June 8, 2005

Alma's Pineapple Salad1 cup sugar, 1 cup pineapple juice (from a can of crushed pineapple), 1 egg, 3 Tablespoons cornstarch. Boil till thickened.

 

Chocolate Buttercream CakeCombine chocolate morsels, half and half, and butter in a saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth.

 

Sand CupsCrush vanilla wafers in food processor or zip lock baggy and rolling pin.

 

Harvest Gold SaladDissolve jello in boiling water. Drain pineapple well, reserving the juice. Adding enough water to pineapple juice to make 3/4's cup of liquid. Stir in mixture.

 

Peachy Almond Butter CakeCarefully split each cake layer in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Stack layers, spreading Peach Filling between layers. Cream butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl at medium speed of mixer.

 

Unstuffed Cabbage SoupIn a large nonstick, soup pot, bring everything, except rice, to a full boil over high heat. Let boil for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and stir in rice. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

 

Apricot Filled Chocolate TorteCarefully split cake layer in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Heat apricot preserves in a small saucepan until thinner consistency; press preserves through a sieve. Cool slightly and spread preserves between layers and on top of cake.

 

Cocoa Crown CakeCombine first 5 ingredients in top of a double boiler. Beat at low speed of mixer 30 seconds or just until blended. Place mixture over boiling water; beat constantly at hight speed 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

 

Basic Light CakeCream shortening; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of mixer. Add eggs to creamed mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

 

Remove Your Yard Sale SignsAfter the sale, before you count up all of your profit, go around the neighborhood and remove every last yard sale sign! (If you have blanketed a large area with signs, you may want to have kept a list of the signs locations.) This will keep your neighbors happy.

 

Organizing With Free BoxesTo organize more than one thing of different or the same sizes is not always so easy. Although it's all in where you go shopping. When we started to go to Aldi's I was impressed with their prices, although what REALLY caught my eyes were the boxes that I could take home for FREE!

 

Easy Two Colored QuiltIf you just want to make a quilt and you don't have a huge fabric stash, just do a two colored quilt. First remove the biased edge, rotary cut the fabric in long six inch strips, alternating the colors as you sew. End the piece so one color is at one end and the other color is at the other end.

 

Depth Gauge for Drillingreate a cheap and effective depth gauge for precise drilling by using a cable tie. Secure the tie around the drill bit at the desired location. Snip off the excess. The tie can then be adjusted for each subsequent change in desired depth by sliding it up or down.

 

Uses for Unwanted ShampooTips for using shampoo that you don't like to use on your hair. Post your ideas.

 

Keep a Calendar In Your CarI keep a calendar in my car. I jot down due dates for library books, videos, doctor appointments, etc. I check it before I pull out of the driveway each morning.

 

Uses for Hotel Shampoo BottlesUses for the shampoo and conditioner bottles you get when you stay at a hotel. Post your ideas.

 

Quilting When You Don't Like To SewFor people who want to quilt but hate to sew, there are many books in the library just for you. You'll find choices for simple or complicated patterns. Calendar quilts are often done by hand because they use so much applique.

 

Painting on the SidewalkA plastic squirt-type bottle filled with colored water will allow your Picasso to "paint" on the sidewalk. Don't use too much food coloring, and this will just disappear when it dries.

 

Softball Jersey QuiltI took all the softball jerseys from my granddaughter's years of playing softball and made her a huge quilt from them. She cherishes this quilt and it brings back lots of memories for her.

 

Alternative to Water GunsBeing adamantly opposed to using any kind of "weapons" as toys, and this includes water guns, I give my kids plastic squirt bottles, either clean spray bottles of water or even cleaned out plastic ketchup or syrup bottles to squirt each other with.

 

Sister Barbara JokeSitting by the window of her convent, Sister Barbara opened a letter from home one evening. Inside the letter was a $100.00 bill her parents had sent.

 

Use a Gridded Stabilizer When QuiltingMake the quickest most accurate quilt you'll ever make using a gridded stabilizer. It's made with one inch squares, but you can use any size squares you want. I place the squares in the area I choose, use the tip of my iron to make them stick till I get all the squares on.

 

Taking Care of ClematisThe theory that clematis like their feet cool and their head in the sun is true, so be sure to put several inches of mulch at the base of the vine.

 

Trash Bag for the SuitcaseI always toss a clean trash bag first thing into any suitcase I am packing. I use it as a laundry bag or to carry home wet swimsuits and towels. When I unpack, I toss in a clean bag before I store the suitcases.

 

Brown Sugar Pie Recipe?I'm looking for a recipe for Brown Sugar Pie. Many years ago there was a cooking show on TV that featured two older gentlemen - I believe the show was called "Cookin' Cheap", but I'm probably wrong. This recipe was extremely easy to make.

 

Grease in Washing Machine?A couple of weeks ago I washed a pair of my son's jeans which had grease on them, ever since I have been getting a lot of grease stains on my light clothes after I wash them. How can i get rid of this problem?

 

Killing Rhubarb?Does anyone know how to kill rhubarb short of digging up the entire roots? Mine has been there for so long I would have to hire a tree stump removal company.

 

Planting at Different Levels?My mother had 3 green thumbs and 9 green fingers (OK I'm overstating). I'm just beginning to garden and Mom's been gone a long time. She used to talk about planting at different levels right next to each other which would allow something to be coming up when something was dying down. Has anyone ever heard of the and what are the particulars?