August 2021 - Secret Recipes

August 30, 2021

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Americana Happiness

Happy Monday and happy National Beach Day to everyone! Personally, I always look forward to every Monday because they are my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#NationalBeachDay

The unofficial end of summer is just around the bend now, as September and Labor Day are quickly approaching. Today is the celebration of National Beach Day! Michigan is home to countless beaches, having 3,288 miles of coastline that borders four of the five Great Lakes! Moreover, there are thousands of rivers and smaller lakes with beaches throughout the state.

#NationalBackToSchoolMonth

Kids are going back to school next week (if they haven’t already), so it’s a great time to “play hooky” and hit the shoreline for one last summer celebration! Before you know it, the trees will be in full, fall colors like a Bob Ross painting! Football (pre-season) is already here, and Halloween merchandise is out in all of the stores, while Christmas stock is building up in their back storerooms.

#PureMichigan

My husband and I love to go for day trips around Michigan’s “Thumb Coast”, stopping at different beaches to take in the magnificent views and collect some rocks for our garden beds. One time, I found a rock on which someone had painted a silhouette of our state on a sea of white-capped, blue waves and wrote “Michigan Home Sweet Home”. On the back was the artist’s mark and Facebook page (Sanilac Rocks).

#HappinessHappensMonth

It inspired us to collect other beach rocks, on which we, too, can paint something area related and leave them on various Michigan beaches, to which we go, for others to find; hopefully spreading some happiness in the process. Maybe it will inspire others, like us, to do the same.

I haven’t made a Facebook page for our rocks, like the one from the rock I found. I may just add them to my own Facebook art page @ClearImpressionsofMI. I haven’t really used it in a couple of years, as I’ve been focusing more on writing this blog, as well as updating this website and my Facebook page for Mom, @TheRecipeDetective.

‘FRIENDS ARE A TREASURE and, when we count our blessings, we count our friends twice! It’s not possible to have a full and happy life without others to share with, to help when help is needed, to be helped when help is offered.’ – Gloria Pitzer

Mom and Dad loved to take a day or a weekend to just go on a scenic road trip and unwind from the workload at home, mentally refreshing themselves. Often, however, “work” would manage to creep back in whenever they stopped somewhere for a bite to eat. Mom always managed to find something good that she wanted to analyze and duplicate when she got back home.

My parents seemed to make friends everywhere they went. Some trips were just for relaxation and fun. But other trips involved some planned Secret Recipes^TM work too. Mom really did enjoy what she laughingly called her “work”. It was easy to incorporate a restaurant review and an imitation of a dish (or two) into any trip.

Even an occasional, in-studio, radio show interview could be worked into a vacation or road trip, instead of through the phone lines, as Mom usually did. Once, Mom and Dad went on a “working” road trip/vacation to Branson, MO with one of her favorite radio show hosts, Art Lewis, from ‘Listen To The Mrs.’, on WSGW-Radio (Saginaw, MI) and “the crew”.

DEAR FRIENDS – The best part of April will be our bus trip to Branson, Missouri with ‘The Art Lewis Tour’. Art is the co-host of my every Tuesday radio visits on [‘Listen To The Mrs.’] WSGW-Radio (Saginaw, MI)…Paul and I haven’t been to Branson in 8 years. The best part…we aren’t doing the driving…Art is! And we’ll be in the company of so many new friends! – Gloria Pitzer [As seen on the cover of her Spring-1995 newsletter, Secret Recipes Quarterly.]

Mom and Dad always loved to travel, especially after they became empty-nesters. They’d spend many of their spring-through-fall weekends here and there, camping with their “Good Sam RV Club” friends from the Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana chapters. In fact, Art Lewis used to love to give Mom some friendly teasing about the oven in her and Dad’s camper, as it was always gleaming like new – because it was never used!

Mom mentioned them all often – Art Lewis, Good Sam RV Club, and the friends they made – throughout her old newsletters, as well as in some of her self-published books. She always had happy remembrances and stories to tell about all the wonderful people they met, the delicious food they ate, as well as the beautiful places in which they stayed.

‘Recipe seminars that I have conducted for the Good Sam RV organization in, both, Michigan and Ohio, have given me the opportunity to meet with and talk to people from all over the country relative to their recipe interests and food needs.’ – Gloria Pitzer, My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 61)

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, pp. 23-24)

IN THE SUMMERTIME…

…Throughout upstate Michigan, the roads borough through tunnels of green trees for miles and miles. There’ll be light traffic on these curving two-lane highways with single cars spaced two blocks or so apart coming toward you. There was the quaint and very unique Settling Inn at the village of Northport, the most northern point of M-22. And farther south there was the Sugarfoot Saloon at Leelanau, near the Sugarfoot Mountain Resort.

It was quiet country, secluded but refreshing, compared to sophisticated urban activity. At County Road 669, a sign announced, ‘Sleeping Bear Dunes straight ahead on M-22’. The road curved like a long licorice ribbon, up and down the hillsides of densely grown White Birches, Scotch Pines, Maples, Oaks and Poplars.

Suddenly we were conscious of how clean the air smelled. The city wasn’t like this! What a lovely contrast! What a splendid memory!

The first time we saw the Traverse Bay area and upstate Michigan, we fell in love with it. It was Labor Day and summer was still at the peak of its promise. Six weeks later, we went back to the bay area to feast our eyes on the glorious, fiery colors of fall. There was a crisp, clean chill in the air.

Those long, straight, two-lane roads through the peninsula still lay like licorice ribbons on the slopes and hills of Old Mission region. The side roads were cut like corridors through a series of canopies in brilliant orange, red and yellow, where the trees were all standing like military sentries in full dress uniforms, crossing their branches above the roads like honor guards with their swords raised high.

It was a trip back into another time zone – peaceful valleys and wooded hillsides abundant was sturdy hedges of tall trees framing well-manicured cherry orchards, acres upon acres of them, as well as apple groves in great abundance everywhere!

Here and there a farmhouse and a weather-worn, well-kept barn reminded you that it was a populated and prosperous region, after all. The prosperity appeared to represent hard work, a practical living style and simplicity of needs, unlike the atmosphere of city dwelling.

Some of the recipes from dishes of this area have become my personal favorites. At the Settling Inn, in the village of Northport, a huge and tasty sandwich presented on their own homemade bread, sliced quite right, and buttered on one side, grilling it until crispy, is the specialty of the house. Then the sandwich fillings are applied to the un-grilled side of the bread, and it’s assembled neatly and cut in half. With a mug of dark beer on a hot day, it hit the spot!

#NationalSandwichMonth

#NationalAmericanaMonth

Mom’s story reminded me that in just a couple of days it will be September, which is, among other things, National Americana Month! “Americana” is a style that reflects the stereotypical, cultural phenomenon of “Norman Rockwell basics” – the simple elements of American life, including those traditions and remembrances which have woven us together over the past couple of centuries and made us all Americans.

It includes everything that celebrates America’s cultural heritage, history, folklore, and geography. It’s a timeless, classic style that never goes out of fashion or falls from popularity. Like Mom’s description (above) of her and Dad’s drive in the Traverse Bay region of Michigan’s “Tip-Of-The-Mitt” area.

According to ‘How To Capture Americana In Photography’, by Britton Perelman (2018 – Updated Aug. 27, 2020), as seen at PassionPassport.com, “Americana is any artifact relating to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of the United States… We often associate ‘nostalgia’ with Americana… Examples of Americana include Coca-Cola memorabilia, white-picket fences, blue jeans, apple pie, rock and roll, and small towns.”

#NationalSandwichMonth

In honor of this still being National Sandwich Month, at least for a couple of days, here are THREE of Mom’s Sanders imitations, for their lunch-counter sandwich spreads that Mom used to enjoy when she was young! There were many Sanders imitations among Mom’s original index-card-recipes.

Mom’s Sanders-Style Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, and Ham Salad Sandwich Spread can be found in her self-published cookbook… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes_© Book (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; June 1997, p. 37). It’s no longer in print but used copies of Mom’s self-published cookbooks can usually be found on Amazon and eBay.

P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…

#LearnSomethingNewEveryDay

There’s only a couple days left of August, for observing: National Dog Month, Family Fun Month, International Peace Month, National Brownies at Brunch Month, National Catfish Month, National Crayon Collection Month, National Goat Cheese Month, National Golf Month, National Immunization Awareness Month, National Panini Month, National Water Quality Month, National Wellness Month, and Romance Awareness Month!

Other celebrations happening this week include:

Today is… National Toasted Marshmallow Day and National Grief Awareness Day!

Tomorrow, August 31^st is… National South Carolina Day and National Trail Mix Day!

September 1^st is also… National Chicken Boy Day and National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day!

Thursday, September 2^nd is… National Blueberry Popsicle Day!

September 3^rd is… National Welsh Rarebit Day and U.S. Bowling League Day! In fact, the first Friday in September is always… National Lazy Mom’s Day, National Food Bank Day, National College Colors Day, and National Chianti Day!

Saturday, September 4^th is… National Spice Blend Day, National Wildlife Day, National Newspaper Carrier Day, and National Macadamia Nut Day! As the first Saturday in September, it’s also… National Tailgating Day and National Play Outside Day (which is always the first Saturday of EVERY MONTH)!

Sunday, September 5^th is… National Cheese Pizza Day and National Be Late For Something Day! It’s also the start of National Waffle Week!

#TGIM

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-thank-god-its-monday-day-first-monday-in-january/

…35 down and 17 to go!

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

August 23, 2021

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Food Effect

Happy Monday to everybody, once again! I, personally, always look forward to Mondays because they are my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#HappinessHappensMonth

As August continues to celebrate Happiness Happens Month, I want to get back to how food affects our happiness, which I touched on briefly a few weeks ago. The inspiration came from a mention of it in Ann Pietrangelo’s article, How To Be Happy: 25 Habits To Add To Your Routine (Jan. 15, 2019). I recommend checking out the full article at Healthline.com.

I thought it was really interesting when Ann pointed out, in #4 Eat With Mood In Mind of her article, that different types of food can affect our moods in different ways; confirming that we are what we eat! So I wondered, if foods affect our moods and happiness, then what should we eat to always feel our best and happiest? Ann’s examples included the following generalizations…

Carbohydrates release serotonin, a ‘feel good’ hormone. Just keep simple carbs — foods high in sugar and starch — to a minimum because that energy surge is short, and you’ll crash. Complex carbs, such as vegetables, beans, and whole grains, are better.

Lean meat, poultry, legumes, and dairy are high in protein. These foods release dopamine and norepinephrine, which boost energy and concentration.

Highly processed or deep-fried foods tend to leave you feeling down. So will skipping meals.

Start by making one better food choice each day. For example, swap a big, sweet breakfast pastry for some Greek yogurt with fruit. You’ll still satisfy your sweet tooth, and the protein will help you avoid a mid-morning energy crash. Try adding in a new food swap each week.

The consensus on my Google searches seems to agree with Ann. It’s widely believed that, in times of stress, “comfort foods” will often make you feel better, at least for a short period of time. These foods are usually the carb-type, of which Ann mentioned to be mindful because of their high sugar and/or starch contents. I know, from personal experience, they can negatively affect blood-sugar levels.

Granted, they provide at least a temporary nostalgic or even sentimental value to our mood – but at what cost? They have very little nutritional value if any at all. Junk foods and fast foods are also considered to be “comfort foods”. This would be a good point at which to remind everyone that Mom was the pioneer who first took the junk out of junk food by imitating our favorites at home, where we can control the ingredients!

In fact, one can say with some certainty that not all fast food is junk food AND not all junk food is fast food! By general definition, “junk foods” are considered to be those foods that are heavily processed; typically containing high amounts of either trans fats, sugar, corn syrup, fructose, or salt (or a combination of any of those). Additionally, junk foods are high in calories. Beware – they are also high in luscious, tasty delightfulness and can be addictive!

Science has shown, time and time again, that emotions and food are very much linked together in many ways! Food is often the guest of honor at almost any event! As with eating for self-satisfaction, cooking is also a great source for happiness – whether it be for self-satisfaction or in pleasing others. Between the cooking AND the eating, I figured that I get to happily enjoy food twice as much! Although too much of a good thing is not always a good thing!

According to TimeAndDate.com: “Studies have shown that consuming junk food ONCE-IN-A-WHILE does not have a negative effect on health – it is only when one eats junk food for a majority of their meals that their diet can be considered unhealthy. Consuming large amounts of foods considered to be “junk”, can lead to several health problems, including a high risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart issues.”

Mom was a big believer in the psychological influences of food. Some foods are considered “happy foods” as they contain something called tryptophan, which is transformed into serotonin in the body. Additionally, serotonin is well-known to relax most of us, improve mood and, in general, produce feelings of happiness. Dark Chocolate is rich in many mood-boosting compounds.

Unfortunately, just when we start feeling comfortable and happy about how life is going, we find that happiness doesn’t happen without intermissions. These are the times in which we should take stock of our lives and be grateful for the good, as well as the lessons. From time to time, we forget that nothing in life is guaranteed to any of us.

I read a really great article at EliteDaily.com, which I refer to from time-to-time, called ‘When It Seems Like Things Are Falling Apart, They’re Really Just Falling Into Place’, by Paul Hudson (Sep. 23, 2014). The timeless advice and reasoning in this almost-7-year-old article, regarding how to deal with stress and create your own happiness, sounds like it could’ve been written for these days and the pandemic situation. I highly recommend the read!

#SimplifyYourLifeWeek

#HappinessHappensMonth

Many of us find happiness in food! Writing and cooking were among Mom’s top stress-relievers that made her happy. Being the Secret Recipes Detective for 40 years, Mom was more apt to be found in the kitchen, creating a new imitation of another popular restaurant dish or at her desk writing about the latest imitation she developed.

Mom loved to write about a lot of different things that she thought would interest her readers. She’d been calling it “Food For Thought” since the 1960s, when she wrote for various newspapers. She always liked to say that she made a living with her writing, but it was her writing that made living worthwhile. It gave her purpose and especially happiness!

‘Start now! Good thoughts and good feelings reinforce each other…When you hold on to one good thought, the better you’ll do things that make you feel good about yourself…Nothing will work for you unless you work for it.’ – Gloria Pitzer [This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p.32)]

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Happy Monday everybody! As always, I’m happy it’s Monday because it’s one of my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#NationalTellAJokeDay

We’ve all heard the old adages, “Laughter is the best medicine…”, as well as “Laugh and the world laughs with you…”; well, in relation to August being Happiness Happens Month, today is also National Tell a Joke Day! Likewise, just as there are many health benefits to being happy, there are many health benefits to telling jokes and making others happy. Both of my parents loved to tell jokes and humorous stories.

I remember watching a lot of sitcoms and comedy/variety shows on television when I was growing up. Mom and Dad always picked the programs! Their favorite comedians included the classics, such as Milton Berle, George Burns, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Betty White, Johnny Carson, Dick Van Dyke, Don Knotts and the like. [On a side note: My dad’s mom is a Knotts (from West Virginia) and possibly a cousin to the famous comedian!]

Mom’s self-published cookbooks were very different than all the rest on the market – they stood out, not only for their crafty designs and lay-outs, but also because they were filled with food-for-thought and food-for-the-soul, as well as food-for-the-table ideas – all served up with a lot of clever humor on top!

Likewise, Mom wrote, illustrated and self-published a newsletter for 25 years (Jan. 1974 through Dec. 1998 – 219 issues in all), in the same patchwork-quilt-fashion. It began and ended as a monthly publication, but there were some years in between when she published it bi-monthly (doubling the size) and other years when it was published quarterly (quadrupling the monthly size).

Each issue of the newsletter was always stuffed full of witty and humorous stories about our family or Mom’s radio show visits all around North America, restaurant reviews, more food-for-thought and food-for-the-soul, as well as her wonderfully unique recipes. Mom would also write a little “Dear-friends-letter” (usually on the front page) about the goings-on of our lives, as she always thought of her readers as her friends too.

Even before the newsletter and books began, Mom first wrote and syndicated humorous columns under several different titles. She also illustrated amusing cartoon panels, which were called Full House as Kept by Gloria Pitzer. They were printed in The Richmond Review (Richmond, MI) for a few years, starting around early 1969.

Since they’re humor is so timeless, Mom reused many of her cartoons and witty columns in her newsletters and cookbooks that she, later, went on to develop. I often use them, myself, in my blog posts about her. Mom could see humor in almost anything. “They” say, in the comedy realm, that the best material comes from real life experiences! My mom had a way of taking our everyday life events and turning them into funny, exaggerated “fishing stories” and cartoon panels.

Below are some comedic examples from Mom’s cartoons, No Laughing Matter columns, and excerpts from some of her cookbooks. Regarding our family’s eating habits in the first story, keep in mind that Mom was a really good cook (despite her sarcastic humor, claiming otherwise) – so, of course, we were going to eat her out of house and home!

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in… No Laughing Matter

By Gloria Pitzer, The Recipe Detective^TM

VITTEL STATISTICS – or How to Salvage Leftovers!

In order to prevent our kids from eating us right into bankruptcy, I’ve been, literally, forced to salvage food in the refrigerator by trying to camouflage it. Just last week, I made a banana look like a ballpoint pen and hid a stack of sliced cheese in an old stationary box. When our 15-year old discovered them in the refrigerator, I assured him it was for writing letters to those people who deserved a cold shoulder from me.

Several [readers] have written, asking me what I do with leftovers. I realize leftovers can be a problem but, in my case, I can hardly remember what they’re like. With five, fully-powered, automatic food disposals, walking around disguised as ‘Problem Eaters’, this house hasn’t seen a leftover in years. Leftovers are not my problem – having enough to go around the first time is!

I keep telling them, ‘Please! Eat like there IS a tomorrow!’ But they don’t listen. There was a time when I could have equated their appetites with a compliment to my cooking, but that was before I saw them eat [Kellogg’s] Pop Tarts© without removing the wrappers… They are problem eaters, alright; but the problem is they never stop eating!

There are some things they will avoid, like brown spots on an apple, as well as the core and the stem. Neither will they eat parsley flakes or dry minced onions. They also have an adversity for whatever might be good for them, like green vegetables; which means it’s perfectly safe for me to conceal Twinkies© in a box [from frozen] Brussel sprouts or Nabisco’s [Nilla] Wafers in a box that once contained prunes.

I’ve even hidden Christmas cookies so well that it wasn’t until we went to a 4^th of July picnic that I discovered them in the cold drink thermos. I’ve hidden Oreos© in a tall, brown jar marked ‘NOT TO BE TAKEN INTERNALLY!’ I’ve tried to salvage enough of tonight’s pot roast to make tomorrow night’s stew, by wrapping it in a damp towel and trying to pass it off, on a lower shelf of the refrigerator, as my ironing.

When I discovered the three empty quart bottles that had, only moments before, contained ginger ale; it wasn’t difficult to expose the guilty person. It was the one [from whom], when he opened his mouth, I could hear the ocean roar!

I tried to frighten them away from what is loosely termed JUNK, like chips and doughnuts and pizza snacks; but they refuse to listen to how their teeth will rot and acne will make them unpopular.

Already, our 15-year old is supporting a 30-cents-a-day candy habit! [Note: In the early-to-mid 1970s, that was a LOT of candy!]

Just yesterday, in fact, I found the following reminder taped to the refrigerator: ‘Mom, we’re out of Pop Tarts again.’ I was very upset. The note had been written with the very last banana on the only slice of cheese!

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Bargain Hunting

Happy Monday and happy National Bargain Hunting Week – I think! Regardless, it’s Monday, so celebrate! I always look forward to Mondays because they are my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#BargainHuntingWeek

As I wrote about, near the end of last week’s blog post, NationalDayCalendar.com claims that this week, being the SECOND week in August, celebrates National Bargain Hunting Week. However, BargainHunting.webs.com, says that the week is observed on the first Monday through Sunday of August.

Nevertheless, both websites agree that it began in 1996, founded by Debbie Keri-Brown, author of “Bargain Hunting” books. I say, “Why not celebrate it both weeks?” Now there’s a bargain – TWO FOR ONE! Whichever week it is, happiness happens for me every time I find a good bargain!

#NationalGarageSaleDay

This coming Saturday is also the observance of National Garage Sale Day! That’s why I like NationalDayCalendar.com’s promotion for National Bargain Hunting Week being this week – as it’s in conjunction with National Garage Sale Day.

Although BargainHunting.webs.com says it’s supposed to run concurrent with National Smile Week (founded by Heloise of Hints by Heloise). However, I couldn’t find “National Smile WEEK” through Google. I did, however, find that National Smile DAY is observed on May 31^st and there’s a National Smile MONTH celebrated in the UK mid-May to mid-June.

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in her syndicated column, No Laughing Matter…

HAVE A GARAGE SALE IN ONE EASY BREAKDOWN!

By Gloria Pitzer – Recipe Detective^TM

Until you’ve had a garage sale, you just don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve just had one and I know! I’m missing three garbage cans, my husband’s workbench, a swing set, four lawn chairs and our station wagon. Actually, those items weren’t for sale, but you can’t refuse a good price when it’s offered to you.

All I really wanted to sell was a few odds-and-ends like seven dozen Ruby Bee Jelly glasses, a Coke bottle mosaic of my mother-in-law, a transistor radio guaranteed to crack plaster when operated by a teenager, an illustrated guide book to Disneyland and my husband’s bowling ball.

Of course, if the truth were known, I just had to do something about the closets before we were cited for contempt by the Pollution Control Commission. The kids were cleaning out their rooms and dragging out microscopes that had only examined curdled milk.

There was an electric train with which only their father had played, a guitar that never played a tune (but made a neat tennis racket), socks that scratched and even their old report cards. But, I drew the line when it came to selling their toothbrushes and underwear. I mean, a person has to be reasonable about these things!

I had heard that garage sales were successful, but I didn’t believe it until I saw 23 cars double-parked in our drainage ditch, a pick-up truck on the back porch and a dune buggy in the furnace room! It takes a garage sale to prove that a woman will buy anything, if she thinks it’s on sale.

After all, what can one do with a dead philodendron plant – a plastic one, yet? I also learned that there’s no exercise so efficacious for the upper arms as standing in the midst of a group of mad women and trying to keep them from taking the rafters apart while trying to get at our storm windows (which I’ll have you know were NOT for sale) but little did they care.

One woman offered me a dollar for the dress I was wearing, and I had to run half a block to catch up with the lady who gave my son 50 cents for the sheets on the clothes lines. Did she care it was my laundry and I had to make the beds before the day was over – and where would I be without those sheets?

I finally had to administer first aid to the two girls who fought so bitterly over which of them was going to drag off to their car a plaid CPO jacket and a pair of blue worsted men’s slacks! Mind you. I wouldn’t have cared under any other circumstances, but my husband was still in them AND he didn’t want to go with either of them. He wanted to stay home and watch the ball game on TV!

By 6pm, they had bought everything that wasn’t breathing, barking or encased in concrete. As I sat at the kitchen table, counting up the profits of the day, my husband came staggering in, bruised and breathless. ‘You know that guy with the flat-bed truck, who’s been hanging around all day?’ [He asked.] ‘Well, he just gave me $50 and drove off with our garage!’

It all goes to prove, if I had put a price on those kids of ours, I might have sold them – but, who could afford to feed them once they got them home?

The “Thumb Area” of Michigan has held a massive, annual event on the second weekend in August since 2012 (except for 2020, of course). It’s called the Antiques Yard Sale Trail. “The trail” is over 150 miles long, involving more than 11 communities, from Sebewaing on M-25, near the southeast end of Saginaw Bay, wrapping all the way around Michigan’s “Thumb Coast”, to New Baltimore on M-29, by the north shore of Lake St. Clair.

Some years, I shop different parts of “the trail” and other years, I host my own yard sale. I’m only less than a mile from where “the trail” passes through my hometown. I’ve found, over the years, that advertising wisely will draw many “bargain hunters” at least a little way off “the trail”.

Earlier this year, in Spring Has Sprung! (Mar. 22, 2021), I wrote about my spring cleaning, purging, and getting ready for a new yard sale. I’m still waiting for a work-free, rain-free weekend (to have one) that isn’t already reserved for other plans, like a few weekend vacations, a class reunion, a birthday party, a shower, and a wedding.

FROM MY MEMOIRES…

A re-write from…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom…

How to have a Yard Sale in One Easy Breakdown (Aug. 12, 2019)

…HOSTING A YARD SALE IS A LOT OF WORK! I WISH I HAD A GARAGE!

A garage would be a lot easier in which to set up. First of all, it’s a permanent, solid, enclosed, and protected area. If I had a garage, I could set up my tables and clothes racks at any time, putting our stuff out a little bit each night as I clean out different rooms of the house and barn.

As it is, I have to set it all up in one or two days, right before my sale starts, because it’s under two large tents, which is somewhat open to the elements. Additionally, my city’s ordinances limit how long temporary structures, like my tents, can be up (and other things related to yard sales).

I usually don’t plan a specific yard sale date until a few conditions are met. First, I need enough of “other peoples’ treasures” to sell, because a lot of people won’t even stop at a sale that only has a small table with a few things on it. Then I need to have a Wednesday through Sunday free of time, to set it up, work it and tear it down. Plus, the weather forecast needs to be somewhat favorable since I don’t have a garage to protect everything from the elements.

Michigan weather changes often. Thus, since I don’t have a garage, I use two large, screened tents for at least some protection. Set up side-by-side, they offer me 440 square-feet of covered space – close to the size of a two-car garage.

Since I’m OCD, I need a full day just to set these up, along with all of my tables and clothes racks. After that I can bring out all the boxes of stuff that I’ve cleaned out of closets, cupboards, the basement, and barn. Then I set up my “store”. I like to make my yard sales “worth stopping and shopping” – maybe because of all my years of working in retail.

I set up my yard sale by “departments”. Each table/area represents a different department. Clothes, shoes and other related accessories (which are all grouped by sizes and type) are in one area. Rugs, furniture, and décor are in another area. Small kitchen appliances and gadgets are in another area. Other “departments” include pet stuff, bed and bath things, hardware and tools, sporting goods, yard and garden items, books and school/office supplies, electronics, auto accessories and so on.

To save time, instead of pricing everything individually, I use descriptive, pricing posters – for example “All Clothes $1 Per Piece”, “All Paperback Books 25₵ Each”. I avoid using “Everything on this table is $’X’…” signs because things get moved around by shoppers all the time.

I receive many compliments on how my yard sales are set-up and organized. I also tend to sell a lot of stuff because, while I price it to sell, I’m willing to barter. I don’t put it all out there just to haul it all back inside or take it to a resale shop just to squeeze out every penny I can from “junk” that may/ may not be someone else’s “treasure”. I look at everything as if I was purchasing it at someone else’s yard sale, asking, “What would I pay for that?” But I’m frugal and I love bargains!

LAST THOUGHTS…

With the Antiques Yard Sale Trail happening this coming weekend and, so far, criteria has not been favorable for me to have my own yard sale; I guess I’ll be bargain hunting, instead of bargain selling this week. Enjoy your week – find a bargain – celebrate Garage Sale Day, especially on Saturday – AND post your treasures on social media with #BargainHuntingWeek and/or #NationalGarageSaleDay!

IN CLOSING…

In honor of August, also being National Brownies at Brunch Month AND National Back to School Month, here is Mom’s secret recipe for Lunchbox Brownies With Fudge Cake Icing; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 207)

[A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Edition)].

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…

#LearnSomethingNewEveryDay

Some of this month’s observances include: National Dog Month, Family Fun Month, Get Ready For Kindergarten Month, International Peace Month, National Catfish Month, National Crayon Collection Month, National Goat Cheese Month, National Golf Month, National Immunization Awareness Month, National Panini Month, National Sandwich Month, National Water Quality Month, National Wellness Month, and Romance Awareness Month!

Yesterday started the second week of August, so this is also… National Health Center Week, Kool-Aid Days, and National Hobo Week! Plus, the second full week celebrates… National Resurrect Romance Week, too!

Other celebrations happening this week include:

Today is… National Rice Pudding Day and NATIONAL BOOK LOVERS DAY! #GloriaPitzersCookbook

Tomorrow, August 10^th is… National Connecticut Day, National Lazy Day, and National S’mores Day!

Wednesday, August 11^th is… National Son’s and Daughter’s Day, National Presidential Joke Day, and National Raspberry Bombe Day!

Thursday, August 12^th is… National Julienne Fries Day and National Middle Child Day! In honor of the former, here’s a re-share of Mom’s imitation of McDonald’s-Style French Fries.

August 13^th is… National Prosecco Day, National Filet Mignon Day, and International Left Handers Day! Plus, as the first “Friday-the-13^th” of the year, it’s also… National Blame Someone Else Day!

August 14^th is… National Creamsicle Day and, as the second Saturday in August, it’s also… National Bowling Day!

Sunday, August 15^th is… National Relaxation Day and National Lemon Meringue Pie Day! Additionally, as the third week of August, it’s also… Elvis Week, which is always the week of August 16^th!

#TGIM

…32 down and 20 to go!

August 2, 2021August 2, 2021

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Life Is Good

Happy Monday and happy August! Personally, Happiness Happens for me each and every Monday, as they are my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#HappinessHappensMonth

#HappinessHappensWeek

#HappinessHappensDay

August is, among other things, National Happiness Happens Month. This week, August 1^st through the 7^th, is National Happiness Happens Week. Plus, National Happiness Happens Day is coming up on Sunday, the 8^th. All established by the Society of Happy People!

There are so many mental and physical perks that come from being happy, including a rise in energy, as well as self-esteem; which, in turn, is also good for the heart and, thereby, likely to help you live longer. Unquestionably, WHEN HAPPINESS HAPPENS, LIFE IS GOOD!

‘Happiness is a state of thought. It begins with gratitude for all we’ve already received and achieved – not with what we own or the things…’ – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes^TM Newsletter, Issue #218 (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; Nov. 2000, p. 5)

It’s difficult to define real happiness because it’s different for each individual, as it is a state of mind that is made by our own choices, and we are each unique. From one of Mom’s writings I shared last week, according to John Luther, “happiness is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It’s a mental attitude. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don’t have.”

Healthline.com offers 25 daily habits that can make you feel happy, in a wonderfully informative article written by Ann Pietrangelo (Jan. 15, 2019). Some of the habits mentioned in Ann’s article I’ve found on many other “lists”, covering the subject of achieving happiness.

The general consensus seems to include deep-breathing, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, and eating right. As Ann pointed out in her article, different types of food can affect our moods in different ways – sounds like a good subject for another Monday! Anyway, other common actions that can make you feel happy are giving compliments and smiling; even acknowledging unhappy moments, as well as being grateful for something every day.

Contrary to popular belief, money does not buy happiness. However, according to Social Networks and Happiness, written by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler (Dec. 4, 2008), for every happy person in our lives, our own chances of being happy increases by 9 percent!

‘THE GREATEST WASTE in the world is the difference between what we are, and what we could be!’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 10)

Take a closer look at what‘s defined as happiness and what it takes to reach that level of personal pleasure in your life. Technically, the term “happy place” is an oxymoron, as happiness is not a place. Happiness is the whole journey of life, rather than the destination. It can be found anywhere, at any time, in anything along the way.

You could say that “happiness is in the mind of the beholder”! Thus, take pleasure in every little moment of joy you can find. If you can’t find any in your day, search YouTube for “baby giggles” – that always helps me. It’s up to each of us to find what makes us happy and put it into each and every day that we can. It can’t get more simple than that.

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

Gloria Pitzer’s Christmas Card Cook Book (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1983, p. 19)

HAPPINESS

THE CRITICS ALWAYS have a field day with the subject of being happy, as if it were an unrealistic condition to which no one was truly entitled. Those who claim to be specialists in the field are skeptical about the achievement of what is commonly considered happiness and take care to caution us against hoping to attain such a state, as if it were something only fools would desire.

I weigh the happiness I have had and what I feel is mine today with a sense of relief that is more than I ever expected and probably more than I deserve. In keeping, though, with the commentary of the cynics, one might think that it is unlikely and unrealistic to be truly happy today.

To be truly and totally happy, the cynical critics give us an unrealistic ream of necessities that we are first expected to possess. We shouldn’t have to be totally happy every minute of every day, otherwise the state of absolute contentment just might become so boring to us that we would lose our appreciation for it.

Every challenge we can meet, every crisis we can overcome, weighs more on the scale of success than all of the gold in Fort Knox! There are moments when we are the happiest, in spite of fret and discouragement, when we rouse ourselves from weariness and self-pity and realize that we are more important to the happiness of others than we give ourselves credit for.

In knowing how important we are to others, we can find a degree of contentment that is often sufficient to clean the slate of any self-imposed put-downs. All it takes, sometimes, to put us into one of these moods is the undeserved criticism of someone who’s opinion of us is quite important.

Of course, the self-centered cynic, whose job in life, it would seem, is to constantly find fault with those whose ideas they do not agree, would try to make our little contentment seem like a fraudulent attempt to deceive ourselves and others.

Happiness is the one state of being that comes in so many different forms that the righteous critic, the cynic, the skeptic, can only feel it when they are being proven correct; while the rest of us find it in doing what the cynics criticize us for doing.

Happiness, if only at wonderful intervals, is no miracle – no coincidence. It’s a happening! Or better said – it’s a ‘happy-ning’! The scales on which we each weigh what is of value to us that gives us happiness, balance out what we expect with what we get.

One can find happiness in getting what they want – or in wanting what they get! One book that I recently heard about seems to cover the whole subject nicely. The book is called ‘How to be Happy Without Money’ – but it costs $300!

Most of us think of happiness as an end or a means to an end – when, in reality, happiness is the beginning – not the end… And seldom the means to anything that does not reach out and touch somebody else with unselfishness and charity!

Happiness is achieved by making the most of the good times – but also effectively coping with the unavoidable bad times, in order to experience the best possible life overall. Research has shown that happiness is the key to success, rather than success being vital to happiness.

In an awesome article by Mark Williamson (Nov. 3, 2014), called Why Does Happiness Matter?, he wrote: “Trying to live a happy life is not about denying negative emotions or pretending to feel joyful all the time. We all encounter adversity and it’s completely natural for us to feel anger, sadness, frustration and other negative emotions as a result. To suggest otherwise would be to deny part of the human condition.”

Month: August 2021

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Americana Happiness

‘FRIENDS ARE A TREASURE and, when we count our blessings, we count our friends twice! It’s not possible to have a full and happy life without others to share with, to help when help is needed, to be helped when help is offered.’ – Gloria Pitzer

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Food Effect

‘Having a goal gives us hope and it’s hope that keeps us going, enabling us each to meet whatever the world dishes out.’ – Gloria Pitzer [This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p.24)]

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Bargain Hunting

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Life Is Good

‘Happiness is a state of thought. It begins with gratitude for all we’ve already received and achieved – not with what we own or the things…’ – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes^TM Newsletter, Issue #218 (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; Nov. 2000, p. 5)

‘THE GREATEST WASTE in the world is the difference between what we are, and what we could be!’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 10)

‘FRIENDS ARE A TREASURE and, when we count our blessings, we count our friends twice! It’s not possible to have a full and happy life without others to share with, to help when help is needed, to be helped when help is offered.’ – Gloria Pitzer

‘Having a goal gives us hope and it’s hope that keeps us going, enabling us each to meet whatever the world dishes out.’ – Gloria Pitzer [This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p.24)]

‘Happiness is a state of thought. It begins with gratitude for all we’ve already received and achieved – not with what we own or the things…’ – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in Gloria Pitzer’s Secret RecipesTM Newsletter, Issue #218 (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; Nov. 2000, p. 5)

‘THE GREATEST WASTE in the world is the difference between what we are, and what we could be!’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 10)

‘Happiness is a state of thought. It begins with gratitude for all we’ve already received and achieved – not with what we own or the things…’ – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes^TM Newsletter, Issue #218 (Secret Recipes^TM, Marysville, MI; Nov. 2000, p. 5)

‘THE GREATEST WASTE in the world is the difference between what we are, and what we could be!’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 10)