1959 magazine

Another great find at a garage sale to add to my collection of old books, cookbooks, and magazines.

Take a little peak into a woman's life in 1959 from a McCall's magazine.

An electric range with a pull-out oven, for easier cleaning. That sounds like a great idea!

Japanese-inspired clothing patterns

"Let's Eat a Real Breakfast" article. A doctor recommends eating a full, well-balanced breakfast to prevent hypoglycemia, mid-morning fatigue, dizziness, and fainting. He suggests that protein be included instead of common breakfasts of just toast, juice, and coffee.  (still good advice today.)  I certainly hope that the photo included shows a wide range of breakfast choices, not just one breakfast!

Hmmm . . . now that's an interesting-looking dinner!

"A Wonderful Way to Live" - McCall's 1959 Idea House

Our house was built in 1960. Some scary similarities, like paneling that we painted over, and bathroom tile although ours is a more neutral color palette, thank goodness.  That tile is still in good shape (what kind of amazing mortar and grout did they use back then?), it's going to take some elbow grease when we rip it out someday!

Aaron's favorite books

I love it when my kids love the children's books that are my favorites too.  Aaron has (finally!) started to enjoy books more the past few months.  He's still not reading on his own, but he likes when I read to him every day.  A few recent favorites:

"The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton (copyright 1942) is not as well-known as the others.  It's a heart-warming story about a little house that loves living in the country, seeing nature around her, and watching the seasons change.

But as time goes on, the city that was once far away creeps closer and closer until the now-abandoned little house becomes completely surrounded by tall buildings, trains, noise, cars, and smog.  The house is very sad because she can't even see the sun in the day or the moon at night.

Then one day, the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the house rediscovers the house and has it moved back out to the country where it is fixed up and becomes happy again.

Aaron's other current favorites are all mice books - his latest phase. 

1944 Cook Book

At an antique store last weekend, I found an interesting Cook Book(let) from January 1944.  Books are one of my favorite things to look for at antique stores, especially ones pertaining to cooking and other household subjects.  They can be such an interesting view into the history of the time and a peek into a housewife's life.

The front cover:

 

"Health For Victory MEAL PLANNING GUIDE" - a booklet with menu plans, recipes and information about creative ways to use food in the most efficient and nutritious manner without waste, and thereby supporting our troops and our country during World War II .  The inside of the front cover shows a woman sitting at a table writing a shopping list with the quotation "I hereby resolve to make war on Waste!"

A few recipes that made me chuckle (and feel very thankful I don't have to serve them!):

Bologna Sandwich Filling:  (to stretch your bologna further!) Mix ground bologna with chopped pickles, mayonnaise, minced onion, pickle juice, 3 hard-boiled eggs, salt, shredded carrot, and chopped celery.  Spread on bread for 15 - 20 sandwiches!

New Ways to Serve Stewed Tomatoes!:  Serve them cold once in a while instead of a salad; add seasonings to personal taste or even chopped vegetables.  And also - "Tomatoes are so versatile it's not surprising they've been called 'the cook's blessing'. From cocktails to the salad course, 'when in doubt, use tomatoes!' "

Fried Parsnips:  Boil sliced parsnips, then fry slices in heated drippings in skillet.

The back cover:

There are plenty of tasty sounding recipes as well.  One of them just might end up on our table someday soon! 

Play With Your Food

This is what you can do with odd-shaped produce from your garden:


This little guy was supposed to be a cucumber, but he turned out looking sort of gourd-like with a narrow nose! The eyes are black-eyed peas.

We found the book "Play With Your Food" by Joost Elffers several years ago. There are other books by the same author like "How Are You Peeling?" with all types of produce showing all sorts of emotions. "Food for Thought" is another favorite, which teaches shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites. Some of the animals, faces, and characters they come up with are amazing!

Here's another one we did a while ago:


nice hair!

Sorry, Mom & Dad - I DO let my kids play with their food! (sometimes)

Nature Journal

I've mentioned before that I love old books. A couple weeks ago, while browsing through an antique store, I found a book that I couldn't pass up. It was only published 32 years ago, in 1977. But the content of the book is a color facsimile of an English woman's nature journal from 1906.

The book, entitled "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", chronicles one year's worth of nature observations, seasonal quotations, and drawings by Edith Holden. Her journal was passed down through her family, and eventually published.





Her handwriting is beautiful, and her water-colored drawings are absolutely amazing. Take a look.










(a winter bird feeder)


(the artist and author, Edith Holden)

I sure wish I could draw like that. And I wish I had that much of a variety of nature within a close proximity to my house to observe daily . . . Beautiful.

Winter Scarf and a Good Book

Well, just in time for spring, I finally finished knitting the wool scarf I started in February!



For any knitter who might be interested, the pattern is from here. It's called the "My So Called Scarf" - strange name, but I loved the stitch pattern. I even found a short video on Youtube that demonstrates how to do the pattern, which I loved since I'm a visual learner, and I haven't done much else knitting-wise besides knit, purl, increase, and decrease. I did make my scarf thinner, for an every day scarf, as a wide one is sometimes too warm for me.

The yarn I used (bought from a local knitting store) is hand-dyed by (also local) Yarn Hollow - Gaia yarn, 100% Merino Wool. I used size 10 needles, but I think if I did this same scarf again, I'd use a size 11 needle to make it a little looser, as the pattern is fairly tight.

(oooh - how fun; I'm getting used to putting in links!)




I just finished a book that I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd mention it. The book is Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser. It's an inspirational biographical novel about Marth Washington, George Washington's wife. I never knew that much about Martha Washington, and this book was quite interesting as well as very enjoyable to read.

I learned a lot about Martha and George Washington, and gained some insight I didn't ever learn (or at least remember) about that time period in American history. I love learning history through a fictional account - I got so caught up in the character's lives, and I will remember more about them than if I'd read a typical biography.

I also love at the end where Nancy Moser has several pages about "Fact or Fiction". She details what elements of the story are historical fact, and what elements she fictionalized to bind the story together.

This is the third in a "Lady of History" series. The other two are about Jane Austen and Mozart's older sister. I'll have to check those out.

Have a good day!

Old Books

I collect old books - the older the better, as long as they're in fairly decent condition, not water-damaged and moldy or falling apart. Besides the fact that I just love books in general, I like to think about an old book's history - who's owned it, who's held it in their hands and read it, what shelves it's sat on and where. If only they could talk and tell me their own story, aside from the story held within their pages. The first thing I usually check is the publication date; the older the date, the more exciting the find.

Last week I found this book at an antique store. It was apparently a health textbook in "The Health and Happiness Series". I'm guessing it was written for late elementary grades.



It was published by the American Book Company, copywright 1934. It was a revised version of the original, published in 1928. The preface says that a revision was "desirable" because of the many advancements and new information that had risen during those 6 years. "The American Physical Education Association has made some valuable contributions to the study of physical education and hygiene." And also, "Likewise, the American Medical Society has of late years given special attention to problems of personal and community hygiene." There's more details that follow in the preface; but it makes me chuckle to see what they called major advancements in the field of health 80 years ago, and that's exactly one of the things I love about old books.

The wording they use is often amusing to me, due to being written for children and simply using the common language of the time. At the end of most chapters, after some review questions, there is a small drawing with a clever statement pertaining to a part of that chapter.







When discussing how to avoid getting sick, they recommend -

" . . . keep your body in good physical condition by eating plenty of nourishing food, by having sufficient sleep, and by taking regular exercise in the open air."

Good advice for all of us that is simple, and still true today.


And this cracks me up: in the chapter about food and digestion -

"Few people realize how much their health depends on the way in which the wastes of the body are removed. The regular removal of waste is a duty which cannot be neglected without serious results."

More good advice for us to heed - don't neglect your waste removal duties! (is this an OPTION??)




Responsibly follow public health laws. This book was written before the use of antibiotics, when quarantines were still carried out. When I see obviously sick people out and about, coughing and hacking or other unpleasant symptoms, I wish people would have the wisdom to "quarantine" themselves at home and stop spreading their germs. Especially if it's a child being allowed to play in a public play area with a gross running nose; don't get me started!


One other comical heading I noticed (in the chapter The Nose, Mouth, and Throat) -

"The Mouth is for Food; Do Not Misuse It"


Speaking of health, I've definitely been feeling some improvement the past few days. My thyroid has calmed down, even though it's still being somewhat sensitive. I'm surely not yet where I'd like to be, but I'm not where I was; for which I'm very thankful.