New in Walnut Grove is a consignment shop.
Julie Danielowski has opened
Consignment & Thrift Shop at Studio 10.
The store is located in the back of Julie's hair salon, Studio 10, at 341 6th Street in Walnut Grove.
If you are looking for some quality clothes, shoes, purses etc., stop in and see what Julie has to offer.
Spike is excited to see his fans tonight!
Let's make a pioneer dress.
The video below is a condensed version of what it takes to make a pioneer dress.
A quick video of Plum Creek after several inches of rain over the past several days. Hear the creek running and birds chirping. This is just south of the Ingalls Dugout site on County HWY 5 north of Walnut Grove about 1 mile.
Take a quick listen to Plum Creek and birds chirping. Plum Creek banks were swelled after several inches of rain over several days last week. This is just south of the Ingalls Dugout Site and north of Walnut Grove about 1 mile on County HWY 5.
In the book "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder she writes about Plum Creek in the spring. On pages 98 & 99, Chapter 14: Spring Freshet, Laura writes, " The fast, strong water was fearful and fascinating. It snarled foaming through the willow tops and swirled far out onto the prairie. It came dashing high and white around the bend upstream. It was always changing and always the same, strong and terrible."
In present times Plum Creek is usually a calm babbling creek, but there have been times like in 2018 when she came out of her banks and made for a flooded Wilder Outdoor Theater.
Last week we set out to make butter. In the Ingalls home they probably used a wooden churn with a plunger that would work similar to the glass one used in this video. If you don't have a butter churn you can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer or even a jar where you shake it vigorously until you have the buttermilk separated and a ball of butter. The mixer would be much easier, but for historical purposes we used the early 1900's glass butter churn.
This is our first attempt ever and it turned out beautifully. We have used one portion of the salted butter already and plan on doing some baking with the unsalted. The hardest part was rinsing and squeezing the moisture out of the butter since it is important to get as much of the butter milk out of the butter.
Always start out with clean utensils, hands, sink and churn.
Here in Walnut Grove, we have had one of the mildest winters I can remember. This week has been a change for the worst in my opinion. Winter came in the form of snow, then rain & ice, then more snow on Sunday, yesterday and now today with a bit more snow, but the wind has decided to join in. The temperature right now in Walnut Grove is 18 degrees with 30 mph winds gusting to 52 mph, which according to my weather app makes it feel like -6 degrees.
This is Mother Nature reminding us that we do live in Minnesota, and this is more like the weather we normally have in the winter.
The roads are not great nor is the visibility if you are out driving in the weather today. If you are one who has to drive today, please drive safely.
On the upside the temps are predicted to be back in the 40's, which is normal this time of year, by the end of the week. It is Spring and we are hopeful for warmer days ahead.
DREAM FULFILLED TRYOUTS - Did You Miss Us?
It's been 4 years since we made vanity cakes and we talked about them at the committee meeting last month and most of the committee members had not tried them. So, in an effort to enlighten the committee we made vanity cakes and tried them at the last meeting. The consensus was they don't have much flavor and they might be better with jam.
Here's Ma's recipe for vanity cakes that was given to me by the Walnut Grove Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, slightly modified:
1 egg
3 oz self-raising four (I used 2/3 cup regular flour and added 1/2 tsp baking powder)
pinch of salt
oil for frying
powdered sugar
Put oil or lard (Ma would have probably used lard) in a deep fat fryer or deep pan (I used a wok) and heat on stove.
Beat large egg, and slowly add 3 ounces (or 2/3 cup) of self-rising flour (or flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder added) and a pinch of salt, beating constantly. If the batter seems too stiff add a tablespoon or so of milk. Drop by teaspoon of batter onto well-floured board and coat evenly. I slightly flattened the cakes and then dropped them into the hot oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until puffed and browned slightly. Drain well and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy.
