Whiteley Creek Homestead Bed and Breakfast Brainerd Minnesota

hanging out laundry

I do love laundry flapping in the breeze. A rope tied around two trees, a retractable line, or permanent wires stretched taut between poles. That part doesn't matter. It's the act of hanging out laundry to dry in the freshness of nature. (One of my go green postage stamps with a drawing of  a clothesline wisely advises us to "let nature do the work.") It's recreating an era before automatic dryers. It's the cozy feeling it elicits... like oven mitt-covered hands removing a rhubarb strawberry pie or a pan of oatmeal raisin cookies from the oven on a rainy day.   

Growing up, we didn't own a dryer. So, it was out of neccessity that we utilized a clothesline. I vividly remember the scent of lilacs as I hung laundry outside in the springtime, as a large bush grew at each end of the poles. When we installed our clothesline, I knew it must have lilac bushes... one at each end. 

apron tablecloth dishtowel window treatments

Yesterday, I received a sweet email from an Illinois resident who I had the pleasure of meeting when she stopped by my bed and breakfast last August, accompanied by her sister who lives in the area. A snippet of her email... "I just thought I would let you know that I was just looking at your website for a little apron-inspiration, and got sidetracked by your blog about the "fruit" cake. I am now full of curiosity about whether Jessica actually took a bite of the cake/bread that you'd left aside for her with the lentil soup." Yes, Sharon, after a wary, skeptical, miniscule sampling of my fruit cake, my daughter Jessica single-handedly put away an entire mini loaf during her 3-day visit. Perchance there are other apron lovers in the blogosphere, so I thought I'd dedicate this blog post to you, Sharon, and others that are also looking for a little "apron-inspiration."

My apron love, obsession really, began as a child growing up in the 1950s when it was as commonplace for women to slip into an apron as it was the dress underneath. I rarely saw my mother apronless as she went about completing her daily tasks. A Saturday trip to town or church on Sunday were the exceptions. No longer a child, I now slip into one of my favorite bib aprons when I bake, as my mother did. It just feels right. For me, it's not for shielding my clothing from spills. An apron defines and elevates my role as the provider of sustenance and culinary enjoyment in my household. (During a visit, my granddaughter sifted through my apron drawer and slipped into one of my aprons. Albeit a bit oversized, much too quickly, she will fill it out just as I have. Photo courtesy of my daughter Heather over at her delightful wordplayhouse blog.)

An apron's role goes beyond the kitchen. A variety of half aprons, both everyday cotton and organdy hostess styles, drape my windows.

Other kitchen linens serve well as window coverings, too. A small tablecloth, gently pulled back to create a billowing poof and secured with an old clothespin, makes a soft, graceful curtain. 

Vintage, handmade embroidered dishtowels clothespinned and looped over a clothesline rope strung between a pair of cuphooks and a colorful, oldtime flour sack tied in a single, loose knot are pretty, too.

Once the use of aprons, tablecloths, and dishtowels for window treatments becomes second nature, you'll be seeing other applications for them, as well. An apron makes a sweet covering for the front of a pedistal sink. Even kitchen utensils are perfect for repurposing. An old slotted spoon becomes a holder to secure a roll of bathroom tissue. Oh, yes. Nothing your eyes fall upon will be seen in the same light. No, not ever.     

farmhouse renovation and farmstead layout

We all have dreams. Over the years, I have concluded that, no matter what generation, we are more alike than not. We dream of where we'd like to live, the house we'd like to build, the interior furnishings, and the layout of our gardens and farm buildings. My parents, I recently tangibly discovered, were no different. While sorting through their personal belongings upon their deaths (my mother on April 22, 2011 at age 93 and my father on January 26, 2005 at age 94), an assortment of house plans from various sources surfaced. The before and after house plans shown below from The Business of Farming J.F. Anderson Lumber Co. Copyright 1945,  show how a "typical L-shaped farmhouse lends itself ideally to modernization inside and out."  The farmhouse style is practically identical to the one I love so much at the Rollag Farm Show! (See yesterday's post.)        

In 1946, my parents purchased acreage ten miles southeast of Brainerd that increased to its present 160 acres through acquisition of adjoining land. The original property included an early 1900s house that had a kitchen, living room, and one bedroom. A family that was rapidly increasing in size, to eventually total twelve children, required the addition of two bedrooms and a "backroom" for a chest freezer to store garden produce and meat, a wringer washing machine, a wood stove to heat water in a copper boiler for laundry, a cupboard to set a water pail and dipper for drinking and cooking use, and a combination wood bin/wash basin unit. My father and mother may have referenced some of the house plans, that had so carefully been filed away in the top shelf of my father's bedroom closet, for their house's additions. I am not sure.  

In the same publication as the farmhouse renovation article is a farmstead layout. I envision my father, who generated a supplemental income through farming, gleaning ideas for his farm. His dream. 

    

kitchen cleanup aids

These are three of my go-to kitchen cleanup aids. I prefer the Bon Ami Powder Cleanser because of its simple ingredients: limestone, feldspar, biodegradable cleaning agents (from corn, coconut, and palm), soda ash, and baking soda... and the label's cute baby chick.      

 
The sponge brush is perfect for cleaning two-quart canning jars that I use for raw milk storage and one-quart canning jars that I use for culturing buttermilk and yogurt. With a quick twist of the wrist, the brush swipes away the slight coating of nonhomogenized milk's cream that clings to the jars' sides before its dishwasher sterilization. The brush's adjustable handle lengthens to accommodate taller jars and bottles. It was a bonus gift when I purchased my eco mugs.

 

The hand crocheted or knitted scrubber is made from netting. I learned that tidbit of info after my curiosity led me to pull a bit of material out of the scrubber's center. In most instances, the scrubber is all that is needed to snuff out a stubborn spot in a pan's bottom. With a squirt of dish soap, it's also perfect for cleaning wooden cutting boards. Toss it in the washing machine's hot water cycle and it's good for another round. 

 

glass milk bottles with carrier

The raw (unpasteurized and non-homogenized) milk that I purchase comes in plastic gallon jugs. As soon as I get home, I transfer it to glass jars. You can imagine my excitement when I came across two half gallon glass milk bottles in a cheery red carrier during Dick's and my farm show outing last weekend. Functional and cute... crucial attributes in my book.

 

Did you know that the best spot to store milk is on the bottom shelf to the back of the fridge? Strangely enough, many models are designed with a wide shelf in the door to accommodate gallon milk jugs. Everytime it's opened, a refrigerator's temperature increases. Food stored in the door and to the front of the shelves are most affected by temperature fluctuations (at least 5° warmer than the remainder of the fridge). To prevent bacteria from forming, milk must be kept as cold as possible. A refrigerator's overall temperature should be 41° or below. Milk is best stored at 34°-39°. Hmmm... milk stored in the refrigerator's door is convenient for pouring a quick glass of milk, but think about it.   

alphabet magnetic board

One component of the farm show that Dick and I attended last weekend included antique dealers displaying their wares. Table after table up one aisle and down another... row after row  beckoning visitors to take a closer look... to discover that special little treasure that would find a home... to be lovingly placed as a memory of the day... just one day in a lifetime. I was drawn to a simple, brightly colored, magnetic board spelling out the word cookbooks. The second "o" in the word "books" was missing, but I found a replacement in my craft stash... smaller in size, but no matter.    

 
 
I displayed it by... what else... my coookbook collection. Above it, on the side of my pantry, I posted recipes that I plan to try in the future. I chose ones that use skills in upcoming lessons in my Cultured Dairy and Cheesemaking eCourse - Ricotta & Spinach Frittata (ricotta cheese), and Baked Manicotti Bundles (cream cheese and mozzarella)... recipes from my March 2011 Clean Eating Magazine, and Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna (ricotta cheese)... recipes from my March 2011 Real Simple Magazine. Because my mind is beginning to switch gears to spring, I also posted a Chive Goat-Cheese Souffles recipe to test and expand my seasonal (spring - chives) recipe collection. 

 
 
A row of cookbooks sit atop an old library card catalog that holds my time-worn, handwritten recipe card collection The shelves in the cabinet above hold more cookbooks. Inside the cabinet door, I taped food preparation instructions that I use frequently so that I can refer to them easily. After the preparation methods and quantities for making foods such as soaked muffins and soaked oatmeal have become second nature, I will replace the instructions with other healthy cooking methods I want to master.  I also post abbreviated instructions for foods that I make regularly such as sour cream, buttermilk, butter, and yogurt.  

over cabinet towel bar

In my mailbox... it awaited. I reached in and pulled out a little box addressed to me. It was from my friend, Deb. Inside was the most perfect Valentine's Day gift... an over cabinet towel bar that requires no drilled holes. It is up and functional in seconds. I purchased a new dishtowel to drape over my new towel bar... a perfect duo. (Click photo to enlarge.)

 
 

To make my gift's presentation special, Deb included this photo of her own towel bar.

Over cabinet towel bar and black and white stenciled dishtowel? Target and Target.

grocery shopping for kids

I was cleaning today and ran across three envelopes that carried me back twenty-five years or so. This is my daughter Lisa's envelope with some of the coupons that were tucked inside. 

 

When my kids were young, they clipped coupons to earn money. For each coupon I used, they received the money that was deducted from my total receipt. To keep the earnings equitable, I selected coupons from each of them. As each coupon was used, they recorded the amount on the back of their envelope for reimbursement. They were also responsible for locating the item in the store. When my daughter Heather had her own kids, she devised her own strategy. When her oldest daughter was five, she made grocery lists for her. The list might include "apples" or "winter squash" but didn't specify honey crisp apples or buttercup squash. Her daughter could choose the kind she wanted. It gave her a real-life purpose for reading, allowed her to make choices, and made a trip to the grocery store interactive.       

knit dishcloths

It has become a tradition... to go to the autumn craft festival, which is held at the Brainerd (Minnesota) Senior High School in October (and again in November for Christmas items), to stock up on handmade knit dishcloths. Today was the day.  

  

I choose to purchase dishcloths from the same woman, whose booth is set up in the same location each year, for $2.50 each or 5 for $10.00 even though I discovered she was undercut by a competitor this year who is selling hers for $1.50 apiece. It a loyalty thing. Truly, at either price it's a labor of love. I chose two autumn colored ones and three that are stitched in brighter, summery colors to celebrate the amazingly perfect, warm, sunny October days we have been blessed with all week. If you've never washed dishes with a knit dishcloth, you absolutely must. It's like a combination dishcloth and scrub pad. I use nothing else.   

fort and field shop

When they were young, each of my three daughters played for hours creating handmade products that they displayed and "sold" to each other in their elaborate stores set up in our basement. My youngest daughter, Jessie, has recreated an adult version of her childhood "store". She has a real-life venue to sell her products in her fort and field etsy shop and fort and field web site. She also maintains a blog. Her sister, Lisa, who is a graphic designer, helped her create her "brand" by designing her logo and business cards and has mentored her in the art of packaging.

 
Now, her sister Heather, who is a children's book illustrator, has come on board by designing a line of toppers for Jessie's striped straws that she sells in her etsy and online shop. These photo collages show a teeny tiny sampling of what she offers.

 
Jenny, over at Hank + Hunt (abbreviated to represent her sons Henry and Hunter), recently stumbled upon Jessie's shop and in her words "me plus fort & field = kid in a candy shop." Jenny interviewed Jessie asking her questions such as why she started a shop, where she gets her inspiration, etc. It's a must read! My three daughters make their momma proud... for use of their God-given talents, their ingenuity, and perseverence... yes, but their support of each other most of all.