Twice a year the Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company has a flea market/yard sale in the Boalsburg Fire Hall. This is a major fundraiser for our group. The table spaces are rented for others to use so it’s like any other yard sale…but no one person has to fill up the yard. Unless you’re having a moving or estate sale, it’s hard to assemble enough stuff to do it by yourself!
The best part is it’s indoors, restrooms are handy, lunch items are for sale and everyone is especially friendly! Check it out on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day!
If you’re in the area, check out the flea market/yard sale at the Boalsburg Fire Hall this Friday and Saturday…April 26 & 27, 2024!
The Village of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, has a rich and varied history. The Boalsburg Village Conservancy (BVC) was formed to help preserve the historical and cultural resources of the Village and the Township, and to stimulate awareness and interest in this area’s historic past.
Have you ever visited Boalsburg on Memorial Day and wondered how many folks were involved in setting up all those town-wide activities for over 25,000 visitors for 5 days? Do you live nearby and make the Memorial Day festivities part of your weekend fun? Have you moved away and plan a visit each year around Memorial Day to see family and friends? Do your out-of-town friends and relatives ask to come visit around Memorial Day…just in case you have a spare bedroom, or you happen to live within walking distance from the festival?
The volunteers on the Boalsburg Village Conservancy committee work hard all year to make sure the vendors, the musicians and the local museums have everything they need that weekend to be successful.
The infrastructure for the 5-day event involves obtaining permits and paying for Emergency Services on-site, renting porta-potties and advertising. Volunteer are great, but they can do only so much. The hope is that money from vendor’s fees, memberships and donations from the public will be enough to pay for the infrastructure expenses. Of course, as everything else, costs are rising. We need your help!
Even if you don’t live nearby, you can support the efforts of this volunteer organization so in the future the history of Memorial Day is not forgotten. You can read more about the BVC at www.historicboalsburg.com. You can take a virtual tour online of the more than 70 homes and buildings that have been restored and preserved in the town.
Your dues will go far in helping to pay for infrastructure to support the next Memorial Day celebration. An additional tax-deductible donation will make an even bigger impact.
Please consider supporting the efforts of the BVC. The membership form can be found at www.historicboalsburg.com.
See you for the “Day in Towne” activities, May 23 to 27, 2024!
My Oatmeal Bread is my go-to favorite recipe…to make, to eat and to share! I have never had a bad batch of this bread (that I can remember!). You can read about my recipe in this previous post (https://marykisner.com/marys-oatmeal-bread/).
In the last several months I’ve been unhappy with texture of the bread. At least it still tasted OK but the bread was a little dry and crumbly when sliced. Each time I tried a batch I changed something, hoping to hit on the magic ingredient or process. I started making batches of only two loaves. We ate one and froze the other. I now have 5 loaves of bread in the freezer that are just experiment rejects!
I started with the knife. Maybe the serrated knife we used was not as sharp and seemed to shred the bread instead of cutting it. We switched knives…made no difference.
Time to investigate the ingredients. This recipe is simple…flour, rolled oats, yeast, olive oil, honey, sugar and salt. So, one at a time, I substituted ingredients.
Then I used the original recipe, but changed the flour from King Arthur All-purpose flour to Pillsbury All-purpose flour. The new flour felt “thicker” or more compact. This made a heavy loaf and tasted fine, but it still made crumbs as it was sliced. The next batch I added Vital Wheat Gluten to the mix…this changed the taste a little but didn’t fix the crumbling texture.
Next, I went to the local Health Food Store and picked up a small bag of organic rolled oats. They appeared to be smaller and softer than the ones I was using. I also picked up a 5 lb. bag of Organic All-Purpose flour. Finally, I brought out a fresh package of Dry Yeast from the freezer.
Finally, the new ingredients seemed to make the difference! At this point I’m going to say the new rolled oats incorporated better into the dough when mixing.
Now that I have a freezer full of 5 loaves leftover from my baking experiments, all labeled OATMEAL BREAD, for the last loaf that turned out right I made a different label:
Nice rise!
Great texture!
Now, what to do with 5 loaves of bread in the freezer that need to be recycled into something else? How about croutons!!
Making Croutons
I did a search for “How to Make Homemade Croutons” and found a simple recipe. This link has lots of information about making croutons:
I pulled my loaves of Experimental bread out of the freezer and let them thaw enough to cut them into cubes. Because it’s homemade bread, I kept the cubes a little larger and let them finish thawing after cutting. I was crumbling enough!
I put 1/4 cup of oil in a larger bowl and dumped in the cubes. I tossed the cubes in the bowl to coat them with oil and sprinkled herbs on the pile and tossed them again.
I spread the cubes out on two baking pans and baked them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I let them sit on the tray until they were coo. They turned a golden brown, crunchy on the outside, but soft enough inside so they would work on a salad. Some commercial croutons are so hard they can’t be stabbed with a fork! As I make more, I think I’ll store them in zip bags in the freezer.
I feel so much better about my Oatmeal Bread! I counted it to be the bread I could take as a gift…now I can!! Enjoy!
That’s a question I have not been able to answer over the last 20 years I’ve been making coats for Nittany Greyhounds. Usually, I make 4 coats at a time… occasionally two at a time. Because the way the pattern is laid out on the fabric, I can make two coats with 1 1/2 yards of fabric.
If I have a special order for 1 coat, large or small, I make two and give the other one to Nittany Greyhounds.
So, to answer the question of how long it takes to make one coat, first I had to think about how I make four coats.
Cutting out the Coats
I start with 3 yards of fleece for the outside of the coat and 3 yards of coordinating fleece fabric for the lining. That means I’m cutting out 8 coat shapes. I can do that in about 4-5 hours with breaks to let my cutting hand rest. My daughter have me the best scissors to cut out the bulky fabric, but of course my weak link is my hand!
I do all the cutting in one day and then put the assembling aside for another day. Even if I’m making only one customer coat, I cut out the second one at this time. What I’m left with is a stack of pieces ready for assembly.
Assembling the Straps and Snoods.
The straps need to be stitched along three sides, turned right side out and top stitched while attaching my label. Then a piece of Velcro Hook is sewed on one end (a piece about 3″ long of 2″ wide Velcro).
The snoods are next. They must be sewn right sides together at the neck edge, turned right side out and top stitched. Then the bottom edge that will attach to the coat is sewn and trimmed (it took me a long time to figure out that it was easier to trim at this stage, rather than when it’s attached to the body of the coat.)
Prepping the Body of the Coat.
The coat is sewed to the lining right sides together along the outside edge; then turned right side out and top stitched. The neckline of the coat is stitched and the lining is trimmed away from the seam.
To give the flat coat some shaping I make three darts along the back edge so it will drape better over the dog’s tail. The coat is pretty long but does not seem to get in the way while the dogs run and poop (smile!). It does seem to keep them warmer in the winter.
Assembling the Coat
To assemble the coat, I sew the snood to the body of the coat (leaving a 3″ slot in the seam for the leash to go through) and stitch down the sides of the seam. The neck seam is done the same way. The strap is attached along the side of the coat.
Finishing the coats involve sewing the Velcro Loop to match the location of the Velcro Hook on the strap. It needs to be long enough so it’s adjustable to any size dog. This is usually a piece about 6-7″ long of 2″ wide Velcro.
Occasionally, there is enough fabric at the end of cutting to make on matching scarf (for the human). Not enough to make four, but someone might find it fun.
And the Answer Is…
OK, to answer the question, “How long does it take to make one greyhound coat?” It depends. If I’m up to it and I can focus on just one coat, I can finish it in about 4-5 hours. Of course, that assumes there is something interesting on TV to watch while I sew!
Beyond that, if there is anyone out there interested in volunteering to make coats, I’d be glad to share the pattern and walk you through how to make them. It is a well-appreciated volunteer activity!
Every time I roast vegetables, they come out differently. After this last batch, where I thought I understood how to get them tender in the middle and crunchy on the outside, I decided it was time to do some research!
The first article I found online was, “Everything You Need to Know About Roasting Vegetables.” Of course, after I read the article and took notes, I was unable to find it again! Phooey! However if you type that title into your search engine, you will find many more articles to search through!
This article was a good review of things I already knew, like how to cut the vegetables, what temperature to roast the vegetables (400 to 425 degrees) and how to not crowd the baking sheet. That third suggestion seemed to be the crux of my problem! When I chopped up vegetables the other night, I did separate the potatoes from the vegetables. They came out great!
I found a great YouTube video from a woman in Australia (I think) with details about what kind of potatoes work best, the benefits of parboiling, and what kind of oil (or butter, lard, duck fat) gave them the best flavor. It was a very informative video! (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pigPB9xE4j4)
But then I chopped a whole bowl of assorted vegetables…kind of like I do when I’m making vegetable soup! I ended up with a bowlful of “assorted vegetables” that were too thick on the baking sheet.
The vegetables could not be separated from each other (too crowded) and so some steamed while others burned at the tips!
I can see I need to work a little harder to roast fewer kinds of vegetables at once. My mindset that I can combine vegetables on one tray needs to change! I finally found a chart that could help me remember. I think I’ll post this someplace handy:
________
How Long to Roast Vegetables at 425 degrees/F
Root vegetables: 30-45 min. (beets, white and sweet potatoes, carrots)
Winter squash: 20 min. (cubed) 45 min. (halved) (butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash)
Cruciferous vegetables: 15 to 25 min. (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)
Summer squash: 10 to 20 min. (Green & yellow zucchini)
Thin vegetables: 10 to 20 min. (asparagus, green beans, snap peas)
Soft vegetables: 15 to 25 min. (Cherry tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers)
On our trip last weekend to southern Pennsylvania, we enjoyed a delicious addition to our breakfast spread…Apricot Bread! I knew about banana bread, blueberry bread and raisin bread but had never had apricot bread! It was a delicious, colorful bread!
I was told the recipe came from a cookbook written by James Beard…Beard on Bread. I just so happened to have that book on my shelf!
I typed out the recipe because the small paperback would not lie flat and I couldn’t weight it down without covering the recipe! (It’s on page 175, if you also have the book.) I’ll include a photo of the recipe below.
When I start a recipe like this…with several ingredients needing additional preparation, I try to prep them before I start…in this case chopping the nuts and soaking the apricots.
I did not take pictures of mixing the bread up. By the time I thought of it…it was mixed! It was really pretty simple and made the whole house smell good!
It made a pretty loaf. Perfect for breakfast or dessert! Give it a try! Enjoy.
Have you ever had an unusual experience that left you unsettled and questioning reality? This weekend we had such an experience. We just came back from a lovely overnight visit with Bert’s sister and her husband in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Greencastle is in southern Pennsylvania and spring is about two weeks ahead of central Pennsylvania. Trees and flowers were bursting out all over! My nose was running from all the pollen! We went out to dinner…Bert always looks forward to oysters…and came back to their home to have a nice visit.
Before settling down to visit we took our suitcases into the guest room. I reached down to turn on the small lamp right inside the door. It was more like a night light, but provided just enough light to see the room.
The lamp was about 12″ high with a base of brown glass with a small shade. The shade was not glass…more like parchment. The picture below shows what I think I remember about the lamp base…the one on the right. The glass had little bumps on it…sort of a squashed round globe. Of course, this picture is of old-fashioned Aladdin lamps that burned oil. The missing lamp was electric and the base glowed with a small lightbulb inside. Anyway, this is the only picture I could find that had the color base I remembered.
We then spent the evening exchanging stories of medical appointments, activities of extended family and future plans. We never seem to run out of things to talk about!
When we went to bed, I was checking email, while Bert took his turn in the bathroom. When he came back, he turned off the little light by the door. I finished and turned out the other light that was still on.
After hours of an unsettled stomach (probably from my big dinner) and a drippy nose (from pollen) I finally decided to take my antihistamine medicine…but of course it was buried in my suitcase. It was 4 a.m. I thought I’d just turn on that little lamp so I could see my suitcase. I reached the door in the dark and felt around for the tiny lamp. I wasn’t able to find the lamp…instead my hands felt a small woven basket…??? The lamp should be right there! So…I turned on the room ceiling light, thinking I’d locate the lamp and dowse the ceiling light.
Surprise!! That lamp was nowhere at all anywhere in the room!
Where did it go? I looked around the room at the two other lamps, but no evidence of that small lamp.
Did someone come in the night, unplug it and relocate it to another room? I’m sure I would have heard someone doing that!
I got my meds and turned out the ceiling light, wondering what had happened. I went to the bathroom and checked in the hall outside the room. Yes, there was a cute lamp on a small table, but not the one I was looking for.
So, I went back to bed trying to figure out what could have happened!
In the morning there was still no evidence of the mystery lamp. I asked Bert if he moved the lamp somewhere…he looked around the room and said, “No.” He remembered turning the lamp off. What could have happened?
We asked Joanne and Mark if they had moved the lamp…nope! They had never had a lamp with that description. If Bert had not touched the lamp himself, I’m sure this would all be chalked up to my imagination!
It’s really not important, but I could quickly see that the more we talked about it, the details were getting fuzzy. I found I wanted to expand my memory with more details when all I remember was the base and the location of the lamp. I figured I’d better write down what actually happened!
However, all the thinking and describing doesn’t solve the mystery…where did the lamp go? Or, where did it come from for those few hours? Lots of questions with no answers.
I think a good mystery writer could build a whole story around this experience, with parallel universes, or maybe the previous owner of the house had such and lamp and she had come for a visit…??
I will not dismiss the experience, but I really have no answers. Have you ever had an experience like this? Enjoy!
For many years, our property was surrounded by 27 Blue Spruce trees. When we first moved here in 1970, we had a huge garden. We had some tiny spruce tree seedlings that we planted in the garden. When they were big enough…took several years…we transplanted them around the property line. They gave us some wonderful privacy for 50 years.
2019
By 2019, we noticed several of the trees were unsteady in high winds and had to be removed. We didn’t want to be responsible for a large tree landing on our neighbor’s roof! Eventually, we determined it just wasn’t safe to have any of them. Plus, they weren’t looking too health. Looking at the trees was more like looking through lace; it was just too risky to leave them up.
2019
The process of taking them down by professionals was the only way to go. It was a pretty sad day.
2019
It did leave us with a huge pile of logs that Bert worked on for several weeks…a little at a time! The picture below was just a small portion of the pile of logs.
2019
This was just the beginning of the final wood pile!
2019
In 2022, we decided it was time to replace the trees with…something! Anything huge would not have time to grow big enough to enjoy. As much as Bert dislikes plants that seem to grow where ever they want, he agreed forsythia plants would define the property line and be pretty in the spring in a year or two. We invested in 65 plants and Bert, with a willing friend, managed in a few long hot days to get them all in the ground. Whew!
The first year they just looked like a bunch of sticks in the ground. In 2023, the plants tried their best, so we had a few yellow flowers.
2023
2023
2023
This year, 2024, we can really see the potential for pretty spring flowers.
2024
2024
2024
So, even though we still miss our Blue Spruce trees, we’ll now have pretty forsythia to look at each spring…and we won’t have to worry every time the wind blows! I don’t think the forsythia will ever get so big it will block our view of the mountains. Happy Spring!
Over this past weekend I drove to Pittsburgh for the Bead Mercantile Show (and to spend time with Kathy’s family, of course). Kathy, her mother-in-law, Anna and I made the 30-minute drive to the Show location. I was so glad to not have to worry about getting to the show…Kathy knew exactly how to get there!
I had no idea what the show would involve but I was hoping to find a few beads for my bracelets. Turns out, beads were just part of the offerings!
The location was in a ballroom of a Comfort Inn & Suites south of the city. I believe the next show will be in the fall. There were at least 15-20 venders with everything a bead-lover could need.
At the registration table, the woman collecting the $3 entrance fee was also a vendor. We got to see amazing works of art made with beads before we even got inside! The display was definitely inspiring!
Entering the large room, I was overwhelmed by the choices! Luckily, I had a list of the specific beads I was looking for.
My first encounter was an assortment of large beads…very unusual and interesting, but I had my best friend Toni in mind. She uses beads like this and could not make it to this show. I wanted to pick up some for her. Here are some of the beads I had to choose from:
These are the beads I picked up for Toni…a total of $12.00!
Unfortunately, the beads I was interested in were more expensive, of course! My strings of beads were $8 to $30 each.
I was also able to pick up some tiny spacer beads in gold and silver plated…the three tubes of beads shown here were $30!
I’ve been saying this hobby of making beaded bracelets was expensive…now I’m convinced that I’d better find places to sell them! I certainly can’t wear them all!
With all the supplies available at Jo-Ann’s, Michaels Craft Stores, Amazon and other online companies, it is a very satisfying hobby. I would recommend giving it a try if you’d like to make them yourself.
Please email me directly if you’d like me to write tutorial piece on how to make them (marykisner@comcast.net). If there is enough interest, I’ll put that together. Enjoy!
Over the last 3 years I’ve been making assorted quilt blocks to decorate my front door. I started with actual fabric quilt blocks. They solved my dilemma of the small space between the door and the screen door that routinely smashed any wreathe I tried to hang on the front door. With 6 quilt blocks, I could change them out about every two months.
Unfortunately, after two months in the sun their color faded and by the second year, I was a little disappointed with using them. You can read more about my transition to painted quilt blocks on wood here: https://marykisner.com/lavender-inspired-quilt-block-on-wood/
The process of painting a quilt block on wood involves first painting a miniature of the chosen quilt block before starting on the full-size (12″ square) block. While the full-size blocks decorate my front door, one at a time, the miniatures are an interesting decoration for my mantle.
To make my new spring quilt block on wood, I first chose a pattern. I have used this same pattern several times…by changing the colors and their placement I was able to use the pattern below (called Fifty-Four Forty) that I made with patriotic colors and change it into the variation that almost looks like tulips!
I always start with sketching the design on a 3″ x 3″ canvas. That lets me see which lines should be erased so the pencil doesn’t show through the paint. Then, I’m careful when drawing on the wood so the pencil lines are faint and won’t show through.
Let the painting begin:
It takes several days to finish a project like this. The final step is to take clear acrylic spray and give it a nice weather-proof finish…all with waiting times between coats. Bert will attach magnets to the back that will stick to our metal front door. In the end, I’ll have a new spring door quilt and a new miniature for the mantle!
