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Increasing Tilth
The holiday season is past and our minds immediately turn to garden plans and other Spring endeavors. We are blessed to have relatively fertile soil for the area we live in, so much of the land...
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The Economics of Laundry
Washing laundry at home is a significant use of water, accounting for up to 40% of total household water consumption. This is partially due to the incredible water demands that a typical top...
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Rye Bread For Haters
I loathe rye bread, it's right up there with store bought whole wheat bread for unpalatability. However, as with many things made at home, I love my own rye bread. If you're a rye bread lover,...
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Friday's Breakfast Is Loving & Giving
We have a breakfast schedule here:Monday is Levi's turnTuesday is Micah'sWednesday is Tabitha'sThursday is Rebekah'sAnd every other day gets argued over by Bep, Abby & Asa for the privilege of...
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Mandarin Oranges
I've been canning mandarin oranges this last little while; since their season doesn't generally coincide with when we think of canning it does seem a bit odd to have the canning supplies out...
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Rest In Peace, Dad
William M. Near, age 90, passed away peacefully at his home, February 20, 2014 with family and his beloved dog, Zoey by his side. Born in North East, Pennsylvania to the late Winfred and Julia...
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Blackberry and Blood Orange Marmalade
We have a glut and I mean a glut (in excess of 40 pounds) of citrus fruit here. The children are eating 2 or 3 oranges a day plus an occasional grapefruit and still the fruit lies in piles on the...
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What happens when you put on your makeup.......
Asa, who is 5, came to give me a picture and tell me the story that he "wrote". It goes a little like this:"One day she was putting on her makeup when she accidentally lit something on fire and...
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A Day In The Life Of Maggie
Several years ago my friend Amy made up the most adorable dress based on an image dated 1848. She recently sent the dress to me in hopes that Maggie could now wear it and I've waited several days...
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Candied Ginger Blueberry Jam
We'll have a new culinary experience this winter when we finally get to eat the Candied Ginger Blueberry Jam that I made last week. I've never really liked blueberry jam, most recipes call for too much...
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The Taste of the Genuine
Everybody loves sweet corn, it's the quintessential summertime vegetable. Preserving corn was one of the very first foods that I learned to put up. Back then we froze our corn, which is the way that...
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Sumac Lemonade
So Gentle Reader we find ourselves again prepared for another exciting installment of "Everything You Never Knew You Could Eat". That's right, Mrs. G- connoisseur of boring historical minutiae and...
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Late 1830s Dress
Abigail's late 1830s dress is finally finished enough to get pictures of and blog about. Of all the historic eras that I've experimented sewing clothing for, the 1830s are by far my favorite. I love...
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The $7.32 Regency Dress
Each of the girls are getting a new dress this spring: Maggie got 2 1860s dresses, Abby got a late 1830s dress, Elisabethe's turn was skipped because her late 1840s pattern isn't ready yet so we jumped...
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Conservo Steam Oven
I've been looking for a Conservo for a little while, scouring eBay and local antiques shops to no avail. There are always a few on eBay, but for more than I wanted to pay relative to their condition....
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Autumn in a Jar
I just canned this:It might be called Apple Pumpkin Butter by some, but I think the picture sums it up better.Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it. Beware the smell as it cooks, if drifts...
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A Beneficial Barter
I grew up in the grape country of Western New York and though I've been away for a long while, my family still lives there. Where I live is moonshine country and after sending my almost 90 year old...
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Plugging Away At My Eulogy
Autumn is having an impromptu meeting with Winter right now in my yard. The sky is pale faced and looks a bit sickly, as though it wishes to put this meeting off for a future date. But it is not to...
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Thanksgiving Dress in the 1830s Style
Canning season is mostly over, I ended up with about 50 less jars than I thought I would since I never made applesauce, so we totaled out around 450 jars. After the weight of preserving is lifted...
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Elisabethe in the 1830s
Just a few pictures of Elisabethe's new 1830s dress that I mentioned in my last post. It was sewn by her big sister, Kate, out of a pima cotton check that we had from a previous project of mine...
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What Would You Give In Exchange?
It's been a week of news and excitement around here, some good and some not so good. The gardens are producing abundantly and we are adding to the canning pantry shelves almost daily. I need to get a...
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Domestic Economy
Summer is slowly, almost imperceptibly winding down; I can feel the change in the air though the workload is still as heavy as it ever was. We finally finished canning green beans, but the corn and...
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Weaving the Fabric
This post is a sort of continuation of my last post and an extension of some thoughts generated by some comments left. I don’t intend to hammer away at people who own a food processor, Magic Bullet,...
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Asa's Green Gown
I think that I mentioned getting Asa's image taken this Fall to commemorate his 2nd birthday; I decided that I wanted a gown that looked quasi-military inspired, decidedly boyish in cut and trim, and...
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Home Canned Fruit 101
If you're interested in learning to preserve food at home, canned fruit is the perfect place to start. Canning fruit is easy to learn and requires the least specialized equipment, perfect for the...
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