Show and Tell

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, or a treasured collection. Look around your home for something to share; dig through those boxes in your closet if you have to! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item.

Today I want to show you my favorite patchwork quilt. Several years ago my sister and I were yard-saling together. At one of the stops we saw some quilts lying on the lawn, so of course I was interested! The lady that was having the sale told me that her husband's aunt had made this particular one about 20 years earlier. Her name was Audrey but she went by "Aud." She lived up in the Appalachian Mountains, in a cabin with no running water or electricity, and liked to pass the time by quilting.


It is a queen size quilt and every single stitch was done by hand.


All the colors of the rainbow!


A year ago I took it into a quilt shop and was told that many of the fabrics are from the depression era.




The top and bottom borders are this sweet horse and buggy print.


The side borders are a scene of a man, woman, little girl and a kitty. Their cottage is in the distance.


Lots of tiny stitches!


I'm looking foward to crisp Autumn evenings. This is the perfect quilt to curl up under!


Thank you for looking at my Show and Tell!




Show and Tell Guidelines

What is Show and Tell Friday?
Show and Tell involves showing something to an audience, and then telling them about it. Your show and tell must be something that you own, and is in your home or garden.

What items work well for Show and Tell Friday?
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
-Childhood keepsakes
-Family heirlooms
-A collection you may have
-A piece of jewelry
-A special gift
-A favorite treasure
-Gardening pictures

What doesn't work well for Show and Tell Friday?
-Posts with no photos have no "Show." Please don't use them.
-Photos of events (trips, vacations, celebrations, etc.)
-Photos of things you are selling or planning to sell.
-Photos found on the internet, graphics or screenshots. Please use photos you take yourself.

There is no place like home is the original home of Show and Tell Friday. Please do not host your own.

Please do not feel that you have to participate every Friday.

How can I participate?
Once you've got your photo(s) and your story, it's easy as 1-2-3!

1 - Publish your "Show and Tell" on your blog, including a link back to There is No place like Home. If you don’t know the link code, email me and I will send it to you.

2 - Copy the link (or "permalink") from your post.

3 - Add it to Mr. Linky, along with your first name. I usually put Mr. Linky up on Friday at 12:00am Eastern time.

That's it! After that, you can start visiting all the other Show and Tell participants!

Whispers of Blue

There was a little surprise waiting for us this morning. Can you spot it?

~Whispers of Blue~


Nature's trumpets, morning glories greet the day with happiness.







"In its first radiance I have seen
The sun! - why tarry then till comes the night?
I go my way, content that I have been
Part of the morning light!"
-Florence Earle Coates, The Morning Glory

1938 Kitchen Quiz Answers

I'm glad that you enjoyed taking a look at my 1938 Foods and Home Making book. Thank you for your wonderful comments and for joining in for the quiz!



Here are the questions again, with the answers below:

Question: If you are sent to market to buy tea for the older members of your family, who prefer the beverage served with cream, what kind of tea leaves would you buy?

Answer: The two most popular types of tea are black and green. Black tea leaves are fermented before drying. Well-known black teas are Flowery Pekoe, Orange, Pekoe, and English Breakfast. Darjeeling is a fine black tea grown in India. Green tea leaves are dried without first fermenting. Gunpowder, Imperial, and Young Hyson are popular green teas. Those who are particular about the flavor of tea think that only black teas, especially those produced in India, are suitable to serve with cream.

Question: What is a silence cloth?

Answer: The clatter of dishes is usually not pleasant. To make the placing of a dish on the table noiseless, the table may be covered first with a soft, heavy cloth known as a silence cloth or padding. There are materials which are made especially for silence cloths. Heavy cotton cloth which is fleeced on both sides is often used. Sometimes silence cloths are made of quilted material. Asbestos (Yikes!) is used also as table padding. Flannelette is not so heavy as the materials just mentioned, but it is inexpensive and may be bought not only in white but in dark-wood colors. A silence cloth not only deadens the sound of dishes but protects the table. The appearance of a table is usually improved by a silence cloth. It makes the table linen appear heavier and helps keep the linen flat on the table.

Question: Suppose that you are having a meal at a friend's home. On the table near your cover is a dish of preserves; there is a spoon on the table beside the preserves. Suppose the hostess says: "Mary, will you please start passing the preserves?" What will you do with the spoon beside the preserves? Will you help yourself first? To whom will you pass the preserves?

I am having a hard time finding the exact answer to this question. It was asked in the "Breakfast Unit" in the chapter called "Good Manners at the Dining Table." I have read the chapter over and over again and don't see a single mention about preserves and spoons. It's driving me crazy! I will have Phillip look at it tonight in case I am missing it. I did read several times throughout the book, that foods should always be passed to the left of each person. I'm pretty sure we pass things to the right at our house though. Hmmm....

Question: How high should a work table be? Give a reason for your answer.

Answer: No one can do work well in an uncomfortable position. No one likes to do work that makes the back ache. To find the proper working height for a table stand straight and hold the upper part of the arm close to the body. Then bend the arms at the elbow. The distance from the floor to the elbow minus two inches gives the proper working height. Of course, if several persons work at the same table, the height of the table should be determined by the height of the average person.

Question: How thick are the walls of a refrigerator?

Answer: In many climates, refrigerators are needed only in summer. Refrigerators are necessary when the air is warm enough to cause foods to spoil readily. A refrigerator is well built when the warm air cannot penetrate into its inner walls. Several thicknesses of different kinds of material are used for the walls of a refrigerator. The insulating material should be at least two inches thick.

Your homework for today will be to check your refrigerator walls! Are they at least 2 inches thick? ;0)

I would be happy to post another kitchen quiz sometime in the future!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Thank you so much for all your comments about my prairie dolls! The fact that I hide them on my sister when she visits has become a bit of a joke between us after all these years! I did like the sharing custody idea though, so I may let her have a turn someday. ;0)


Several weeks ago I mentioned finding a few things while antiquing. One of my finds was a book from 1938.


It's called Foods and Home Making by Carlotta C. Greer.


Grab something to drink and let's look at it together. And pay attention because there will be a quiz at the end!


TO THE TEACHER
"Not only should pupils be taught how better to do important things, but additional interests and activities should be revealed and made desirable to them. In Foods and Home Making are included many suggestions and devices to stimulate pupils to participate in home activities and to do their share in making their homes attractive and happy. "

There are 7 units and 43 chapters in this book. Most of the photos are black and white, including this picture of two rats. One of the rats didn't get enough calcium.

The funniest part is that someone has written on the rats in pencil. Evidently, the small one is named Laverne and the large one is Viola!


Ewww!! It doesn't look like Laverne and Viola made it. Aren't these strange pictures for a homemaking book?!


Let's look at the Kitchen Efficiency and Charm chapter:


"How can a kitchen be made attractive? How many hours of the day does your mother spend in the kitchen? Does she usually spend as much time in the living room as in the kitchen? Since a home maker spends so much time in the kitchen, should it not be a pleasant place?

A light kitchen is attractive. Every kitchen should have at least two windows. When possible these should be placed on two sides of the room, so there can be good ventilation.

Color makes a kitchen attractive to most persons. For kitchens having north and east windows, buff, pale yellow, or pale salmon are pleasing colors. Since warm light comes through windows facing south or west, pale green, gray, or blue is suitable.

My kitchen has already failed this class!

Inside cover


Lastly, we will read about Good Manners at the Dining Table.

-Before one starts to eat, the napkin must be unfolded. Unfold it completely if it is small; if it is large one fold may be left in it. Sometimes it is well to wipe the lips before taking a drink of water to avoid staining the glass.

-Every normal girl or boy wants to appear well. One thing to do to appear well at the dining table is to hold the fork correctly.

-It is wasteful to leave food on the plate. If we are to leave practically no food on our plates, we should make it a rule not to take more food that we can eat or should eat. Leaving no food on our plates also means that we should learn to like all or almost all foods.



Quiz time! The owner of this book took the questions very seriously. She wrote some of her answers down in the back of the book!


1. If you are sent to market to buy tea for the older members of your family, who prefer the beverage served with cream, what kind of tea leaves would you buy?

2. What is a silence cloth?

3. Suppose that you are having a meal at a friend's home. On the table near your cover is a dish of preserves; there is a spoon on the table beside the preserves. Suppose the hostess says: "Mary, will you please start passing the preserves?" What will you do with the spoon beside the preserves? Will you help yourself first? To whom will you pass the preserves?

4. How high should a work table be? Give a reason for your answer.

5. How thick are the walls of a refrigerator?

I can tell you that I didn't do very well on the quiz! I hope you found all of this as interesting as I did!

"Show and Tell Friday"

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Share photos and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

Today I would like to show my Prairie Dolls. My great-grandmother made them for my sister and I when we were little. I have a dim memory of visiting her Victorian home in Toronto, Ontario and my mom telling my siblings and I to be very good and quiet. :0)

All the sewing was done by hand including their embroidered faces. My doll is on the left and the one on the right belongs to my sister. Whenever she comes for a visit she threatens to take her doll home with her. I want them to stay together, so I hide them until she leaves. I'm a mean big sister!

Each of the dolls has a mini patchwork quilt to sleep with at night.


My grandmother was very generous when it came to their wardrobe. Slips, bloomers, and flannel pajamas were all included.


Even a hand knitted sweater.


My favorite thing might be this knitted hat with a tiny white pom-pom on top!


She'll definitely be warm now!


Thank you for looking at my show and tell!




The Show and Tell Guidelines have changed recently. Please read them before participating! If your name is removed from the list you can email me and I will explain why.

Chicken a la Queen

Message from Grace: Thank you for all the nice comments about my bubble blower and rice krispies!! The rice krispies are already gone. :0)

Good morning! I saw this recipe over my my mother-in-law's blog and since I love mushrooms I decided to give it a try. The list of ingredients is simple but the sauce ends up being nice and rich!


Chicken a la Queen

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Montreal Chicken Seasoning, to taste ( I used a couple of teaspoons)
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp thyme

Directions:

1. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high. Add chicken breasts and sprinkle with Montreal seasoning. Saute 5 -6 minutes per side.


2. Add bell pepper, and saute a few more minutes until chicken is cooked through and peppers are tender-crisp. I cut the chicken up into smaller pieces so it would cook faster.


Remove from skillet, set aside, and keep warm.


3. In the same skillet, add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom.

4. Add mushrooms, onion, and thyme; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer about 5 minutes.


5. Raise heat to medium and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes, until sauce is reduced.


6. Spoon mushroom/onion sauce over chicken and serve!


This would great served over rice or buttered noodles. We had boring old spinach salad with ours. ;0)

I noticed something scary while taking this picture. White tablecloth...red berry tea. Fortunately, there were no spills!


Have a great Thursday!

~The Flowers~

All the names I know from nurse:
Gardener's garters, shepherd's purse,



Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,
and the Lady Hollyhock.



Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,



Tiny trees for tiny dames--
These must all be fairy names!



Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house,



Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,
Where the braver fairies climb!



Fair are grown-up people's trees,
But the fairest woods are these,



Where, if I were not so tall,
I should live for good and all.


-Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson
-Photos from my garden.

Grace's Summertime Fun

I have a guest blogger today! My daughter, Grace (9 yrs. old) would like to share with you a fun summertime craft and a yummy treat that she made for us this afternoon.

The first thing I want to show you is my new bubble machine. It's quick and easy to make.


You will need:
-A plastic tub with a lid (I used a small Philadelphia cream cheese tub)
-A flexi-straw
-Hole punch
-Liquid dish soap


Punch a hole in the top edge of the plastic tub. Slide the straw in the hole, flexi end first.


Put a squirt of liquid dish soap inside. Fill the tub halfway full of water.


Punch a hole on top of the lid, put the lid on with the hole facing the opposite side of the straw.


Make sure the lid is on tight and blow through the straw. Have fun!



Now it's time for a snack!


Can you guess what it is?


Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in large saucepan over low heat.


Add about 40 large marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Make sure you rest your arm after all that stirring. :o)


Add 6 cups of rice krispie cereal. Stir until well coated.


Using a buttered spatula (or fingers!) press mixture evenly into a 9X13 pan coated with cooking spray.


Cut into squares when cool.


I ate mine in a few seconds!


Do you like rice krispie treats?