Repeating Calendars

Calendars never really go out of date. Eventually the days repeat themselves, and you can use a vintage or antique calendar again. See which years can be used again for 2010 and 2011. I've found a few vintage public domain images of children's school(blackboard) calendars by month. I'll post them as the months come up, and any others that I find for the entire year.

Cut and Paste Printables

I've got a preschooler who will be enjoying these free cut and paste printables tomorrow.

 

Free Printable Tangram Patterns and Silhouette Cards

Invented by the Chinese and used to develop geometric thinking and spatial sense. 

Numerous free patterns here.

Painted Floor Progress

I'm making headway with the painted floors despite children and/or cats walking or almost walking across wet paint. I finished my son's bedroom and the formal living room. Now that some of the floors are done, it shows how badly the baseboards need painting. I'll work on this next.
I used Behr's One Part Epoxy Concrete Garage Floor Paint with a concrete primer on this concrete first floor living room floor. It turned out nicely and a large vintage wool Persian area rug($176 including shipping on ebay) with padding will go over top. I used 1.5 cans of paint for this 15 x 12(approximate) area, and half a can of concrete primer. The hubby took out the carpet and used a hand sander to smooth the floor.

Vintage Children's Character Education Resources

We are to be fulfilled and satisfied in the abundance of Christ's life, putting our love and trust in God above all else, neither material nor person coming before God.

Most of these resources deal with greed and the consequences of greed in one form or another. All are in public domain and are downloadable and printable:

The Punishment of Greed from the Chinese Fairy Book, 1921.

Proverbs By John H. Bechtel, 1910

Which is Best?, The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle, Katharine Pyle, 1887.

Greed in Marlowe's Tragedies, English Literature by Alphonso Gerald Newcomer, 1905.

Decline of the Republic, A History of the Ancient World, by George Stephen Goodspeed, 1912.

Service, Junior High School Literature by William Harris Elson, Christine M. Keck, 1920.

The Son of Columbus, Great Men's Sons by Elbridge Streeter Brooks, 1895.

The Last Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Harper's Fourth Reader, 1888.

Malchus the Monk, The Book of Saints and Heroes, by Andrew Lang.

The Wolf and the Crane,  The Folk-lore Readers, by Eulalie Osgood Grover, Margaret Ely Webb, 1914.

The Lion's Share, The Story Hour Readers, 1920

The Magic Well, The American School Readers, 1911

The Greedy Geese, Good Stories for Great Holidays, 1914

More later.....

DIY Pallet Furniture

Made from free pallets. See more here.

Source

Care of Painted Floors

The Housekeeper's Handbook of Cleaning
Harper's Home Economics
Author Sarah Josephine MacLeod
Publisher Harper & Brothers, 1918

Some vintage advice for the care of painted floors:

Floors and  Floor Coverings

"Fortunately the day of nailed-down carpets is almost gone. The sooner all carpets are replaced by rugs the better. Carpets which cover the entire floor hold dust and are hard to clean. Rugs take as much dust for the surface they cover, but the surface is not so great, and they are cleaned much more easily.

Even though a floor is of soft wood, the cracks can be filled and three or four coats of good paint applied. If this surface is covered with one large rug, or with several smaller ones placed where there is the most traffic, the finish will last well. Painted soft-wood floors are not as desirable as hard-wood floors, but they are preferable to carpeted floors.

Painted floors.—To keep these in good condition they should be swept with a soft-hair brush and dusted with a dry mop or duster. Occasionally they may be washed with a slightly moistened cloth."

Painted Concrete Floors

I'm thinking we might paint the concrete floors downstairs instead of renting a grinder for polished concrete floors. The grinder is inexpensive, but paint is even less. Look how nicely Sandy's turned out:

 


She has got a beautiful blog. Go check it out, Paint Me White.

How to Make Sour Cream From Plain Yogurt

Easy!  You take plain yogurt(no additives), drain off the liquid(whey), add some lemon, and refrigerate for two hours. See here for detailed recipe.

This tutorial mentions the use of a fine mesh kitchen sieve to drain the yogurt, but cheese cloth or a strong paper towel over a colander works well too. I use the colander/paper towel combination over a large bowl to drain the yogurt. Instead of discarding the drainage(whey), save it for baking and cooking. I use whey in homemade bread.

For something extra, save a portion of the drained yogurt; skip the lemon, drain overnight, and you'll have creamy cheese!

Image for wikipedia.

Common Ingredient Substitutions When You Run Short

Helpful list here, at Allrecipes.com.

Substituting apple sauce or yogurt for oil/butter in baking recipes is one of my favorite diet secrets. I also use this substitution in my homemade salad dressing; instead of oil, I use yogurt. Just one tablespoon of my canola oil is 120 calories! One cup of plain whole milk yogurt is only 130 calories.

Extending the Table Cookbook

I finally ordered this cookbook, Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook, which was written in the spirit of the More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook), one of my favorites. The recipes are diverse simple nutritious meals from around the world, the international version of the Hillbilly Housewife's low cost made from scratch recipes. Many of the meals are similar to what I already cook, but the book gave me so many ideas for diversifying them. I'll be sharing some of these recipes soon, as I make them.

I got the cookbook free with Amazon gift certificates via Swagbucks.

Tonight's Menu: Lemon Lentils Recipe with Kale, Cumin and Turmeric

Recipe here. 

Image from link.

Update: This was so good, and even better as a leftover! I added some curry,  pepper flakes, seasoned salt, and a little homemade syrup  for extra taste. My husband wanted some meat, so it also had about a cup of shredded chicken. A little lemon juice would have been tasty as well.

What's for Dinner: Senegalese Black-eyed Pea Fritters and Senegalese Lemon Chicken

The World Cup coverage has inspired me to explore African recipes, especially the countries whose cuisine had been influenced by many different cultures. I really like the multitude of spices used in North African recipes. I'm trying this recipe for bean fritters tomorrow night, but I haven't decided on an accompaniment. Maybe Poulet Yassa(Senegalese chicken with onions and lemon).

My taste buds have been happy with all the variety. I must also try some spicy Moroccan recipes soon.

Tutorial: Iron-on Decals from Plastic Shopping Bags

Click here. So Clever!
Image from tutorial.

DIY Low Cost Floors

Thinking about converting carpet to something low cost, allergy friendly, and green - polished concrete floors. More in about two weeks.

A few helpful links for DIY polished concrete floors:

How to Polish a Concrete Floor 

DIY Polished Concrete Floors

 Floor Grinder Rental with Diamond Pads

Pink Potato Casserole

Boil potatoes, a rutabaga or two, and a beet until soft. In a casserole dish, mash together all with sour cream, butter, and seasonings. Top with sauteed  onion ringlets and Parmesan cheese. Pour a little evaporated milk across top and pop into the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Use leftover pink boiling water for pink homemade bread, or for other baking recipes.

What's for Dinner: West African Jollof Rice

"Jollof Rice, also called 'Benachin' meaning one pot in the Wolof language, is a popular dish all over West Africa. It is thought to have originated from Gambia but has since spread to the whole of West Africa, especially amongst members of the Wolof ethnic group.

There are many variations of Jollof rice. The most common basic ingredients are: rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, and red pepper. Beyond that, nearly any kind of meat, vegetable, or spice can be added." ~ Wikipedia

Image from BBC Good Food.

I use a recipe close to this one. Tonight I used what I had on hand for the base vegetables: collard greens and beets. I have packs of pre-made rice and shredded chicken ready in the freezer, so this is a quick meal for us.