Around My House

I am still trying to find the source of this lovely painting. It seems a little like Michael Humphreys paintings which I have posted in the past. I'll post the artist and particulars when I find it.

Mrs. Q., at Blessed Homemaking has such a beautiful post about some things very pertinent to wives and daughters and I surely hope some of you will send her a comment, as this lady has such a beautiful blog and such clarity of thought about issues of the home and true womanhood. I think it would be a good idea for men to read some of the excellent posts there too.

My young cousin, Mrs. A., has a pretty blog, too, and has given a nice review of my book about my childhood. Her blog is here. 

During these cold winter months I find more housework to do and more boxes and containers that are empty and need to be thrown out, so I want to share what I've done with a box or two that I have saved.  This one filled with crackers, given to me when I had a ladies tea here, and I covered it in scrapbook papers, to use later for a boxed "tea" for someone in the hospital.

The papers are positioned in a way as to get the best part of the paper, with the large roses, to show on the cover and the corners, and on the inside flap.

Just trace around it and cut out the piece . Swirl an office glue stick all over the box and press the paper up on it. You can remove and adjust the paper when you use that kind of glue.

I left the  cracker- shaped insert to use as a divider for those little crustless sandwiches and raw vegetable sticks, cheeses and fruit which will all be wrapped in waxed paper or put in tiny zip-lock bags.

Here is a treat that is quick and easy for children's tea on one of the cloudy afternoons.

A friend bought this jam  especially for me at a speciality shop, because she knew I would like the jar. The jam tastes like cranberries and worked really well in these little tea sandwiches. 

You can also use a scone recipe to make these little sandwiches, and when I get the chance, will insert pictures and more  instructions here. Just roll out scone dough thinly, bake in the shapes you like, and when it is cooled , assemble as sandwiches. Or, spread scone or biscuit dough on a cookie sheet, bake, and cut with cookie cutters the same way you would cut bread. 

Use graduated size cookie cutters to make the openings for the jam to show through, but if you do not have heart shape, just use a small round bottle or tiny round cookie cutter to make the inside.

Cutting some extra hearts from potato bread slices can use up quite a bit of the bread. the crusts and leftover pieces can be used to make salad croutons.

On one side of the bread, spread butter, and on top of that, a layer of peanut butter, if desired.

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Put a load of red jelly or jam or preserves on top of one side of the sandwiches,

and this is what you will get. Children are delighted to help with this tea time preparation

Now here are the covered boxes that I will use to pack a tea for someone.

This is a clementine, or mandarin orange box. I like the way they are made with straight sides, almost like a little tray. You do have to trim off some things to make the sides smooth, before you cover them.

I used wrapping paper on this one, but am working on one using scrapbook papers, covering the inside as well. Uses for these boxes include sewing kits, card making supplies, children's toys, bath products, hair care supplies, or home made scone mixes with tea cups.

The box can be traced on all sides and then the piece cut out. It looks strange but it fits well. Just run the glue stick all over the side of the box, press the section on, and continue on the other sides.

I also wanted to tell you about a bag of flour I buy at Walmart that I use for scones. It is unbleached, natural, and fine enough to make the scones light and fluffy, like specialized pastry. I also make the communion bread with this flour. The bag is big enough to fill two large kitchen canisters. 

Finally, I bought just a small piece of two flannel fabrics at Walmart. I did not want to make the commitment of buying 5 or 6 yards before I had decided what to sew.  I brought the two fourth-yard pieces home to look at them in the light and go through my patterns, looking for skirts and vests or  dresses that might look good made up in this fabric. I think one could also use flannel for curtains and table cloths and little matching pillows, tea cozy, and other home accessories.

In  other news, Mrs. Hollinger of Country Diary blog , hosted a homemaking class in her newly built log home in Idaho, and invited me as a guest speaker over Skype. I loved seeing her beautiful home and she took me on a virtual tour with her laptop camera.  Over 20 women were there and I got to personally talk to some of them when they had their tea break, as each one would come up to the computer and introduce herself.  The lessons that Mrs. Hollinger used were from a set of records I sent her, called "The Art of Homemaking" narrated by Art Linkletter.   Because I no longer had a working record player, I had someone record the lessons on to cassette tapes for myself, which I can then record again on a disc on my computer, so I hope I may one day share some of the audio lessons on line. The segments she played to her class were just wonderful; so well spoken, clear, with great expression, and really came alive with meaning, talking about the important role of the homemaker and how she should view herself and her family.  

The January 2012 Victoria has a nature scene. Just inside the front cover, it greets you with this:

One of the articles inside the magazine shows this curious object below, called  a Reading Wheel from Victorian times. The columns of newspapers would be cut into strips and rolled around the wheel, for easier reading.

Weren't the Victorians  innovative, inventive and clever? And we think our computers are so brilliant with their scroll down and scroll up arrows. The programmers probably got it from them!

The Victorians were always looking for convenience, accessibility and more expedient ways of doing things. From that era came improved versions of wheelchairs, elevators, and even mechanical hands and things to help the handicapped.  

I often found the Victoria publication a valuable aid to my homeschooling materials, as they visited so many other countries, museams and historical places.

Here is something I've recently done to the guest room to keep the chill out. Although the window has a shade and a curtain, the wall faces a seasonal cold wind and  a driving force of rain, so just 3 yards of inexpensive dark green fleece from Walmart sale table in the fabric department, tucked over the rod, or fastened with clothes pins,  protects the room from the cold draft. A thicker or darker piece can keep the light out if you are trying to darken a room.