Do Good for Others, But Let Them Return the Favor

One of the hardest things to do is to accept help. People think accepting help is showing weakness. Your friend offers to lend you a book or DVD and you refuse, because you don't want to inconvenience her. You refuse your friend's offer to babysit, even if you really would love to go out for the day, because you don't want them to feel put out. You might even secretly feel like you shouldn't need a sitter and should be able to handle it all yourself, baby in tow. 

 Many people are in need but are very reluctant to accept help for fear of feeling needy or a charity case. They feel like failures because they feel they should be able to take care of themselves and their families and hate the feeling of not being able to. Do you accept help willingly?

I never liked the word charity. The word charity implies a one way transaction. A person in good standing gifts something on someone less fortunate. None of us wants to be seen as unfortunate and none of us want people to feel bad for us. 

The word charity does not highlight the other side of the interaction. People love to help. People love to feel helpful and wanted. People want to be able to do the good deeds they feel they should be doing. People also hope that if they needed help that others would do the same for them. It's an exchange of love.

Letting someone help you is letting them show their love for you while you show your love by accepting their gestures.  We have a problem in our society where it is no longer acceptable to accept help. We deny people this love. I am very guilty of this. Should we thank people for letting us help? Possibly.

This is the season of charity and love. Everyone is asking for help and money and all of us are happy to do our part. I don't often ask for money but if you haven't donated to anything this season, there is a group of people that could really use some support. 

 In July, a fire in Washington consumed 275,000 acres of land destroying 357 homes as well as farmland, machines, livestock. Many of these people still don't have homes, or livelihoods. Some are still living in tents. These are real people on very hard times.They did nothing to deserve this and no amount of planning could have prevented it. Help them rebuilt and let them return the love with their Adopt-a-Family Christmas program.

You can read more about the fires and make a donation at the website, Carlton Complex Recovery.

Do good for others this season but remember to let them do good for you as well.

Tag, You're It.

Every once in a while the blogosphere goes silent. People are busy, we forget to comment on posts, although we've enjoyed them and we forget that the greatest thing about blogging and the internet is the people we meet. I've done a lot of "things you didn't know about me posts" with a blog of bloggers and find them to be a lot of fun and a great way to connect and get to know each other. 

This is open to everyone whether you're a blogger or a blog reader. The Internet is a big, noisy place. Let's make it smaller! You can answer in the comments, on my facebook page, on your own blog but make sure to leave a link in the comments section.

The Challenge: 

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a twenty-something girl living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I've always wanted to use the term "twenty-something." I have a degree in History and Secondary Education and am the blogger here at World Turn'd Upside Down.  

2. What are your hobbies? Do you have any interests most people don't know about?

I love blogging, history/reenacting and taking photos. I actually have a slight photo taking addiction.   I also have a strange interest in historical court cases and forensics.

3. What is something that is on your bucket list?

I have a lot of weird stuff on my bucket list. Most of it has to do with traditional skills I would like to learn. Alternatively, I wish to travel a lot! At least see most of Europe, Egypt, India.


4. If you could wake up tomorrow and be anywhere in the world (past, present, or future), where would it be and why?

I'd probably have to go to the 1860s just to see what that's like. Being in the business of recreating the 1860s, one really wonders just how different it was. 

5. Are you here for the history, the cooking, or the camaraderie?

I came for the food but stayed for the camaraderie.

6. What are your 3 favorite History/ DIY / Traditional skills/ Reenacting blogs or websites?

There are so many great blogs and things that it's hard to pick just three. 

- http://passionforthepast.blogspot.com 

Ken has the best photos and is doing some really neat things in the Reenacting hobby.


-http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com

 It's always interesting to see what homesteaders are doing and how people can break the cycle of reliance on big business little by little. 

-http://www.theoldfoodie.com/

This is just a fun one to learn about the history of food.


7.  If you could ask any deceased person one thing, who would you ask and what would you ask?

I do not have a good answer for this one but I know some of you will. Whoever I got to talk to I would probably ask them their general advice for life after seeing the whole thing.  

8. What are 3 pieces of fiction that will stay with you forever?

- Harry Potter
- Anne of Green Gables
- Les Miserables


9. What literary  character best represents you at this point in your life?

Jo March


10. You're stranded on a desert island. The boat won't be back for 3 months. A suitcase washes up on shore. What do you hope is in there?

-Kindle
-iPod + Earbuds
-Solar powered charger
-Notebook and a pen
-Machete
-Tarp
-Blanket
-Cell Phone (Probably pushing my luck.) :P


Please comment and tag everyone! I'd really like to see what you all have to say.
 

Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party: Post # 30

 I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I swallowed a small porcupine. Hour by hour I felt my body getting heavier and heavier until I was too weak to keep my head propped up. My body gets chills that run up the spine and make me feel like a cat with fur on end. I am sick. Please forgive me for not getting back to emails as quickly as usual and please do not catch this.


10-30-2014

10-31-2014

11-1-2014

This does not look like much but it is the first photo I have taken with the camera obscura that I made myself. Hopefully I'll keep refining the technique.

11-2-2014

11-4-2014

11-6-2014

11-7-2014

Taken at the art loop in Wilmington, DE with Barrel of Makers. 

11-11-2014

11-12-2014

11-13-2014

11-15-2014

I have something new that I am looking forward to learning to use, an early 1900s Kodak Brownie box camera.

11-16-2014

11-18-2014

Finally finished knitting these for myself. It was one of those projects that were so simple almost to be boring.

11-19-2014

11-22-2014

11-23-2014

11-24-2014

11-25-2014

11-26-2014

11-30-2014

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! There is so much to be thankful for. As part of my plan not to work on Thanksgiving I have decided not to write an in depth post today. As usual my Thanksgiving advice is to spend time with family and don't fret. The turkey may catch on fire, the house will never be clean as it should be and the dog is likely to knock the dish of steaming, gloopy mashed potatoes on the floor. 

It's not important. May you all have a night of good company and good conversation! 

I encourage you all to read some of my other posts about Thanksgiving and have a great holiday:

Facts Not Fiction: The First Thanksgiving Celebration

Thanksgiving Letter from an African American Civil War Soldier

1856 Cruller Recipe: Historical Food Fortnightly

"Hither came to us in our isolation, the North Star, laden with packages for the brave men, who were far away from home fighting for their country. How we blessed the little hands that shaped the crullers and made the pies and the kind hearts of fair maidens in whom an appreciation of the heroic is never wanting."

-Brown University in the Civil War

The Challenge: "If They’d Had It… November 2 - November 15

Have you ever looked through a cookbook from another era and been surprised at the modern dishes you find? Have you ever been surprised at just how much they differ from their modern counterparts? Recreate a dish which is still around today, even if it may look a little - or a lot - different!"

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Although cruller comes from a dutch word, krullen, which means "to curl," crullers have traditions in Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Austrian and Polish foodways. The Dutch and Germans are credited for bringing crullers to the United States. The recipes differ in flavorings and proportions but are still deep fried, twisted stick shaped doughnuts. Crullers were a popular dish on Shrove Tuesday and differ from French Crullers which are made with pate a choux and are circular.   


How Did You Make It:

Ingredients:

- About 3 Cups of Flour
- 6 Tablespoons Sugar
-1 Stick Butter
-1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
-2 Tablespoons Brandy
-1 Tablespoon Salaeratus ( 3/4 Tablespoon Baking Soda)

Instructions:

Cream the sugar into the butter. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, add the brandy and the cinnamon. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and add flour until it forms a dough. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch and cut into long strips. Fold each strip over and twist the dough around itself and pinch at the end. Deep fry the crullers in lard. Sprinkle with sugar when cool. 

Time to Complete: 40 minutes.

Total Cost: I had everything on hand, but the ingredients would cost a few dollars.

How Successful Was It?:  I had no success with making longer crullers, perhaps if I added more flour they wouldn't have fallen a part so easily. The dough tasted very plain even with the cinnamon. I believe frying them in lard would have added a lot of flavor. If I were to make these again I would cover the crullers in cinnamon and sugar. 

 How Accurate Is It?: I exchanged the brandy for vanilla extract as it's what I has on hand and fried in oil instead of lard (vegetarian.)