After being AWOL for three months, the girls catch up with all that has been happening.

Reynolds Homestead Victorian Christmas

Lots of cancellations in the area because of snowstorms and ice storms. Kindle On Deck to the rescue after a long power outage.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Making memories for Thanksgiving and Christmas, an intervention for Beth to set up her lovely new TV from her son.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Beth is being dragged into the 21st Century with a new phone, Echo and other Smart stuff gifted by her son. Do all these things threaten our privacy?

Dopesick by Beth Macy

Hillbilly Drug Baby by Andrea Brunais

Time for a lifestyle change for Leslie with the help of Noom

A Little Sweet...

The new KnitPicks catalog

Spectra Bleeding Art Tissue for dyeing

Super Fine Sampler by Marken of the Hat & I

Susie's Reading Mitts by Janelle Masters

Yax Trax and snowshoes

Farm to Feet Socks

A Little Tart

The Monday Night Book Club

Code Girls by Liza Mundy

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

A Little Unexpected

Antique Postcard and Collectibles Club Dinner Recipe

From Beth's Collection, a postcard with a corn pudding recipe

Music Attributions:

Reverie (small theme)

Meadows of Dan and Reynolds Homestead happenings. Shearing a rabbit, yard sales, gynecologists, hurricanes, flood memories and guardian angels.

A Little Sweet...

A Little Tart...

Inspired by the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, the topic is "Laying Down Your Life."

1 John 3:16-20 New International Version (NIV)

Music attributions

Catching up on the news. Beth's memoir classes. College for Older Adults at the Reynolds Homestead. Meadows of Dan Folk Fair and Story Space. Way too hot in Meadows of Dan this week. Guests Ruthie and Amy. Rainbows and skunks. Vintage Tony the Tiger doll that Beth bought for herself when she was very young.

A Little Sweet

Long color changes in yarns.

A Little Tart

Life on the farm with rabbits, chickens, goats, Knightley and Emma and their kitty Darcy. Beth and her kitty Clue have a skunk friend.

Life with wild animals on the mountain.

A Little Unexpected

Contest! Contest! Contest!

Tell us a fun or unusual birthday meal request and win a prize! More info in the previous post.

Sure cures for bad muscle cramps in the legs.

"I Can Sing a Rainbow" song.

Empower Yourself to Live Well with Alpha-Gal

Dealing with ticks in the environment with tick tubes that attack the ticks in the nest.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

Music attributions

Adventures for Beth at Chataqua Institution, whimsy and wisdom. Leslie's adventures in swimming.

A Little Sweet...

Black tri Australian Shepherd stitch markers

"I Like Big Balls"

AC/DC song

Inca Trail by Svenlana Gordon

A Little Tart...

A discussion of salesman samples inspired by Reynolds Homestead Tidbits of History. Many types, including book samples and caskets, that were available into the 1970s. 

A Little Unexpected...

Grandma Flanagan's Taylor Cakes / Molasses Cookies

1 cup boiling water

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup Crisco

1 cup molasses

5 cups sifted flour

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 pinch of cloves

2 beaten eggs

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Add brown sugar, Crisco, molasses, flour, cinnamon, salt and cloves to baking soda-water, and mix thoroughly. Add beaten eggs last and gently blend. Drop by spoonfuls (they do not spread) onto a greased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. Yield: several dozen little cakes, depending on spoon size.

Frosting: Mix browned butter, a little cream and vanilla to flavor with enough confectioners sugar to spread well. Frost cooled cakes. Do not stack cakes, frosted or unfrosted.

This is a recipe from the 1800s, and makes soft, delicious molasses cookies. Mary Lois Barnes Flanagan was a 1910 graduate of the Lucy Webb Hayes Deaconess School in Washington, D. C.

******************

A Contest! A Contest! A Contest!

What's the most unusual meal anyone ever asked you to make for their birthday dinner? Send us an email, make a comment on our Facebook page or on this web site, or mail us a postcard (we love them) to the address in the right column of the web site, with a description of the most unusual meal or dessert that anyone ever asked your for as a birthday request. We'll put together an impartial panel and the best entry will win a prize of handmade, antique and scrumptious things from Meadows of Dan. It has to be a REAL request and we hope to have a lot of fun with this on the podcast. We WILL mention your names. Deadline August 31, 2018. 

Memorial Day and Amazon Echo's Alexa singing the National Anthem.

Meadows of Dan happenings: yard sales, new stores, nice customers.

Reynolds Homestead Book Sale and History Around Us talk on the Melungeons (June 6 at noon)

A Little Sweet...

Addi Flexi Flips at VanKlikStudios on etsy

Professor Meow Sweater by Claire Slade

A Little Tart...

The reason for relationships. 

Types of relationships.

Quotes:

"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them." - Margaret Atwood

“When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him." - Albert Camus

Spring scenes (Cows by Beth and apple tree by Leslie)

Baton twirling, elder care, problems with the Veteran's Administration, a long hard winter

A Little Sweet....

Betty's Beauty by Kathleen McGrew

Baby bracelets

A Little Tart...

Signed copy of Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

Taking a friend to a bluegrass show in Northern Virginia during the 1980s. Missing friends at Cowles Ford in Woodbridge, Virginia.

A Little Unexpected...

New in Meadows of Dan, Concord Corner Store in the former Toy Museum building.

Lovely lunches and new ciders at Chateau Morrisette.

Greenberry House will be opening in mid-May.

Music attributions

Blue Ridge Story Space

Beth's beautiful photos from her "Emerging Artist" show at the Reynolds Homestead

A picture of mountain serenity by Beth

Dr. Kirk Treible

Kirk holding Beth with the pony

Family photo

The photo that provided the missing clue

Special Guest Felix, Leslie and Beth

Our special guest, Felix, talks about life as an expatriate college student and explains bitcoins, so frequently in recent news. He and Beth also talk about new trends in dating!

Special guests Chris and Cliff talk about growing up in New England, their adventures as roving pet-sitter and musician and share some wisdom about life.

Great show featuring Beth's Aussie sisters and their wonderful revelations about growing up in Western Australia and the differences they see in health care and wages between America and Australia.