You can teach an old "dog" new tricks...

I'll have more "old crap" to share...I just need to upload the pictures and blog. But, instead of doing that, I've been busy stitching, working on my little dragon...

Right now, I've got most of the boy's shirt done...and some of his skin and I'm currently finishing up the books he's sitting on. This project has been a little bit of a challenge for me.

• It's done on 36 count linen, which is hard on my old eyes. Much harder than it used to be, and I'm not liking that.
• This is my first time using variegated floss. The books are all done with variegated floss which requires me to adjust how I stitch it.
• I'm not sure how I'm going to do Mr. Dragon's "mane". It's done with a punch needle embroidery, and I've never done that. Don't even own the tool. The directions say you can use regular x-stitch, but I think I'm going to try to figure out how to punch--even if I have to order the tools. It's just too cute having those "curls".
• The teddy bear is done with whisper floss, which is a "furry" floss. I've never used it either, so I'm sure it will be a challenge too.
• I'm stitching with silk floss for the first time ever too. It's not much different than stitching with cotton floss, but I like it. It has just a slight sheen that cotton floss doesn't have.

I still need to order my charms and the bead work for the fairy's wings and I should do that soon.

One thing this project has brought me is connection with other stitchers. I went online and searched for directions on using the variegated floss, and found a couple of wonderful discussion boards and lots of blogs by stitchers. Since I have one friend who stitches, this was a wonderful find! I've learned a lot...like

• Frogging is the term for ripping out stitches. (rip it, rip it, rip it.) Heck, all this time, I've been just calling it "ripping out these #*^%$# stitches!"
• English stitching--is when you stitch one x at a time. That's how I started, one x had the top stitch going / and the next would have it's top stitch going \. I did that for a few years until I learned that all the top slashes were supposed to go the same direction. (with variegated floss, you often do "English" stitching.)
• I learned that many stitchers have more than one project going at a time and switch back and forth between them. I personally don't do that often because I get to compulsive and have to work on something until it's absolutely finished. (I will admit to doing one project that I worked on for 4 year; but that was years ago when I was in college.)
• I've seen photos of lots of different techniques and fabrics that make me drool. And, while I thought I had a lot of floss...well, I've seen photos of some folk's stashes that make my little stash insignificant.

Kev might not be happy to know that I've found all these stitching friends...cause I've got a pretty big wish list going on projects, and fabric, and flosses. But, since I pay the bills, he'll never notice all these packages of supplies that "might" show up at our house, right?

Right.

Peter Pan

Approximately 10 years ago, Kev and I attended Miss Kat's first school program. She was in preschool in the "4-year-old" class. There was also a "3-year-old" class which performed first. You know how most preschool concerts are...lots and lots of cute little kids who might like to sing, but they get very shy when up on a stage in front of lots and lots of grown-ups. And, we all enjoy watching the kids never knowing what to expect. After all, Andy picked his nose during his first concert...

The 3 year-old kids performed first. And, most of them barely whispered their songs and there was a lot of fidgeting and chewing on fingers and bashfulness. Except for this one little boy...He stood towards the edge of the stage, this tiny little boy with big eyes and a head full of blond hair. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt. He alone on that stage wasn't shy. He was singing and wiggling to the music, you might not have heard any of the other kids sing, but you could hear this kid. He stole the show--without meaning too, he was just having a good time singing.

I didn't know who that little boy was at the time, but I did learn his name...Dual. We later became good friends with his family. They and Dual have brought a lot of joy into our lives. In fact, they've become family to us. Because of that, this past weekend, we drove to Hutch to watch Dual perform in the Hutchinson Family Theater production of Peter Pan. Dual was cast in the role of Michael, the youngest of the Darling Children. We were in awe of the professionalism of the production--all volunteer. 140 characters cast in this production. (Dual wasn't the only one from his family on stage, Miss Bailey was one of Tiger Lily's Indian dancers.) This was Dual's second time performing. Imagine, performing once, then being cast as one of the major characters in your second performance...

Dual did a fantastic job. He nailed his lines, his acting was very natural and his singing was spectacular. I couldn't have been more proud of my own kids. Watching him on stage, we all realized that this was where he belonged. And, although he's now a "mature" 13, he still has a lot of that 3 year old kid in him, stealing the show and enjoying himself on stage.

Makin Bacon

Not that kind of bacon. Sheesh.

Two weeks ago, we and some friends of of ours butchered and processed 5 pigs. At that time, we made sausage, polish sausage, brats, and packaged pork chops and rib and ground pork. We brought home the side meat and the ham to cure and smoke.

Bacon is made by taking the side meat and rubbing it with salt and brown sugar. Then, it's put somewhere cool--between the temperatures of 35 and 45 degrees--to cure. The salt and sugar are absorbed into the meat and some of the liquid drains off. After curing for 2 weeks, we smoked it for a couple of hours.
This is what you get... In this photo, you see the side meat from 2 pigs. Probably 40 lbs of "bacon".

After it's smoked, we put it in the freezer for it to firm up making it easier for us to slice. In the above picture, you can see a slab that we'd cut a few slices from. Doesn't that look good?

Here's a shot of Kev slicing the bacon. Isn't he cute? I think so :)

Yum...lots and lots of bacon...

From this point, we wrapped it up in freezer paper and some we vacuum sealed. We wound up with 35 packages of bacon. I can assure you that the bacon tastes wonderful...but you'll just have to take my word for it.

My Hoosier

This is probably my most prized possession. It belonged to my Grandma Woodruff. She used it at the farm, but when she used it, it was painted a minty/turquoise green. Kev and I brought it home and stripped it down to the wood. When we started stripping it, we discovered red and white enamel under the green. I'm guessing that originally, it was probably red and white.



Technically, it's called a Hoosier Cabinet. Everyone in the family just called it the Kitchen Cabinet. It was showing it's age, it had broken glass, the bread board was missing, the bottom drawer was cardboard, the tambour door were cracked and broken and the hinge to the top cabinet had been replaced with one that worked, but wasn't quite right. Still, it was in good enough shape that we knew we could repair and restore it. And, we did.



You will notice that there isn't a flour bin. Which makes me think that this is probably an early Hoosier, because every other Hoosier I've seen has a flour bin. I found the sugar jar, but there simply isn't a spot for a flour bin.

One unique feature of this Hoosier is the etched glass. One of the panels was broken, so Kev and I made a pattern and etched a new glass. Kev also made the tambour doors--because the old ones were shot. He did a pretty good job, but they still don't work very well.

Another unique feature of this cabinet is how the top attaches to the base. Most have a tin hinge, but this one has a block of wood and a long pin that goes from the top piece to the bottom.

Kev and I put new legs on the Hoosier last year. The original legs were gone, and Grandad had jerry-rigged a new base--a solid base make of a 2 x 4. When we went to put leg on, I ordered the only ones I could find made for Hoosier cabinet, however...they didn't fit. The original legs must have had a pin that went up into corner reinforcements and attached that way. So, we jerry-rigged our new legs to fit.

We spent a lot of time restoring the Hoosier, and we both take a lot of pride in this cabinet. I've got it decorated with old canning jars and other kitchen stuff. Inside, I keep Kevin's Grandma's china and other pretty dishes.

Like I said, it's one of my most prized possessions, not only for the work we put into it, but also because I can remember this cabinet being in Grandma' kitchen, and I remember her using it--every day. Just another tie to the past.

kitchen decorations

Welcome to another edition of "Shelly's pictures of old crap".

Exciting isn't it.

But, in all honesty, I like old crap, always have. Actually, I should say that I like best old crap when it has a family connection. But any old crap will do...
This is an old lamp that I rescued from Grandma and Grandpa's house. It's a reading lamp instead of just a regular old oil lamp. It has a round wick and a metal flame diffuser. I guess it was supposed to be better for reading than just a regular old lamp. To be hones though, I can't tell that it puts out any more light than a regular oil lamp. And, yes, I've used this lamp. We used it on Christmas Eve when the electricity went out. This lamp sat for 30 years on a window sill in Grandma's laundry room--which we called "The Back Porch". (It was called that because once upon a time, it was the Back Porch. It had been enclosed long before G&G moved there, but it kept that name. Tradition, don' cha' know.)

Anyway, this sad little lamp sat there for years and years collecting dust. I was just going to toss it but when I looked at the bottom of the lamp, I discovered it was labeled with a name....

Mrs. Newby.

Mrs. Newby had been a friend of my Great Grandmother Miller and was also one of Grandma's friends. This had evidently been her lamp, and because of those ties...I kept it.

I got online, and looked up the model and searched for a new chimney and mantle. It's chimney is bigger than that of most oil lamps, so I had to special order it. I then discovered that I also needed a little flat metal disk to go on the "diffuser". I found it online too. Once I cleaned up the lamp and got the parts I needed, it worked just like new. (I'm guessing that it was moved out to the porch when Grandma and Grandpa couldn't find a new chimney or mantle.)

It's not at all valuable--except to me for those family ties. And, it's valuable for the light it can provide when we lose power, and it just looks good sitting on top of my kitchen cabinets!

On the wall behind the lamp is some old wooden mallet (or is it a pestle?) and an old jar opener. In front of this lamp sits an old copper Coleman lamp funnel. We found it out on the Hill in a pack rat's nest that was in the old coal shed/milk house. The bottle is an old ink bottle that I found out at the Farm.

This is an old waffle iron. Cast iron. (Forgive the dust. Sheesh, you'd think someone at my house would clean occasionally!) The Waffle iron lived in the cellar. It was pretty nasty, but seeing that it was cast iron, I wasn't about to just toss it. It's for a wood burning stove. The base sits on the stove top and the waffle iron is elevated about an 1.5 inches. It flips and rotates so you can cook both sides. (Looks like I need to re-season it, because the rust is showing right along with the dust.) I don't know if the waffle iron was Grandma's or if it was Aunt Flo's, but it's mine now...and that's all that matters, right?

This last shot (today) is of the the window that's above the sink. (Notice my curtains that I made myself without a pattern. Proof that sometimes, I do actually sew.) Anyway, I hung up more old crap up there. There's an old biscuit cutter that doubled as a donut cutter (except we accidentally threw away the "hole" cutter part.) There's an old meat tenderizer, that's actually rather dangerous looking--think tomahawk with serrated edges.) Behind the light is Grandma's French Fry cutter. Then a little tin zester and finally a tin funnel. All were Grandma's and all now live in my kitchen where we can see them and enjoy them every day.

Hope you enjoy looking at some of my old crap. Believe me, I've got lots more to share!