Things From My Childhood Are Trending...

When I was 5 and we moved from my grandparent's old farmhouse to a camp in the woods, we had no kitchen cabinets. And so, my mother made curtains to cover the pots and pans under the plywood counters. Now, in my house, the cabinet doors are warped, don't close correctly, and one is split where the hinges screw into the side of the cabinet. Remembering Mom's curtains, I thought I'd make some to replace the doors. New cabinets are no where close to being in the budget anytime soon, and curtains would be a cheap fix. I wouldn't mind curtains anyway. This led to me looking on the beloved Pinterest for ideas on how to mount them cheaply. Wouldn't you know it- the curtains which were born out of necessity, are now a trend!!! Well, they used to be commonplace before the '50s, but now they are coming back as a fad! Now I feel old!

(Image from Pinterest)

Bread Pudding

I found this little jewel at the Lee Flea Market. I love old books, especially old cook books. I love the way old books smell...

This note says Mrs. June Nute, Transalpine Rd. Lincoln, Maine (1950)

It is 67 years old according to the latest copyright date.

Bread crumbs from last week's homemade bread.

My makeshift double boiler...

 I tossed a couple canning rings in the bottom in an effort to level it up a bit. It works for me...

 The finished product. It is good hot, warm or cold! I also use this in another dessert that my Darlin' came up with. I will share that one another day.

                                      

 Extra stale bread? Make your own seasoned bread crumbs, yum!

Homemade Bunny Milk

This is a recipe for homemade Nesquik powder I recently tried and thought I'd share with you, it is so simple:

1/3 C Cocoa Powder
2/3 C Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Salt (optional)

Stir together and keep in a pint Mason jar. I tripled it and keep it in a qt. sized jar, and omitted the salt. Big Boy loves it! It is cheaper than the name brand mix and you probably already have the ingredients on hand. Plus, you know just what is in the mix, no funny-named ingredients or preservatives.

*Important*~ To make a glass, you will first need to put about 2 TBSP. of hot tap water into your glass, stir in the mix until it dissolves, then add the milk. We use whole milk, and it does not taste "watery". But the cocoa powder will not mix well with cold milk, so if you skip this step, you will most likely be disappointed.

Hope you enjoy!

Playing Outside!!!

Yesterday we made homemade laundry soap. Yes, I finally picked up the ingredients! Borax, Washing soda and Fels-naptha. I literally dumped both boxes into a large glass jar then grated 4 bars of the Fels-naptha and mixed it together. I have been making the powdered stuff for a while now. I like it better than making the liquid because it is simpler and no need to "cook" it or wait for it to gel to use it. And it is more concentrated, so it goes further. 

 I had all kinds of mixing "help", lol.

 Then after naps, it was time to play outside! It was SO BEAUTIFUL out yesterday! There is no substitute for sunshine and fresh air! Big Boy slept all night long, and I think Little Boy would have too, but he has recently acquired a cold, and is super mad that he can't breathe out of his nose!

"Mama, I may be warm, but I can't use my arms!"   Look at that huge grin!

 

 What a cutie!

When we came in we had hot chocolate and made chocolate chip cookies! Yum!

Little Boy's first words..."All Done". We were at my Mom's and Big Boy said "All done." This little guy gave it right back to him!

   Today is supposed to be nice too, I'm told. Have some fun in the sun, it'll cure whatever is ailing ya!

I Have A Dream...

Although it is not as good as Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. My little dream this year consists of:

A screen door. Yes, a screen door. A lightweight screen door for my front porch. Oh, and make that a squeaky one, please (that is a requirement!). I don't know why, exactly, but a squeaky screen door that "slaps" softly when carelessly left to close its self behind you does something to my very soul. (And you thought I couldn't get any weirder!) I'm sure that long after my children have grown and moved out, I will sit on my front porch and still hear the sound of them going in and out all day, slamming the screen door behind them. And maybe sometimes while they are small, it will get on my nerves. But I am positive the old and gray me will clearly remember that sound with a smile on my old, wrinkled face. And I hope my grandchildren will ''annoy'' me in just the same way....

You get an A+ if you know who's house this is...

And....

a hummingbird feeder, or course!

I love watching those little "buzz birds" zoom around and fight over the feeder. They sit in my lilac bushes in the Spring, and I'd love to get them a feeder. 

Don't forget the regular bird feeder!

I want to get a feeder and a bird book to do bird watching with the boys. :) Oh, that would be fun!

*Disclaimer* All of the above photos came from a Google Images search and are not my own.

A little moon watching.

Big Boy loves looking at the moon! When he spots it he yells "Moon, moon! Mama, moon!" Poopie's dish makes a good step stool. 

I hope you have a good day, looks like it will be a good one!

Death By A Midget

Yesterday morning started out with a saber fight in the kitchen. Big Boy came from the livingroom saying "Mama, mine." He was holding a saber to himself, the other he held out for me. And so the fight began...

 He figured out how to pop open the cabinets with the tip.

Mmm, Little Boy likes dishes!

 And Bacon! Uncle Sai said he HAD to try some! He loved it!

 Introducing... Butch! Butch is an imaginary gray squirrel we tell stories about. We named this little squirrel after him. And he is eating all the banana muffins!

We made muffin tin crayons. Peel the crayons, break them into pieces, arrange them how you want in the tin and bake 150-200*  for about 15-20 minutes (depending on how full the muffin tin is). 

 Gump came to visit. He put Little Boy right to sleep!

 Uncle Sai with a smile on his face! Big Boy is having a jug, lol.

 Wow, bright flash!

 Time for lasagna! He is sitting in the window above my kitchen sink. Aunt Ya-ya is hanging out too!

 Aunt Kitty lost a tooth!

 Uncle Sai and Zippy found old hummingbird nests!

We played "Go fish", and wanted to make cookies, but I didn't time it right and the oven was full on lasagna! Oops. Oh, well. Next time!