Homemade in the Old Time Kitchen

Part 1

Dear Mothers, Do you know how to make homemade noodles..? Here is how i
make them...I get out my middle sized crock bowl and i throw in about 2
cups of flour..Then i rub in about a Tbs of butter... and a lil salt..Then
i make a lil well of flour ..and into the lil well i add 3 eggs if i have
them if i dont i just add 2 eggs..And then i stir them all up..Make a dough
out of the mixture like you wud play dough? If it is too dry add a lil
water.If its too wet add a bit more of flour..But it shud feel like play
dough..You have to have your dough dry enuf so you can roll it out..Ok now
i used to roll my noodles out on my table ..i always had a plastic table
cloth on my table because i had no space to roll dough out. . .. No counter
space...i have some now as Mary and Brad remodeled my kitchen,,But you can
buy the plastic tablecloths at the Dollar Store..Thank the Lord for the
Dollar Store..!!! Anyway to roll this dough out just sprinkle some flour on
your work space and roll your dough out with a rolling pin..Or use an old
washed out wine bottle or something like it.Wash the bottle really well and
dry it good..Then just roll the noodles out very thin,,,but not so thin you
cant get them off the table..Ok just roll your dough out and then cut
strips with a pizza cutter..Or just use a sharp knife..Have a big pan of
water on the stove and when you are ready to put the noodles in the water
...it shud be boiling ....But dont put them all in at once..Just cut some
noodles and put them in and then cut some more and put them in..Other wise
you will get them all stuck together..Boil for about 20 min or so..Just
stir them gently ..whenever ya think about it. continued

Part 2

Dont worry about cooking the noodles too long.. i have made homemade
noodles with vegetables and i have cooked them all day and they are so good
and tender..Like if i had a beef roast for supper ,,then we wud have left
overs..So i wud just add some more vegetables..to the pan and cut up the
left over meat...i wud then add water to the pan and a can of tomato
soup..stir this all up..Then add the freshly cut noodles.. Just a couple
handfuls of noodles..Then i put this all in the oven to bake. This is a
delicious meal..The noodles will float to the top and brown ...i wud bake
this at 350 degrees, for about 45 minutes..or until the noodles are brown..
dont forget to salt and pepper this..I use garlic too..Ya know if we
homemakers can learn some basics then we can save alot of money..Like to
learn the feel of the pie dough and how it differs from biscuit dough..I
mean for yrs i cudnt make a decent pie. i was so used to making biscuits
..and i just cudnt understand how to make pie dough..i mean i made pies..they looked good
but oh man the crust was like cement..But one day i was watching the
cooking channel and some one on there told us the diff between pie dough
and biscuit dough..Ok here it is..When you make biscuits the dough can be
shaped ..like into a ball.. It holds together,,But pie dough will fall
apart when you try to shape it..You will want a real flaky dough for
pies..Pie dough is very delicate..and it needs to be cold when you use
it..Pie Dough has more fat in it then biscuit dough..But ya know each cook
is different.. But just try to make a nice pie crust from just flour ,
shortening , and cold water..i have made all kinds of pie ,,,it is my
favorite desert.. ..And also learn to make muffins..Learn the secrets of
good cooking.. And when you get low on groceries..but ya still have flour
in the cupboard..and maybe some hamburger and some potatoes then the sky is
the limit..love connie

Homemakers of the Wild West

Part 1

 

Dear Mothers, i remember yrs ago reading this story about the pioneers traveling West.. i was thinking of this story today..Anyway the author was writing about how the men wud bring their families acrossed the plains to find land and to be established..Many of the women died because the work was so hard..These women were from the East and had lived pampered lives..Sooo many of the men cudnt find wives to take West..So the government let some of the women out of prison to go West to meet and marry these cowboys as they needed strong help mates...The pampered women werent working out..And ya know i have always said that if it werent for the babies being born out of wedlock there wudnt be hardly any babies at all..The more sophisticated women are on birth control..and can afford abortions.. It really gets me how women can carry their sign in Christiandom against abortion and they have the same heart as the women who are for it..But the more high class can hide their sins better then the poor woman..Neither side is trusting in the Lord for the size of their family..But anyway thank the Lord for the more poor class of people that keep their babies and raise them...and many raise them for the Lord..

 

Part 2 

 

But anyway the women prisoners were used to the cold nights and hardly any blankets.. They were used to not having enuf to eat or drink..Indians didnt scare them ..They knew what to do when sickness came and no Drs were around..They were not skilled in sewing a fine seam or drinking their tea correctly ...But they were what many of the men needed for a help mate..They were poor women who were given another chance at life out of the prisons..And many took that chance and some proved to be strong and faithful mothers and wives..The Government also emptied the poor houses and orphanages where older women lived..These women were given another chance to make it in this life..and they took it.. The women had courage and knew the laws of nature and common sense.. A piece of land cud be theirs too if they cud only hang onto it..and prove up on it...If they didnt get scared and run off some place..and give up..And today i think we Christian women need to show another side of our character.. We have to build strong spiritual homes and learn to live in them.We need MOXIE when we pray..We need an ornriness that wont let go when satan trys to lie to us..i read a story too about this young bride during the Depression..She cudnt afford any garden tools to make a garden in the Spring..Her husband plowed up an area for her..But she had no hoe or rake...So she took her broom and she poked holes in the dirt with the handle and put seeds in the ground..Then she took the broom part and swept the dirt over the seeds.."Where there is a will there is a way"We shud embroider this on our pillow slips and let this be our motto..Because when Jesus calls us to do our great work He needs our will..And in Him we are strong...Love Connie

Mother's Home Sewing

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters, November 2005}



Ya know, in the old days, the Mothers sewed all their families’ clothes. And when a garment would get a hole in it, the holes were patched.

I raised my first 3 children in the 1970′s. And, ya know, back then the boys just had about 2 pairs of jeans “for good” that they wore each week. Little boys love to play in the floor and the knees to the jeans often wore out long before the rest of the jeans did. So I had to patch their jeans. Then, if it was a big patch, the jeans would just be for play, not for school. Then the stores came out with the iron on patches, and they were nice, and the boys could wear these patched jeans to school. But most of the mothers sewed back then and we all had to do mending. There wasn’t the garage sales, etc. like they have now, or the second hand stores. I mean, there were a few. But once you bought your children’s clothes, you took really good care of them. And we always mended socks and underwear.

Often, after supper in the evening, I would do my mending. I just had a little basket I put my sewing in. At the Dollar Store, they have all kinds of needles and thread for cheap. You can buy all you need for a couple bucks there. They have light and dark thread to match anything ya need to mend.

Also, the old time mothers had boxes they put their scraps of material in. Like when a garment was old, then they would use the good unworn pieces for quilting. They always cut the zippers off and the buttons to use on other sewing projects. Or they would cut an old dress or boys’ shirts up in strips. And then they would sew the strips together and make long strips. Then they would braid the strips together and then sew it in a round flat coil. You can make a rug this way or little mats for your dinner table chairs. You can make little ties to hold them on the back of the chair. Or make a small mat to put hot dishes on the table. This would be a good project for the children this winter, to make these braided mats. Or you can crochet them, too.

My children all loved to sew and collect buttons in their own little button jars. I taught Christian Joy to sew at age 3. Well, Mary, too. Mary’s dog bit a hole in her couch and Mary just patched it with a little piece of matching material and needle and thread. My grandma taught me to mend and I taught my children. They all loved to embroider, even the boys.

Jim’s father, back in the late 1800′s, was 25 when he married his wife at 14. He taught Jim’s mother to crochet, knit and cook. She was almost an orphan and she married, really, to have a home. But Jim’s father was a good and kind man and taught his wife how to set up housekeeping. And all of Jim’s sisters also loved to hand sew and do crafts.

So way back in the old days, the mothers didn’t usually pass clothes on to another family because the clothes were too raggedy once the family used them. But like in the 1950′s, folks began to pass clothes on. And the clothes were in good condition but maybe were out dated or out grown. So mothers would take an adult winter coat and cut it down for one of the children. This is how they would do that. They would take the coat and carefully rip out the lining. I mean, on the seams, with one of those little tools to rip the seams out? Then they would take the wool coat, after the lining was out, and carefully take the seams apart. So the coat would then be in parts. Like maybe two front panels and one back. Then they took the sleeves off and took them apart in 2 pieces front and back. Then the cuffs came off and the collar to the coat. So you end up with about 10 pieces of the coat. Now, I am talking about, like, a woman’s wool dress coat or a man’s simple long wool coat. Then they would take newspaper and pin each piece on the paper and cut around it, making a pattern to follow. Then they would take each paper pattern and cut it down carefully to fit the child they were making the coat for. So the child would have to stand still and let mother pin the paper pattern to her sleeve to make sure it is long enough. So then, after making your pattern, you just sew the coat back together again. Now, I guess you would do the lining the same way. But, if it is a nice silky lining, I wouldn’t bother too much with it. If the coat is heavy wool, then the child could wear sweaters under it. But the wool cloth that you cut off the coat could be used to make a scarf or fancy muff to put cold hands into.

You need to draw your pattern on the newspaper and then cut the paper. This way you have your pattern to use again or to pass it to a friend. Make sure you write on the paper what is the front panel or back panel and left and right sleeves, etc. Then just carefully fold your pattern up and put it in your drawer.

The old time mothers would take garments apart if they liked the material and would carefully iron it flat and store it to make other garments with. If a man’s shirt collar wore out before the rest of the shirt did, this is what the wife would do. She would carefully cut the collar seams from the shirt and then sew the collar back on the flip side where the collar wasn’t worn. An old worn out shirt that was still good in the back part was taken out to make a mother’s apron.

When my little children were young, they loved to play in the snow. And their mittens would get so wet and their little hands would be so cold. So I would make little mittens without a thumb just for second hand mittens to finish a snowman in. Just sew 2 pieces of material together in the shape of mittens. Just make them big and use really heavy material. I made mine out of heavy sweater material. You can just cut the wrist part off a sweater and make mittens out of them. And in the cold weather, I always made sure my children had a lot of stocking hats and the big scarves to wrap around their necks and faces. You can get these for cheap at the second hand store. But you could make them, also, out of old heavy winter clothes.

I read a story once about a lady back in the old days. And she had a room just for sewing. And she saved all of the old clothes she was given. And when a family needed something, she just went in her sewing room and took something apart and made something new with it. Once a new mother came to her home with her little baby. And the mother didn’t have a warm blanket for her baby. This lady went in her sewing room and cut up a worn blanket and made a nice baby blanket out of the cloth that was not worn out.

And if you need a big heavy blanket and you have several lightweight ones, just sew them together. Sometimes it’s hard to keep children covered up at night when it is cold if you have a lot of little blankets. But if you have a big heavy blanket, it is easier. Just take your blanket and spread it on the floor, cut the other blanket the same size, and then sew it together. Then just sew some seams in the blanket so it will stay stable.

Always use the unworn pieces of your worn out garment to make quilts, etc. Because you have to go to so much work, you don’t want the garment to wear out quickly all in one place. So, yes, just use the good parts of the clothing.

I used to patch and patch jeans for Jimmy, who is now 39 years old. But when they were too worn or had gotten too short, I would cut the pants off for shorts for the summer. Also, I did the same with his little button-down shirts. I would cut the worn sleeves off and hem them up for the summer. But, see, back then, almost 40 years ago, you didn’t have a lot of clothes. You just kept the ones you had in good repair.

Little boys always wore a suit to church with a tie. Jimmy went to a Christian school. So the church outfit he wore on Sunday I put him in for school the next day on Monday. Since he had only worn his suit for an hour or so. And kids weren’t picky back then as what they wanted to wear. The Mother always picked out their clothes.

The family’s clothes were always under the mother’s care. And they were precious to the mother, as they were too expensive to replace. Like I said before, there weren’t garage sales like there are today. It was only in the 1980′s that I ever shopped at a second hand store for family clothes. I mean, we Mothers would pass clothes on to each other. But you couldn’t really count on that like you can the Thrift Shops of today.

And, ya know, making rags, too, for household use is such a good thing. Why use paper towels and all? Just tear up the old T-Shirts the kids outgrow. I just use the back and front, not the sleeves. Just cut up the flat material and have a special drawer for rags. This is a good project for the older children. Give them some clothes to cut up for rags.

Cut up old bath towels with holes in them and make several good rags for diaper changes. I can’t use those disposable wet wipes. I always use an old wash cloth to change my grand babies’ diapers. If it’s poopy, rinse it out and wash it. Poop don’t hurt ya! And, of course, I always used cloth diapers — except for the last 3 children, I used the disposable when I could afford it. The paper diapers do hold more and are less messy. The cloth diapers, you had to change after every time nature called. But, heck, ya get used to it.

I used to use old receiving blankets for night time diapers. Cotton flannel is nice for diapers if you have to make them up yourself. It’s not hard to get a bunch of cotton flannel and make some nice diapers. I think the homemade ones would be better than the store bought gauze type. You could make your own diapers as thick as you wanted. Or just look for the little receiving blankets at garage sales. These little blankets are so cheap. Some at only ten cents a piece. I bet you could find a dozen of them or more at sales in one summer.

Mother's Fur Coat

Part 1

Dear Mothers, yesterday Aunt Toots and i were on the phone talking..We were talking about Jim...and how he always worked..etc..He wud do any kind of work..i was always proud of him for that..I admired him..Ya know the man had alot of rejection in his life....He had every reason this side of Heaven of condemnation..he had alot of rejection ...Anyway i told Aunt Toots a story about my fur Coat..She said "Connie have you ever told this story to the grp"?? I said i didnt think i had...

Ok this story took place in about 1979..Jim had just come to the Lord.Well of course we felt we were riding on slow boat to China. . looking....4 a reason to hope..This story took place in the springtime..Jim was working for the City as a garbage man..He happen to be working on "Spring Pick up Day"This is when the city wud pick .up old couches etc ..The winter was ending..But all thru the previous winter i had prayed for a white fur coat..well i didnt get one..but i thot "Well maybe next winter i cud get one..." i had told my family i was praying for this white fur coat..So anyway i cud hear the garbage trucks down the street coming up this way.i loved to wave at Jim from the door..But here comes Papa walking up the street with a big white flat box..


Part 2

Papa comes in the house with the big box.."Hurry and open it the guys are waiting for me out front.."..As he laid it on the table he says "Here ya go..its your white fur coat" !!! The box was clean and the fur coat was beautiful..it was wrapped in white tissue ,inside a nice flat box..Some one had just laid it on top of their garbage ..The coat had a tag on it from the cleaners.And of course it fit me perfectly..Oh my friends all came over to see Connies lovely fur coat..OOh i loved my pretty coat..At the time i cud wear about a size 9..But in the next 5 yrs i had 3 more children..so i grew out of the coat..pretty quick..But i saved my coat as i thot maybe i cud cut it down for our Mary..but ya know with 3 little ones i was too busy to make a coat..But i think my coat is still in the attic..i will have to look for it..i adored that lovely white fur coat..But i especially loved it as it said to me that Jesus had my address.and He had heard my prayers...My prayer was so specific..and the answer was specific too..I was learning faith right then ..and that dear little coat spoke volumes to me.."Dear Papa in Heaven remember that fur coat? ..it was sure an answer, wasnt it?..Thanks my Dear for bringing presents to me and for loving me" Love, Your Beloved wife Connie