Happy 95th birthday Dad

Today, my beloved Dad is celebrating his 95th birthday. Dad has seen a lot of changes in the world since he was born at home in the old farmhouse that was built in the 1800's that my youngest son now lives in the

   old photo of the Harju Homestead

recent photo

At 95 my Dad still has a terrific memory, actually it is much better than mine. When my Dad was 89, he wrote a book and it was published, copies are sold at the Carver Public Library.

 

I'm so proud of my Dad. Dad could build and fix anything. I Love you Dad!!! Happy Birthday. x0x0

Elaine

Happy Thanksgiving

                          I want to wish all of my followers a safe, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Another vintage sewing machine..White Rotary 77

White Rotary 77

back side of machine/cabinet..water damage to the wood, but not buckled.

 Barbara...I know you must be rolling your eyes. :-) A couple of weeks ago I found another vintage sewing machine at my grandfather's. The cabinet needs a good polishing and TLC with Howard products and hopefully the stains won't be so noticeable. The wheel turned, and needle moved up and down. If I decide to take this machine home, I would replace the wiring to be on the safe side and of course the machine needs a good oiling and cleaning. I bought the Howard products at the Aubuchon Hardware store in Carver, as Home Depot didn't carry the Howard products.  Howard Feed and Restore video for restoring wood furniture easily.

The machine I found was a White Rotary 77, from the 40's, complete with accessories and manual . Also included was an empty mouse nest on the tray under the machine when I lifted the sewing machine head up.
mouse nest on tray under machine head when cabinet was closed. Thankfully no mice where in the nest. Yuck!!!!
left corner near tray

box of attachments and feet that I found in one of the drawers

manual minus the cover

I'm not sure if I will lug this one home, as I would need to find a space for it, but I am tempted, as I've been told this is a wonderful machine and also doubles as a desk when both of the top side extensions are closed. This cabinet also has an old ink well in one of the top drawers.
 right side extended open cabinet
left side of cabinet extension/top of desk when machine is folded into the cabinet

top right drawer.. Needles, bobbins. The drawer has a pencil/pen holder grove and an ink well (the black circle in the front of the drawer)
drawers on right side of cabinet

knee hole area of cabinet

wheel and knobs
White Rotary 77

bobbin casing intact

underside of machine...no rust


I didn't get a photo of the front of the cabinet, as it really crowded with boxes around the front of the machine.

The Singer 301 and 328 that I recently acquired have been gone over thoroughly..cleaned and oiled and run beautifully. The 328 didn't come with any attachments or manual. I was able to find a set of cams and extra feet for the 328 and I made a copy of the manual that I found on the internet. I just need to clean up the wood cabinets that they go into. The owner of the sewing machine repair shop, Able's on Rte. 44, Raynham, MA told me I got really nice machines and a tremendous bargain.

Elaine

Couldn't resist a bargain..Singer sewing machines

I had never answered a craigslist ad before, but last week I saw a post and I sent an email off with an inquiry. The listing was for 2 Singer sewing machine in cabinets...$30.00 each. The sewing machines were older models, all metal. I couldn't tell from the poor photo what the black machine was, but when I held the control and + button on my keyboard, I was able to enlarge the photo enough to see that the sewing machine was a 301. After a few email communications with the seller we set a time on Sunday afternoon for me to come look at the 301 sewing machine that I was interested in.
The seller lived in Kingston, a nearby town so it didn't take me long to get there to check out the Singer that was in the photo online. The Singer 301 which is like a Feather Weight but larger and has a handle can also be used as a portable when taken out of the cabinet. Some models were sold just as portables.
 definately needs a good servicing...dirty bobbin casing under the lift up extension bed plate like the Feather Weight.

The tray below clamps on the bottom of the machine to attach it to the sewing cabinet. To use as portable machine you press the lever on the right side of the base and it releases the machine.

underneath tray support


The machine was  in a lovely maple cabinet with a chair that the seat lifts up for storage. Ugly velour material was covering the seat and back rest. The chair will definitely need to be recovered  which I can do.

 
One of the knobs came off the front of the cabinet on the right side in the back of my vehicle transporting it home.  I have the knob and I just need to put it back on after I polish up the cabinet.
The machine ran well and had a button hole attachment, extra bobbins, the machines manual, and the original box with the machines attachments. The power cord was in great shape, the machine just needed to be cleaned. I didn't hesitate...I bought it. Fantastic deal at $30.00.
back of machine




manual and attachments that came with machine

button hole attachment in case

I just happened to ask if the 2nd machine that was shown in the ad was still available, and the seller told me it was, but at another location 3 miles away. I was told if I wanted it, I could have it for nothing. Wow, so worth a look. So off we went so I could check out the machine.The owners were getting married and condensing 2 households to one, and trying to get rid of stuff, and wanted the machine to go to someone who would use it.

This Singer was a 328, very dirty, in a cabinet. No attachments, no cams, no manual. We plugged in the machine and it ran. So, of course I took it.  How could I not take it? :-)


I copied a manual from the internet for the machine. Now to order some cams. It takes #66 bobbins.
The cabinet doesn't have drawers and needs a good cleaning and polishing
   The only rust I saw was on the piece of metal that held the foot pedal inside of the cabinet.

I had a hard time getting the pedal out. I was told by a member of the Vintage Sewing Machine group on facebook that once out of the bracket it could be used as a foot pedal. So the person sewing has the option of using the knee control if this foot is in the bracket, or by putting this on the floor it is a foot pedal. I need to clean the rust of the metal piece.
 the machine was very dirty, but ran
My daughter in law has been wanting a sewing machine, so I will be giving this machine to her.

I was also given a Singer treadle iron legs.
I am going to have a top made for this. Not sure if it will be from wood, or if I will have cut a big piece of marble that my dad gave to me.

The seller loaded the 2 machines and iron legs into my vehicle. So thankful for that. The back of my car was fully loaded as well as the back seat.

On Monday, Veteran's Day, I went to my aunts and asked if I could put the cabinets in her garage while the machines were getting serviced.  My aunts neighbor saw me and offered to take the machines out of the car and into the garage for me. Those machines were HEAVY! I couldn't thank him enough.Whew! I would have struggled getting them into the garage by myself.
I wiped the machines down, and took the machine heads out of their cabinets and packed them into boxes in the back of my car.



Yesterday, (Tuesday) I brought both machines to be serviced at Able's Sew Center, in Raynham to have him look at the machines and to be serviced. I was told I got a fantastic buy, and I got 2 great machines. I am very, very happy with my first Craigslist experience. Best $30.00 I've ever spent. :-)

Elaine

Cranberry Harvest Video

I wanted to share with you a video that was recently filmed at my brother Larry and Paul's cranberry bog on Rte. 58, Plympton, MA. The video ( by Skimmer Videos, Plymouth, MA) was taken with a camera that was mounted to a remote control helicopter.
video taken at my brothers bog of the cranberry harvest  

Our cranberry harvest continues, and so far this harvest season which started mid September, the weather has been gorgeous with the exception of a couple of rainy days.

Elaine

Good smells coming from the kitchen

Chocolate cupcakes with Tip Top Filling
I don't bake like I use to, because it is torture when you are dieting. So, when I do bake I bring what I have made to family members. I use to make chocolate cupcakes filled with Tip Top filling for my sons all the time when they were growing up, as they loved them.  ( If I made yellow cupcakes, I would fill them with Lemon pie filling that I would cook up, let cool and fill the center of the cupcakes, as my son's loved both kinds)
Today, I was lazy and used a box of chocolate cake mix instead of making my cupcakes from scratch. After the 24 cupcakes were cooled, I made the Tip Top filling which is light, fluffy and not really sweet, but very good.
There use to be a Tip Top Bakery that sold bread and pastries in the stores. I think someone must have made a knock of version of the Tip Top filling that was in their cupcakes. I know my mom made this filling when we were growing up, and I have for years.

Tip Top Filling
2  1/2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup of milk
Cook the flour and milk in a small saucepan until it thickens like a pudding. Cool completely.
When the flour/milk mixture is cool-add in a bowl with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, dash of salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat well.
Then add 1/2 cup solid white shortening
1/2 cup margarine=1 stick
Beat ingredients with mixer until mixture is fluffy.

I usually cut a circle into the top of each cupcake, then remove the circle and add Tip Top filling with a teaspoon to each cupcake and then replace the circle of cake on top of the filling.
Today, I did something different, I put a number 12 Wilton cake decorating tip into a disposable cake decorating bag, and pushed the tip as far as it would go into the bag near the point of the bag. I then cut off the tip of the bag. I filled the bag with the Tip Top filling and pushed the tip part way into the cupcakes and squeezed until I could see the filling at the top of the cupcake. Don't squeeze to hard or the cupcake will split. I know, because that is what happened to the first cupcake that I filled.  After filling the cupcake, squeeze a bit more filling on the top of the cupcake to cover the hole.
I also use the Tip Top filling  when I make a chocolate roll... see my blog post December 11, 2011. Chocolate Roll with Tip Top filling

I've been craving chicken and dumplings, so this morning I decided to make it for our supper tonight. I made enough for not only our supper, but also for my parents, my aunt and my son/daughter in law and Bella.
for my parents

My recipe for chicken and dumplings is very easy, and the chicken mixture is the same as what I use when I make chicken pot pies or chicken soup.
I start with a large dutch oven...1 large box of lower sodium chicken broth, cut up 2 medium onions, 4 stalks celery, 3  carrots, several potatoes, a little ground pepper, 1 quart cooked cut up chicken. ( I often use the precooked chicken that you can buy at the market, as it saves a lot of time)  You can add a little sage or thyme if you like, but I don't. Cook the vegetable/chicken/broth mixture until the vegetables are soft.  The broth will thicken I will add more broth or some water, because the dumplings will soak up a lot of the soups liquid.
For dumpling I  use the dumpling recipe that is on side of the Bisquick baking mix box.

Dumplings
Stir 2 cups Bisquick baking mix and 2/3 cup of milk until a soft dough forms. Drop by the spoonful onto boiling stew or soup. Reduce heat and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the pot of dumplings/stew and cook for 10 minutes longer.
Enjoy!

If you make one of these recipes let me know how you liked it.
Elaine

Yard sale and thrift store recent finds

2 vintage but rusty sad irons that I found in an antique/thrift store, in nearby Buzzard's Bay.The sad irons need to be sanded and then blackened. I love old sad irons and they make for wonderful door stops.
 my newly purchased sad irons resting on top of a lovely crocheted scarf that are on my Princess sewing machine cover. I paid 50 cents for the scarf and $5.00 each for the sad irons. The irons had been marked $10, so I was very happy with my finds.

Have you ever stopped when out driving when you saw items at the curb with a free sign? Most times I just slow down and look, but if something catches my eye, then I will stop and get out to take a look.
Earlier this fall, a neighbor up the street had a huge pile of items by the curb with a free sign and I stopped to check out some chairs that were there. The chairs weren't any good, but poking thru the boxes I found a cute chicken cookie jar, a wire chicken container (I picked those up for Steven and Robin) and a bag of aluminum cookie cutter (which I kept for myself). I love the old aluminum cookie cutters and in the bag I found that all but 2 of the cookie cutters were one's I didn't already have.I already had some of the diamond and club shapes. Yeah!!!
  In the bag were...4 rabbits, lion, Scottie dog, camel, 2 horses, club and diamond shape, and what I thought was a baker. I posted pictures on Facebook and a friend wrote to tell me it was a troll and not a baker, and she had never seen another one before I posted mine. She had only seen the one that her mother passed along to her.  I had never seen the troll and when I did a Google search I couldn't believe what people were asking for this cookie cutter.
 click on website...aluminum troll cookie cutter set
decorating booklet that was part of the set.
 
I found it interesting that the Wrigley's chewing gum company offered this cookie cutter decorating set.
In the bag with the cookie cutters I found the troll cookie cutter and the aluminum decorating tube and tips that had been part of the kit, but no booklet.
 my aluminum cookie cutters, biscuit cutter and old aluminum decorating tube. Some have wooden knobs for handles.

On the way home from Buzzard's Bay, on route 28, I decided to stop at the Salvation Army store. I don't usually find anything there, but what the heck, I was going right by. I had been looking for a few months to find 4 used maple kitchen chairs, in good condition that could be used with a drop leaf table that I gave my son. The table is 60 inches round when both drop leaves are up, and with the extra leaf in,  it becomes a 72 inch table. The chairs that came with the set were big captain chairs and took up too much space. I poked around in the store and I came across the chairs in the photo below for $14.99 each. I inspected the 4 chairs and all of them were solid and in good shape and better still..I liked them. I took the price tags from the chairs and headed to the register to check out. I was so glad that I decided to stop.
  
On the way home I stopped at Steven and Robin's to see if she liked/wanted the chairs..she loved them. The chairs just need a good cleaning and polishing. The chairs look good in the old farmhouse where my dad was born.

When out and about last week, I stopped at a local charity thrift shop and when I was in one of the dark trailer storage bodies I found an old Domestic treadle sewing machine that had a $100 price tag on it. I had to move some things around  and take items off of the machine to get a better look at the machine. Wish I had been able to get a better look to find the serial number of this machine to find out when it was made.
While I was looking at the machine one of the workers came over and told me he could give me a very good price..so I asked what that would be...$40.oo. This machine had a fiddle base, coffin top, and is a vibrating shuttle Domestic. I didn't buy it..no room for another treadle. Below are a few photos that I took with my phone..sorry they are dark, but the lighting in the trailer wasn't good. The wheel turned, it needed a new belt and the table needed lots of TLC.
coffin top Domestic vibrating shuttle treadle sewing machine

attachments in one of the drawers with a few long bobbins
lovely legs and treadle , 4 drawers
Fiddle base machine with long bobbin on bobbin winder. Click on the photos to enlarge them for a closer look.

Below are some random photos that I've taken recently.

I saw several noisy crows the other day in a grass median strip near Michael's craft store. The crows were busy pecking and tossing hunks of grass. The crows would cock their heads to the side, listening. I guess they were looking for grubs to eat. The crows were moving and tossing the dried grass pieces so fast I was lucky to get a photo, which by the way I took thru the windshield of my car while I watching them.
.

Sassafras tree fall foliage near the cranberry bogs.


Oh, and if I didn't already have enough cats...here are 2 photos of a most lovable, stray, male that I have been feeding outside for months. I've named him Smokey. This afternoon I put a dose of Frontline on him. I am seriously thinking about taking him to be neutered at the vets and keep him. I feel bad as he cries to come inside the house. I believe at one time he belonged to someone and he was dropped off somewhere nearby.  Smokey is around the yard most of the day and then heads towards the wood at dusk. I'd love to find a nice home for this good boy, but in the long run...what's one more cat. (LOL)



4 of my 6 rescued kitties
bird watching looking out through the screen window in the bedroom. As I was leaving the house I saw the kitties looking out. I stopped the car, rolled down my window, and took a photo. Aren't they cute? They love bird watching.
Elaine