Caturday!

Cri de Coeur

Note:  It has been a trying week.

Public Health Nurse (who  is also an Army veteran):  Some days I miss not carrying a weapon.

Quote of the Day

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. ~ Zig Ziglar

Some Coping Mechanisms Are Better Than Others

From a disaster mental health website:

One family who lost their home in a fire filled balloons, each representing something they lost in the fire. The family gathered at the site of their home and said a few words about what each item meant and then released the baboons in the air.

Releasing baboons into the air would certainly take MY mind off a house fire.

In A Way, I Suppose It's A Measure Of Success

I am getting just enough spam from brain-dead sociopaths to force me to turn on the "comments moderation" function. My apologies to everyone but the spammers.

If I Were A Better Person

...I would have a post all ready to put up, but I'm not and I don't. Instead I'm going to shoo everybody over to Purple Kitty again, where there's a 1950 Beehive pattern book that includes an absolutely smashing coral double-breasted coat. Mea culpa.

Vintage Images - Holly Brand Oranges

I'm about 99.9% sure I got this from Dover. And it's copyright-free.

Merry Christmas To All

And to all, a roll of sticky tape.

Caturday!

Quote of the Day

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. ~ (1 Peter, 2.12)

Always A Bridesmaid

Got notified today that I was again nominated for Employee of the Year. And didn't win. I'm detecting a trend, here.

Sewing - A Vintage Weekend Kit from Tipnut

Tipnut offers a variety of sewing projects, many of them from vintage sources like this 1920's/30's weekend bag. Instructions here; and she has lots of vintage apron patterns as well.

Vintage Images - Christmas

Copyright-free images from Dover. Apologies for no post yesterday but we had a bad weekend.

Caturday!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I Regret That I Have But One Sacroiliac To Give To My Country

(image from the LOLCats).

Going to be spending some quality time over the next few days with my lovely Irish friend, Vic O'Din.

The Online Bookshelf - A Wanderer in Paris

A 1909 travel guide with wonderful watercolors, available for free download from Project Gutenberg.

Someone Else's Bread Has Been Cast On My Waters

The male half of the couple across the street (the ones with the gorgeous orange tree in their side yard, yes, those people) has a heart condition. After windstorms, etc, the spousal unit usually picks up anything big that's blocking their driveway. He also raked and burned their leaves this fall.

I am batching it tonight (he's running the clock for a basketball game) and came home expecting to fix myself Nouilles à la façon de Ramen for dinner. On the porch was an enormous cooler box from one of those mail order fancy food places with our neighbors' name in the "sender" column.

I'm going to be eating shrimp-stuffed sole and a gourmet baked potato.

Beading - An Edwardian Necklet

From Every Woman's Encyclopedia, Volume 1, published 1911. Left-click to enlarge.

Putting Two And Two Together

1. There is a Thing lying on the basement floor that once was alive, before it went through someone's gastrointestinal tract.

2. Reserve Cat is being very quiet and has a queasy look on his face.

You do the math.

The Mary Frances Cook Book

With the help of the Kitchen People, a young girl named Mary Frances learns to cook in the most up-to-date and scientific fashion. At least for 1912, when a juvenile cookbook that didn’t feature a single vegetable recipe wouldn’t have been considered unusual. Here is a nice breakfast that Mary Frances prepared for her father (she also made toast but that was covered in a different chapter).

No. 9.—Boiled Eggs.
1. Put eggs in sauce pan.

2. Cover with boiling Water.

3. Place where the water will keep hot 6 to 10 minutes. A quicker method is to boil eggs very gently 3 or 4 minutes.

No. 11.—Coffee.
1. Put into coffee pot 1 rounded tablespoon ground coffee for each cup needed.

2. Pour on boiling water, allowing 1 cup to every tablespoon coffee used.

3. Let come to a boil three times, stirring down each time.

4. Draw off the fire. Pour in 1 tablespoon cold water for each cup.

5. Let stand in a warm place 3 minutes to settle grounds. Serve.

Lots of fun, and an interesting glimpse into domestic technology, 100 years ago. On Project Gutenberg.

Caturday!

Quote of the Day

There are people who have money and people who are rich. ~ Coco Chanel.

Unthreaded

Someone -- and I rather suspect Reserve Cat, it's the sort of quiet amusement that pleases him -- brought a spool of thread out of the sewing room and unrolled it all over the basement.

Grrrsday

No caption required.

Only Nineteen More Crocheting Days Until Christmas

And there's a lovely 1935 Spool Cotton Crochet book posted at Purple Kitty. Hotpads, doilies, edgings, purses and a blouse. Get cracking.

Vintage Images - Angels From The Realms of Glory

Copyright-free images from Dover.

By Popular Demand

(vintage Christmas cards from Dover).

I have been ordered to bring this to the divisional Christmas party (by the office support staff, no less. Oh well, it's a good idea to keep the people who know how to use the copy machine happy). Awful good, awful easy (and awfully bad for you). It's been posted here before, but just in case you're looking for the recipe --

My Mother's Idiot-Proof 1960's Sausage Appetizer

2 packages cocktail sausages
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T. horseradish (or to taste)

Heat the sausages and put into a slow-cooker. Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise and horseradish and pour over the sausages. Set to "low" until the sauce is heated and serve hot.

Heating the sausages in something else and then putting them in the slow-cooker allows you to drain off some of the fat, not that doing so makes this recipe much healthier. But, as I once heard Julia Child say on tv, life without cholesterol isn't worth living.

My mother served this at faculty parties when I was growing up (this was back in the days when children were not allowed at grown-up parties and weren't allowed a crack at the food, either. We were lucky if we got even one of these sausages). She used a chafing dish in the days before slow-cookers. This is an extremely forgiving recipe and it works with cocktail meatballs as well. If you double or halve the recipe, just remember that the proportions for the sour cream/mayo mix are half and half. I only add enough horseradish (horseradish cream, actually, not raw horseradish) to give it a pleasant glow; the horseradish shouldn't overpower everything else.

Caturday!

Quote of the Day

I'm back. Was trying to think of a quote about St. Louis and the only one that comes to mind is Confederate General Sterling Price's comment, when asked if he could take the city.

"I don't know as I can take St. Louis," he replied, "But if you give me some Louisiana troops I will undertake to steal it."