Vintage Finds - Redesigned

Vintage finds, redesigned. This is my catch phrase for my sammysgrammy etsy shop. This inclination has been a part of who I am for so long, I don't remember when it started. I just remember always remaking, repurposing, redesigning from my earliest childhood. As a 12 year old, I redesigned my grandmother's sewing machine cover to be a skirt for the vanity in my bedroom. Even the dressing table was a reuse of a maple desk. In my naivete, I thumbtacked the skirt to the table. It looked so "girlie" and that was exactly my intention. I was a very happy 12 year old about my room. I actually still am on the hunt for items I can repurpose. Quite some time ago, I came across a white chenille bedspread at an estate sale. I bought it. My intention was to make one of those maxi length swing coat/dusters from it but I could never bring myself cut into the fabric and desecrate it's beautiful purpose.

You may know about the kind of weather we've been having in the northeast of the U.S.A. this summer. Blistering temperatures and no rain. I desperately needed a lighter than air bedspread. I can't sleep without covers but this summer, I wanted those covers to be thin, light, cloudlike, a whisper. I thought of the stashed bedspread. It was exactly perfect. The backround for the chenille design was a very thin, sheetlike fabric. I laundered it and dried it on the clothesline in the backyard. It smelled beautiful - like the outdoors. Then brought it in and put it on my bed. Alas, it didn't fit and didn't look good. I have a queen size bed. When this bedspread was manufactured there was no such thing as a queen size bed. There were singles and doubles and baby cribs. That's it.

My vintage bedspread did not drop down on the sides long enough. And it was enormously long lengthwise. In circa 1940 the happy homemaker made her double bed by letting the bedspread edges all drop approximately the same length all around the bed. Therefore the sides and foot of the bed all looked uniform. The huge amount of fabric remaining at the head board was used to wrap around the pillows. Voila! the bed was made. In the 21st century, we dress beds totally different. We don't cover pillows with bedspread. We actually highlight pillows, covering them with shams, adding lots and lots of them to make the bed look a bit like the bed of the princess in "The Princess and the Pea" story book. Therefore I cut off the extra length of the bedspread. I will make a pillow sham from it one day. Next, I needed to add depth to the sides and bottom. After much design-think, I decided on tulle. I purchased double the length of the 3 sides I wanted to extend. I stretched out the entire 7 yards of tulle and folded the 54" width of it in half and pressed it with the iron. I then had 4 layers of tulle.

I used 2 packages of clear elastic to gather up the skirt, stretching the elastic and sewing with a zigzag stitch so that when I released the tension on the elastic, the tulle automatically gathered up. The final step was attaching this gigantic tutu to the sides and bottom edge of my vintage bedspread. Now it fit my bed in a manner that pleased my eye. It is perfect for these hot nights. I'm in love with it........

Bird Bath Tutorial

I went on a garden tour a couple weeks ago. This is an annual event for two of my friends and myself. It takes place in one of our suburban towns and is sponsored by the town's Arts Society. This particular town considers gardening to be an art (and I agree). The residents of this town who are involved in the arts are usually members of this Arts Society and volunteer their time, talents and gardens for this, their biggest fundraiser of the year. Therefore, all the gardens on the tour have a plein aire artist sitting at an easel and painting in the garden. Many of the gardens have live music in the garden supplied by members of the Arts Society. The atmosphere is fragrant with the sound of music, lovely snacks, beautiful paintings coming to life and exquisite gardens.

Act III of Rotisserie Chicken - Chicken Tortellini Soup

This is the final act of the rotisserie chicken that I purchased at my local supermarket for $4.99 and created several "meals for one" from................... ______________________________________________________________________ I'm sorry that you find yourself in the position of "cooking for one" and that your dinner companions are the TV or reading matter spread all over your kitchen table. But, simply because this is the most unenviable situation to be in, you should have absolutely delightful meals and not just purely servicable......... _______________________________________________________________________ For the chickie's final application, he's coming to the table as chicken tortellini soup with fresh spinach........................ ________________________________________________________________________ You remember that way back in Act I when I made the chicken quesadilla, I advised you to remove all the rest of the breast meat and use it to make chicken salad (that was Act II) and to wrap up the remaining chicken entire carcass and meat and freeze it - freezing also, the juices that were left in the bottom of the supermarket container that the chicken came home to roost in............... __________________________________________________________________________ Now is the time to remove that package from the freezer. No need to defrost it. First of all, wrap up the carcass in cheese cloth. This is prevent the bones from falling apart and floating around in your soup. (And this is a personal preference) I don't like meat floating in my soup. If it is all wrapped in cheesecloth, it will all stay where it belongs......................... ___________________________________________________________________________ Fill a large soup pot with cool water. Drop you cheesecloth wrapped package gently into the pot along with the juices that were in the store container bottom. Bring pot to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Skim off any foam which gathers on top. Add veggies to the soup. I like to put them in whole so that it is easy for me to remove them when the soup is done. I put a couple whole stalks of celery - including celery leaves, whole carrots and a whole onion. I also add a small can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, if you have them................... ___________________________________________________________________________ Simmer for 1 - 2 hours. Remove wilted veggies. I mash the carrots with a fork and add them back in. I toss the celery and onion. All their goodness is now in the soup. Remove the cheesecloth package. Now you have a lovely clear soup...........

____________________________________________________________________________ Bring it back to a soft boil so you can cook the tortellini right in the soup. I add about half a 1# bag of frozen cheese tortellini to the soup. Cook according to package directions. When the tortellini is almost cooked, I add one half a bag of fresh baby spinach............................................. _____________________________________________________________________________ Dinner's ready. I serve this with a couple tsp. of grated romano/parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. If this doesn't seem like a hearty enough dinner, have a chicken salad sandwich with it. You can also have dessert - because there's not too many calories in the soup.!!!! ______________________________________________________________________________ After I ate my chicken tortellini dinner, I still had two quarts of soup left over. I put one in the freezer for another delightful future meal and the other in the fridge.

Act II of the Rotisserie Chicken

If you read last weeks post, you know I purchased one of those rotisserie chickens from my local supermarket for $4.99. I understand the price has gone up to $5.29 (.30 more). Still a good price for the amount of meals I made from that one little chicken. _______________________________________________________________________ I am cooking for one, so if there's more people to feed at your house, the chicken will not be as good a deal as it is for me. But even if you get 2 meals from it, it's roughly $2.50 a meal. I had at least four meals of chicken tortellini soup, three meals of chicken salad, and one meal of chicken quesadilla. That's eight meals from one little rotisserie chicken. About .63 a meal. _______________________________________________________________________ My recipe for chicken salad - I use only the white meat or breast portion - I shred that into a quart glass measuring bowl (with a cover). Dice a couple ribs of celery - a handful (1/3 cup) of halved grapes or white raisins - a handfull of chopped pecans. Mix that all together. Use enough mayonaise (I use light) to moisten the salad. Before mixing the mayonaise through the salad, I add a sprinkle or two of curry powder to the mayo. In the picture, I have served the chicken salad in a toast cup. But it can also be served on a lettuce leaf or in a sandwich. _____________________________________________________________________ For the toast cup, I buttered both sides of a piece of white bread, put it in a ramekin sprayed with Pam, into a 400 degree over for about 10 minutes.

Meals for One

Anything to do with the kitchen is exciting, stimulating, enjoyment for me. I love everything about it. Presentation, table setting, table linens, cookware, peeling, dicing, chopping, shredding, simmering, broiling, frying, roasting, grilling, sauteing - yes........even shopping. _____________________________________________________________________ Preparing dinner for a crowd of 30 people has me on high alert, making lists, preparing and freezing, rearranging furniture so everyone is comfortable while they eat. I draw up menus, make a time table, get out seldom used serving ware, think about decor (candles, paperware, beverages, etc.) And, all the while, I'm on cloud nine. ______________________________________________________________________ I have arranged a meal for all the faculty and staff in our local Christian School. I recruited a cooking-serving-decorating team. It was a lovely meal, consisting of a first course of chicken soup, chicken parmesan, stuffed shells, salad, Lemon ice for dessert. Backstage, it operated like a well-oiled machine. _______________________________________________________________________ But my current life situation has caught me off guard (a bit). I expected to be preparing meals, at least, for two, until I died. This has not been the case. My precious husband and dear companion went to be with Jesus a little over two years ago. I find myself in this "cooking for one" situation without much practice. But, I think I am finally getting the hang of it and I want to share it with you. Please send the link to this post to those you know who may be struggling with a similar situation and making do with "fast food" or prepared meals, when cooking for one is so rewarding and delicious. ________________________________________________________________________ When you're cooking for one, you usually make a whole bunch of servings - have one of them for dinner, separate the remainder into "one meal" portions and freeze. How lovely to peek into your freezer like you're looking at an array spread out at a sumptuous buffet. ________________________________________________________________________ Here's a START. Buy one of those rotisserie chickens at the supermarket. Choose the least spiced up one. (I usually get the lemon chicken). For tonight's meal - pull a little of the breast off - shred that - set it aside - cover a large tortilla with tex/mex shredded cheese - nuke for about 20 seconds (til the cheese melts)- lay your shredded chicken onto the top half of the tortilla on top of the melted cheese - then add whatever trimmings you like - I like medium hot salsa, sour cream, guacamole, a few scallion bits - roll up the tortilla by first rolling it over the filling, then tuck in the sides, then finish up rolling it, nice and neat. Cut in half crosswize on the diagonal. Serve with a tall glass of iced tea. And, perhaps a bit of dessert. This is very satisfying and meets the RDA food pyramid guide lines. _________________________________________________________________________ After dinner, remove the entire container with chicken to the fridge for tomorrows meal.On the following afternoon, remove remaining breast meat from the rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad from it for tonight's dinner (recipe on next week's post) After making chicken salad with the remaining breast meat, take the chicken carcass with the dark meat on it, wrap it in saran, tuck into a plastic zipper bag and freeze it. Also any juices in the bottom of the supermarket container. Pour them into a small container and freeze. Those will be for the wonderful chicken tortellini soup you'll make for meal #3.

Kids Are The Funniest People On Earth

When I had granchildren, I realized what a treasure trove of stories I had missed out on because I didn't keep an orderly record of the funny things my children said and did. I remember lots of those episodes and do have some jotted down on anything I could get my hands on at the moment. Some are on torn out tablet pages, some on the backs of envelopes, even some on a scrap of unknown origin. I made a promise to myself that I'd keep an orderly record in a journal of the funny things my grandchildren said and did. I have been faithful to that promise. Here is the journal I used.

Their moms would also share with me the funny sayings that these little munchkins said and did while away from my presence. As you can see, my collection has greatly exploded out of the journal. They began to give me copies of their school report cards. They also made me Mother's Day cards, Easter cards, Christmas cards, Valentine's cards. They wrote me notes, they received honors, etc. All that is overflowing the basket I had decided to save them in. Now I need a bigger container.

I want to encourage you too, if you're a gramma or a mamma, to keep a record of your children's or grandchildren's innocent early dhildhood sayings. They are too precious to forget. You'll so enjoy reading over these entries in years to come. And the best part.............those children who you've journaled about get multiplied joy and amusement when they're grown up and visiting Grammy and drag out that journal, sit on the couch and roll over in infectious laughter while reading this record of their babyhood. I'll share with you a story about Melissa, just turning 3 and embarking upon a program she had been avoiding for a long time - potty training. One evening after supper, she, her big brother and her Dad went on a bike ride over to the playground. She rode in the child seat on her Dad's bike and big brother had his own bike. While enjoying the playground equipment, Melissa got that "funny look" on her face and her Dad asked her if she had to go potty. "No" she said. He thought better of that and said "c'mon, let's get you up here in the seat and we'll go home so you can go potty". All the while he's speaking, she's backing up, further and further away from him. Then she ceremoniously replys to his invitation to be lifted up onto the bike baby seat, saying, "no thanks, I'll walk". Can you guess why?

Fear Not

When Tuesdays roll around, I usually am at a loss what to blog about. This morning I prayed about it. This is what the Lord impressed upon me to share. It is actually from a little devotional booklet that I use every day, called OUR DAILY BREAD. It's amazing to me how these little lessons are often so "right on". They seem to apply directly to something I need to hear or to know, exactly right then. The devotion for each day has a scripture portion along with a life illustration. Today, the scripture was Isaiah 43:1-4. The life lesson that was the other half of today's devotion, was shared by a husband whose wife had a very difficult pregnancy. She became weaker and weaker. There was danger that he would lose both his wife and newborn child. The promise in this scripture was a great comfort to him at that time - just knowing that the Lord was there with him, had not abandoned him - knew what was happening in his life. At one time in my life, the Lord made this portion of scripture very personal and real to me. I was a new believer at the time and didn't even know there was an Isaiah 43. But, somehow, He took me there and showed me His heart and it lifted me out of a very scary place. There were several times in my life (before I was a believer) where I was so frightened that I literally couldn't think straight. During those fearful times, I didn't eat, had no appetite (for me this is VERY unusual), just moved about on "automatic pilot". Nothing registered in my mind. My mind was so focused on what I feared. Drove places and had no memory of how I got there. As a new believer, again walking through a dark place once again, I had confidence that I never had before. I KNEW the Lord was with me, He was carrying me and I was lifted. I mean, I, literately FELT, lifted up. I did not feel that disconnected effect I had in the past. It's never returned. I had a vision of what these experiences looked like. As an unbeliever, walking through these kinds events, I felt like I was drowning, in dark, swirling, murkey water up to my shoulders and rising. After I was rescued, walking through some of the same kinds of events, I saw myself running through ankle deep, clear, refreshing water. All the while splashing like a child in a kiddie pool.

".......Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you..............." Isaiah 43: 1-2