HISTORY: Preserved

Looking ahead to 2018 - just a few days away! I set some sewing goals last year, but I don't think I sewed anything! I was being pretty ambitious, but recovering from pregnancy & delivery, getting used to caring for a baby again, and doing everything else I was doing before really made it difficult to face the challenge of sewing. But now that baby is a year old and we've got things better figured out, I'm hoping that 2018 will be a happy sewing year! Here are this year's challenges from the Historical Sewing Monthly which you can read about in full here. I know I won't get to do all these challenges, but I'm quite excited about how inspiring they are.

January: Mend, Reshape, Refashion: I think I might squeeze in my WLA hat for this challenge that I remolded this past fall. Or make another one to sell. The WLA existed in WWI, so I think I might be able to pull it off for the challenge!

Feb: Under: I'm hoping to finally FINALLY make that custom Rev War c…

Notice: This post discusses women's menstruation and frustration. If that makes you uncomfortable, please take this as fair warning.

Today was going like every other day, post-holiday. On top of trying to catch up on cleaning, caring for the baby, and feeding everyone lunch, I had to make sure we were out of the door by 2 pm to get the kids to their music lessons. In my bustle to get us out the door on time, one of the kids mentioned that they'd heard someone knocking on the door. It wasn't until a few minutes later, baby in arms, that I opened the door and saw an unfamiliar work truck in our driveway with two men at work on our septic tank. We weren't expecting anyone doing work, so I went out onto the porch in the freezing cold to say hello and ask what they were doing.

One of the two men greeted me and said they were the company contracted to service our new septic tank, and said things didn't look good. He then proceeded to hold up a dirty tampon and said the …

The last week for the Autumn Wartime Recipes & Food has arrived. It's a bittersweet occasion, I think, since autumn foods are some of the best out there. For the last post, I wanted to find some special recipes using up the bounty of autumn harvest vegetables. At this time of year, the cold cellar would still easily be yielding forth apples, carrots, onions, squash, and more. So, for the finale, I found these fun recipes to tempt your palate with a vintage meal*!


 To start, you can try these Hashed Brown Vegetables - the perfect way to use up leftover veg...


...or this simple, but filling Corn Chowder. I've been on the hunt for a 1940s corn chowder recipe. I'm excited to try this one!


For the main dish, you've got the choice of two different styles of non-meat loaf - V Loaf and Nut Vegetable Loaf. A friend of mine pointed out that these are just the 1940s versions of today's vegetarian meatloaf, which is a great point! Strangely, though, neither of them call fo…

Today, for us in Maryland, it's a chilly 38º F. They're forecasting snow for tomorrow. Wouldn't that be great? It's been awhile since we've had snow at this time of year. My kids would be thrilled.

However, for those of you who live in warmer climates, this recipe for Cranberry Apple Ice is perfect for some refreshing festive cheer! I know that Christmas time usually goes hand in hand with roaring fires, sledding, and snowmen, but let's face it - the warmer climates associated with Christmas largely get ignored, because it's not the charming wintery Currier & Ives portrait we imagine with the season. So, you tropical/desert lovelies, this recipe is for you!

It comes from a cookbook called Victory Recipes. It doesn't have a specific publication date, but looking at the introduction talking about the "brand new problem - point rationing", I'd say it was published 1943. 😊






One week left in this year's Autumn Wartime Recipes & Food…

This week's post is for these cold evening supper menus from the very amusing Mrs. Appleyard's Kitchen published in 1942. It's hard to say this is a cookbook, even though there are recipes and an index at the back. It's more a fictional story about a woman called Mrs. Appleyard and all about her cooking skills, or lack thereof, with recipes sprinkled throughout. There's a lot of tongue in cheek humor and poking fun at the poor woman. 😁 Even though the page I include talks about cold summer evenings, the ideas translate very well no matter what the season!

I included a funny passage from the end of the book for your enjoyment.

Happy December, and here's to colder weather!