January Journal

January is one of my favorite

months of the year...

A time of new beginnings,

and hopes and dreams...

and birthday cake

(Mine)

with vanilla ice cream!

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Of all the birds that visit

my front yard feeder

I love the

  beautiful

Papa and Mama

 Cardinals
the best.

Their lovely crimson

red ( male) and golden

(female) feathers 

always look

so beautiful

against a backdrop

of newly fallen snow.

"And I say,

 Oh, that I had wings

 like a dove! 

 I would fly away

 and be at rest."

Psalm 55:6

 "I believe 

we would be happier

to have a personal revolution

in our individual lives

and go back to simpler living

and more direct thinking.

It is the simple

things of life

that make living worthwhile,

the sweet, fundamental things

such as love and duty,

work and rest,

and living close to nature."

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Author of the "Little House" books
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wintertime in the Ozarks

"The heavens declare the

glory of God..."

Psalm 19:1

January's cold clear nights

are a stargazer's delight!

"Many are the stars I see,

Yet in my eye, no star like thee."

-18th century 

English verse 

 

 The comet, Lovejoy,

 was also visible

in the nighttime skies

 this month.

This celestial wonder 

will not be seen again

for another 8,000 years! 

Lucy Maude Montgomery
author of
"Anne of Green Gables"

Winter Dawn 

 Above the marge of night a star still shines,
And on the frosty hills the sombre pines
Harbor an eerie wind that crooneth low
Over the glimmering wastes of virgin snow.

Through the pale arch of orient the morn
Comes in a milk-white splendor newly-born,
A sword of crimson cuts in twain the gray
Banners of shadow hosts, and lo, the day!

 -Lucy Maude Montgomery

"By the light 

of the silvery moon,

I want to spoon, 

to my honey 

I'll croon love's tune...

" Skating On The Swan Pond"

Will Moses 

...Honeymoon,

 keep a-shining in June,

Your silvery beams

 will bring love dreams, 

we'll be cuddling soon,

By the silvery moon."

"By The Light Of The Silvery Moon"

Lyrics by Edward Madden

(1909) 

January's

 cold and blustery weather

makes lots of folks

hellbent for leather
 for the warmth of May,
and bright, sunny skies,

 and the sweetly sour taste

of old-fashioned

rhubarb pies!

-Pamela D. Brida

 

PS: Just don't skimp on the sugar! 

A delicious dessert that
 might have been made by
Laura for Almanzo
 and Rose
 in the kitchen on
Rocky Ridge Farm,
 or by
fastidious housekeeper
and cook,
Marilla Cuthbert
for Matthew and Anne
at Green Gables
Farmhouse 

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie

 31/2 cups cut up rhubarb

11/2 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons salted butter

 1 9-inch double pie crust

Line pie plate with pastry.

In a mixing bowl,

gently toss cut up rhubarb

with sugar mixed with flour

 and place in crust.

Dot with

bits of butter.

Cover with strips of pastry to make

a lattice crust.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then

reduce oven to 350 and bake

for another 45 minutes,

until done.

Pie Crust

11/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp, salt

1/2 cup shortening

(Crisco works great)

About 4 Tablespoons cold water

Sift together the flour and salt and

work in the shortening using finger tips,

two butter knives, or a fork.

The mixture should be of the 

consistency of coarse meal;

take care not to overwork

the "meal" into a greasy paste.

Add enough cold water to make

a dough that will just hold

together, mixing lightly.

This amount should be

sufficient for one

 double crusted pie.

 
Postscript...

 Monday, 26 January 2015

  ...January Finds...

The latest addition to my
doll collection
1965's "Baby Dear One"
from the
Vogue Doll Company

I have always been
partial to life-sized baby dolls
especially the ones I might
have owned as a child.
I found my new baby
at a local thrift shop.
 She was lying on a shelf
just waiting for me
to find her.

Although the doll
pictured above is
not my doll, 
this is what
my new doll
looks like.

I brought her home
and washed her in 
my washing machine
but she still smells
like she was stored 
in someone's musty
old cellar.

I read on
an Internet site
that storing her
in a paper bag
with a few pieces of
 charcoal or coffee beans
might rid her of the odor. 

That said, however,
"Baby Dear One"
is in otherwise
great condition
for a 50
year old doll!
And a steal
for $10.00!

I bought her
as a birthday present
for myself this year. 

 And I believe the little
yellow dress and
sweater and bonnet
she is wearing
are all original too.
She is missing one
of her little booties,
but on close examination
I do not think they're
original to this
lovely baby doll.

Another lucky find
at the same
local thrift store
was this
vintage
Holly Hobbie
High Chair
from the 1970's.
(This is not the one I bought
but looks just like it!)
I purchased this
for only $6.00!

Tonight we are bracing
for a classic Nor'easter...

Keeping warm while
Andy croons...



 A storm named "Juno"
will come whipping it's
way past us and
north to New England,
but not before
dumping nearly
two feet of snow
in her wake!
Or is it
"his wake"?

Anyway...

We'll weather
the blast!

Break out the 
Scrabble board
and bring on
hearty mugs of
 hot cocoa
with lots of 
mini marshmallows,
please!