Here are just a few Household Hints from my favorite magazine.

When I use chocolate frosting containing butter I always put the frosted cake in the oven for a few seconds, leaving the door open. The result is that all spatula marks and rough spots disappear, and the frosting is smooth and glossy. Care must be taken however, not to let the frosting get too hot or it will run.--A.L California

(This method may be used successfully with other frostings-Ed)



And possibly the first Mocha!

My family enjoys a beverage which I make by adding a little instant coffee to the cocoa paste before adding the hot water or milk. The amount may be varied to suit individual tastes. Mrs. J.E.L. New Mexico

Tonight I managed to bind off my little test knit learning swatch.

That means I have this week:

Taught myself to cast on, do knit stitch and bind off.

next up: purl (which always makes me think of computer languages, but thats just geek me)


It's not quite picture worthy yet, but soon soon I shall take a picture of my first decent attempt!

Oh dear me...I adore the smell of lavender. Nevermind roses, give me lavender. I went out to do other assorted tidying and planting and I can smell my lavender plant. Bliss. I then decided to weed around it a bit as the rains had caused evil grass to grow up -through- the plant. In weeding it, a stem fell out, so I now have a new experiment. Slathered the end of the stalk in rooting hormone and made a small clay pot for it. Cross your fingers for it, as I would love to end up with another viable plant to help take over the disaster of a front planter that I have. I had 5 different lavenders last summer, but right after I planted them the 108+ temps hit, and they did not like that before they were established. I may have to just go to the farmers market on Sat and get more plants to fill up the planter with different lavenders and get them established before the summer.

I will type up the full article a bit later, if there is interest. But the basic steps do mirror today's pedicure, with perhaps the addition of swathing the legs in astringent soaked towels, but that would be very cooling for summer!

I go flea marketing once a month or more.

My hints and tricks are few but I seem to have good luck finding things at good prices.

1. Go early, but this does not mean go so early you pay more to go in. That does not pay off if you do not find something good, then its just cost you 10 to window shop, instead of 5.

2. Go alone, or if you must bring company, only one person. There is little point to having a huge crowd, it takes longer to go through the market, and you actually see -less-.

3. Never go with a specific purchase you are wishing to make. I have a list of things I am looking for, but I never go with such blinders on that I miss other stuff that might not be on the list. The shakers to my stove had been on my list for months, and I did find them suddenly at a flea market, while not only looking for them.

4. Move fairly fast. Most booths have lots of junk. The good stuff, the stuff you like, will leap into your vision and you will see it. Call it the zen of Marketing if you will. You will not -miss- the good stuff if you go fast. If you go slow, you just see -more- cruddy stuff.

5. Bargain, but do not expect a merchant to deep discount something you and they both know would go for a high price elsewhere.

Stationary is a particular joy in my life.

I also love reading about all the rules of the past. Which cards to use, how to have them engraved, the rules of what color paper is appropriate for women vs men.
There were more rules then but as time went by, relaxed into the less formal ways that we put pen to paper now.

In "The New Etiquette" by Margery Wilson in 1940, she gives us these more modern rules:

Letter-paper or note-paper should never be ruled, nor should it have a gold edge.
It should never be eccentric nor "arty." Paper which is scented is an abomination, but if the merest suspicious of fragrance, such as might result from contact with the perfumed belongings of her boudoir, escapes from a woman's personal letters it cannot be made the subject of criticism. But the scent must be so faint as to cause doubt of its reality.

She goes on to note that paper can these days be any shade but pink.


So no pulling an Elle Woods from Legally Blonde:

Professor Callahan: It’s pink...
Elle: Oh! And it's scented! I think it gives it a little something extra, don't you think? Ok, well, see you next class!


Black ink on white paper is a classic look, but even Mrs. Wilson agrees that one can be a bit more feminine and use a bit of color, perhaps with a narrow border.

I have several different types of paper, and poor Mrs. Wilson would be quite scandalized to find that I have silver bordered paper! I find it looks nice with either red or black ink. I also have a light blue paper with a darker blue border for use with blue ink and cream paper for general use.

I love to write with fountain pens and thus have a slight obsession with ink. I like using colors that invoke the seasons, and make me smile.

But the paper is always good quality, usually Crane's. That is not something that in my opinion has changed with time. If it is worth the effort to hand write a letter, the recipient should be able to feel that care in each aspect of the letter, even the paper.

So maybe Mrs. Wilson would forgive me my colored inks after all, as long as I am writing letters.