Gdonna's TIPS

It is time for Charles and I to look back to early spring and to where we are now. Each year we learn new things about gardening and most everything. I learn best by my mistakes.As usual we try something different in the garden, sometimes it is different kind of garden beds or containers. We have much shade once the trees are full of leaves and each year there are more because the trees grow. This year we turned the direction of the beds differently so hopefully so more sun could reach the beds.I tried something different this year with sweet potatoes, first I did my regular put the sweet potatoes in water to sprout slips...And I placed some in an old pot and bur ......

There are so many things that lead to so many more things to research. One thing leads to another and then I feel that I know so little about so much.I was looking through some of my very old catalogs from the 20s and 30s and comparing styles in the 20s and 30s. For some reason I feel more comfortable in the 1930s and as I said before did not really want to study the 1920s but we are because 1920 was 100 years ago.These are the new styles for 1920. They still wore corsets but they were longer and a bit looser which I am sure much appreciated. This is 1930s. Notice the waistline has come in now. These look all stylish but I can tell you from other research that many ......

Have you ever wished to go back in time so life would be more simple? We cannot go back because life is always changing and moving forward but we do have control in the changes we make to create that place that we imagine. When we start investing our time and talents making items ourselves and using those items every day they take on and importance to which we start taking more care which opens our minds to the understanding of our generations before us. If we could only jump back in time to talk with them and have them to teach us what they knew and understood.Some people love to restore old cars, to bring back the beauty of these magnificent pieces of the past. Some restore wood furniture ......

This picture above comes from Sheri and this is her sponge cake.I feel excited about this post because some of you have been writing to me about how much you look forward to a new post, especially since starting the 1942 year, living like 1942 and this post is not just my thoughts and ideas.I want to post more things than what I am about to post but my head is full because we are going through so many changes and I cannot remember all of the things some of you have written to me that I thought that would be something I should share. I will make an effort to ask you right away for permission to share and then file that information some how for a future post so I don't have to back ......

Many of us that are older or those that love vintage things have pyrex or fire king or some of the older kitchen items.This is a 8x8 inch fire king pan. I enjoy simple cakes in this pan. I don't believe there was ever a lid for this pan and it is common for people to have other size pieces with missing lids.This is a tip how I cover my fire king and Pyrex pieces. Lay wax paper over the top and rub a spoon or the flat of your scissors to score a mark.Follow the mark and cut out leaving one corner with a tab for lifting out.Lay a crochet cover as a light weight to keep the wax paper in place.Here is a close up of this pattern but it can be more simple and just a single crochet all ......

I am not advertising anything, I am just showing you what I purchased for our faucets because both items work very well.These are new items for our home and I am sooooo HAPPY! I love these water saving devices. I ordered two different types, this one was a bit more expensive and we put it on our kitchen sink since it is used most often.These are water saving devices and the water will only come out when you are pressing the lever over with your finger or you put the small device in full flow mode.Press your finger or back of your hand on the lever and the water flows and move your hand away and the water stops immediately.One the back of the lever it has a place to flip up a smal ......

My husband and I have been trying to do better at conserving water and I thought I would pass along one of my laundry tips.I have two types of jars, glass and plastic. I really do not like using plastic but so many things are plastic it is hard to get away from it. For me washing small or delicate items is easier in plastic due to the fact I have less strength in my hands and arms as I did when I was younger.This is a camisole that I am washing. Normally most people would simply wash this in a sink but if you are washing more than one thing such as bras, baby socks, baby bibs, or anything small you can really get them clean by shaking them in a jar with a small amount of la ......

I all depends on what you are cooking and which way you like to eat your cabbage.Here is a cabbage (above) and I am pointing to the direction of the top of the cabbage. So the bottom (where it was cut off when harvested) is on the left and you can see the thick stem part of the cabbage leaf.I could not hold the camera and get a picture cutting the cabbage in half but I cut the cabbage in half from the top to the bottom with a large knife then I laid one half cut side down. I sliced off some cabbage from the side to show you that you will get thicker pieces of cabbage when sliced from the side.This is what it will look like when cut from the side.If you cut from the top instead of the s ......

There are times when the lazy bug bites and preparing a simple salad for lunch gets put off for something less healthy. Some of us have painful days and we just don't feel like cleaning a big mess in the kitchen. I feel that lettuce must be washed thoroughly but doing so requires a few large items that would have to be washed. My solution was to scale down the use of pans and such by using a quart canning jar.Lettuce down in the jar and salt on top. (for two people just add more lettuce)Fill the jar with waterShake the jar and the salt will make a slightly soapy cleaning agent and soften the lettuce so any little bug or things will release from the lettuce.Turn it upside down with ......

I was recently asked what we use for lighting when you do not use electricity. We do use electricity at our house but we use it as minimally as possible. I am getting older now and need to use electricity but can get by without it because we have the things we need to use if the power goes out or need to reduce the electric bill even more than we do. An answer to the question what do we use non electric for lighting. We have several types of oil lamps. The old fashioned oil lamps that takes store bought oil. We use the clear unscented oil. And we have an olive oil lamp that is simply a jar that has a bent wire that goes inside to hold the wick. I like us ......

I am writing this article with hopes that it might help those living with Meniere's or ear disturbances. I have never posted on this before and those that come to my website regularly may not understand what you read on this page. Those with complicated meniere's might find something here they can understand. Living with Meniere's disease is truly uncomfortable. I know because I have Meniere's disease in both ears which is less common. We can go on the internet and read about Meniere's disease that is written by professionals. I am not a professional and I had to find a way to live with this disease because it can be very isolating, disturbing, depressing, miserable, so loud and ......

This is a kitchen towel that is in good condition but without thinking I wiped something that had rusted. It was all over the towel. I washed and dried it several times so I figured the stain was set but I had removed rust before with an old remedy so I decided to see if a set rust stain would come out. First squeeze fresh lemon juice over the rust stains Now put a generous amount of salt over the lemon juice and rust and rub it into the stain. Place outside in the sunshine for about an hour rinse the stain Add soap and scrub the areas Most of the stains came out, there is a small area that needs repeating Here is is dried and it is ......

This is how I wrap my fresh homemade bread I use a oversized kitchen cloth. I found my cloths in the kitchen section of a large popular grocery/department store. They are very durable for this purpose. You could make your own cloths but I like these because they are like an oversized cloth diaper. They are a large bar cloth. The first thing I do is after I take the bread out of the oven I set the pan on a cooling rack. Then I let it cool for about a half hour so it will moisten enough to release the bread from the pan. Then turn out the bread on the cooling rack for at least another half hour to cool. After the bread is cool I put ......

My room spray I am very sensitive to fragrance so I make my own room spray and this is what I do. small spray bottle Pour these things into your bottle 1 Tablespoon plain vodka 1/2 cup distilled or spring water 10 drops of your favorite essential oil I like to use lemon If you want to make a large amount just double this amount. It is just that easy. Lavender oil also smells very good as well as rosemary and peppermint. It is up to you what you like. Hope this helps and remember do not drink this due to the essential oil :) ......

We really have to be careful with our food these days. I give special care with cleaning lettuce or greens such as turnip greens, collards, spinach, swiss chard etc. The first thing I do is take a very large bowl and pour a couple of Tablespoons salt in the bottom Then fill about half way with clean cold water Cut or tear your lettuce if it is something like romaine and put into the salted water or just toss in the smaller leaf lettuce. Same for other greens. Swish around the lettuce, it may feel soapy due to the salt. The salt will make any critters let go of the leaf if there are any there. Now put it through a strainer and rinse with cold water &nbs ......

Food just does not seem as clean these days. Here is how I wash mushrooms. I put them in a clean jar and fill the jar half way with clean water. You don't want the jar full of water so it can swish around better. Cup your hand over the top and swish back and forth Now seperate your fingers and pour off the water then repeat Put the mushrooms on a plate and check to see if they need further washing or brushing then swish one more time. Hope this tip helps ......

How to make a dish scraper Take a empty plastic water bottle or milk bottle and cut out the sides. You can shape them for whatever need you have Curved can scrape down the sides of glass bowls. This is the shape that I use most often, these are great for scraping off sourdough starter. You can make most any shape Hope this tip helps ......

An Apple Washing our food has become so important these days, here is how I wash an apple. First wet your apple then place about this much baking soda in your hand Scrub the apple well with the baking soda and both your hands Rinse Well Dry and polish the apple :) To see more tips look up at the right hand side of this page ......