Head of bed holiday décor

We don't have a head board on our bed because of the adjustable mattress.  I thought of putting a picture on the wall or a saying or a even a wreath, but nothing really seemed right.  I created a décor that can stay up all year round but is especially pretty during the holidays.



I purchased two curtain panels, a green wreath, two Christmas medallions and white lights on white wires.


I put three nails in the wall where I wanted the curtains to drape from and then hung the lights on them.  I then draped the curtains over the lights joining them at the top.  The Christmas medallions went on the top and the two sides.

 

Cleaning a cast iron pan

     My mother told me that you never put the cast iron pan in the soapy water to clean it.  However, I do remember washing it that way sometimes.  I had to have a cast iron pan of my own to understand how to clean it and care for it.  Now I know why she said what she did and why at times it was immersed in the soap bubbles. 

     I usually buy cast iron pans that are already seasoned.  They already have the oils baked in.  Usually, I cook meats in the cast iron pan.  The reason for this is because they have fat, and fat keeps your pan healthy - but maybe not you so much. 
  
     After cooking and removing most of the fat with a spoon, I pour in boiling water from the tea kettle and stir around with a spatula to remove any bits stuck to the bottom.  In the "old days" I used to keep a can of fat from frying on the stove and make gravy with it!  (Who remembers that?! - You just put some extra fat from the can, if needed, in the frying pan and add milk.  Stir and add some flour that has been mixed in some cold water to thicken.  Season to taste.  We put this over potatoes, toast, etc.  It was made at a time when the budget was running out for food.) 

     Then I pour off the water out of the pan.  I take a paper towel and wipe it out, leaving it for next time. 

     If I cook something like fish, spaghetti sauce or taco meat, the technique doesn't work so well.  The pan will still smell like fish, spaghetti or tacos.  It gets dunked very quickly in soap bubbles.  I never leave it in the water!  Just wash it quickly. 

     Put it on  a medium low burner and let it heat up to evaporate the water.  After cooling, apply coconut oil  with a paper towel.  Now it is clean and ready for the next use. 

     You can't leave a cast iron pan in the open air without some sort of oil coating to prevent rusting. 

     They last forever and don't add harmful compounds to your food.  Cast iron and Revere Ware are the best! 

Simply ironing a man's shirt

     It seems like nobody buys shirts for men that need to be ironed or they just don't iron them at all.  You would want your man to look sharp, neat and professional wouldn't you?  If the tag on the shirts you buy says that no ironing is needed, they lie.  It looks so much better ironed. 
     It only takes two minutes to iron one shirt!  Follow these directions and you'll be throwing them off the ironing board!  Your man will be so proud and you will be so proud of how he looks!

First, iron the collar.  Use steam.  Sometimes I splurge and buy ironing water.  It smells so wonderful.

 

Next, you iron the sleeves.  Lay them flat.  Do the side with the vent and the buttons first.  Some people iron the cuffs by flattening them out first.  I just iron them like this along with sleeve, sliding my iron over them.

When flattening the sleeve, make sure the bottom of the sleeve is flat along the bottom seam line.

 

 Before doing the body of the shirt, I iron the top yoke of the shirt along the back, standing the collar up.

 

 Now iron the body of the shirt.  Start with the fronts and then the entire back.  There is usually a pleat in the back of the shirt, you should iron it down so it has a nice crisp look.

Last note, when ironing the front, iron between the buttons. 

There you go!  A beautifully ironed shirt.  The smell of the ironing water in the air (lavender is my favorite) and it really only took a short amount of time!

Emma's Smokey Salmon Spread

My husband's grandmother would make this at any family event.  Everyone loved it.

1 can (15 1/2oz. ) Salmon
2 t. of grated onion ( use a teaspoon of onion powder for those that don't like onion)
1/4 t. liquid smoke
1 T. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese (at room temp)
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
2 T. minced parsley

Drain and flake salmon.  Combine salmon, lemon juice, onion, liquid smoke, salt and pepper with cream cheese and blend well.
Shape into a ball or log.  Wrap and chill for several hours.  Combine nuts and parsley on waxed paper and roll salmon into mixture and chill.
If desired, just before serving, form into a fish shape and garnish with additional parsley.  Makes about 2 1/2 cups of spread.  We eat this with Ritz crackers....yum.

A recipe link for Acorn Coffee!

http://foragedfoods.co.uk/how-to-make-acorn-coffee/

Tips for making a bouquet that needs to travel

     I made several bouquets that needed to travel to the event.  There are little tips for putting them together and how to transport them. 
     The available funds for the flowers was almost nil, so I asked a few people for flowers and cut my own greens from my property. 

    1.  The first thing to do is cut your own greens.  Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have lots of wild greens in my yard.  Even in the winter, the evergreens are abundant.  Cut long pieces, you can trim them later.  Fill a large tub with water and set them in the water....

     Notice that I also put in the wet foam.  This is done the day before assembly.

2.  The day before assembly, I picked the flowers.  Put them in water in buckets with flower preservative (packets you get with store bought flowers).  My mother used to put aspirin in the water with flowers.  I've heard of people putting 7-UP in the water too.

3.  On the day of assembly, collect your vases....

4.  I added rocks from my driveway, after swishing them in a bucket of water, to the bottom of the vases.

5.  You could insert a leaf along the side of the rocks...

 

6.  Add some water to the rocks.  Take out the foam that was soaking in the greens bucket.

 

7.  Using one of the vases upside down, press into the foam to make a nice circle the size of the vases.  Insert this into the vases on top of the rocks...

8.  Add the greens, pushing the stems into the foam.  This will help keep the bouquet's greenery and flowers from moving around...

9.  Criss cross the greens that are "flat".  These greens do not stand up straight, but are on the sides of the bouquet.  This will provide a framework to support the flowers.

10.  Place other greens in the foam. 

11.  Now add the flowers, keeping in mind that the bouquet will be seen on all sides.  I had few flowers, so I had a lot of greens to make the bouquet look full.

12.  The bouquet is pretty, but I needed a "highlighted" item.  I picked one sunflower to put in each bouquet...

13.  I also added some more flowers.  Look around your yard and along side the streets.  I found Queen Anne's Lace to add to fill in any gaps.

14.  Now, we don't want to see the foam through the glass of the vases, so we cover the vases with burlap ribbon and floral ribbon bows.  I do this last because some ribbon may bleed or stain when wet.  I taped the burlap ribbon in the back with packing tape to keep in place...

15.  To transport them - Take a large foam take out box...

16.  Close and cut an "X" on the top.  The vase will fit snugly in the "X".  Place the containers in the flat box (es).  Just in case, take an old bath towel and wind it like a snake around the vases.  Drive carefully. 



 

 



 

September fears

If you are online at all, there are a lot of people and organizations that point to September for some major events, including the second coming of Jesus Christ.  There is a lot of fear to go around.  It seems to go in cycles.  The following articles help to clarify and alleviate some fears:

https://www.lds.org/topics/second-coming-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

and

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/preparation-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng

We have been told to prepare spiritually and temporally, spiritually being the most important.