Week in Review

Films of the Week

• They Wanted to Marry (1937) - Betty Furness (Sheila), Gordon Jones (Jim), E.E. Clive (Styles), Patsy Parsons (Patsy), Henry Kolker (Mr. Hunter)

Basement Ceiling

A 1920s Ceiling

Basement Ceiling

The ceiling should be airtight to prevent dust from sifting upstairs. A ceiling of plaster, Sheetrock, or other fire resisting material, greatly reduces a fire hazard.

(Source, Watkins Household Hints, 1941)

Vintage Household Hints #1 - Ventilation

Air Ducts, Ventilators, Flues, Chimneys, Etc.

Should be cleaned once a year. In all cities and many towns, there are firms which have special motorized vacuum equipment which does the work efficiently.

Man Cleaning Commercial Furnace Aug 25, 1949 (Source:MNHS)

Clean burners in gas-fired boiler and flush fuel oil storage tanks to remove sediment. Remove rust.*

(Source: Watkins Household Hints, 1941)

*Note - We have different furnaces now so much of this tip is not valid. It is however still advisable to have a professional tune up and clean your furnace, chimneys, etc. I do it once a year - furnace in the fall and air conditioner in the spring. Chimney every 1 to 2 years depending on how often I use the fireplace.

Feather Dusting My Furnace with Jean Arthur

I'm on the home stretch with my cleaning - the basement. Hopefully I should finish up by tomorrow. Being the perfectionist that I am, I dusted as many of the pipes as I could reach with a feather duster. I had no idea how badly feather dusters stink! I had mine in my cleaning closet, but the smell was just dreadful so I had to transfer it to the basement. I'm hoping that will go away soon or else it may have to live outside.

Next up from the scrapbook is Jean Arthur. I'm not a huge fan, which is why she has not been on my blog before. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Everyone says she is fabulous, but I can't bring myself to watch her. Is there a film of hers that is just so fabulous that I won't be bothered by her voice?

Painting Pillars, Fabulous Costumes, and 1951 Meals

Started off the morning watching a film I haven't seen yet, 1954's There's No Business Like Show Business on Fox Movie Channel. I adored the costumes, but I am not a huge Ethel Merman fan (I know, sacrilege). Loved this pink and white number on Marilyn.

Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe

in There's No Business Like Show Business

I've been trying to make a point of doing some cleaning every day, so hopefully my house will be clean soon. Unfortunately I went downstairs and saw the pillar in the picture below. The paint chip just started bothering me so much I had to take care of it. Sometimes I just get so fixated on something, that I have to take care of it right away - regardless of the task I should be working on.

The Offending Pillar

So I ended up spending the afternoon dusting, washing, and painting my basement pillar. I can't imagine a lot of you were doing the same thing :)

So when dinner came around, I was at a loss. I decided to check out a few of my vintage pamphlets. Econo-Meals sounded pretty good since I have been out of work over a month and scrounging for meals, and it turned out the good people at Crisco came to the rescue.

I went with Meal #3, Frankfurters with Barbecue Sauce and Potato Pancakes. This was actually pretty filling by itself, so I didn't make the Cabbage Salad or Spice Cake. This 1951 meal was actually pretty good. Fairly easy, but loads of cleanup.

Barbecued Frankfurters in Famous Dave's Classic Barbecue Sauce

No, I didn't take the time to make my own barbecue sauce (I'm not that ambitious). I just used my personal favorite sauce from my favorite restaurant, Famous Dave's.

My first attempt at Potato Pancakes. Not too bad for a first try, huh?


More cleaning tomorrow, and hopefully I will be able to think of something to make for dinner.

Still Cleaning . . . unfortunately

(Photo 1946 MNHS Online Collection)

Had major issues lately which has kept me from posting. I apologize to my loyal readers. Long and short of it, my house was trashed and I only have my top floor clean plus 1 room on my main level and other issues I'm dealing with. I've been busy trying to recover from it, so please forgive the lack of posts. Had a few bad weeks, with more to come, but I have wonderful people around me who have been helping me stay sane. I luv u all :)

Cleaning Day

Spent the whole day cleaning today. Very tired. Will have bigger post tomorrow.