Oh, Pippi, My Pippi

Way back when, I saved my pennies to order Scholastic Books when pennies really did buy books!  Most books were 35 cents.  I had quite a collection of Astrid Lindgren and Beverly Cleary books.  But there was just something very unique about Astrid Lindgren's Pippi with her home Ville Villekula, her friends Tommy and Annika Settergren and her animal best friends Mr. Nilsson (a monkey) and "Little Buddy" her horse.

Pippi Långstrump/Pippi Longstocking was a girl after my own heart.  She lived in a colorful, clever,untidy house where treasures awaited in a chest of drawers as welll as a treasure box full of gold coins serving her monetary purposes.  She was strong and strong-minded and had a way of putting bullies and bad guys in their rightful places.  She was loyal to her friends.  Her spunkiness got her into (and out of) sticky situations.  And somehow she coped with a father out at sea.


Knowing that Astrid Lindgren wrote these books in the county we are visiting, I knew I had to do a bit of research to see if any of our destinations would have a Pippi and Astrid Lindgren connection.  I hit "pay dirt" as one might say in the city of Stockholm!  The Junibacken Children's Museum on Djurgarden Island is a very special place indeed.  A indoor train takes visitors of all ages past scenes from several different Astrid Lindgren books:  Madicken, Karlson-on-the-Roof, Ronja, the Robber's Daughter, Emil i Lonneberg, and the Brothers Lionhart.  Then there is the pint-sized-coolest-ever Ville Villekula.  Which, of course, I made myself right at home inside with all the pint-sized children.

Here's her messy room; here's her Little Buddy giving rest to this little buddy.

This museum in special in other ways, too.  It is devoted to Swedish children's literature with areas
to play in the environments related to books and book characters:  pirate ships, airplanes, winter wonderlands and much, much more.  Authors have their artwork from books on exhibit.  I only wish I could bring Miss E here!  This museum is also home to the largest children's book store in all of Sweden! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!

But, wait!  There's more!  It also is a place for having fika and/or lunch with pancakes, cream
and lingonberries and Swedish meatballs with potatoes.

Such a sweet way to wrap our visit to Junigarden, wouldn't you say?
Pippi most certainly would approve.

Picture This (Pink Suitcase Chronicles #51)

This time when I packed Pink for our third (and final) trip to our North Woods cabin, I also
packed two old photo albums and a new book I found at the library:  DEAR PHOTOGRAPH
by Taylor Jones.  The author explains how it all started by sitting in his old boyhood kitchen
while going through old photographs. Once the photo was in his grasp, he matched it with the
current-day background and snapped a picture of the "vintage" picture...get it?

This got me going!  How fun would it be to use our kids-at-the-cabin photos?  Answer:
waay fun.  Oh, and the author also suggests writing a little caption to go with the photo as if
writing a letter.  So with this in mind, here goes!

Photo #1

Dear Photograph,
    How was I supposed to know it would eventually be my job to put up and take down
this dock when I grew up?  And, sheesh, it's the same old dock some twenty five years
later!  At least Dad still pays me in steaks.

John

Photo #2

Dear Photograph,
    Who could ever imagine all the times I'd pass through this back door to our cabin?
Not only me now, but my husband, my daughter and the new "bun" growing inside
me this summer have passed through the door - trying not to slam it, of course, in 2012.

Anne
Photo #3

Dear Photograph,
     These two kids had a love/hate relationship sometimes.  I hoped that they would get
along someday and become friends.  It happened!  Yay!!!

Mom

Photo #4

Dear Photograph,
     Even though the oldest two never married each other like their moms had planned,
they are still buddies!  And the youngest three are, too.  We have always loved those
handsome, charming Rholl boys.

Love,
The Lindahls


Photo #5

Dear Photograph,
     Sitting together on these lawn chairs, (oldest to youngest from left to right), they still
make their parents proud - and six more kids have been born since this picture of them
was taken!  And one is now even a grandpa himself!!

Deb

Photo #6

Dear Photograph,
    We are now grandmas and we don't "do" perms anymore, thank goodness!

MeMo

Photo #7

Dear Photograph,
     I miss those days when we had all the kids around and made them do things they
didn't want to do like hiking up the hill.  And when Grandma could make the hike with
us, too.

Kris, Renee and Deb

The Well-Used Old Cookbooks (P*S*C* #50)

Cleaning out the cupboards at our cabin revealed an oft-overlooked treasure: the cookbooks.
Generally, we cook and bake pretty basic meals there such as burgers and dogs, spaghetti, and scrambled eggs.  Occasionally, the raspberry pickers will search out a recipe for pie or jam.  But this time, I really delved into the old cookbooks used by Wes's mom and his grandmother Martha.

Titles of cookbooks included:
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS (1950 red and white checked classic)
COOKING WITHIN YOUR INCOME (1936)
JAMS JELLIES MARMALADES (1927)
MARY DUNBAR'S COOKBOOK (Jewel Tea Company 1927)
OUR OWN RECIPES-LADIES AND SOROSIS SOCIETY (First Lutheran Church Iron River)
SCANDINAVIAN RECIPES

My own personal favorite was OUR OWN RECIPES, not only because Martha's handwriting was on the front cover, but also because Martha had written notes throughout the book pointing out Carol's banana bread and chocolate fudge and David's spice cookies.  Apparently, something was wrong with the Daffodil Cake because Martha had placed an "x" next the the recipe with the note "do not make."

The MARY DUNBAR'S COOKBOOK brought the most detailed information about using Jewel products for the ingredients.  An entire page was devoted to recipes with corn flakes!

And who could resist all these recipes using cocoa?  Not me!

The back section of the cookbook had recipes for feeding the Invalid - accent on the the first syllable please, not the second!  You would pray to get better after having to swallow down most of these recipes...my personal yummy favorite is offered now to you for:

Lemon Albumen
1 egg white
2 t. sugar
3/4 c. water
1 1/2 T lemon juice

Method (cookbook word here)
Beat egg slightly with a fork.  Add sugar and water.  Add lemon juice. 
Serve at once over cracked ice.

Following the Invalid recipes was a section on foods to eat if you wanted
to lose weight.  Much toast was to be consumed.  I'm assuming no butter was involved.






Part of me would very much like to take the cookbooks home and test out some of
more interesting recipes.  But  somehow, these books are meant to be a part of the cabin
telling a story about the women who used the books long ago.  Albumen, anyone?

One Room Schoolhouse/Beechwood Town Hall (*P*S*C* #50)

One of my favorite book series (and TV show) is based upon the life and experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The "Little House" series captured a life of long ago where kids went to school in a one room schoolhouse, parents were hard-working, and life was tough at times.  But, oh for those calico dresses and bonnets!

When we were reminded that there was going to be a special event at the old  Beechwood schoolhouse - a BBQ and "tour" - Wes and I decided to go have a look at the place where his Grandfather attended school. The school was built in 1914.  After the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company made a railroad stop in Beechwood in 1888, a post office soon followed in 1889.  The next building project was Bethany Lutheran Church, built in 1912. (More on that later.)

By 1934, the school was no longer used as a school.  It was the Town Hall.  Currently, the Beechwood Historical Society is using the building and working on needed repairs.  Come along
now for a little tour with me!

You might ask where the building's bell tower is? Rumor has it that it was "borrowed" after the school closed, and it ended up in a nearby museum. Soon, it is going to be returned.  The historical rendering, below, shows the bell in its tower.  Meaning the tower will have to be rebuilt as well.

Once you walk up the steps, you can see two bathrooms side by side to the left. The
tour guide pointed out the unusual toilets and explained why they were unique.
Becuase this area gets so cold in the winter, the cylindrical water tank holds no water to freeze. What happens? The user sits on the "throne" causing the seat to have pressure as the weight of the user touches down (see the gap between toilet and seat?) causing the cylinder to fill up with water and allow flushing. Cool, huh?  Sure beats "going" ouside to an outhouse!

To the right of the entry is a small room, now a vintage kitchen. Originally, the room
was for the teacher's use. A cut-out was made to open up to the main room years later.

And now we get to the main room where all the learning took place nearly 100 years ago!
It is set up with tables for the Open House, but you can get the idea quite well as to
the room plan. The chalkboard and flag are original.

Isn't it interesting to think about the songs being played on this piano back in the day?

Many original one room schoolhouses can be found throughout our country, but
somehow knowing there is one in our cabin "neighborhood" is very special indeed.

Coming to this blog next: The Old Church

Re-Fashionista!

Somehow, I just can't seem to let a good piece of clothing go! 

Take a look at what Miss E is wearing as she stands on the chair: 

it used to be one of my Mom's favorite shirts.

    (This is what the shirt looked like before I chopped it up.)

Using Butterick B5020, this is the finished product.

    



On a couple of the embroidered flowers I placed a backing of orange and hot pink fabric.

Also, green fabric was placed behind some of the leaf shapes.

To make the shoulder ties, I used the same pink and orange fabrics.
You can see the underside of the dress with the colored patches here.

This project reminds me of one of my favorite children's picture books:

I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn (illustrated by Julia Demos)

in which a little girl has a dress that she loves and her Mama keeps altering
it into other clothes as she grows.  Miss E is going to have that happen as long
as her MeMo can operate a sewing machine!

In case you are interested in how others are refashioning clothing, check out
this website:
http://refashionco-op.blogspot.com/

Happy Re-fashioning!

My Kind of Couture

Yes, I have totally fallen in love with this book!

Years, years and years ago, handkerchiefs were a staple in a woman's wardrobe - working women to fancy women. Both of my Kansas grandmothers, my mother and the ladies in the church could often be seen removing a little hankie from an apron pocket, the sleeve of a shirt or dress, a pocketbook or even an upper underwear "stabilizer" which I blush to even name by its name today!

Luckily, I have ended up with many of these special cloth squares in a collection I treasure.

But... what to do with them?

Not long ago, I found myself browsing in a book store, and stumbled upon this sweet book featuring 11 1/2 inch dolls (not Barbie) modelling couture fashions made from hankies. I was immediately smitten. Not only are the pictures and fashions wonderful, but the writing of the text is, too.

The author, Marsha Greenberg, has a way with words - clever, proper, catchy.

You might enjoy this book synopsis I found on the web:

What is Hankie Couture?

"A stunningly original collection of doll-sized fashions--everything from pajamas to wedding gowns--meticulously crafted from vintage handkerchiefs. Accented with slyly witty Hankie Couture girl "philosophy," this book is a stylish showcase of 125 unique fashions and accessories. It is also a how-to guide that allows you to transform treasured heirlooms or colorful flea-market finds into one-of-a-kind fashion ensembles.

Whether it's a floral sundress that fans out as it twirls, an apron dress with a scalloped border, or a neatly pin-tucked linen dress with pearl buttons, the book encompasses a seemingly infinite variety of exquisite dresses. Neither crafters nor doll collectors have ever seen a book like this, making Hankie Couture a uniquely irresistible challenge to crafters. And with its beautiful design and kitschy lifestyle advice, this makes a great gift book."

(Or a great calendar --- maybe on half-priced sale as we're nearly into the third month of the year?)

Too bad my Barbie/Project Runway challenge is past. I so would have been making her

challenges out of hankies! (By the way, I am rooting for Mondo to win P.R.A.S. currently underway)

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Such a glorious day in Chicagoland today! Wes and I decided to go to see the lovely flowers at the Botanic Garden and noticed the Kite Festival sign as we entered the garden. (Did you ever read the book THE KITE RUNNER? If so, you might remember the difficulty of flying these colorful kites, and I was thrilled to be able to witness something I had only read about before firsthand.)

What a lovely sight to see these masters-of-the-craft of kite flying! They flew their kites in teams. Music accompanied their choreographed actions. It was simply beautiful.

Three kites like airborne angelfish.

How could we not purchase a kite and go fly it with our little Miss E today? Answer: We couldn't! Our kite is the pink one right on top the dragon wings kite...Wes is flying it.

Wes practiced on the field with the others following the kite performance.

Then into the car we tumbled, kite in hand, to find Ellie waiting with her Mom right in front of their home.

With her Mommy being the most energetic runner of all, we cheered her on saying, "Go, Mommy, Go!" Ellie quickly learned the word kite

and giggled and laughed out loud at the whole experience.

My, but it is fun to be kite-flying grandparents!!!