That is what everyone used to say. My grandma Margaret (my dad’s mom), that is. I don’t think I looked like her at all, but we spent a lot of time together, summers, and every chance I got. Eccentric. That is how people described her. Bold, creative, risk-taker, that is how I saw her. She has been gone for over 30 years, but she is with me every day. Margaret was a trailblazer. She owned a bar, was a seamstress who designed her clothes, traveled through Europe alone, and was divorced in a time when people didn’t do that. She made jewelry, knitted, and crafted little crocheted creatures in her spare time. Some I have, most I remember. When she passed, my Mom and Aunt asked me to go to her apartment and help clean it up. Everywhere I looked, there was “crafting” material, an entire closet full of yellow yarn, boxes of beads, tins full of old buttons, plus old photos and clothes from the ’40s and ’50s. I kept some of her objects and sometimes use the beads and buttons to make or add to my projects. And now, all these years later, I was looking in some boxes where I keep a bunch of old stuff, and I realized I do have my grandmother’s eyes; they are in a little jar on the third...
We have all been stuck indoors for too long, and I’m sure you think you are running out of creative ideas for yourself or your family to do on a freezing afternoon, plus I think there is another snowstorm coming this way sooo it might be time to make quite possibly one of the best treats you have had in a while. Yep, snow ice cream. My grandmother used to make it for us kids, easy for anyone to make. Yummy for everyone to eat. • 1 small can sweetened condensed milk • 1 bowl clean snow Add the sweetened condensed milk a little at a time to the fresh snow with a wooden spoon until you have the sweetness you want. Make sure it is mixed well. Freeze if necessary for a bit. Of course you can add – chocolate chips, pretzels, food coloring, but I like it...
I think this old-fashioned recipe should be the next big thing. It does have some rather odd ingredients like butter, sugar, coffee, and crackers, but I just tried it again and it was delish! My Mom and Grandma Martha would make coffee soup for me on weekends or if I was sick or I think when we had nothing else. I totally forgot about it, then the other day I was thinking about my...
This cake is both elegant enough for company and easy enough for a weeknight. I think the secret to making this cake (or cookie) great is to mix the ricotta into the wet ingredients really well, that’s what makes it light. Also, I swapped out a bit of the flour for fine cornmeal and that is in this recipe, you don’t have to. Oh! I was looking for a simple way to apply a...
That is what everyone used to say. My grandma Margaret (my dad’s mom),...
Teacup, shallow bowl, anything that can hold a bit of water can hold a...
When My daughter Lucy was about to turn 16 I wanted to publish a Happy...