For Kids.....large and small...Merry Christmas!

I inherited the nativity scene that we grew up with. I remember rearranging the figures, and playing out the Christmas Story of how Mary and Joseph came to be in the stable. I love nativity scenes, now with Mother's we have two. They are the central focus of our Christmas. I found the following both amusing, and touching, and know the younger crowd will probably enjoy this short "cartoon". Oh, you'll need to pause the music.

Hot Ham Sandwich Recipe

Who can beat a hot sandwich in weather like this? My sister Alane called the other day and requested a recipe that is a hit with our entire family. A friend made these one time, they were soooo good I asked for the recipe, and then found out how easy they are to make, that they freeze, and are a hit every time I serve them. I try to keep them made up and in the freezer all the time, as they are really handy to have on hand for those cold evenings, and by the way, they go great with the Golden Onion Soup.

Ham Rolls
3 pkg. Hawaiian Rolls (I find these usually in the deli at Wal-mart, some stores they are in the bread isle)
1 lb. boiled ham (shredded)
1 lb. Swiss cheese slices

Sauce:
3 sticks of butter or margarine
2 med onion, finally chopped
6 T. Worcestershire Sauce
8 T Prepared mustard
A T or so of poppy seeds

Melt butter in sauce pan, add onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and poppy seeds, heat thoroughly. Leave rolls intact, (partially frozen is best) and split in half across the entire set of rolls. Spread butter mixture on bread, layering ham and cheese, and wrap in heavy duty foil.
Heat for 15-20 min. (thaw thoroughly if frozen) at 350 degrees till hot and cheese melts.
YUMMMMM!

Christmas Differences

When I started this blog, it was with the intention of sharing some things about what life was like after kids, and caregiving. This is one of those blogs..........
All the blogs I look at every day are featuring what their writers and their families are doing in preparation for Christmas. Lovely pictures posted of peoples homes, and their family decorations, and traditions show the excitement and anticipation of the holiday. One woman has had shoulder surgery, and her husband and kids are still doing all the decorating! Some of the homes are absolutely beautiful!

I haven’t decorated a thing for Christmas this year. The only Christmas decoration I have in my house at this moment is the calendar picture in my office.

I had convinced myself that since the kids were not going to be home for Christmas this year that there was no reason to “drag” out all the Christmas decorations. Oh, I would put up the Nativity scene, after all isn’t that what Christmas is REALLY about?

Then I talked to Audrey the other night and she said she wasn’t going to put their Christmas tree up, the apt just wasn’t big enough. I thought “You have to decorate! It will be depressing for you if you don’t put up some Christmas stuff!”

Ryan has a phrase for Audrey and I that he coined early in their relationship and it is right on the money “Pot, meet Kettle, Kettle, meet pot.” as he looks back and forth between us. In other words we are A LOT alike.

As I heard my daughters reason for not decorating this year, and didn’t deem it worthy of denying them the festiveness of the holiday, simply because of space, I heard myself in her voice, only the reason was just a different one.

I realized that I needed to get to the bottom of this “not NEEDING to decorate” excuse and determine where it is coming from.

Granted my children live a long way away and won’t be home for Christmas, and my mother passed away in Jan. and this is our first Christmas without grandma. Yes, Roger and I will be home by ourselves……… These are what many people would deem legitimate reasons for not decorating and getting into the holiday festiveness by putting up a bunch of Christmas decorations. However, as I was making the bed this morning, and pulling the covers up on my husband’s side of the bed, I was reminded I am not the only one missing our kids over the holiday, and missing that little short woman we called Granma, and Mama.

Roger and I have reached a stage in our lives where we are probably going to be spending a lot of holidays, Christmas included, by ourselves. Am I going to simply stop celebrating the birth of my Savior and all that it implies because there isn’t a crowd around and because my circumstances have changed? Am I going to, as my mother would have said, “throw the baby out with the bath water”?

After a little “come to Jesus” meeting, I had to apologize, and tell Him that I would be getting ready for his party just like usual. I came to realize that even at the age of 53, I was still making Christmas about me. Oh yes, I could celebrate it in a grass hut with no decorations or in a beautifully decorated house on a hill, but what would be the motivation and attitude of my heart in either circumstance? Now I know that Christmas isn’t in the decorating, and the baking, and the gift giving, and tree trimming, but all those things are a representation of the preparation for the coming of our Savior. He was the biggest and best gift; ours are simply cheap reminders of what God did for us. But all these things done in the right heart attitude (yes I said ATTITUDE!!) are symbols to the outside world of the party we have every year at the birth of our Savior.

I’ve also decided that I am going to view my decorations that I have put out the same way year after year in a new light, and maybe shake things up a bit. Maybe I won’t put the entire tree up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t display some favorite ornaments in a fashion that will make us smile and remember who is coming.

Paul reminds the Thessalonians in the second letter to them: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

After all, by myself or in a crowd, Jesus is my Savior and THAT is worth being joyful, giving thanks and celebrating.

P.S I'm still trying to find the song Tijuana Christmas by the Border Brass to add to our song list, in the meantime hope you enjoy the Christmas music :)

Memories of Shopping

Alexandra and I were talking about shopping and of course, this time of year that is foremost on our minds. I remembered when we used to go to Wichita to shop. It was a BIG deal. We planned ahead and dressed for the occasion. The best part was going to downtown to Innes. We would shop and then have lunch at the tea room. It was such a treat and we felt so grown up. Any time we went shopping in Wichita we dressed up and spent the day.
Shoe shopping was always a priority. That was when someone measured your foot and brought out the correct size. I remember wearing 61/2 AA over AAA,. We usually went home with at least one pair apiece. Since we made most of our clothes, we always had nice shoes to wear.
Amy made the most beautiful things and I still have doll clothes that she made for my prea-Barbie doll. l have the doll also. She would use scraps of material from her suits. I can't remember if she had patterns or just made them. I'm sure she could have done it without a pattern.

It truly is an amazing time.....

I don't know who this guy is, and I don't watch Conan, but when Roger and I watched this we both laughed out loud, because that is the way it was, and the way it is.
Hope it makes you laugh too. You will probably have to pause the music to listen.

I actually remember when we used to call Daddy and Mother at the Hardware store and there was NO dial on the phone.
You picked it up and it went something like this:
"Operator, Number please"
"68"
"Thank you"
and we were connected to Horack Hardware and Electric.
Lily Tomlin on Laugh In doing the whole operator routine, wasn't that far from fact back then.

Nic is Home!!

Nic arrived yesterday from Phoenix to help pour concrete before the weather turns--as far as he is concerned, it has turned. "MOM IT'S FREEZING HERE!!!" He was right, when we came out of the airport, it actually was 32 degrees-so I'll give him that. But today is as they promised, a balmy 52 degrees, with a warm gale force wind out of the south. Today is sunny and great, but tomorrow is supposed to actually bring snow. He won't hang around long, but in the time he is here he had some requests before he left for work with his dad this morning.
There was a request for a peach pie, and Orange rolls and as you can tell by the picture, there will be a bonus or two in there. But I figured while I was at it I would make a pot of Quick Minestrone for the freezer, and a pumpkin pie with the left over pie dough. I put the ingredients in the bread machine before I started anything, so just about the time the rolls came out of the oven, the loaf of French Bread came out of the bread machine too.
My apron has LOTS of flour and "stuff" on the front, it is getting properly broken in, and I love that. Since Roger and I were alone for Thanksgiving, it is great to have an excuse to produce all this. This is what having people around and family here means-cooking, and food, and fun, and laughing.......... Am including the minestrone recipe. It can be made ahead, and freezes well too. Once you've made it once, you will love the fact it is delicious and easy.


Quick Minestrone
4 slices of bacon, cut up
1 large onion, chopped
1 small box mushrooms, sliced
1 lg. can(49 1/2 oz.) chicken broth
1 (1 lb. can) diced tomatoes (the Italian style are great for this)
1 tsp. EACH salt and dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. EACH dried thyme leaves, and white pepper
4 oz. spaghetti, or mermicelli
1/2 oz. snow peas
1/4 chopped parsley
Grated Parmasan Cheese

1) in a 5 qt. kettle or dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until it begins to brown; mix in onion,mushrooms, garlic and carrots. Cook, stirring until onion is soft.
2) Add broth, tomatoes with liqued, salt, basil, thyme, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 min.
3) Brind to boiling, add pasta. Bring to a low boil, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, about 10 min. Add peas, and parsley, and boil for 2 min.
4) Taste, add salt, if needed. Serve soup with cheese, to add taste.
This yields 8 servings.

Happy Thanksgiving to All of You!

At last my sister Amy, who perhaps remembers more than most of us what "growing up Horack" meant, has blogged about an aspect of her growing up years, that makes her ever thankful (and me too) that things have changed if not a little kushy.


The films the other evening on the news with Sarah Palin at the turkey farm with the turkeys being killed behind her was more my reality. I'm sorry but I couldn't help but laugh at that video and how the news media was carrying on about the turkeys being killed. Do I dare write and tell about lopping the heads off of 40 or 50 chickens a day and dipping them into scalding water to pull off the feathers? Then holding them over an open flame of burning alcohol to singe off the pin feathers before cutting them open to take out all the insides (guts). I couldn't have been more than 11 or 12 years old and I was taking the hatchet and lopping the heads off chickens plus all the rest. Maybe I should tell it. If some kid was doing that now days, they would take the kid away from his/her parents and put them in foster care--which is worse! (You can laugh, it's o.k. I am.)
We just did what had to be done in order to have food on the table. If it meant raising chickens and then killing them, we did it. If it meant having a huge garden and freezing and canning until the middle of the night, we did it. We had one dress for "good" and 3 or 4 for school. We had one "good" pair of shoes and one pair for "everyday". And my kids wonder why I'm such a clothes horse. Anita & I shared a closet that was 4' x 4' at most and a regular size double bed. Our parents had grown up living pretty much the same way.
The last 50-some years in this country have been incredible and we have been very blessed. Actually, we and our children are spoiled rotten when it comes to the comforts of life. But some of us really appreciate all of it. It's a great time of year to remember and give thanks to a God that has made us all so comfortable and made us feel so loved. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Thanksgiving - My favorite Holiday

As I was coming home from the store today, it hit me that I have a freezer so full I can't get anything else in it. My cupboard shelves are full with no room for more canned goods and I just spent $154.00 for groceries. That is on top of my monthly shopping I already did at the first of the month. I called Andrea and asked her to ponder this situation and if she had an answer to please let me know. She laughed so hard I don't think the blood could get to her head for her to come up with an answer. I think we already know the answer. It is Thanksgiving. My idea of the very best holiday. Usually we have a beautiful fall day. (No over the river and through the woods in a horse drawn sleigh in Kansas. However I do remember one Thanksgiving that we got a bad snow storm and we were to go to one of the grandparents. Of course, Mother had done a lot of cooking to take along. We ended up riding to Finks east of us on a tractor pulled conveyance. Deets also went along. Everyone took the food they had prepared.) To me that is Thanksgiving. Lots of people, relatives or not, lots of food, fun, visiting, card games, leaves crunching on the ground. One year when Jennifer and Bryan Gibson were little, we buried them and their dad, Jim, in the pile of leaves in the garden. There's a picture of that somewhere. Thanksgiving fills my soul with joy. It is the perfect time to embrace family and friends with no pressure of giving the right gift. Just the gift of loving each other and sharing. (by Aunt Anita)

Entertaining..........

I love to decorate. House, yard, patio……..dinner tables.

As I was growing up, and we were expecting company, or family for a holiday meal, or any kind of special meal, Mother and I had somewhat of a routine. She would do the lion share of the cooking, cleaning the kitchen, utility room, and family room, while she monitored whatever was on the stove. I cleaned the rest of the house, setting up the dining room table with the extra spacers in the table, and the linens, and table ware. This became a ritual to the point that Mother admitted after I left home that she found entertaining to be somewhat daunting without me there to “take care of the table”.

As I would set up we would verbally go over the menu; what was she serving, what serving pieces would we need, if gravy, then the gravy boat and ladle, if a special side dish, for ex. Cranberry Ice, a Christmas treat that was always served on the side in its own little separate dish at each place setting, then extra room had to be arranged. Of course the centerpiece was always considered carefully; what did we have room for, and did we want candles? By the time the meal rolled around the table was (at least I felt like it) a masterpiece. She taught us to take pride not only in what we served, but how we served it. Now mind you, we don’t put that kind of pressure on ourselves in these less formal days, but the knowledge is still there, and I know if required, we know how to “pull it off”.

Perhaps this is where our love for pretty dishes and serving pieces came from. Each of us has several complete sets of dishes; Fiesta, china we picked out when we married, and a set of pottery for those more casual dinners, and then the always present set of “everyday” dishes; i.e. Corel. We have actually devoted entire weekend’s antiquing where we found complimenting dishes we could use with our current dinnerware, thereby making our table someplace fun to sit down and enjoy a delicious meal.

This has been passed on in each of we girls to the homes of our daughters. These are just a few pictures of my niece’s homes and their tables prepared for a special Easter dinner, and a Mother’s Day lunch.
Casie's Mother's Day Table

RaDawnna's Easter Table

Last night we hosted Dinners for Six, a ministry through our church where three couples have an opportunity to eat together, each contributing to the meal, and it was our night to host. As I was folding the napkins, and setting the table, I thought of all the tables I have set and decorated in my life as a Horack girl.

Cooking is fun, and the good food is always the highlight of any meal, but the part I think I enjoy the most is the decorating of the table.

Cranberry Ice (from Aunt Doris)
Cook and run thru sieve: 1 lb. cranberries & 2 C. water
Add and reheat: 2 1/2 C. sugar
Add juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
Let cool some.
Add 1 pt. lemon-lime pop (Sprite)
Freeze
Remove from freezer a little while before ready to serve so you are able to spoon it out into the dishes. This is tart, and cold, and the perfect "side" at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.

"The" pie crust recipe

My Grandma Wolf (my mother’s mother) was a little short German woman who raised a family of 7 children during the Great Depression. She and my grandfather Henry were “workers”, and she lived to be 96 years old. She was a quiet thoughtful woman who loved her family and gave us a work ethic that has not been diluted in the current generations. During those years when harvest time would roll around, Grandpa always hired extra men to help in the fields to bring in the harvest. Grandma, of course, with help from her girls, was expected to cook and feed the “crew”, along with the 9 regular members of the family. It was nothing for Grandma Wolf to make 3 or 4 pies a day and several loaves of bread too. This was all done on a wood stove that Grandma knew was the correct temperature by simply putting her hand in the oven to check it. As my mother said “I’m sure that your Grandma Wolf, in her lifetime, came pretty close to feeding an entire army.”
When Roger and I were dating, he had never met anyone who made pie crusts ahead and froze them; my mother did. We are pie people. My sister Anita considers pie to be its own separate food group; I am inclined to agree with her. My mother would make up pie crust dough, and freeze actual pies, or just make crust and put it in the pans and freeze it. That way it wasn’t unusual for my mom to have 4 or 5 frozen pie crusts at the ready in the freezer at any given time. We girls do this too, so the following won’t surprise anyone in my family: I have found a recipe that makes 20 pie crusts at one time. I made it yesterday and my mother and Grandma would have LOVED this! I warn you though, this is not a recipe for a novice pie maker, you are quite literally up to your elbows in pie dough, which could prove to be somewhat overwhelming, but it is great crust (Rog will attest). I can’t take credit for this, as I found it on one of the many blogs I follow.

20 Pie Crusts For the Freezer

3 lb can Crisco vegetable shortening (I use Butter-Flavored Crisco)
5 lb all-purpose flour
3 cups ice water
2 Tbsp. salt

Mix in a very large bowl or pan
Blend flour, salt, and Crisco together (by hand)
Add ice water and mix all together just until blended.
Form into patties weighing approx. 7.6 oz. each (if you have a scale and want to get 20 out of the recipe).
Makes about 18 to 20.

Flash freeze on wax-papered cookie sheets, then pop into Ziploc bags.
When you want to make a pie crust, defrost desired number of crust "patties" on the counter 30 minutes or so ahead of time, or in the fridge overnight.
Roll between 2 sheets of waxed paper or put a thin sock with the toe cut out over your rolling pin and roll out on a thin towel with a little flour to prevent sticking.
These will keep for about 1 year in the freezer.


By the way, my new apron featured on an earlier post, now has flour on the belly :) !

The correct story of the meatloaf !!!!!

Now I know how family history gets screwed up. How do you know what to believe. It's a good thing the person who knows the truth about this crucial matter is still alive. I mean what could be more important in our lineage than the truth of the meatloaf recipe. Andrea said Mother told her that she "thought" that it was Grandma's recipe and she got it from the Capper's Weekly. Well, I "know" where the recipe came from and I will share this all important truth with you. TA DA!!
We were still living on the farm but we did have our first TV. During the noon news, in those days, they would have a short cooking portion and a lady would share a recipe and demonstrate making it. I was home by myself (or I wouldn't have been watching TV) and a lady made this particular meatloaf. I wrote down the recipe and asked Mother if I could make it. She said yes and it has been THE meatloaf recipe ever since. Uncle Cliff was also not a fan of meatloaf but admits that he likes this one. It along with a baked potato and home canned green beans is one of my "comfort meals". I also like it sliced, heated and used in a sandwich with mustard. I always make extra sauce and hold some back to serve with the meatloaf. I am hoping that between us 4 girls, we can get the family story written correctly.

Grandma Horack's housekeeping

As Andrea and I were having one of our "short" telephone conversations this evening, I remembered going to Grandma Horack's house to visit. Of course, she always had Pepsi and potato chips, a treat we seldom got at home. She also had places to practice writing your name, her end tables. I remember writing my name in the dust and the next time I was there, it was still there. Just a little dustier. It is amazing her front porch rail was still attached to the house. We would set in the porch swing and use the rail to push ourselves higher and higher. The rail wasn't solid but it was still attached after all those years.

For those of you who don't know what a swamp cooler is, it blows air across water to cool the air. In Kansas, that is a wasted effort with the humidity. However, Grandma had one and if you sat right in front of it, the air was cooler than the outside. No wonder everything seemed damp in her house.

For those of you who haven't tried the meatloaf recipe I will share a personal story. When Steve and I got married, he said he didn't like meatloaf so I didn't make it for years. After Heather and Gregg were born, I decided they needed to try meatloaf and I wanted it!!! Steve, being a good Dad, took some and ate it to set a good example. He kept eating it and eating it. He finally realized it wasn't meat loaf he didn't like, it was his Mom's recipe for meatloaf he didin't like.
We have been married 38 years and when I was in Kansas last month visiting my Mother-in-law, something came up about meatloaf. She said Steve didn't like it and I said "Oh, yes he does. He just doesn't like it made with bread." She said "Oh, so he doesn't like my meatloaf." Woops!! I don't think she held it against me. :)

Grandma Horack's Meatloaf.

Our Grandma Horack (our Dad’s Mother) was from Bohemian heritage. She was a wonderfully round woman, with the softest skin in the world. If you read the Cerretti blog, she also had quite a green thumb. She had an unconditional love for her children and grandchildren. One of my favorite memories of her was when my cousin JoAnn (who is one year younger than me) and I were staying with her for the afternoon. We were allowed to “cook”. Now we couldn’t have been more than 3, 4 or 5 years of age, and Grandma got out the flour, sugar and spices, allowing us to use anything we wanted. I don’t know just exactly what we thought we were making, I remember there being a lot of sifting, (we loved turning the crank, and adding spices to see the sugar and flour combination change from the white to the brown of the cinnamon, or cloves. I remember the smell of sage, cloves, and cinnamon. I also remember my mother’s reaction when she returned to pick me up. As she came toward the kitchen and Grandma was explaining that she had let us “cook”, Mothers face got sober, and she looked at us and the kitchen and simply said, “Oh Mom!” Grandma said not to worry about it as she would do the clean up. This, I believe, offers substantial evidence as to why all of us love to cook, and are pretty good at it—-free reign in the kitchen at a very early age.

This is my Grandma Horack’s meatloaf recipe. Most meatloaf recipes bring expressions of UGH, but Grandma’s was inexpensive, moist, and the homemade BBQ sauce was the best. It even made great sandwiches sliced off cold. It can also be made up, formed into little loaves, or one large one, frozen, and saved for serving later, just thaw thoroughly before cooking.

Grandma Horack’s Meat Loaf & Sauce

1 c. saltine cracker crumbs
1 c. milk
1 lb. Ground beef
2 eggs-well beaten
½ med. Onion, finally chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 t. ground sage

Mix crackers, chopped onion, beaten eggs, milk, and spices together, add beef. Shape in one large loaf, or small ones, and place in baking dish, or on Saran Wrapped cookie sheet. You may freeze and thaw and cook later, or……..

Sauce:
3 T. Brown Sugar
¼ c. catsup
1 T. Mustard
¼. tsp. Nutmeg

Combine sauce ingredients, stir well, and pour over uncooked meatloaf. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour or till done.

The Way it all began - watch God at work

On August 4, 1919, Henry and Amy Wolf had their 4th child. A girl they named Anna Mae. This was not really a convenient time as harvest was in full swing. Put 9 months earlier, I'm sure this was not given a thought. Anyway, Ira Horack was at the Wolf's threshing their wheat. Henry remarked to him that he had a new little girl that day. Ira said how nice that was and that he had a son that was 2 years old and maybe they should get them together some day. Skip ahead some years. Anna Mae's sister Harriet and her husband Delbert were living in the Miller house at what is now the NW corner of 50th and Webb. (Such fancy names now when back then it was the Miller house on the corner across from Finks west.) Henry, Jr, Anna Mae's younger brother "happened to know Ernest" and came to Harriets to get Anna Mae to introduce her to Ernest. The girls had been horseback riding and didn't particularly smell or look too good. But they relented. When they showed up at Horack's (which was on the SE corner of the intersection), they got Ernest up from a nap. It was Sunday afternoon, for Pete's sake. But they met and from their it began.(To be continued.)

Mothers Ham Ball Recipe

For some reason, when we were cleaning out Mothers apt. after she passed away I wound up with her recipe boxes-both of them. (who am I kidding, I know why I got them :)
I’m sure there will be stories posted on this blog about Mothers cooking skills, experiences, etc. Cooking was her therapy, it became the way she “loved” people.
We of course were the fortunate recipients of this.

This is her “Ham Ball” recipe that I have made, and shared with my sisters, who love it and make it too. Audrey e-mailed me just yesterday for the recipe. You can make these up ahead, form them into balls, place on a cookie sheet covered in Saran Wrap, and freeze. After they are frozen, just take them off the sheet, and place in large freezer bags, removing as many as you want to cook for a meal. I make up my sauce ahead and freeze it to. These are wonderful for a company meal.

Mothers Ham Balls

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
½ c. pineapple juice ( I buy the pineapple juice you get in the juice isle, comes in can like pop.You will use it in the sauce too.)
2 ¼ c. crushed saltines
1 ½ lb. ground cooked ham (I buy a chunk of ham, and grind it up in my food processor)
1 ½ lb. ground pork (this is fresh pork, not pork sausage)
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, pineapple juice and saltines, Crumble ham and pork over mixture; mix well. Shape into balls bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball. Place in a baking dish.

Sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 ½ t. ground mustard
¼ c. cider vinegar
¼ c. pineapple juice
In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients; spoon over ham balls. Bake, uncovered at 350degrees for 30-45 min.

An Introduction

By way of introduction of the Horack girls, pictured below in 1960, Anita has written her remembrances of growing up "Horack" which is where we all learned to "nest".

Amy, Alane, Daddy(Ernest), Anita, Mother(Anna Mae), Andrea

A long time ago, in the midst of the Great Plains, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, (I don’t know about antelope but the deer sure do play hiding in the ditches, and jumping out to play chicken with cars on the road.) Oh, dear. I digress. That’s another story.

Anyway, in the midst of these Great Plains, in a very small house, lived 4 girls with their hard working parents. The fact that they were sisters may or may not be important. Because, you see, they are all very different, (Hence the age-old question: “Which has more influence, the environment or genetics?”) These girls were very blessed to be able to live in the country with friendly neighbors, a country school and lots of chores to do.
The oldest was the only one to be promoted to the chore of helping with the milking. Jobs were given out based on experience, height, strength, age or who happened to be close by when something needed to be done. Of course, the oldest learned how to do the most since she had been around the longest. From these chores, they all learned valuable life skills, such as:

Management skills: Herding cows in from the pasture, managing younger siblings
Janitorial skills: Cleaning house, Cleaning the chicken house, hauling cow manure from the milk barn.
Group skills: Herding cows, herding sheep, moving the play house from site to site, playing duets with sisters on the piano, hauling wood with sisters to the house before some imagined disaster struck, helping Mother prepare meals.
Bookkeeping skills: 4-H record books for sewing, cooking, having a HUGE garden
Technical skills: Running a sweeper, running a mixer,(while standing on a chair, some of us were pretty short), using a sewing machine, using an electric milking machine (the oldest only), not too much technology then.
Culinary skills: Cooking meals, baking, canning all the produce from the HUGE garden.
Parental skills: Pretending the youngest sister was the doll and pushing her around in the doll buggy (OH YES THEY DID!!) dressing the dolls and farm cats in doll clothes.


All the sisters learned to play the piano, some with more skill and patience than others. All the sisters learned to sew, some with more skill and patience than others. All the sisters learned to cook,….Good Grief! How could they learn to be individuals if they all did the same things? Oh yea, the level of skill and patience must have been the individual part.
These 4 sisters were fortunate to have two parents who loved music and actually had rhythm (which is why there are 4 of us:) the mother was a good dancer but the father only danced with his fingers on the accordion. Many evenings were spent with the father playing the accordion and everyone singing. The oldest would play the piano along with him. Some of the favorite songs were “Beautiful Brown Eyes”, “Beer Barrel Polka”, “A Simple Melody”, and “Scatterbrain”. What would a psychologist say about that particular collection of favorites?
These 4 privileged (disillusioned?) girls often did things in the course of play that they did not know was actually work. For instance, they would ask their mom for permission to clean out the brooder house (where the little chicks were placed to get them started) so they could use it as a play house. Of course permission was given and much fervor went into the job. This mostly entailed sweeping out the straw, chicken poop and feathers left after moving the young chickens into the main chicken house. This is where they learned about “white things in the air”..(Sister Anita’s obsession)
This was also experienced from cleaning the barn loft (for a play house, of course.)
Some chores were just plain work. There was gathering the eggs from 2000 laying hens. (Try that while trying to hold your breath trying NOT to breath the white things in the air!) At the same time they had to be careful there wasn’t an old hen on the nest to peck their hand or a snake in the nest; this we called multi-tasking.
The sheep they had to feed were not your playful, skipping lambs that Mary had. Neither was their fleece white as snow. They knew what was in the feed buckets and they wanted it NOW! This is where problem-solving came in. The question of how to get from the fence, (which they had to step over), to the feed troughs without getting knocked down, and then dump the feed in the troughs which were full of hungry sheep’s heads. Getting to the troughs was to simply push and shove their way through. These sheep did not meekly and quietly follow the shepherd! But, ta-da! problem solved! Simply stand in the troughs and dump the feed while backing up. Then the sheep were so busy eating, the girls were able to get out of the pen unmolested. This skill the 4 girls were able to apply numerous times when having large groups of people to feed in their homes. However, they were able to be more gracious and not walk backwards down the middle of the table while serving the food.
Those 4 girls, who all had the same initials of A.M.H., grew up healthy and happy in the Great Plains of Kansas. Two still reside there. One is on the farm where they grew up. Another lives in Michigan and another lives in Washington. They would not trade their lives in the coutry or the lessons learned for anything. As for the answer to the age old question: Environment or genetics?, who knows?

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited to introduce my sister Alane, or Lani-B as I grew up calling her. She is No. 3 in the line up of Horack girls, and I have invited my sisters to post here too, as they are all outstanding cooks, and can remember FAR more than I can about growing up with the "post-depression" era of Grandma's Horack, and Wolf, and Aunt Doris, and Mother. Thier writings here will be such a welcome addition, and somewhat of a family scrapbook, in a way, of recording memories, sharing recipes, and tips we learned and now take for granted. Thier computer savy with develop, and if not, I'll see to it we get what they have to share up here. HOW FUN!!!

Andrea,

You are so good at this and I am totally lost. I think I know how Anita feels. I don't even know if this will get to you.

I like the idea of putting things on the site, I'm just not sure I can add much. It will take me awhile to get my mind working and thinking back to the years we had when Mother and Grandma were teaching us things without us really realizing it.

I am going to try to send this, if it works I will be amazed.

A new Apron

With all the cooking I have been doing, I thought it would be nice to have a new apron. The one I did have had seen better days, and didn't really feel very good rubbing the back of my neck. I found myself not wearing it, and always getting my belly covered with splatters, or flour, something (this is no reflection on my belly mind you :) Here is the finished product. I loved this fabric, and had it made in a day. No ties, however by the time I made the binding out of coordinating fabric, ties would have been just as easy to make, UGH! BUT! I love it, it is working beautifully, and I expect to have the front of it covered with flour, or splatters very soon!

Apple Butter Recipe

As requested, here it is:

Apple Butter

10 lbs. of apples, I use golden delicious as they break down while cooking better than most, however, if you mix varieties, you will have OUTSTANDING butter :)
3 cups sugar
4 c. water
1 cup dark corn syrup
4 t. cinnamon (heaping)
½ t. cloves

Peel core and thick slice apples, add water and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook 30 min. till apples are soft. (I must interject here that depending on the varieties of apples you use, you may need to cook longer; I go for transparency, rather than time. I’ve cooked some as long as and hr or more on a VERY low heat.

Drain liquid, reserving it, and place apples in sieve or food processor, and process or sieve till milled down to applesauce consistency. Return to kettle, and stir in liquid, sugar, syrup. Simmer gently, stir frequently, till desired thickness (1 ¾ hours). Stir in spices, cooking and stirring 15 min. more. Pour into HOT jars, seal and water bath for 10 min.

I realize this won’t exactly fit on a recipe card, but wanted to give a bit of explanation as to HOW I actually do this :) Your house will smell wonderful too!

A Few Starters

What a way to start a blog! A request (Thanks Felicity!) has propelled my into doing another blog on Nestin(or preparing for winter and just general homemaking tips) and restin (living life after children, and caring for parents).
I think most appropriatly this first post should contain some of my favorite recipes for excellent fall and winter soups, that "stick to your ribs" and are easy to prepare in large quanities, and freeze the extra, always having something to pull out of the freezer for those "ill" days, or just "too busy" days.
Enjoy!

Here are the Golden Onion Soup, and Cheesy Ham Chower. They are similar, yet different, and both freeze up really well.

Golden Onion Soup

3 potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces.
3 onions, (yes three) diced
½ cup shredded carrots
3 c. water (opt)
4 c. condensed chicken broth
4 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 ½ c. half & half
1 c. celery sliced
¾ c. flour
Salt and pepper
Prepare potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, place in large kettle (Dutch oven) with broth and water. Bring to boil and let simmer for 15 min. separately mix half and half with flour and some salt and pepper, slowly add to vegetable and broth, stir till thick. Just before serving, stir in cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
I make this up as if to serve,(in other words I go ahead and add the cheese) let cool completely, place in plastic containers, and freeze. With some hot crusty, buttered bread—yum!

Cheesy Ham Chowder
10 bacon strips, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 c. diced carrots
3 T. flour
3 c. milk
1 ½ c. water
2 ½ c. cubed potatoes
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 t. chicken bouillon granules
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. cubed fully cooked ham.

In a large kettle cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towel to drain. In the drippings, sauté onion and carrots until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk and water. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 min. or until thickened. Add the potatoes, corn, bouillon and pepper. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 min. or until potatoes are tender. Add cheese and ham, heat until cheese is melted. (now for a tip: Substitute, liquid off corn, and chicken broth for 11/2 c. water and you won’t have to use bouillon granules). This makes a THICK soup, and can be diluted with chicken broth is desired, but it is delish.