Where Are My Ruby Slippers?

The other morning I felt like Dorothy, well, almost like Dorothy. I just let my dogs out before leaving for work when I heard them barking. Not a “Let me in the house, please. I’m done” kind of bark. It was a “What the Hell is that?” kind of bark. I went to the door and, while letting them back in, heard a roar through the trees. Now, I have lots of trees around my house so I know what the wind through the trees sounds like. This wasn’t it. This was a deep sounding roar that sounded like it was down the road. I stood there transfixed wondering if it was the sound a tornado makes that people describe as a train. When I think of a train I think subway (sorry, I might talk Southern but Brooklyn still runs through my veins).  Then I thought, “OH SHIT, it might be a tornado. Close the door,” which I did. A few seconds later the roaring stopped.

On the drive to work there were big oaks down and on the road, real big ones that had been around for a long time. I found out later there was a “tornado-like wind formation” that came through my county. It cut across a couple of miles from my house. Damn. Now I know what folks in Kansas feel like. I didn’t know what to do. If it’s a hurricane I am ready but a tornado? Hmmmm, I got some learning and planning to do.

Blog Feature Winner

We had a tie! Congrats to two winners of this week’s blog feature interview, Dawnorama’s Funky Felt Pincushion, and Lemon Lizard’s Blue Bird Note Cards. I’ll be contacting them to let them know, just in case they didn’t see the results yet.

New Listing

I guess if you haven’t seen it before it’s new. Well, not really a new listing but a renewal. Beautiful fabric that looks like matzo. Medium weight, good for napkins, aprons, and matzo covers. The fabric is 60 inch wide and 100% cotton.

Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff.etsy, GoofingOff.artfire, and MissEileen.etsy.

Strawberry Meringue Tarts, Sunbeam Mixmasters, and "New" Patterns

Wow, what a hit! Everyone liked the tarts. I probably should have made a prettier presentation but oh, well. No leftovers (always a good thing when the eats are at work).
Looking through the notebook I found  some more cool old recipes to use. There’s a Sunbeam Mixmaster booklet from 1950 with ideas to “Make the most out of your Mixmaster.”

How to Get the Most Out of Your Sunbeam Mixmaster
The booklet has pictures of Sunbeam accessories and attachment available for the mixer back then. I knew about the meat grinder but I didn’t know there was a butter churn attachment. Awesome!

Sunbeam Mixmaster Attachments, 1950
There are yummy-sounding recipes for Old-Fashioned Apple Spice Cake (good for Rosh Hashanah), Prune Spice Cake (I guess for those special times), Gold Sunbeam Cake, and Prune Whip (what’s with the prunes?). I don’t know about the Prune Whip (I am not full of sh*t) but I might try the applesauce cake.
In the meantime, here are some cool vintage sewing patterns about to go to the GoofingOff Etsy Store.

Simplicity 5473 from 1971. Includes placemats and napkins I love the strawberry placemat on the bottom and the flower one at the top. Too cute! Just right for summer!

Mail Order Pattern, M322, Bert Geiger designer in size 18. Printed by Reader Mail. Size 18 fits 40” bust, 31” waist, and 42” hip. This pattern is uncut. It is so cool!
Well, that’s all for now. The patterns will be posted in the GoofingOff.Etsy store tomorrow. I’ll be baking that cake, too. No, not the prune whip!
Post by Eileen Patterson, GoofingOff.etsy.com and GoofingOff.Artfire.com

Unpaper Napkins

Having done away with paper napkins in my home years ago, I was happy to find people who embrace the idea of unpaper napkins. When I did it, I was considered a firebrand, one of those long-haired hippie folks. The first time I made cloth napkins, I just grabbed some fabric from my sewing closet, a pair of pinking shears, and cut some squares. Imagine my surprise when I found the way Etsians do napkins! I've made some cute ones but check these out! Here's some examples: Jazz Brunch Cotton Napkins by ME2Designs I love the colors in this fabric. It makes me think of New Orleans and Sunday brunch. Set of four cloth Hanukkah dinner napkins -AprilAdelsonDesigns Sweet napkins just right for potato latkes or jelly doughnuts! Owls and Trees Fabric Napkins from thepurpleoctopus The colors are so vivid, absolutely lovely. They would look great on a Thanksgiving table. I am so glad people are using cloth instead of buying paper. It saves so much money, not to mention trees. We all have to do our part, but these Etsians show how doing our part can be done so beautifully!