The Damsel in Dis Dress
Posted in thrifty on May 17th, 2010
Moms and kids have hated the hair-combing ritual since ancient times. and in many lands. The Damsel likes how this mom has sort of got her kid trapped on her lap in order to do the deed. The Damsel has used this move herself. It’s true that some types of hair are harder to come [...]
Pesky mayonnaise! Most of the time, making it with a stick blender works perfectly and quickly. (see this post) But sometimes! It makes nothing but a runny, disgusting, oily mess. Sometimes it can be attributed to user error (most commonly, being impatient about letting the egg come to room temperature) but sometimes it seems to [...]
Posted in thrifty on Apr 19th, 2010
This isn’t something the Damsel ever saw her grandma do. Still, it keeps with the spirit of the Old School’s purpose, because it’s a creative, new use of a basic item. In other words, use what you have. Make it something more. The Damsel’s daughters made fresh fruit into flowers. Amazing! First, they saw a [...]
Posted in cleaning, thrifty, Uncategorized on Feb 4th, 2010
Back here, the Old School discussed what happens when you use liquid dish soap in your dishwasher, and what to do to temporarily tide you over until your next trip to the market. But is it possible to make your OWN dishwasher detergent? To use on a regular basis, not as an emergency substitute? Can [...]
Posted in thrifty on Jan 13th, 2010
The Damsel was fascinated by this list of things you can do with coffee filters. She finds herself craving a package of them now, and she’s not even a coffee drinker. Someone whispered they are quite cheap at the dollar store, a thing the Damsel never supposed, since she’s never bought them before. 1. Cover [...]
Posted in cooking, thrifty, Uncategorized on Jan 5th, 2010
Oh, beans! Such an old school food. Funny, though, when you look at dry beans, they don’t even look like food. (See this) They’re hard, they don’t really smell good, (or bad) and well, let’s face it. People fear them, even though they are cheap and nutritious. They fear that cooking beans is too tricky [...]
Posted in thrifty on Dec 26th, 2009
If you made the pancake syrup taught here, you may have noticed that crystals have formed in the bottom of the container. Take a deep breath–it’s okay. Nothing bad has happened. This is perfectly normal behavior. You can melt the crystals by reheating the syrup, either in the microwave if the syrup is in a [...]
Posted in thrifty on Dec 14th, 2009
One of the most old school things you can do to decorate a Christmas tree is to string popcorn for a garland. The tradition of decking your tree with food is as old as they come, and popcorn is cheap and easy. It’s a fun activity to do as a family, too. Pop some corn [...]
Posted in thrifty, Uncategorized on Dec 7th, 2009
Does anyone remember the olden days, when people used to pop corn WITHOUT a microwave? Why would you want to do such a thing? You mean besides avoiding the unnamed chemicals and nasty whatnots that are in microwave popcorn? “Homemade” popcorn actually does taste better, plus, it’s something that would be nice to know in [...]
Posted in cooking, thrifty, Uncategorized on Nov 28th, 2009
One of the most old-school things you can do after Thanksgiving is make soup out of the turkey carcass. Please forgive the lack of photos to begin with. The Damsel hates, hates, HATES what she must do to start this, and she couldn’t bring herself to photograph it, either. She sternly reminded herself how delicious [...]
