Eat. Prey. Love. And Holiday News.

An a recent early morning my husband called me to the back window. A hawk with a rat in its talons was struggling to get it to the roof of the garage. 

 He sat there for a while before flying off to his official dining room.

Because we live near so many restaurants rats are a problem. As are skunk, raccoon, and coyote. Rabbits and opossum are also around. There were canine tracks in the back yard a few days ago, an overnight visitor. With no more doggies of our own the yard is usually pristine.

pristine snow. 

I am concerned a neighbor is using rat poison, which will also poison the hawk. It would be better if people 1) kept their trash in sealed trash cans 2) did not leave bags of empty soda pop bottles and cans outdoors 3) and if they cleared out the area behind their garage of tall weeds and cast-offs.

A quilt friend brought in her friend's unfinished quilt made by her grandmother. We discussed how it could be finished. The Dresden Plates were basted and hand sewn onto an aqua shot cotton fabric.

It had flannel sheets used for a batting and a thin cotton muslin for a backing. The fabrics were in pristine condition!

I made my first quilt in 1991, a gift to my brother. He gave it to me for repair work, the second go-around for repairs. I used fabrics from my home decorating projects, shirts, and new fabric.

 I was very ignorant and would not ask for help. For quilting, I big stitched with button hole thread.

The paisley was left from I dress I made. The tan with teal squares was curtains and a comforter we had in our bedroom.

The quilt is quite faded and looks it age, so I have simply patched it. In the photo below I found the original fabric to patch over a spot that had worn to tatters.

 I turned the top border fabric to the back to bind the quilt off.

To my brother Thomas Gochenour on the occasion of his college graduation 1991, Nancy Bekofske, Hillsdale, MI

It is comfort food weather in Michigan. I saw this easy recipe for Chicken Pot Pie on Facebook and we tried it out the next day. We made biscuits from scratch.

It uses three boneless, skinless chicken breasts in 1" pieces and sauteed in oil. Then you take a half onion chopped, two carrots peeled and chopped, and 2 stalks celery chopped and cook them in the oil along with a teaspoon of fresh thyme. When the veggies are soft add 3 tablespoons flour and stir and cook a bit before adding 2 cups of chicken broth. Simmer and stir until thickened. Remove from the heat, add the chicken and 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. (I used 1 tbsp. milk and 1 tbsp. yogurt.) Place biscuits on top, brush with egg wash, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

And we had home made bean soup for lunches.

We have put up our Christmas tree in the family room. The ornaments each have special memories, so many were gifts from people or bought at church bazaars. And there are the wooden ornaments we bought and painted for our first tree in 1972.

I am holding our pet Nasturtium in  1973. We cut the tree ourselves and

decorated it with the wood ornaments. The olive wood

Nativity set was bought at a church SERVE store in Columbus, OH.

Our tree in 1972, which we cut ourselves, and decorated with popcorn strings

and the wood ornaments.

I still remember my husband painted the purple dog above!

Our tree this year. I made the skirt in the 1990s.

I am working on cleaning up unfinished projects in the quilt room, Row By Row and single blocks, repair work, and other duties. I made a block into a large 'mug rug' with two smaller mug rugs.

I always find time for reading, regardless of holiday activities! The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin just came in from Bookish. 

Christmases Past: 1956 and 1957 Photos

Looking at old photographs brings back memories, shows us the world of our past, and reveals things we took for granted.

1956

I had forgotten that Mom decorated the doors and windows with stenciled 'snow' paint. I love the hat with the balls on the ties. The over the shoes snow boots had loads of clasps which I still couldn't manage in kindergarten.

Christmas 1956. My hair was in pigtails. I was five years old. Here I am coloring with stencils. Coloring was one of my favorite activities. The flannel nightgown was a must; our 1830s house had no heating in the upstairs bedrooms!

Skunk and Mouse get an education with my new chalk board. This is one of the few photos that still has good color. Most I converted to black and white. The television was our 'new' one.

Mom was twenty-six years old.

A doll bed. I wonder what doll I put in it? Perhaps the skunk and mouse? Santa on the closet door was Styrofoam with flocked red hat and nose. Mistletoe hung over the door into the kitchen.

Here I am with Dad, aged 27. I have a board game set. A metal doll house is next to Dad. On the left is a 'modern' table holding the creche.

What a mess! I was still an only child and Mom loved Christmas. The toys weren't expensive, but it didn't matter to me.

Mom painted the Tole painted magazine rack next to the chair. Yep, that's real tinsel on a real Christmas tree.

Christmas 1957
I was five years old.

I see a toy ironing board and iron on the right. Next to the chair is a pink suitcase with Tiny Tears and all her clothing and baby things, sitting on a box holding a tea set. Under the tree is my new dress. I am holding my first 'fashion doll', a Miss Revlon. She came with underclothing and two dresses, a belt, a hat, and a purse. I rearranged and made my own style. I liked her in the bra, crinoline, and the belt in her hair, which was perhaps my idea of a ballerina.

A vintage Little Miss Revlon doll with original box

In the photo below you can see Tiny Tears and the tea set.

Miss Revlon and Tiny Tears.

I really liked that fashion doll. Here she has a Pill box hat.

I took the doll with me to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins who lived in the upstairs apartment. Note the old wallpaper border at the top of the wall.

My first dog Pepper sits next to me. I loved that dog! 

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The little modern coffee table of metal and Formica would be very in demand today. Mom's wedding candy dish sits in the middle of the table. There is a heavy white, scalloped edged, glass dish with green interior to the left, and a clear plastic Christmas tree on the right.

Here I am in the new dress. It was brown print with a white bib. Mom and I had matching permanents in a "Bubble cut" so my straight hair was very Shirley Temple curly.

I see a pile of games and books next to the chair. You can see the Tiny Tears in her pink suitcase on the right. The bottom of my stocking can be seen on the wall.

Dad supported us by running the gas station his dad had built in the 1940s. We didn't have much money. But when I saw the ads on television showing poor children of the world I felt very guilty for having so much. I knew I didn't need, or deserve, it all.

What Mom Wanted For Christmas in 1957

What did our mothers want for Christmas in 1957? Lets look at the ads from the December Good Housekeeping magazine.

I shared this Toastmaster electric fry pan ad on Facebook and quite a few remarked their mom had one, and several people still have one today! My mom made almost all her meals in one. I wish I had it today! It kept the heat so even.

Automatic toasters didn't arrive until the 1940s. What made the Sunbeam special was it's heat sensor that gaged the temperature of the bread, not the toaster. This Sunbeam toaster  was in production from the 1940s until 1996 when its $89.95 price tag couldn't compete with Wal-Mart toasters sold for $9.99. What a shame.

When I shared this Electrolux ad on Facebook I had another rash of people remembering their mom having one. So did my in-laws, but theirs was on gliders and dated before 1955 when the wheels came in.

 Everyone had a Cosco step stool chair. I'd like that rolling table today.

 

 Well, if you had to have a bathroom scale get one with 'jeweled movement.'

My husband's grandmother had a console stereo like this! But look at those prices! $169.99 was a lot of money in 1957!

 Floristic Telegraph Delivery! That's what FTD stands for!

 Lovely Lenox china in 'West Wind" was made from 1953 to 1980.

This Eureka looked like what my mom had. That $49.95 price tag was about a half week's income for us.

I love the idea of baking right at the table! Hopefully the kids or guests didn't touch it and get burned. See more photos and the original pamphlet here.

"Golden Foliage" glasses were the most successful hostess set created by Libby, sold from 1956 until 1977.

The top right ad is for Melamac dishes, which I know Mom had for many years. The fashions on the left are bed jackets. So pretty.  I didn't remember Hawaiian Punch before the classic 1962 ad, "Hey, how about a nice Hawaiian punch?" It was invented in 1934 though.

What did your mom get for Christmas in 1957?