Old Fashioned Finds

I'm a sucker for products I thought had gone the way of the dinosaurs. I might have gone a bit overboard purchasing packets of Charms, and Black Cow caramel, but they may disappear for another forty years, and I want to be prepared. Unfortunately, I'm also a sucker for expensive fabric which they also sell at Ben Franklin. Have you seen the Golden Books fabric? I bought The Saggy Baggy Elephant to make a baby quilt, but I wouldn't object to having a larger one for my own bed. That fabric is so incredibly adorable. Danny doesn't care for it, but he's decided he's firmly against anything whimsical. He gives me a serious look and declares, "No whimsy."

The cane syrup is delicious. Not as thick as Golden Syrup, and stronger flavoured than corn syrup, it is pure cane sugar that has been boiled down without being refined like molasses. The taste does remind me of molasses taffy, but Mr. ETB says it reminds him of matches-in a good way. I don't really want him to elaborate on that, but I suspect he's trying to say he detects a sulfur taste. I'm going to use it for popcorn balls.

The anchovies just looked fun. I use them regularly around here, so I thought a new brand might add some excitement to our tinned fish cabinet. Yes, I have a tinned fish cabinet, and no, it is not all tuna and salmon. I should probably be ashamed of this, but I feed my child sardines, herrings, and the like on a pretty regular basis. He likes sardines on toast, and I like lunches that don't require cooking. Well, toasting it under the broiler, but that's not really cooking. Sometimes we just do crackers. At any given time, I have about 20 tins of assorted sardines stacked up in the cabinet. This is great fun for Danny to select which one he will have for lunch. As they frequently go on sale for .25 cents, I stock-up. The thing about sardines is, they are always ready. If we lose power in a winter storm, or get snowed-in (both happen regularly in the country) we can still have a halfway decent meal on crackers. I wouldn't say I hoard them, as we rotate and use what we have replenishing regularly-but I get nervous when I'm down to a few tins. I like a good supply of dried fruit as well.

Also purchased:

-A gigantic, pink shower cap that promises to accommodate even the largest rollers.
-Eight jars of artichoke hearts at $1.00 each (score!)
-.50 cent jars of pimentos (double score!)
-4 individual pudding moulds (those were three dollars each, but they are decorative. I like the idea of individual steamed puddings. Who wants plum duff?)
-Dark rye flour, locally grown, and milled
- a latex-free eraser. That might not sound like a big deal, but for people like me that get a rash every time they touch latex, it is a godsend. Now I can make all the mistakes I want!