July 17, 2003
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in this issue
-- "The Sun Gazer" (A Sioux Legend)
-- Sponsor
-- My Mailbox
-- In the kitchen: Cooking during World War II
-- When I was a girl
-- Happy Thoughts
-- Reader contributions welcome
-- I am proud to be an American
-- Until next time,

Hello Friends,

I'm glad you could join me again this week. Summer is such a happy time. I have noticed a lot of people riding motorcycles lately. The Sturgis Rally starts the first week in August.

My neighbor has a wild sunflower growing on the edge of her driveway, next to the road. Each time she mows, she leaves the sunflower standing. I doubt if she has any idea how happy that makes me. The plant is two or three feet high and today I see five blooms on it, each as fresh and crisp as they can be, even in 90 and 100 degree temperatures.~~~This plant grows in gravel, inches from the hot cement curb. Nobody has ever watered it or given it any kind of care. The only kindness it has received was to be left alone. Every morning, the side of the mail truck brushes it, but does it break? No, it bounces back and keeps right on blooming.~~~I have known a few people who, like that sunflower, were able to overcome obstacles and continue to bring beauty and happiness to the world around them.~~~The thought crossed my mind that it should be in a flower garden with other flowers, but then it would only be one of many and there would be nothing unique about it. Some people are like that.....they add so much to the world from where they are, and they stand out from the rest for that very reason.~~~I guess we can all add our little bit to the world. If I can please one person as much as that sunflower does me, I will be happy.

"The Sun Gazer" (A Sioux Legend)
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Once there was a boy who early in life had a deep love for the sun. For hours each day he would sit and watch the bright sun on its journey across the sky. He would sing many songs in praise of the sunshine. Because of his strange love for the sun, he was named Sun Gazer.~~~Through his constantly looking at the sun he gradually became blind. Yet, guided by the heat of its rays on his face, he followed the sun on its daily course. In the darkness he lost interest in life. Daily he grew weaker, and he was often sad.~~~One evening after sundown when he did not return from his favorite place on a nearby hill, a party was sent out to search for him. They found him facing the west. The last spark of life had gone from him as the final rays of the sun disappeared.~~~The searchers buried him on that very spot. The next morning when they returned to visit the grave, they saw that a tall, graceful flower had sprung from the mound and was gently nodding in the breeze. As they watched, they found that it too followed the sun across the sky.~~~The flower has come to be known as the sunflower, and at different times of day, its face is ever turned toward the sun.

From Legends of the Mighty Sioux, compiled by Workers of the South Dakota Writers' Work Projects Administration.

Sponsor
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My Mailbox
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Hi Rosie, I had forgotten the wax wrappers on bread- Mom used to use them to wipe her pancake griddle or cast iron skillet-to keep that "non-stick" surface.-and when we lived in California when I was little, my playmates showed me another use-if you sat on them, they zipped you down a slide at a much faster pace.- Slides were all metal at that time. ~~~A day brightener. My garage is directly across from my kitchen window-and close beside an old root cellar with a dirt roof. There seems to be a condominium under this garage-we've had ground hogs, skunks, cottontails and most recently, sometimes a den of foxes. They access through a back entrance, which is protected by greasewood, so sometimes I do not notice them. I looked out of the kitchen window the other morning and sitting on TOP of the garage was a half-grown fox-- calmly surveying the countryside.Before I could run for my camera he exited via the top of the cellar. Amy Lawrence"

Thank you for writing, Amy. What an interesting letter. It is fun to remember how things used to be. As things change, we tend to forget the old ways unless we stop and think about it.~~~My mother would ball up a piece of waxed paper and shine up the wood stove with it. The stove was black; probably cast iron. When she did this, it smoked a little, but the stove was shiny and black as new when she was done. Another thing we did with waxed paper was to fold a piece in half, place a flower in it, then put it between the pages of a heavy book to make dried flowers.~~~I didn't even try to get a picture of Sammy checking out the deer because I would have scared it away and I was curious to see what would happen.~~~Animals are such fascinating creatures. I think everybody feels good when they see them.

In the kitchen: Cooking during World War II
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SUGARLESS EGGLESS CAKE:3/4 cup molasses, 1/4 cup lard, 11/4 cups flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup milk, 2 tsp cinnamon, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups raisins, Sugarless glaze.~~~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat molasses and lard until fluffy. Add the next 7 ingredients; stir just until smooth. Stir in raisins. Spoon into greased and floured 5 x 9-inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Drizzle with sugarless glaze. Store in ice box for up to days.~~~~SUGARLESS GLAZE: 1/4 cup milk, 2 tblsp light corn syrup, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp almond extract.~~~Combine first 3 ingredients in saucepan; mix well. Bring to boil. Stir in almond extract.*****(During the war, there was a shortage of eggs, butter and sugar.)

LIBERTY BREAD:1 12-ounce potato, peeled, 1 cup water, 1 envelope dry yeast, 2 tsp melted butter, 2 tblsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 3 to 31/2 cups flour, 1 tsp melted butter.~~~Cut potato into small pieces and cook in water until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Add enough water to make 1 cup. Cool to lukewarm. Pour into large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes. Mash potato. Add to yeast with 2 tsp butter, sugar and salt; beat until smooth. Stir in 3 cups flour. Knead in bowl until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface for 8 minutes, kneading in enough remaining flour to keep dough from being sticky.Place in large greased bowl, turning to coat surface. Let rise, covered, in warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Place in greased loaf pan. Let rise for 40 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with 1 tsp butter. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.********(The potato replaced part of the flour.) Note: I make this bread all the time; it is delicious. I use instant potato flakes instead of cooking the potato, but the result is the best bread I have ever baked.

When I was a girl
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There were no "rest areas" like the ones we have now. Sometimes you would find a picnicking/camping area with some picnic tables, out houses and a water pump. My favorite water pumps were the ones you had to prime. You poured some water in them and pumped like crazy as hard and fast as you could and eventually you started getting water. When you were done, you had to be sure to leave water in the container for the next person, as the pump HAD to be primed in order to get water.

Everything came in glass or tin/aluminum containers. Glass containers:Vitamins, prescriptions, soda pop, mustard, catsup, shampoo, vinegar, bleach....all the things that are now in plastic containers. Do any of you remember the neat bottles worcestershire sauce came in, with the glass stopper? Or the big jar of paste we used in school that smelled so good? Or the cute little glass bottles of glue?
Happy Thoughts
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"Something deep in all of us yearns for God's beauty, and we can find it no matter where we are." (Sue Monk Kidd)

"If God sends us on stony paths, He provides strong shoes." (Corrie Ten Boom)
Reader contributions welcome
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Feel free to send anything you want, from a comment to a story or poem that you have written. Do you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share? A question? I will be happy to include them.

I am proud to be an American
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"In God we trust"

If you like this publication and know somebody else who would, feel free to send it on. You will find a link at the bottom for that purpose. I ask only that you send the entire letter and not parts of it.**(c) 2003 Rosie Cooley; all rights reserved**