Ivy says: As regular readers of Home Ec 101 know, my inability to cook is legendary. I have to give my family credit, though, they keep on letting me try to cook things. Hence, The Great Turkey Debacle of 2002. I was totally unware of how long you have to let turkey thaw in the …
Ivy says: There’s something really special about Fridays, isn’t there? People in the olden days thought it was an unlucky day and advised not to get married or do practically anything else on a Friday. But all my life, Friday has been a good day- all the promise of the upcoming weekend, and at most …
Dear Home Ec 101, I have a dresser that my mother gave me. She had a doily thing on it with a plastic backing. When I removed the doily, there where sticky spots in a lacy pattern from the doily. What can I use to remove this without damaging the stain on the dresser? Thanks, …
Ivy says: It’s the world’s oldest meme, I’m sure. You know, the question about, if you could invite anyone living or dead to dinner at your house, who are the three people you’d invite? Invariably most people end up saying Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, and Oprah. Or, some combination including one of those three people. So, …
Ivy says: So far this morning, I’ve been a hairstylist, a garbage (wo)man, a pharmacist, a taxi service, and a waitress. Welcome to mornings at Chez Ivy. I can’t even tell you what I would give for kids who knew how to straighten their own darn hair. This all got me to thinking, however. When …
Dear Home Ec 101, My two year old has started potty training. She’s very good at taking off her clothes and getting naked, not so good yet at actually making it to the potty on time. So, I was wondering if you had any brilliant tips for cleaning toddler poop out of carpet? I do …
Ivy says: While my one grandma is still going strong at 91 years old, we lost my other grandma very suddenly on August 31, 2007. She was 79 years old. As that grandma was part mom, part grandma, and part friend, it was a very deep loss for me. Now I’ve had over a year …
Ivy says: I’ve been reminded several times over the past weeks that I have an “unusually old” grandmother. She’s 91 which is pretty old, alright. She was born in 1917, which means the changes she has seen in her lifetime are amazing. She was born into a household with no electricity or indoor plumbing. By …
Ivy says: I can’t get off the phone today. Part of it is business related, but part of it is my family trying to work out how the holidays will play out- who holds Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, etc. It seems we might have some people coming into town as well. Don’t worry, I will review …
Ivy says: I come from a long line of people with very short fuses. I also come from a long line of people who are either very heavy drinkers or very anti-drinking. This leads to me not being able to remember more than a handful of family gatherings in my childhood that didn’t break out …