Cookie Day 2023 and my two antique Recipes!

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Cookie Day was yesterday(Sunday), and flour was flying, laughter was ringing, and carols were humming in the background. We were only six this year...but maybe more fun than having 13 or so...LOL. And we made proportionally less cookies, which helped.

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If I look tired, it wasn't 

because I did all these cookies alone.

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Our stash of cutters got a work out -----

these are the newer Christmas ones...My husband is THE cookie cutter hoarder! 

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 I set up everything in the middle of our huge kitchen table. Sprinkles are put on the Lazy-Susan. 

This is the last year I will buy pre-packaged cookie icing. I will invest in more tips and bags and mix the icing myself with powder sugar. cream of tartar, and vanilla. Sure works better than the prepackaged icing, tastes better too.

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We went basic with the gingerbread this year and just white homemade icing, which sets up quickly.

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Cooling racks are a must when you are making tons of cookies. The guys rolled out, and the gals decorated.

I've used this recipe for 50 years or so.

I was so happy to find Brer Rabbit molasses this year, that has such a super taste. 

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These are my hubby's THICK Cookies---it's his grandmother's recipe so very OLD. We had the fifth generation making her cookies, yesterday! The recipe is probably older than that, too.

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Really cute decorating the girls did, we all cut back on icing---lol, I know you can't tell. 

Alvina's OLD RECIPE for Form Cookies.

I use unbleached flour and have substituted Crisco for half the lard...but the consistency changes. Upside these are delicious, hold well, and  are perfect for decorating or just sprinkling sugar on. 

You can leave out the egg white and the icing is fine and dries nicely with just water 

added with the cream of tartar.

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What's left to do this week---Klejner, Finksbro, Vaniller Kranse, Pound Cake, Pumpkin bread baked into gingerbread house forms-for gifts,  Peppernuts...and chocolate crinkles and coconut wreaths...I better get cracking, no elves to help with these! 

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi

 

Let There Be Peace On Earth - Voices of Hope Children's Choir (Virtual C...

Let there peace on earth--childrens' choir

Let Us Give Thanks for our Bounty 

and work to keep our Families, Friends and Loved Ones Safe! 

Enjoy your Family& Friends time---and Christmas can wait until December. 

Youtube  rendition
Arranged by Keith Christopher Adapted and directed by Sarah Grandpre Video Production - Cody Jay /codyjaymusic.com Instrumental arrangement - Corey Hirsch Pianist - Zach DeChance We pray for a safer world and a future where we can live in peace and harmony with one another. Taking a moment to honor those who came before us as we promise to uphold the values we believe in, that all people are created equal and are precious children of God. Although we are physically apart, our hearts sing as one. We hope to change the world, one song at a time 🌎❤️🎶 ‘Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me Let there be peace on earth The peace that was meant to be With God as our Father We are family Let us walk with each other
Let peace begin with me Let this be the moment now. With every step I take May this be my solemn vow To take each moment and live Each moment in peace eternally Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me.’

In perfect harmony.

Sincere good wishes, Sandi

Feel free to share this with family and friends! 

Unexpected Emotions Weave through an Art project.

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I signed up for a creativity for the elderly program with the Mather Institute located here in Illinois in Evanston.  Open to Illinois residents over the age of 55, a box of craft supplies and directions arrived in September, and once a week classes began early in October. 

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I will have to go out and buy an iron to show you the results of the first three projects, each a form of dyeing and fabrics. The dyes need to be set with heat.

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Determined to see if I could follow directions, I had mixed results, but it was fun to visit with others on zoom and to experience the process of three different types of dyeing. 

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I shared these photos when I first started the projects. The piece on the line on the right is described later here...a family placemat from Denmark.

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Some cotton strings I dyed to be used in weaving.

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The fourth project was a weaving project on a simple cardboard frame. It was supposed to be an aspiration weaving, where we wrote on strips of paper things like, I am worthy, I am beautiful, I am....yada, yada. At the age of 75, if I don't have my ducks of worthiness in a row, it's too late. 

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Old card from Pinterest, from a location near my family's homes in Denmark. Typical fisherman attire in the late 1800-early 1900's in Denmark. 

The day before I had resurrected an old email account, and linked them into my current email. I received an email from an old genealogy account I had done for my mom on Family Search. The night before the weaving, I found my/her Mom's family. My grandmother Nellie had died at age 27 when my mom was 5. She had married my grandfather at age 19 and immigrated to the USA from Denmark. 

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Nellie and Grampa's Immigration photo after marriage in Denmark 1919.

When searching for her family---I had kept hitting brick walls, I found her mother and her father, but that was it, due to script records that were basically illegible. Denmark has records going back to the 1400's through their church parish system as well as a centralized system of regional governments. Meticulous records were kept. The parish my grandparents were from was established in 1011...seriously 1200 years ago.  I knew my (Nellie's parents, my great grandfather and great grandmother were buried together in the church cemetery some 43 years apart. My great grandmother had died in childbirth in 1903, when my grandmother Nellie was 2.

Another family tragedy, young mothers with children left behind. From there the records were confusing, misspelled and translated only to confusion. It seems my great-grandfather was born into a large family and the common use of Jensen (son of Jens) was not the main surname of his family, but may have been changed before Nellie was born in 1901.

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Great Grandfather's family farm early in the 1900's. He had at least 8 living siblings in 1908.

The updated information on both families opened a huge window...all the way back to the 1500's. We always thought my grandmother as a baby was farmed out to a family (common in N. Denmark) and perhaps abandoned by her young (21years old) fisherman father.

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                     Nellie probably her confirmation 1913- or14.

Not true, a family where we thought she was a servant, was actually a huge family of Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, on the paternal sides as well as having another huge family on my great-grandmother's side. An altered spelling of GGrandmother's name had led to a dead-end back in the early 2000's. But, because the multiple surnames for all the children in the census, that was also so confusing. 

On Nellie's mother's side what was in the church records, was not the name in the regional records or census'. A letter in her first name, and two in her middle name were altered  resulting in the confusion. The Danish government finally required consistent family surnames for both men and women in the early 1900-1910's. Prior to that a woman was her firstname and then her father's first name and dotter (daughter)---ie. Ingrid Andrea Andersdotter. (daughter of Anders)

All the sen's at the end of male surnames---meant their father's first name and 'sen' or son such as Anders Jens Andersen- meaning Anders son. The change to standard surnames really messed up some records, as families---with too many of the same name, some family members chose an entirely different surname from perhaps a favorite person, or a deceased past relative. Not all these things were updated in church records or noted in census records. Property papers were more accurate---but property was passed usually to the eldest son or occasionally to a surviving spouse, but only if specified. 

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Nellie and Grampa, with Mom aged 3 and my Aunt 1925 somewhere in Denmark

The only thing my mom remembered about her mother was blue-black hair and brown eyes. Strange from coming from mom who was so fair and light blonde. My aunt was a brunette later in life with brown eyes, but she had three tow-head children. It turns out I favor my grandmother Nellie in face and body build, with darker hair (died blonde since I was 19) and thyroid issues. I have the pale skin of my mother and dad and blue eyes.

With this revelation---which I need to follow up on in the future, there are so many generations of relatives to explore and try to find. 

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I believe these are cousins---which I had earlier believed a sister. Nellie had a sister (Aste) who died after childbirth and her mother's death.

I have Nellie's immigration trunk, and a small box of memorabilia and photos of their early marriage. This was all put away in the attic in a small box along with some jewelry typical of northern Denmark....and forgotten, when my grandfather remarried in 1930.

My mother never dealt with anything having to do with all of this..it was like a locked lost chapter. When my great aunt, my grandfather's youngest sister was near 100 she finally told the truth that Nellie had died from a stroke at 26 and not from a jaw infection as we had all been told.

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I believe these are my Great Grandfather's or Grandmother's parents (he remarried but had no more children) or possibly an Aunt and Uncle.

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Grampa and Nellie in 1927 in Wisconsin, I think with my Mom.

Looking at Nellie's photos from her years of marriage and 2 children, she may have had severe lack of thyroid. The  problem with not sharing proper medical information is both my mom, my aunt, and myself have had thyroid issues. Nellie may have had low thyroid which led to weight gain, high blood pressure, all risks for strokes. I was luckily diagnosed in my early 30's and have been on medication since then, but the weight has always been a battle and blood pressure at times hard to control.

Looking at the NOW expansive family trees of 1/2 of my medical heritage, I'm a bit relieved to see few deaths other than early childhood deaths, but MANY long lives for the location and times. Phew!

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After all this, the next day I began my weaving class----and listening to the instructor but, all my thoughts were on Nellie. She was worthy, she was surrounded with love,

She was memorable.

 Nellie was almost like an empty vessel, was now filled with family love in my mind.

I scribbled her name on one of the pieces of affirmation paper, then my grandfather's, my Mom and my Aunt and where they all lived as a family for the seven short years before she passed.

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I had dyed a spare piece of Danish fabric, a very old stained fabric mat, woven with floss in a pattern that also included tiny Danish flags, weeks ago. I knew it had come from my  grandfather's home (built in 1922), and was very old. Nellie had lived there until her death. I had already attempted to remove the probably 80 or more year old stains. There had been left over dye...so I dipped it here and there in the different colors, blue, yellow, red. I had also dyed common cotton string. All the dyeing was done before my finds about Nellie.

While the instructor was talking I started to rip that little piece of hand embroidered linen into strips to use in my weaving. I pulled some dried grasses out to also use, similar to the grasses from the dunes on the North Sea of where Nellie she grew up. Since the emphasis was to not have a plan, but just go with the materials and things you personally added to those included in the kits.

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Now I had affirmations.

Nellie existed, Nellie was a Mother, daughter, niece...

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Nellie was loved, 

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Now, Nellie is remembered.

Though this small weaving is completed, her story will continue. I will fill in the pieces and hopefully find some ancestors of these families. I'm sure no one is alive that remembers anything, but you never know, some family stories live on... and on.

The important thing is now I know and remember.

Have you every found out about Missing Family?

If you enjoyed this post please follow this blog by blogger or 

FOLLOW IT which you will find in the upper right hand corner of this page. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Vintage Charm

Happiness is Homemade

Grammy's Unlimited

Farmhouse Friday

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi

The Kitchen for Thanksgiving or the LOST HOLIDAY!

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Wow, only two weeks away...Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Saturday I went shopping with one goal in mind, to find some cocktail or luncheon napkins for Thanksgiving for the snack and dessert tables...NOTHING with rich colors or even a vibe of Thanksgiving. I believe it has become the LOST HOLIDAY...sadly!

Thanksgiving was always my mom's holiday, while Grandmother's had Christmas. She fussed and fiddled, and her home was always in earth and grass tones...so was perfect for the holiday. 

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I keep a lot of warm tones in our home also, despite all the blue and white.

The sunflower arrangements are for the moment still in the kitchen, I added some dark berries and some blue wild grasses, just to keep the Fall theme going. I may switch them out for dried look Hydrangeas before the holiday.

My last post I talked about cleaning---I did the windows, sills, high shelf, all the pottery items and the blinds (they were disgusting) and the floors.

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I also added new greenery (Eucalyptus garland and fresh LED lights) above on shelf. The other stuff was quite old, and brittle, the lights were shot and not LED. 

All the Danish plates are very old, some from 1911, even and one from 1898. 

This morning I tackled the refrigerator which is quite empty at the moment, and chucked all the 'old'--what was it....stuff! Garbage day tomorrow so all that suspect stuff will be gone.

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I didn't drag up all my 'Fall' dishes, but supplemented the blue and white with color, mostly naturals, dried gourds and dried flowers.

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It's been four years since I dragged out my painted canvas artisan Pilgrims..upside they are heavy and secure my Turkey Platter into the Cabinet. That platter is HUGE.

A small fresh pumpkin and a few other multicolored pieces help finish this. 

Decorating is always a work in progress, and who knows what will be added or subtracted by the Holiday!

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I can't give up my broom lady with her Danish proverb, "If everyone swept their own stoop, the whole world would be clean!" A great reminder to mind yourself and your own stoop! 

The arrangement is faux, but with natural grasses added in a tall blue glass vase. It really brightens up this corner which can be quite dark.

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A full view of the shelf---everything on here is really antique except for the Pilgrims, the teapot is maybe from the 50's, everything else is really old.

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Our side buffet, now hosts my pots of fresh herbs: Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary and Oregano. 

My Sage from the garden is drying on the back stairway...really is a recipe for Turkey day!

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My favorite Teapot from a vintage dealer on Etsy is next to a blue stoneware crock I have had for over 50 years. The shoe is my Granmother's, while the little gnomes were found in a thrift store, they are porcelain and very nice. The homespun tablecloth was also Grandma's and is so soft from many years of washing it no longer needs to be ironed...YAY!

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My Happiness is HOMEMADE sign is a reminder...to not BUY, but reuse and redo.

Still on the list to do are the cupboards with glass, amazing how scrambled the contents can get in a year. And, the sink window Hubby is going to have to do---ugh, that's a chore, but still needs to be done.

Our silver pieces haven't been used for awhile, and 

I need to choose which dishes to use, and tablecloths. 

I will use cloth napkins for the dinner table if I can find them.

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The giant blue enameled coffee pot was minus a lid and found in a thrift store for a song. Maybe I will switch out the sunflowers, right now it's fine or I'll move it to the porch. One thing we can't redo or reuse is our settee and coffee table on the front porch.

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This is the last photo of the table and the gold cushions to the right of the photo. We've had it for at least 20 years and all the legs had totally disintegrated. 

We took it apart and put the glass in recyclables, and stacked the metal pieces on the driveway. Two hours later the local metal pickers took it...and it will go to the recycle center. The cushions were really beyond hope and are ready for garbage pickup tomorrow.

We have all winter to figure out what we want to put on the porch, meanwhile, I brought up our metal bench from the backyard. Tonight we sat on the porch after ALL the Yardwork was finally done and actually had a beer, first one for me this year.

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So with the kitchen 90% done, tomorrow I have to move on to the living room and the buffet. I'll serve snacks and dessert from here, so seasonal decor will be along the back, and I will be picking from my old items from the family stashes and of course, pumpkins, a turkey and some more Pilgrims. 

So we are getting ready to GATHER!

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How are your Gathering Plans 

coming along?

If you enjoyed this post please follow this blog by blogger or 

FOLLOW IT which you will find in the upper right hand corner of this page. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Inspire Me Tuesday

Vintage Charm

Happiness is Homemeade

Grammy's Unlimited

Farmhouse Friday

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi