holidays, hearts & homespun recipes

On days when the wind is howling and snowflakes are falling, it's blissfully cozy to be inside sitting by a fire. It feels safe in the warmth of an old farmhouse, and it's the perfect time to plan & dream.

Have you noticed that cheery Christmas lights on homes and sparkling trees in front windows are staying around much longer than usual? Maybe it's the craziness of 2020 that's made us all want to hang onto the magic of the holidays a bit longer...and that's just fine by me. 

Truly, is there anyone who enjoys taking down the Christmas tree? I always find it a bit sad tucking away sentimental and favorite decorations...

made by little hands,

and given by good friends.

However; this little Santa never gets packed away, I keep him out to help remind me to try and hold onto the spirit of Christmas every day.  

See that little heart-shaped rock by his boots?

My son had put it on a tiny snowman last month, and there was no way I was
going to let it get away, so inside it came!

Soon I began noticing more hearts...

in a parking lot, 

and in a driveway.

Maybe a little reminder that Christmas isn't the only time for open hearts.

This month I've been busy doing my "Not" Spring cleaning, "Not" because we all know that if we wait until it's really Spring, it's much too late to deep clean. By then it's time to weed, till, prune, plant, paint, mulch & mow...our lives shift to soaking up the sun and jumping into outdoor chores that need doing.

During all my cleaning, I sorted through oodles of cookbooks I'd collected over the years...some I donated, but some were just too sweet to let go:

along with a recipe box that belonged to my mother-in-law...what a treasure to have her handwritten favorites.

There is also a recipe book that was sold blank to be filled with a homemaker's tried & true recipes...

take a look inside and you'll see recipes like Snowflake Cake and Tomato Relish making this book a keeper, too. There's no date written in it, but there is a tiny newspaper clipping dated 1949 tucked between the pages.

So with all of these vintage recipes, I began thinking I just had to give them a try, and they deserve a chance to be prepared in Mae, our 1950 stove! And because people ask, yes, she's doing great. She runs a little on the warm side, so I adjust recipes, but she's still cute to me...

with her little salt & pepper shaker,

  

and colorful "talking" buttons.

Now, with my old cookbooks in hand, my plan is to whip up one of their recipes every week or two and share the results with you...who knows, maybe we'll all rediscover a recipe our families will love!