a Chicken Cashew Salad.
Unseasonably warm and sunny today in northern Illinois.
On my way back, I caught a glimpse of this billboard.
Really?
I drove around the block to get a picture.
So tell me, what do you think?

Yes, this is our local undertaker.  (Do they still use that word?)
That woman is Mrs. Smith...........no, really,
it's Mrs. Smith.  I used to work with her husband Mr. Smith at RB&W.
Mr. McD has taken over all of the local funeral homes except for one.
Not sure why he has to advertise.
Maybe to put the one still in business, out of business perhaps.
He's also the coroner for our county.
Hmmmm, somehow I think that may be too close of a conflict for my liking,
but we still keep electing him.
It was never so evident as the day my father-in-law died and he came to the hospital.
He was sitting in with the family as we discussed whether an autopsy would be needed.
(He strongly urged against it....and now we wished we would have had one.)
Then he asks what funeral home we want to send the body.
Hmmmm, just doesn't seem right.
but we keep electing him.
Oh, he also owns The Beverage Store.  He converted the old Harley shop into a package liquor store.
Hmmmm, that's convenient.
Almost like one stop shopping.
You buy booze, drink too much and drive, kill yourself in an accident.  He prounouces you dead and sends you to his funeral home.  Too gruesome?
Well, something is wrong with this picture,
but we keep electing him.

So let me know what you think.........
about the billboard,
NOT the dress.

Oh, can you say a little prayer for Evan?
He is our crane operator and he was seriously burned this morning while transporting molten steel.
Prayer is always better in numbers.
T h a n k y o u!

My niece and her two boys gave this to me for Christmas when we went down to my brothers over the New Year.  Finally hung it this morning over my kitchen doorway.  It was kind of plain with just the wire and nail, so I added some greenery and a little raffia bow to hide the mechanics.   The story behind the sign is that she went to a little winery in Wisconsin and there was a little rustic store next door of hand made gifts.  She saw this and thought it would be perfect for me.  

She was right.......and I love it!

I have been having so much fun getting my house back in order since the hardwood flooring has all been installed, however, with my day job, and preparing for my father-in-law's estate hearing next week & trial in March, it has been a slow process.  PLUS, my sister-in-law said I MUST purge and organize my stuff before I put it back ~ like the clothes that I loved to wear in the 80's? ~ realistically will probably never fit me again, so give up that notion.   

Trying hard to abide by her wishes.  

I believe she is probably right.

So for now, I'm just going to be thankful for what has been accomplished and leave it at that.  

   

Have a great weekend ~ and stay warm!