Thank you for thinking the thread is worth reading.
For all that I have learned over the years, I still learn, daily.
In the beginning, I thought, maybe I should copy the pages as they changed, then the time slipped away and it would take a week to go thru all of this and download or copy it.
One of the nice things about the free Yahoo email accounts is that they do not have a size limit now and, I would more than likely have a heart attack if I knew the size mine really is.
Plus, the Yahoo email, lets you just highlight and copy to transfer the photos and designs in the page.
I know, some of you have been doing that, LOL, keep in mind that this granny learns one tiny accident at a time, how to use this infernal machine.
No, I don’t have the energy to go to a site and really learn how to use a computer, I learned Doss, 20 years ago, with my usual, gotta know it all passion........I have no passion for Windows.
Thank you for your faith in our thread.
As a rule, I never know where I am going, with posting, I may even have something in mind and never get there.
Some one who knows how to cook fish and poultry, rabbit and other odd things, might want to post the recipes, I have a few, but as I don’t and didn’t cook them in the past, I do not trust my idea of what ‘sounds good’.
I came into the world on beans and cornbread, any meat was rare, in those days, and never got addicted to meats that did not grow on the farm, except chicken, my dad fancied being a chicken farmer, so we had chicken,eggs,chicken again.......and I rarely want it and will not cook it.
[This list will keep us busy for the next year...LOL, granny]
http://liiwww.ischool.drexel.edu/pub/subtopic/5045
Thanksgiving
Websites presented in alphabetical order
100-Mile Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
Share and view stories about Thanksgiving meals based on locally grown and produced foods. The story archive could benefit from an index, but browsing will bring up many ideas for Thanksgiving dishes, local traditions (from the U.S. and Canada), recipes, and more. From the website of the authors of a book on eating locally.
http://100milediet.org/thanksgiving
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually
Last updated Oct 28, 2008
Best-Ever Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
Collection of recipes and craft and activity ideas for children related to the celebration of Thanksgiving. Includes recipes for turkey, pies and desserts, side dishes, and leftovers. Craft ideas include decorations, tabletop decor, pilgrim hats, toy canoes, and more. From FamilyFun magazine.
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/minisite/thanksgiving-main/
Topics: Food & Cooking, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually
Last updated Nov 10, 2005
Festive Family Thanksgiving Cookbook view detail comment email this
Holiday recipes that “offer family and friends a superb meal without extra fat and calories.” Includes menu suggestions, healthy cooking tips, nutrition facts, and holiday tips. Compiled by the Great South Region Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) of the San Bernardino County (Calif.) Nutrition Program.
http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/eatwell/Cookbooktc.htm
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety, Recipes & Food Preparation, Recipes by Region: United States
Last updated Nov 16, 2005
Food Bank Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
A set of recipes for a Thanksgiving dinner “inexpensive and easy enough to prepare for five or share with 50.” Includes recipes for sourdough and corn pudding, “do nothing turkey,” chutney, braised greens, and pumpkin mousse. From the Food Network.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_da/episode/0,2661,FOOD_21436_46765,00.html
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually
Last updated Nov 14, 2007
Food Theme Month Links view detail comment email this
A collection of links to materials about various foods, wellness topics, and holiday meals related to specific months of the year. Topics include Oatmeal Month in January, American Heart Month in February, National Barbecue Month in May, National Watermelon Day in August, and Thanksgiving meal tips for November. From the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqlinks.htm
Topics: Food & Cooking, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated May 11, 2005
Holidays: Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
Loosen your belt a notch as you browse Thanksgiving menus, cooking tips, and hundreds of recipes (many featuring beautiful photographs). Includes wine and beer suggestions, a “turkey primer,” vegetarian dishes, and suggestions for using up leftovers. From Epicurious.
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/thanksgiving/thanksgiving
Topics: Birds, Fish, Meat, & Dairy, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays & Observances, Holidays and Observances Individually, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated Aug 19, 2008
Mr. Breakfast Recipes: Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
This small collection of recipes focuses on ideas for using Thanksgiving leftovers in breakfast dishes. Includes recipes for dishes such as turkey and mashed potato frittata, turkey omelets, turkey apple breakfast sausage, maple sweet potato muffins, and sweet potato waffles. From Mr. Breakfast, a website that contains breakfast recipes and breakfast restaurant reviews; the author is a graduate of a cooking school.
http://www.mrbreakfast.com/thanksgiving.asp
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated Nov 16, 2005
Norbest [Turkeys] view detail comment email this
This site from a turkey marketing cooperative provides tips for selecting, thawing, stuffing, roasting, and carving turkeys. Includes a browsable directory of recipes (ranging from traditional Thanksgiving preparation techniques to everyday dishes and unusual recipes), nutrition facts, safe food handling, turkey statistics, a virtual turkey farm tour (from breeder stock to “turkey doo”), and more.
http://www.norbest.com/
Topics: Birds, Fish, Meat, & Dairy, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays & Observances, Holidays and Observances Individually, Livestock, Nutrition & Food Safety
Last updated Oct 11, 2004
Out of This World Thanksgiving view detail comment email this
This essay describes the Thanksgiving experience in space, which usually includes rehydrated turkey and mashed potatoes. Includes historical highlights of Thanksgiving in space, images of the Thanksgiving meal, and a link to more information about space food. From NASA.
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/livinginspace/Space_Thanksgiving.html
Topics: Astronomy, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Technology
Last updated Oct 27, 2004
Plimoth Plantation view detail comment email this
This living history center in Plymouth, Massachusetts, re-creates a 1627 Pilgrim village that was “built by English colonists in the midst of the Wampanoag homeland.” The site features a virtual tour of the village and a Wampanoag homesite, articles about the colonists and Native Americans, Thanksgiving recipes, and an interactive feature about the first Thanksgiving. Also includes tourist information for Plymouth.
http://www.plimoth.org
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Native Americans, U.S. History By Place, United States History
Last updated Nov 16, 2004
Pumpkin Nook view detail comment email this
This site contains everything you have ever wanted to know about pumpkins, including extensive information on how to grow, cook, and store pumpkins. Includes games and educational material as well as sections on Thanksgiving, Halloween, the history of jack-o’-lanterns, recipes, and the life cycle of a giant pumpkin. Created by a hobbyist.
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/
Topics: Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually
Last updated Oct 26, 2005
Sinkie: The International Association of People Who Dine Over the Kitchen Sink view detail comment email this
The day after Thanksgiving is designated as Sinkie Day (Standing In Nutritious Kitchens Ingesting Everything). With tongue in cheek, the author shares letters from guilt-free Sinkies, lists ways to spot other Sinkies, and provides other useful information to free us from the guilt, shame, and embarrassment of being discovered eating with fingers over the kitchen sink.
http://www.sinkie.com/
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nonfiction by Genre, Sports, Recreation, & Entertainment
Last updated Nov 17, 2005
Talkin’ Turkey FAQ view detail comment email this
Questions and answers about turkeys and the tradition of turkey dishes in holiday meals. Site includes related articles on safety tips for turkey preparation and vegetarian alternatives to the holiday turkey. Also provides quick facts and related links. From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/food/turkeyfaq.html
Topics: Birds, Fish, Meat, & Dairy, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays & Observances, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety
Last updated Oct 26, 2004
Thanksgiving Holiday Guide view detail comment email this
Highlights of this collection of features on Thanksgiving cooking include tips for cooking turkeys in a convection oven and carving a turkey, poultry labeling terms, Thanksgiving recipes with “an Asian touch,” vegetarian recipes and ideas from chefs, “down-to-the-wire” recipes, and a Thanksgiving feast with wine accompaniments. Provides many recipes, including ideas for leftovers. From SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/special/pages/thanksgiving/
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes
Last updated Nov 15, 2005
Thanksgiving Recipes view detail comment email this
Dozens of vegan recipes for Thanksgiving entrees and side dishes. Most recipes are accompanied by ratings and comments from users who have tried them. From VegWeb.
http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=304.0
Topics: Communities & Groups, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated Nov 13, 2007
Thanksgiving Recipes From America’s Past view detail comment email this
Find recipes for mince pie (1832), chestnut stuffing (1891), roast turkey with truffle gravy (1905), and a variety of pies and other holiday dishes. Recipes are accompanied by vintage illustrations. From the Pilgrim Hall Museum (Plymouth, Massachusetts).
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/thanksrec.htm
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Recipes by Region: United States
Last updated Nov 9, 2004
Turkey for the Holidays view detail comment email this
This guide includes information on turkey cooking techniques, selection, carving, side dishes, nutrition, food safety, and using leftovers. Also features interesting trivia and facts about turkey and Thanksgiving, ideas for family activities and craft projects, and related links. From the University of Illinois Extension.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/turkey/
Topics: Birds, Consumer Research & Advocacy, Fish, Meat, & Dairy, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays & Observances, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety
Last updated Nov 17, 2005
Vegetarian Kitchen view detail comment email this
Contains vegetarian recipes (from everyday fare to seasonal, holiday, and special occasions), tips (”Protein for a Plant-Based Diet”), and links to related websites. From vegetarian cookbook author, Nava Atlas.
http://vegkitchen.com/
Topics: Beans, Grains, Nuts, & Seeds, Communities & Groups, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated Feb 4, 2006
Vegetarian Thanksgiving (Vegan Friendly!) view detail comment email this
Features a complete menu with recipes for a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. From an author of vegetarian cookbooks.
http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/vegetarian-thanksgiving.htm
Topics: Communities & Groups, Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually, Nutrition & Food Safety, Recipes & Food Preparation
Last updated Nov 15, 2006
Your Best Feast Ever view detail comment email this
“Create the perfect Thanksgiving from our mix-and-match recipe guide. Get great wine picks, step-by-step carving tips, and ideas for the most satisfying course of all: leftovers.” Features “Thanksgiving Basics” (with turkey roasting chart, carving guide, and other preparation essential), tips for avoiding the most common Turkey Day disasters, favorite menus with recipes (one vegetarian), and ideas for gravy, dressing, dessert, and more. From Sunset magazine.
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/food/article/0,20633,1541770~1540285~1540285,00.html
Topics: Holiday Foods, Beverages, and Recipes, Holidays and Observances Individually
Last updated Nov 13, 2007
Holiday Shopping, Circa 2008: Tips From the Federal Trade Commission
This consumer tip sheet provides holiday shopping advice for staying on budget, with suggestions such as making a shopping list and budget before shopping, comparing prices, checking sale ads and bargain offers, tracking your spending, and considering layaway programs. From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
URL: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt082.shtm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27141
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree, cooked
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract
Follow manufacturer’s instructions on how to prepare your ice cream maker.
1. Heat whole milk in a medium saucepan until it bubbles around the edges.
2. Whisk sugar and pumpkin puree into the heated milk.
3. Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool completely.
4. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes
6. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for at least 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency.
7. Freeze for at least 2 hours if a firmer consistency is desired.
Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
2 1/8 cups (2 cups plus 2 tbsp) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled till warm
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 cups chocolate chips
Heat oven to 325. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl, set aside.
Either by hand or electric mixer, blend butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Stir in desired amount of chocolate chips.
Form balls and place them on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake, reversing cookie sheet positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15-18 minutes (check at 13 minutes). Cool on cookie sheets and store in airtight container.
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2008/11/12/alsc-announces-exceptional-web-sites-for-children-2/
ALSC announces exceptional Web sites for children
ALSC announces exceptional Web sites for children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has added Web sites this fall to Great Web Sites for Kids (www.ala.org/greatsites), its online resource containing hundreds of links to commendable Web sites for children.
Great Web Sites for Kids (GWS) features links to valuable Web sites of interest to children, organized by subject headings such as animals; literature and languages; mathematics and computers; the arts; and history and biography. There is also a special section with sites of interest to parents, caregivers and teachers, plus an area devoted to sites in Spanish. The ALSC Great Web Sites for Kids Committee maintains and updates the site.
Source: Association for Library Service to Children/ALA
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007363print-no-photo.php
Polenta Casserole with Fontina and Tomato Sauce
If fresh basil isn’t available, make the sauce with canned whole tomatoes that have basil included. Muir Glen has an excellent product that we often use. If you prefer mozzarella over fontina, feel free to substitute.
Ingredients
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (with basil if you have it)
* 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 1 Tbsp fresh, chopped)
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 4 cups water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup polenta, or coarse cornmeal
* 2 cups grated Fontina cheese
Method
1 Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots just tender (5-10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the tomatoes and their juice (break up tomatoes as you put them in), parsley, and oregano. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered, until sauce is reduced to about 3 cups. Mix in fresh basil, season to taste with salt and pepper.
2 In a large saucepan bring a quart of water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thick and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
polenta-casserole-2.jpg
3 Prepare a baking dish, brush 8x8x2 pyrex or ceramic baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Pour half of the polenta over the sauce. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Pour another third of the sauce over the cheese. Pour the remaining half of the polenta over the sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, cover with remaining sauce. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature.
4 Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until completely heated through, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 6.
Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/crafts/
November 20, 2008
Sewing machines fly off shelves as shoppers craft a make-do-and-mend Christmas
Demand for sewing machines seems to be going up in the UK...
Tesco has also reported a surge in the number of sewing machines and in shoe cleaning equipment as consumers look to cherish their clothes and shoes, rather than let them fall apart. Julia Dudrenec, at the Welwyn Garden City outlet of John Lewis, said: “There are many first-timers coming into the haberdashery and dress fabrics departments asking for advice on how to create their own gifts.
“Some shoppers are being very creative, stitching fashion bags and skirts from old jeans, buying simple cotton bags and embellishing them with buttons, feathers and sequins with the new trend for “craft couture” really gathering momentum.”
Last month peers on the Science and Technology Committee called for a return to post-war thriftiness with an attack on ‘fast fashion’. They criticised the rising popularity of High Street clothes which are so inexpensive that there is no incentive to repair them.
At the Paris fashion shows this month Dame Vivienne Westwood championed clothes created from off-cuts. “There is status in wearing your favourites over and over again until they grow old or fall apart,” she wrote.
“Make necklaces out of safety pins, shawls from blankets, tablecloths, curtains or towels”, the notes suggested.
‘Make Do And Mend’ first came to prominence during the Second World War, when it was the title of a pamphlet published in 1943 by the Ministry of Information. The guide gave household tips on how to save food and mend clothes on the cheap.
Ohhh, the links here....LOL
[I thought they were kidding, they were not...granny]
Squirrel feet earrings
feet earrings.jpg
I know I’m not the only one around here who has a soft spot for creative taxidermy - and who could not have their heart stolen completely by this gift of lovely squirrel feet earrings? Via Craftastrophe
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/squirrel_feet_earrings.html
[She does good work...granny]
http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/papier-mache/
Papier-mache
Papier-mache is one of the oldest forms for creating puppets and so a lot of people think that there must be something better out there. Actually, there are very few contenders. Done well, papier-mache is light, strong, fast, and non-toxic. I know, we’ve all had the experience of the lumpy paste, and corners that stick up and a thing that requires years of sanding to even resemble smooth. It doesn’t have to be that way. I’ll show you a technique that will only need three layers and can be danced on.
Materials
The first thing to do is make sure you’re working with that right stuff.
* Wheat-based wallpaper paste. Why wheat? It has glucose in it, which binds with the cellulose in paper making a much stiffer and stronger wall, so you need fewer layers.
* Brown paper bags & other paper. The important thing here is that you don’t use newspaper. The fibers are short and it has no structural integrity of its on. Mostly it’s used as a counting layer. You do need paper that’s two different colors so you can tell what areas you’ve papier-mache and what you haven’t. I use either leftover printer paper (recycling) or scrap pages out of my sketchpad. As long as it’s not the same color as the bags, a similar weight, and it is uncoated it will work.
* Tissue paper Yes I do mean Kleenex or toilet paper. We will use this to separate the paper from the form. Regardless of whether you are doing direct papier-mache or working into a mold you don’t want it to stick when it’s dry.
* Plaster mold (optional) If you know how to make a plaster mold it is easier and faster to work into a negative than to papier-mache directly on the form.
Technique
1. Mix your wallpaper paste in a shallow container like a pie-plate (anything will work this is easiest). Make a small batch. (Trust me, you will appreciate having to stop and wash your hands to make more.) Cover the bottom of the pan with cool water. Shake a SMALL amount of the paste onto the water. Add more if you need to for the right consistency. I use the Zen method of mixing till it feels right, which for me is like cream of wheat or a melted milkshake.
2. Tear the paper into 6 pieces (approximately). Don’t cut it. You want a soft edge on the paper so it will adhere better and more smoothly to the other pieces. If you’re using heavy paper, like paper bags, put the pieces in a bucket of water to soak. (Printer paper with disintegrate if you do that, so, um, don’t.) This is much like the stage where you soak fabric before dying it. It helps the pores open up and absorb the paste better. It also makes the paper more pliable for going around corner. And finally, it makes the paper swell slightly. As it dries you get a tighter bond with fewer air bubbles.
3. Layer of tissue in moldPlace the dry tissue paper in the mold (or on your form). After it is covered with a single layer, sprinkle it with water. I’ve splurged on art tissue before and it doesn’t work as well as facial tissue because, well, facial tissue is designed to withstand snot. It holds up better.
4. Pick up a piece of brown paper bag and touch the bottom of it to the wallpaper paste so that when you pick it up it’s got maybe two inches covered with paste. (The biggest mistake folks make is to use too much paste). Smear it on both sides of the paper and crumple the piece. We’re trying to break up the fibers in the paper and work the paste into it. All techniques do this it’s just faster to do it with a large piece than lots of small pieces. What you want is for the paste to work inside rather than sitting on the surface.
5. First layer of paperTear off a piece and place it in the mold or on the form. In a mold this is the layer that will be seen so it’s the only one that has to be neat. (On a form the last layer is the visible one so all layers have to be neat. You’ll just repeat all steps except six). Make sure that the piece is small enough that it doesn’t form wrinkles. Start in the center and work out. Overlap the pieces, pressing to remove airbubbles. When you get to the edge of the mold or form, go outside by at least an inch. You’ll need this to grab hold of when it’s time to take the papier-mache out.
6. Second layer of paperMOLDS ONLY. After the whole layer is covered in brown. Get another piece of the bag, wet it in paste, and crumple it as before. Wad it up and shove it tightly into the detail areas. For instance, if you’ve got a nose, push it as far into the nose and nostrils as you can. What will happen is that the detailed areas will suddenly have ten layers of mache and the surface is smoother so your next layer will go faster.For this photo, I switched to white paper for my second layer and did the wads of paper with the brown so that it was easy for you to see.
7. Final layer of paperRepeat steps 4-6 with the other paper, when it’s covered go back to the brown bag. Do this until you have between three to five layers. IMPORTANT do it while the layers are wet. They adhere better and you will have fewer airbubbles.
Your final layer will be with whatever your first layer was. I only do three layers. You can see how much smoother the details are on this one than on the first layer.
8. Let it dry. Put it the sun. Be patient, you can put it in front of a space heater or bake it (250 degrees) but you risk the layers drying at different rates. I have to admit that in the winter I usually force it dry, because I’m not patient.
What works really well, if you can find it, is an old standing hair dryer. It circulates the air and helps the thing dry evenly and pretty darn fast. The biggest challenge. If the top layer dries before the bottom layer — the one touching the plaster — then it will seal the moisture in and slow the bottom layer’s dry time. Make sense?
9. Pulled from moldIt will reach a stage we call leathery. It’s still flexible, but it’s dry, like leather. This is the best time to pull it out. Be careful, if it’s too early and you see wrinkles happening, don’t do it. It’s better to wait until its completely dry.
10. Peel off what tissue paper you can and the rest smooth down with the paste.
11. TrimmedTrim the edges and then wrap them in papier-mache to keep them from peeling up.
You have to take some care with that first layer, but after that the subsequent layers go really, really fast. I can usually crank a single part mold out in forty-five minutes to an hour. It’s a pretty good ratio and the materials are dirt cheap.
I’ve dropped puppets from the second floor, hurled them against walls, and even stood on papier-mached pieces. Done right, the durability is surprising. The detail, going into a mold is pretty crisp, too. As a testament to that, here is the finished face of the wood witch.
Woodwitch face
Tags: Journal, MacBeth, paper, Puppetry, reference
Related posts
* Woodwitch construction
* Wood witch’s grabber arms
* Wistful Writings: Prime Codex - Review
* Walter’s Memorial
* Vote?
12 Comments
1.
John Burridge John Burridge on 08.11.2008 at 02:27 (Reply)
Wow,
Thanks for this posting — I’ve been wanting to make a fish ever since I read your posting about (the highly toxic process) of using a hot air gun to weld blue foam. I have just one question: have you tested your creations against the destructive power of three-year-olds with sticks (it’s amazing how quickly they find sticks in the most surprising of places)?
Now all I have to do is convince my partner that filling our living room with a school of electrified light-up fish is a Good Idea. Hmmm, maybe he’ll settle for a fish chandelier ala the exploding crockery one in the MOMA.
PS: Congratulations on your recent “big three” sale.
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 08.11.2008 at 03:05 (Reply)
Oddly, John, I have in fact tested this against three-year olds with sticks. My brother’s wife asked me for advice on papier-mache, so I offered it thinking it was for a school project. I didn’t realize that she was making a pinata. You remember that scene in Parenthood where Steve Martin can’t break the pinata? Yeah. It was that. It was finally my brother and a baseball bat with the pinata on the ground.
2.
Greg Ballora Greg Ballora on 12.11.2008 at 13:02 (Reply)
Mary, That is a really nicely written article. Thanks so much for taking the time to make it clear, concise and fun.
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 13.11.2008 at 12:26 (Reply)
My pleasure! This technique really did change the way I do puppet building.
3.
Ann Ann on 13.11.2008 at 10:38 (Reply)
This is a fantastic tutorial - thanks! Just one question: do you use some kind of release like petroleum jelly on the plaster mold, or do you just put the first layer of tissue into it completely dry?
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 13.11.2008 at 12:30 (Reply)
Just the tissue paper, which serves as a release. Because it doesn’t have the glue in it, it doesn’t stick to the plaster the way subsequent layers do.
One of the reasons this cures without mildew issues, I think, is that the unsealed plaster wicks moisture from the bottom layer as the moisture in the top layer is evaporating into the air. I’ve gone into non-porous molds and it seems to take significantly longer to reach the leathery stage.
4.
Katy Katy on 13.11.2008 at 13:36 (Reply)
Hi there! This post is a really great resource! Thank you. I have one comment about an alternate release technique. In the past I’ve made clay sculptures that we turn into mache and we used celophane hit with a heat gun as the release instead of tissue paper. You don’t want to melt the celophane, just hit it to tighten the stuff onto the model. Do you know how this compares to using tissue? I haven’t tried the tissue technique for release before.
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 13.11.2008 at 14:27 (Reply)
You know, I haven’t tried the celophane method, though I’ve heard of it. My hunch, and this is just a guess, is that you’ll lose the ability of the plaster mold to wick moisture away. This might make it dry less evenly than a porous release. Still, it’ll be worth giving it a try.
1.
Katy Katy on 14.11.2008 at 13:21 (Reply)
Ah, yes. I think when you use the celophane you let the layers dry before adding the next layer. I wonder how dry time compares. I need to try these back to back!
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 15.11.2008 at 00:36 (Reply)
The thing is that the speed isn’t the only reason to do the wet-on-wet technique. The larger reason is that it’s stronger.
When you let each layer dry what happens is that you wind up with a coat of past on the surface of the paper, so the next layer is adhering to that, more than to the paper below. When you go wet on wet the fibers lock onto the fibers of the layer below so you get a stronger bond and a stronger final product. That’s one of the reasons I can get away with fewer layers with this.
5.
annie annie on 14.11.2008 at 04:22 (Reply)
hi, thanks for the tutorial. I like the idea of scrunching the paper to absorb the paste.
I went to a lecture once where I was told about 2 amazing paper mache creations. One was a whole house (in a dry climate somewhere) and the other was a fully operational fob watch with all the workings carved out of paper mache. It is incredible stuff & more should be done with it in this wasteful era…
mmmm… I feel an idea coming on
1.
Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal on 15.11.2008 at 00:34 (Reply)
Wow. I totally want to see the papier mache house.
A fun way to entertain people, and they are pretty. Might keep the kids busy during a snow storm....granny
Painted hands
http://www.repubblica.it/2006/08/gallerie/spettacoliecultura/mani/5.html
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/crafts/
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/the_craze_for_urban_poult.html
The craze for urban poultry farming... I know Mark has chickens, and so does Dale, maybe there is something to this...
For Brooklyn real-estate agent Maria Mackin, the obsession started five years ago, on a trip to Pennsylvania Amish country. She, her husband and three children—now 17, 13 and 11—sat down for brunch at a local bed-and-breakfast, and suddenly the chef realized she’d run out of eggs. “She said, ‘Oh goodness! I’ll have to go out to the garden and get some more’,” Mackin recalls. “She cooked them up and they were delicious.”
Mackin and her husband, Declan Walsh, looked at each other, and it didn’t take long for the idea to register: Could we have chickens too? They finished their brunch and convinced the bed-and-breakfast owner, a Mennonite celery farmer, to sell them four chickens.
They packed them in a little nest in the back of their Plymouth Voyager minivan and headed back to Brooklyn.
[Above is from the below article..]
http://www.newsweek.com/id/168740/output/print
Chicken farmers are finding each other on sites like TheCityChicken.com, UrbanChickens.org and MadCityChickens.com. BackyardChickens.com logs some 6 million page views each month and has some 18,000 members in its forum, where community members share colorful stories (giving a chicken CPR), photos (from a California chicken show), even look to each other for comfort. “I am worried that non-BYC people won’t understand why a 34-year-old woman would cry over a $7 chicken,” writes a Stockton, N.J., woman, whose chicken was killed by a hawk.
Over at UrbanChickens.org, which launched this year, founder K. T. LaBadie, a master’s student in community planning, provides updates on city ordinances, info about local chicken-farming classes and coop tours and has been contacted by activists hoping to overturn chicken bans around the nation. In Albuquerque, where she lives with her husband and four chickens—Gloria, Switters, Buffy and Omelet—residents can keep 15 chickens and one rooster, subject to noise ordinances, as well as slaughter the chickens for food. In July, LaBadie wrote in detail of her first killing: she and her husband hung the bird by its legs, slit its throat, plucked its feathers and put it on ice. Then they slow-cooked it for 20 hours. “It’s not pretty, it’s kinda messy, and it’s a little smelly,” she writes. “But it’s quite real.”
Meanwhile, at MadCityChickens.com, the Web site created by the Madison Chicken Underground, chat-line operator Dennis Harrison-Noonan has turned his chicken love into a mini-business: he’s sold 2,000 design kits for his custom-made playhouse chicken coop, which retails for $35. “It’s really not that crazy to think that people are doing this,” says Owen Taylor, the urban livestock coordinator at Just Food, which operates the New York Chicken Project. “Most of the world keeps chickens, and they’ve been doing so for thousands of years.”
Historically, he’s right. During the first and second world wars, the government even encouraged urban farming by way of backyard “Victory Gardens” in an effort to lessen the pressure on the public food supply. (Until 1859, there were 50,000 hogs living in Manhattan, according to Blecha.) “It’s really only been over the last 50 years or so that we’ve gotten the idea that modernity and success and urban spaces don’t involve these productive animals,” Blecha says.
continues......LOL, covers a lot of info....
LOL, Chickens have invaded the U.S., They are now on the west coast too:
http://happyhens.blogspot.com/
Leann’s Happy Hen Gourmet Mash
Here’s an “action shot” of the hens enjoying my world famous Gourmet Mash. 9.5 out of 10 hens agree this is the meal of their lives!
The mash often consist of a small quantity of layer pellets with yogurt, cottage cheese or kefiili (like kefir, a cultured milk product) plus odds and ends of whatever is available. The cultured milk products are very, very good for helping chickens stay healthy.
This weekend I made an amazing gourmet mash which made the hens extremely happy, and wanted to share this recipe with you poultry enthusiasts. Since it involves meat, if you are a new visitor, please check the archives for my post on chickens as omnivores—other poultry enthusiasts have assured me they see the same dietary behavior in their flocks too! We don’t often feed them meat, but it has a dramatic positive health benefit when we do. Consider adding meat to your mash recipe in the early spring to help boost immunity after a long winter, after an illness, and during a molt to help protein depleted birds (feathers are all protein). You can also omit the meat or other items from this mash and add your own ingredients.
Leann’s Happy Hen Gourmet Mash
feeds a flock of 20 (with enough left over that everyone gets some)
1-2 pints yogurt or other cultured milk product
1 pint low-salt cottage cheese
2 pounds ground beef
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch lemon balm
1 head garlic
1-2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 pint baby tomatoes
enough pellet feed to make a mushy consistency
2-3 casserole type pans
Put all the pans on a counter or work space where you can evenly divide the ingredients between the 3 pans.
-Add the yogurt & cottage cheese
-Remove leaves from lemon balm and add to pans
-Take parsley, and using scissors, snip entire bunch into small pieces
-Put in ground beef, yes, raw
-Slice all tomatoes in half and add
Mix with hands, getting ground beef and cottage cheese thoroughly mixed
-Add a small quantity of pellets to mash, enough to make it thicken
-Peel most of paper husks off garlic cloves, and add cloves to Cuisinart
-Add pumpkin seeds to Cuisinart, and blend until both garlic and seeds are in bits
-Add this mixture to mash
Mix well, and serve (put the dishes in various parts of the run so all hens, low and high in terms of pecking order, can eat freely)
I don’t always use all these ingredients, but a little about what the benefits are for your flock:
Cultured dairy products are as beneficial for hens as they are for humans. Cultured dairy is high in protein and calcium, and the friendly flora helps prevent diseases and parasites in a flock.
Meat, as I’ve already mentioned, can be an excellent periodic supplement to a flock diet. This is especially true after winter, illness, or a molt when a hen’s protein needs increase dramatically. Additionally, according to the Weston Price Foundation, there are fat soluble vitamins and activators that only meat can provide. Since raw is better, put your meat in the freezer for 2 weeks prior to feeding to your birds, to kill any possible parasites, etc. Feel free to search the archive for a post about feeding raw deer liver to the flock—they loved it!
Lemon Balm is a powerful antiviral—our flock was exposed to viral poultry pox, which is sort of like human oral herpes in that it is non-fatal and they carry it for life. So for our flock, treating with lemon balm is a good thing.
Parsley is extremely high in minerals and vitamins. I’ve also been known to use granulate kelp and dulse.
Garlic is a potent antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitical, and antibacterial. Organic poultry farmers rave about use of garlic, and the mash is the best way I’ve found to get the girls to eat it.
Raw pumpkin seeds are noted in Chinese medicine to be excellent at expelling worms and other parasites in humans, I hope this is true for hens. If nothing else, it’s a great vegetarian source of protein and zinc for the flock. Zinc is another immunity booster. Sunflower seeds are a great substitute if all you want is the protein boost.
Tomatoes are reputed to be useful in changing internal ph so that a hen’s body is not hospitable to parasites and other disease bearing invaders. I have also heard that pomegranete seeds and cranberries are useful for the same thing.
Have fun making your own mash—your hens will love you for it!
Posted by Picasa
posted by happygardeningmama @ 6:18 AM 5
[A pleasant blog, with nice photos....granny]
http://www.urbanchickenunderground.blogspot.com/
This blog is dedicated to legalizing chickens in urban backyards.
http://www.cityfarmer.info/portland-tour-de-coops-urban-chicken-coops/
Portland Tour de Coops - Urban Chicken coops
Linked by Michael Levenston
tourcoop.jpg
Image from Growing Gardens, Portland Chickens.
At the 5th Annual Portland Tour de Coops in July, about 600 people visited, on average, 17 backyard chicken farms in Portland, Oregon. Link to their web site here. See photos of hen houses at Dave’ Garden Forum here.
U.S. City Dwellers Flock to Raising Chickens
By Ben Block, Worldwatch Institute
October 6, 2008
In the backyard of a suburban home in Denver, Colorado, 22 chickens are hiding out from the law.
They arrived when a member of BackyardChickens, an online forum, ordered the birds in the mail this past May. “I actually get my chicks in today hopefully, and I am worried that animal control will be at the post office waiting for me with hand-cuffs,” the new poultry farmer wrote.
An underground “urban chicken” movement has swept across the United States in recent years. Cities such as Boston, Massachusetts, and Madison, Wisconsin, are known to have had chickens residing illegally behind city fences.
But grassroots campaigns, often inspired by the expanding movement to buy locally produced food, are leading municipalities to allow limited numbers of hens within city limits.
Cities such as Anne Arbor, Michigan; Ft. Collins, Colorado; and South Portland, Maine have all voted in the past year to allow residents to raise backyard poultry. “It’s a serious issue - it’s no yolk,” said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz of Madison, Wisconsin, when his city reversed its poultry ban in 2004. “Chickens are really bringing us together as a community. For too long they’ve been cooped up.”
See the complete article here.
Chickens Still in Soup here.
http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/
Kids will name it in a contest.
MARS ROVER NAMING CONTEST
Submit Your Essay between: 11/18/2008 - 1/25/2009
You must be a student in grades K-12 in the United States, including U.S. possessions and schools operated by the U.S. for children of American personnel overseas.
WORLD-WIDE PUBLIC POLL
Submit Your Votes: on or around March 22-29, 2009
Nine finalist names will be selected, 3 from each grade range: k-3, 4-7, 8-12. Give NASA your feedback by ranking your favorites among the 9 candidate names, and you may just help determine the Grand Prize Winner!
WINNING NAME ANNOUNCED: on or around April 16th, 2009
Chicken farms are even springing up in cities like Cleveland
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - Nov 14, 2008
“It’s a new chapter for urban farms,” Cimperman said. “Gardens increase community activism, decrease crime and improve property values. ...
Urban chicken farming craze
Beliefnet.com, NY - 7 hours ago
Cleo, our trannie rooster, found a nice home with a farmer in rural north Texas. We are assured that he will be master of a hen harem. ...
Backyard chickens find new popularity in suburbia
Lower Hudson Journal news, NY - Nov 18, 2008
“I call them closet chicken farmers. I know any number of people who have two to five or six chickens in their backyard. It’s incredibly great to have the ...
The New Coop de Ville
Newsweek - Nov 17, 2008
Many urban farmers are taking that motto to heart. In New York, where chickens (but not roosters, whose loud crowing can disturb neighbors) are allowed in ...
Farmers in the Great Lakes region of ...
Maryland ag’s effect on Bay analyzed at law school
American Farm, MD - Nov 18, 2008
“Believe it or not, there is a shortage of chicken manure on the Delmarva Peninsula. We are contacted by farmers who want manure for their cropping ...
Great Lakes Radio Consortium
CITY CHICKENS AND URBAN EGGS
Great Lakes Radio Consortium, MI - Nov 16, 2008
Linda Nellet brought a few of her birds to a backyard-chicken seminar in Chicago. She and other seasoned urban chicken keepers hope to keep chicken-raising ...
The Independent Weekly
Dating on $30 a day
The Independent Weekly, NC - Nov 19, 2008
Standouts include the chicken and cheese enchiladas rancheras (Dessen’s recommendation: Share to save money); pork burrito de chile verde; enchilada with ...
The urban farmer’s almanac
National Post, Canada - Oct 25, 2008
Besides being easily traced to its source, urban farm products save on fuel. City beasts such as chickens, goats and tilapia will eat orange peels and ...
Chickens in the city?
Chicago Journal, IL - Nov 5, 2008
Urban Initiative, an educational wing of the community-supported farm Angelic Organics, will hold its first Basic Backyard Chicken Care workshop. ...
New! Get the latest news on Urban Chicken farmers with Google Alerts.
From the 1890’s
MEMOIRS OF M. TALLEYRAND; HIS NEGLECTED CHILDHOOD AND HIS AMERICAN...
New York Times - Dec 31, 1890
I did not make a very firm stand in favor of the economists, yet I could. scarcely map ... If things do not mend in Holland. will soon be removed to London; ...
Related web pages
A STUDY IN SOCIOLOGY.; New Cooking Classes at the Brooklyn Bureau of...
New York Times - Nov 20, 1898
These ravel the Brussels carpets — no one is too to do that — cat the rags into strips, and sew. them together to make rag ,carpets and mend the clothes. ...
Related web pages
HOW TO MEND YOUR WHEEL; Suggestions to Cyclists Who May Meet with...
New York Times - Jul 14, 1895
The humber of places that make a specialty of cycle work and are prepared to fix any ... The reason for the scarcity of repair shops which do cycle work ...
All 2 related - Related web pages
DRESS MAKING SCHOOLS.; How to Make Dresses Inadequately Taught in New...
New York Times - Feb 23, 1896
... much less mend decently, and very much less make a garment, ... Public schools, the few that teach at all, do not go beyond plain sewing. ...
All 2 related - Related web pages
A Castle of Ice. A Story
The New England magazine. - Cornell University - Sep 1, 1894
But if you really want to make something for the house ... Oh, I dont do Georges mending. He made such a fuss about my looking after his things, ...
Related web pages
HER POINT OF VIEW.
New York Times - Nov 15, 1891
Another woman, a writer, says on the contrary: “I make a practice to give my ... “Do, Sue, like a dear girl, mend this glove for me, l’m desperately late,” ...
Related web pages
SEASON OF EMBROIDERY HERE.
New York Times - Jul 9, 1899
But I do mend my gloves even in Summer. and then I don my housewife with a dignified air, ... “There are Just three things that New York women care to make. ...
Related web pages
RACEGOERS MADE FURIOUS; Hisses and Threats for the Starter at the...
New York Times - Jun 11, 1899
“Lynch him’” and rushed down to the judges’ stand to make a still further angry ... and charges f robbery and dishonesty against him do not mend matters, ...
Related web pages
THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
New York Times - Feb 23, 1897
And, according to the aforesaid bank officer, if money market conditions do not mend before the 1st of , h, it will only be a question of one bank following ...
All 2 related - Related web pages
COOKING IN WARTIME.; The Old Soldier Indulges in Reminiscences of...
New York Times - Jul 3, 1898
... a half of salt pork and three barrels of bea to make us a mess of pork and beans. ... She was supposed to do our mending for us, and we paid her for it. ...
All 2 related - Related web pages
http://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/2008/09/30/make-do-and-mend-vogue-for-the-credit-crunch-bunch/
Doesn’t this book look marvellous?
Make Do And Mend was published in the UK in 1943, by the Ministry of Information, at a time when food and clothes were rationed. Every British citizen was permitted one egg a week, a modest cube of cheese and unlimited bread and vegetables. Coupons for clothes were cut from allowance books; enterprising women supplemented these rations with garments cut from curtains, and kohl pencil lines up the backs of their legs, to look like stockings. Their cookware was handed over to be turned into fusiland turned into aeroplanes. (And if all this wasn’t bad enough, their towns and cities were being bombed at night.)
This frugal tradition continued beyond the Second World War and into the 1950s, when the Manchester Evening News published Take a Tip : a collection of readers’ money saving titbits.
It’s funny, isn’t it? These little booklets have been hanging around for decades, unwanted and unread, gathering dust in attics and mouldering on charity shop shelves while we’ve been out spending and splurging on overpriced frivolites and cheap tat.
Now that we’re headed for a recession - a Depression, even, if the doomiest of the doom-mongers are to be believed - all these pearls of wisdom are suddenly relevant again. With our financial indexes plummeting, our markets in turmoil and our elected representatives banging heads with one another, this seems as good a time as any to revisit some of our forebears’ handiest household hints.
Here are some of my favourites:
From Make Do And Mend
Don’t waste a whole lemon if you only need a drop. Stick a skewer into the lemon and squeeze out the juice you need. Wrap the lemon in foil and keep it in the fridge.
Mend clothes before washing them as the tear or hole may become unmanageable. Keep a look out for loose buttons and other fastenings and mend at once. Save all tapes, ribbons, buttons, hooks and eyes and keep a well-stocked work basket.
Freeze leftover pieces of cake until you have enough to make a trifle.
Unwrap new soap and store it among towels and bedding. The soap will scent the linen and it will also harden making it last longer.
From Take A Tip
Leave two small dishes or bottles of disinfectant on your kitchen table and the flies will disappear. I have not had one in even during the recent heat-wave.
If you have been to the seaside in brown shoes and had sea water over them the best way to remove the stains is to dissolve a small lump of washing soda in two tablespoonfuls of hot milk.
Apply the solution to the stains by means of a rag, let it dry (a minute or two) and add a second application.
After this has dried, use ordinary shoe polish to clean them. The stains will disappear like magic.
To remove grease stains on fabric, sprinkle good coating of talcum powder over each stain. Leave it on for about ten minutes and then cover it with brown paper.
Press this with a not-too-hot iron and brush off the surplus powder and all the stains have gone.
To clean strawberries, soak them in water to which a teaspoonful of vinegar has been added. It is surprising to see what insects there are hidden in the fruit. Wash in clear water and drain though a sieve.
If the hearthrug wanders, stick the rubber rings from old jam jar lids to the corners and, at intervals along the edges, it will then stay put.
I’d love to know what you make of these! If you would like a second helping (strictly rationed, of course), just tip me the wink..
UPDATE: This post was selected for the 173rd Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Girls Just Wanna Have Funds.
[I have used my soap to scent drawers or in a basket in the room, for 50 or 60 years, hate soft slimy bars, which you will not have with the air dried bars, it is ok to let them dry for years, I have been using some of the special bars, from 1966.
They were fancy handmade balls of soap and were just fine.
granny]
http://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/2008/11/14/frugal-grandmas-pie-and-pudding-secrets/
Frugal Grandma’s pie and pudding secrets
November 14, 2008 By: missthrifty Category: Food, Waste Not
I asked my Frugal Grandma if she would provide holiday cover while I am away on my Thrifty Roadtrip this week. Frugal Grandma can do anything…
When you make fruit pies put the bottom layer of pastry in the tin, paint with egg and leave to dry. This stops the bottom of the pie from becoming soggy with juice. Use the rest of the egg to paint over the top of the pie before you sprinkle with sugar, and this will make it nice and shiny. Try not to put too much juicy liquid into the pie as it will make its own when it cooks.
When you make a bread and butter pudding, put a smear of marmalade in the bottom of the dish. This greatly improves it.
At Christmas, mince pies are often a bit rich when you have been stuffing yourself. So in our family we always make a lot of little apple pies, which seem to go much faster. Don’t forget to make the tops of the mince and apple a bit different so you know which is which.
- Frugal Grandma