Reflections on Halloweens Past

As most kids, I loved Halloween.  What child wouldn’t enjoy getting dressed up in costume and going out at night to collect candy from your neighbors?  And maybe getting a little bit frightened along the way.  However, the most memorable Halloweens for me were after the going out to collect candy era. 

When I was getting a little too old to dress up and go trick-or-treating, my girlfriends and I thought it would be fun to host a haunted house…and my house was it.  Candy was not handed out at the front door.  The little children would have to actually enter the house and endure our “torture” before they received a piece of candy.  This is something that I doubt would be allowed to happen today.  However, this was about 50 years ago and that was another time…a wonderful time.

My friends and I taped many pieces of string to the ceiling of the front hall, so that those little Halloweeners would have to walk through a darkened entry and feel something that was akin to cobwebs brushing their cheeks.  The entire first floor was lit only by candles.  One of my friends played disjointed weird tunes on the piano.     All of us were in costume that were either of a witch, zombie or vampire theme.  As I escorted the children around the first floor, various of my friends would run past screaming or jumping out from  behind a corner.  One year my mother cackled behind the front door….she was an extremely good at cackling.

Mary Playing the Corpse

We did this several years in a row…and the best year was the year my sister, Mary, played the corpse.  She agreed to lay on the dining room table, draped in a sheet with twisted candles surrounding her body.  As was the rest of the first floor, the dining room was lit only by the flickering flames of the candles on the table surrounding her.  An eerie sight it was.  The children were paraded around the “corpse” as the last “event” before being handed their candy. Poor Mary was stretched out on that table for a couple of hours at least.  I’m surprised she could walk after that ordeal.

Our haunted house was very popular in the area and one year it was even mentioned in the local newspaper. 

In the decades that have passed between then and now, I have usually dressed up as a witch to hand out the Halloween candy.  I remember when I moved to a new neighborhood just over 20 years ago.  I didn’t have the traditional witch hat and black dress at the ready as I had just recently moved in.  So I rubbed green eyeshadow on my face and drew lines with brown eyeliner around my mouth, eyes and across my forehead .  I teased my hair out and thought I looked pretty scary.  I opened the door to all the neighborhood children, many of whom were accompanied by their parents, and noted that many of them stared at me, most likely amazed at the spectacular make-up application.   This was, for the most part, my first opportunity to meet my neighbors.

And then a friend of mine, a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while, stopped by with his little girl.  I invited them in and we chatted in the kitchen for a bit.  I could see that he was really looking at me…I mean REALLY looking at me.  He finally asked “Are you feeling okay?  You don’t look so good.”  I was surprised at his question and I responded “I’m in costume here!  I’ve got green face make-up on and lines drawn on my face.  Do you think I really look like this?”

Me With My Green Face

And then it dawned on me.  If he, someone who knew me, thought I really looked like this, what did my new neighbors think?  What an ugly old hag that woman is!

My Witch Costume the Following Year

So, the following year I took no chances.  I made sure that they knew I was in costume!

Looking Out My Back Door – October 27, 2013

You live and you learn, so they say.  And that is definitely true for me, as I learn something (at least one something, sometimes many things) every day.  The problem is remembering what I’ve learned.  This blog and my other blog http://queenofsienna.wordpress.com, are a partial repository of things learned.  I can always refer back to those posts and refresh my memory.

I’ve learned something recently about woolly bear caterpillars.  There seems to be quite a large number of them this year.  I don’t know what that means.  Is it perhaps a sign of a mild winter?  Or maybe a harsh winter?  Or maybe just a sign that I’ve been more observant.

Woolly Bear Caterpillar

I snapped the photo of the caterpillar above as he was making his way across my back stoop.   

The following was taken from Wikipedia:

“The Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic. The banded Woolly Bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues. In the spring it thaws out and emerges to pupate. Once it emerges from its pupa as a moth it has only days to find a mate.

Pyrrharctia Isabella

“In most temperate climates, caterpillars become moths within months of hatching, but in the Arctic the summer period for vegetative growth – and hence feeding – is so short that the Woolly Bear must feed for several summers, freezing again each winter before finally pupating. Some are known to live through as many as 14 winters.

“Recent research^[4] has shown that the larvae of a related moth Grammia incorrupta (whose larvae are also called “woollybears”) consume alkaloid-laden leaves that help fight off internal parasitic fly larvae. This phenomenon is said to be “the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects”.

“Folklore of the eastern United States and Canada holds that the relative amounts of brown and black on the skin of a Woolly Bear caterpillar (commonly abundant in the fall) are an indication of the severity of the coming winter. It is believed that if a Woolly Bear caterpillar’s brown stripe is thick, the winter weather will be mild and if the brown stripe is narrow, the winter will be severe. In reality, hatchlings from the same clutch of eggs can display considerable variation in their color distribution, and the brown band tends to grow with age; if there is any truth to the tale, it is highly speculative.”

This Wikipedia article went on to say that there a several Woolly Bear festivals held across the United States and one is held in Oil City, PA where they have their woolly bear named “Oil Valley Vick” predict the winter weather.  He made his first prognostication back in 2008 and the locals hope that some day the crowds will rival that of Punxsutawney Phil.

The brown band on my caterpillar was relatively wide, so I’m going out on a limb right now and predicting a relatively mild winter for New England.  Yup, you heard it right here, folks. Mild winter!

Okay, you’ve learned your one thing for the day…you can go back to bed now.

Oh, wait!  Don’t go to bed yet…I just remembered that I promised in my last post that I would cut one of those hardy oranges in half and show you what the inside looks like.

Hardy Orange Tree at the End of October

The little oranges have pretty much ripened now and some are beginning to drop off the tree.

Can You See the Fuzz?

It’s hard to capture the fuzzy exterior of this orange in a photo.  The interior is full of seeds that are about the same size as the seeds in a regular orange (and the fruit is only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter).  The entire interior is full of seeds.

Seeds!

The juice is more than tart…it’s bitter.  I have read that you can make marmalade with this fruit…but after you get rid of the seeds and add enough sugar to make it palatable, it doesn’t really seem worth the trouble.

And, the fresh pineapple facial followed by the baking soda scrub that I discussed in my last post was a success!  I rubbed a 1 inch square piece of fresh pineapple on my face and let it dry for about 10 minutes.  I then rinsed it off in the shower and, while still in the shower, I applied the baking soda paste and then rinsed that off.  My skin was noticeably smoother!  I will be using the baking soda scrub often and the pineapple whenever it’s on sale.  Definitely a winner.

Although we have had frost, not a real killing frost but frost nonetheless, this dandelion is still thriving.

Dandelion Amongst the Fallen Leaves

Graycie loves to run from window to window hoping to see the neighbor cat walking by.  I guess the best view out the kitchen window (for her at least) is from the high vantage point on top of the refrigerator.  She sits like a statue up there, hoping I won’t notice her…

Pretending to be a Statue

What tickles me is that she positions herself next to the ceramic cat that I have up there and they look so cute side by side.

And that’s all there is to report for now.

Looking Out My Back Door – October 20, 2013

The colors outside are more muted now.

Bunny Grazing in the Grass

Oh, there are spots of vibrant reds, oranges and golds but not as brilliant as we’ve had some years.

Bunny

In case you couldn’t see him, there really is a bunny grazing in the grass in the photo above…right in the center of the back of the lawn.  Here is a closer view of the little fellow.

The ornamental grasses have their tassles now and look lovely swaying in the wind and glistening in the sunlight.

Ornamental Grass

Although the colors are fading and the leaves are falling, there are still a few “pops” of color out there to delight in. 

The hardy orange (poncirus trifoliata) has grown higher this year and has fruit up on those higher branches.  From my kitchen window I can see these little suspended golden orbs hanging, almost magically, from the branches.  In years past, I have gathered some of these little oranges and studded them with whole cloves and arranged them in a small bowl to add a delightful aroma to the house.  I’ll have to cut one in half and show you in another post what the inside looks like…lots of little seeds.

Hardy Little Oranges

The winged euonymus in the sunny areas has now turned a brilliant red:

Winged Euonymus

And the monkshood is in blossom!

Monkshood

The unexpected lavender blue color of the monkshood in the fall garden is amazing.  They stand about 4 feet tall and are easily visible along the back of the bed.  The petals do look like monks’ hoods, don’t they?  The center of each flower has chartreuse green stamen.   Hard to believe this plant is poisonous.

I’m spending my time outdoors cutting down the phlox and other flowers…also raking the leaves.  I picked 6 large pole beans and added them to my salad yesterday.  Also used some of that basil in the salad.  There hasn’t been a frost, so these plants are still growing.

Getting around to matters other than what’s happening outside in the yard…fresh pineapple was on sale at the market and I can’t resist it.

Pineapple

I love eating fresh pineapple in the morning.  And I also have a pineapple and walnut cake recipe that is easy and delicious.  There is no shortening in this cake and only 1/2 cup of sugar. 

Some Pineapple Chopped for Cake

Although canned crushed pineapple was intended for this recipe, I’ve successfully replaced that with finely cut fresh pineapple.

Cake Batter in Pan

Pineapple Walnut Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4  teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt
1 large egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup finely cut fresh pineapple (or canned crushed pineapple)
2/3 cup pineapple juice or orange juice or combo of both
1/3 cup walnuts (coarse chop)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 8 inch square baking pan.

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cloves and salt.  Add egg, vanilla and juice.  Combine until mixed.  Fold in pineapple and walnuts and bake for 30-35 minutes or until top springs back to touch and toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool 10 – 15 minutes in pan and then remove from pan.

Just Out of the Oven

This cake is good the day it is made, but it is better the second day.  I don’t know why that should be, but it is.  I store it in the refrigerator.  It’s good served cold but it’s also good if you let it sit on the counter and warm up slightly.  I don’t frost  it but cream cheese frosting would work well with it…or a dollop of slightly sweetened (with a bit of confectioners’ sugar)whipped cream cheese on the side. 

I use orange juice in this recipe as I don’t have the pineapple juice from the can.  I’m thinking a mashed ripe banana might work well and if I have an old banana laying around the next time I make it, I’ll try incorporating that into the recipe.

Ready to Eat

This pineapple walnut cake recipe reminds me of my mother’s boiled raisin cake.  Her recipe follows.  She had a sensitive stomach and couldn’t take all the spices, but when I make it, and I do make it often, I put them all in…the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  Smells delicious baking.  This cake is moist and delightful. 

My Mother’s Boiled Raisin Cake Recipe

Recipe Continued….

One last thing…talk about serendipity.  I’ve been thinking I need to do something with my face…like a mask or scrub or something.  I had it in my mind that I’d like a natural enzymatic treatment.  Guess what?  I found the following website which talks about a pineapple facial.  Just cut about a 1 inch square piece of pineapple and rub it all over your face and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes and then get in the shower to steam and remove the pineapple.

The author recommends following this up with a baking soda scrub.  Baking soda is amazing, isn’t it?  I bake with it, I clean with it, sometimes I brush my teeth with it and I have used it as a facial scrub in the past (and liked it).  And it’s inexpensive to boot. 

This is the web page for the pineapple facial.  Right below that article is the link to the baking soda scrub.  Excellent info!

http://gi365.info/lifestyle/diy-homemade-pineapple-facial/

Since I happen to have fresh pineapple on hand, I’m going to try the pineapple facial this morning followed by the baking soda scrub and will report back on the results in the next post.

Until next time….

Particular About Tag Sales

Tag sales, yard sales, garage sales, barn sales, estate sales…they’re all about people looking to get rid of stuff they’ve acquired and other people looking to acquire things, usually at bargain prices; maybe even finding some hidden treasure buried in and amongst all the things for sale.

I, however, have a superfluous amount of possessions right here in my house and barn that  I don’t need or want.  I sell antique and vintage items at my Etsy shop…and I have enough to keep that shop stocked for years to come.  So, I really have no need to go to tag sales.  Why on earth would I want to buy someone else’s things when I have too much of my own?  Real estate, that’s the answer.  Location and house, simply put.  I have a real estate addiction.   The background of this “addiction” is a story in itself, and I’ll write a separate post on that in the future.

I look at the tag sale listings in the paper to see if the sale is in an historic district, or on an interesting street with which I’m familiar.  I’m partial to old houses.  If I find a sale listed that I think might have potential, I Google the address and see what I can find out about the property.  A couple of days ago there was a sale in the next town over.  I Googled the address and found that the house was built in 1750 and was on ten acres.  That’s all I needed to know!  Even though I didn’t buy anything, the house and property were interesting to view.

And yesterday there was a barn sale in my town.  The sign had been posted in front of the house for over a week.  It was a very attractive house with a red barn out back and the sign on the house said “Built 1834”.  Now we’re talking.

Historic Location for Tag Sale

So I showed up just before 9 a.m. along with a multitude of other people.  I made a cursory loop up the driveway into the barn and back down the driveway and enjoyed getting a close view at the buildings and property.  Although I wasn’t looking to buy anything, I certainly had to take a look at what was for sale.   Along with the larger items and prominantly displayed items there were boxes here and there that you had to dig through.  To me, that’s the fun part.  You never know what you might find.  So now I really started to look.

I waited patiently for a woman to finish looking through a box in which I could see little ceramic saucers and other small things.  She left and I moved over to the box and peered in.  What immediately caught my attention was a rusty “something” tucked into the right side of the box.  All I could see was about a narrow (maybe 2 inches or so) foot long piece of rust.  Intrigued, I reached in and carefully picked it up. It had wheels and looked like an art deco rendition of a train engine.

Old Rusty Train

As I gingerly held my piece of rust, I continued to walk around and poke through boxes.  A couple of guys commented on the train.  “Nice find” one said and the other asked “Where’d you get that?” and I pointed him to the box… off he went in that direction.  I knew I had found a “treasure” (to me at least).  I paid a very nominal amount for it and left.

I didn’t see any markings on the train at the tag sale but when I got home and took a closer look, I did see some writing that appeared to start with an “S”.

Close-Up of Mark

I searched “pressed steel train” on eBay and, luckily, I found the distinctive shape that matched mine.  It was a “Stafford Liner” or “Stafford Streamliner”.  Some listings dated it to the 1930’s…I even saw one that said 1920’s.  Now that I had identified the name I did a general “Google” search and found an excellent blog with a great post on “Stafford Liners”.  You can see photos of what this train looked like when it was in much better condition than mine.  You can also see advertisements from the 1940s on this post.  The ads show that the Stafford Streamliners were manufactured by the Stafford Corporation of Detroit, Michigan. I recommend that you take a look at this entire blog, and not just this one post.  It is chock full of info on a variety of topics; it is humorous and well written.  http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2012/01/stafford-liners.html

Side View of My Stafford Liner

Doing some further research, I found that the “Stafford Corporation” was incorporated August 30, 1945.  http://opencorporates.com/companies/us_mi/177412

Then I came across a lawsuit that involved the Stafford Corporation.  The legal documents state that Stafford Corporation was successor to American Sandblast Company and both companies were named as defendants.  Also named as defendants were James Stafford McGlaughlin and Eleanor McGlaughlin.  (From a snippit view of The Directory of Michigan Manufacturers, Issue 13, on Google books, I’ve verified that J. S. McGlaughlin was President of Stafford Corporation and E. S. McGlaughlin was Secretary of the corporation).  This legal document states  “Mr. McGlaughlin testified that from 1948 to 1950 the business of his company had been steadily declining and that the number of employees had been reduced from 50 to 2.”  So I guess the end of Stafford Corporation was near at that time.  This lawsuit is interesting as it involved an employee getting fired for taking vacation time.  If there were only 2 employees at that point, I guess that could be a problem!  You can read all about it here:  http://www.leagle.com/decision/1954663340Mich323_1621

I did find that J. S. McGlaughlin of Detroit, Michigan, received at least two patents in the 1960s.  One was design patent number 193,877, October 16, 1962, for a pouring spout for sprinkler cans and another for a reel design on May  7, 1963, patent number 3,088,692.

The Find a Grave website shows that J. Stafford McGlaughlin was born May 6, 1906 and died in November of 1971.  He is buried at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Wyandotte, Michigan.

The Wyandotte location of burial immediately made me think of the well known Wyandotte toys.  “Wyandotte” was the brand name of the All Metal Products Company which was formed in 1920 in Wyandotte, Michigan.  The company went bankrupt in 1956. 

Wyandotte, Michigan is only 10 miles south of Detroit, where J. S. McGlaughlin had his business.  And J. S. was buried in Wyandotte.  Was there any connection with our J. S. and Wyandotte / All Metal Products Company?  That I don’t know (yet).

I do know, however, that a James Stafford McGlaughlin (physician and jeweler) was Mayor of Wyandotte, Michigan from 1908 to 1910.  This James Stafford was born in 1861 and died in 1931.  And this James Stafford McGlaughlin is buried in the same cemetery and same family plot as our James Stafford McGlaughlin.  I’m assuming that most likely they are father and son.

All of this research for just one old rusty train.  But if I do list this train on Etsy, this information will come in very handy.  And, hard though it might be for some of you reading this to believe, I know there is someone out there who’d love to buy this old rusty train.

I realize this post is out of the norm for me as it doesn’t have any recipes or pictures of my yard.  I fully intended to just do a little post on tag sales and then it got out of control.  I do a good amount of research on items which I plan to list at my Etsy shop.  In order to easily document those findings for my own reference, as well as providing this information as a resource to others, I maintain a separate blog http://queenofsienna.wordpress.com
For those of you not familiar with this blog, you might find it interesting.

A Beauty…No?

And that’s my tag sale adventure.

Seeing Red

I’m seeing red these days…as well as orange, yellow, bronze and a lovely shade of reddish pinkish coral.

Spectacular Sassafras Tree

The sassafras trees are one of the first to turn color and what brilliant hues they capture in their leaves.  The picture above really doesn’t do it justice…some few leaves are chartreuse green and the rest range from yellow to gold to orange to scarlet.  I’ve got many of these trees here and there on the property and always enjoy their fall color.

Virginia Creeper

The Virginia creeper vines have deep red (what did they call that color of shoe polish, Ox Blood?) this year.  Those glossy leaves against the gray trunks of the maple trees are magnificent. 

We haven’t had a frost yet.  The nights have been cool, down into the mid 40’s and the days are still warm, in the upper 70’s.  Perfect weather, in my opinion.  And although the nights have been cool, my pole beans are still pumping out beans!  I’ve had so many delightful meals from those beans.  I’ll definitely be doing them again next year.

The winged euonymus (the ones that get the most sun) are starting to turn their signature corally pinkish red color.  In a couple of weeks the area out by the barn, where many of these euonymus grow, will be a luminous pink wonderland.

Winged Euonymus

And although the colors in the following photo look kind of drab as compared with those above, the yellow tones of the weeping chamaecyparis work so well with the hint of bronze in the dogwood.

Chamaecyparis

And now for a real pop of color!  The little fuzzy hardy oranges on my poncirus trifoliata are starting to ripen.  You can see those nasty thorns in this photo as well.

Poncirus Trifoliata a/k/a Hardy Orange

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I have the urge to roast vegetables.  Cauliflower and brussel sprouts are a nice combo.

Hodgson Mill Bulgur Wheat

And I love bulgur wheat with my roasted vegetables.  Of course, you can make delicious tabouli with the bulgur, but I also make a sort of pilaf with it that is equally delicious hot or cold.  I slightly saute some chopped onion and garlic in olive oil and then add the bulgur to it and stir and cook that for a couple of minutes so that the bulgur gets a little toasty.  Then I add the liquid (I use vegetable broth) and in 20 minutes or so I have a wonderful accompaniment to my roasted vegetables!

As for the roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts, I toss them with about a tablespoon of olive oil, garlic salt, cumin and cayenne and place them on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.  Oh, and I usually add some rinsed and drained canned chick peas.  They get crunchy and crisp as they roast and they definitely add some nice texture (and protein) to the mixture.

Roasted Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts and Chick Peas

I roast the vegetables at 425 for about a half an hour, and stir them a couple of times while roasting so that all sides get browned.  After removing from the oven, I sprinkle some lemon juice over them.  As I said, this is great served warm, and equally as marvelous as a salad the next day added to some fresh greens and maybe some cherry tomatoes.