The "Brisker"

   Where have I been all my life?  The Brisker is miraculous -- made for Cape Cod life. It is a big, heated, stainless steel breadbox. It keeps crackers from warping, sogging, and generally going bad.  Cereal too.  Anything that can be defeated by humidity and sea air, the Brisker can heroically defend and keep fresh. We didn't have these when I was a kid in California. But the West is a big desert -- and the weather is like being inside a Brisker most of the year -- so nothing is damp for long.

    Lots of Briskers come and go at the Gift House.  But I still haven't brought one home yet.

FAMOUS MORMON RECIPES

I have to confess that I brought this home for intense scrutiny.  Written by a great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, this small booklet claims to contain the "GREAT ALL-TIME RECIPES" from the "PIONEER HERITAGE OF THE OLD WEST." 

These would include:  Hamburger Bean Goulash

                                  Ham Loaf

                                  Porcupine Meat Balls 

                                  Mormon Pancakes

                                  Mormon Gravy

                                  Pioneer Lettuce Salad

                                  Brigham's Buttermilk Doughnuts

If I can find a way to remove the mold smell from this booklet, I might be able to have it open long enough to copy a recipe down.  But for now, I am about to pass out.    Anybody know how to cure book mold?                       

The Crank Apple Peeler

Walter Babcock demonstrates how to use this hand-crank apple peeler. It cores the apples too. How smart is that? Last time I checked, it was still in the Gift House, below all those coffee makers. 

SHOULD WE KEEP THE SAUCERS WITHOUT CUPS?

Should we throw out the 100 + saucers that have accumulated? They don't match.  No cups in sight. 

What could they be used for? 

VINTAGE TOBAGGAN FOR FIVE

This great old taboggan came in today -- and is leaning up against the side of the Gift House. The woman who brought it in said that she'd grown up riding it in Roger Williams Park in Rhode Island. She was the oldest of five kids -- and got to sit in the front. Her father sat in the back and three other little kids were squeezed in the middle. The baby of the family was too young and had to stay home. All it needs is a good wash!

Rainy Day at the Gift House

 A rainy day is a great time for browsing the Gift House. Better than a museum!  Bob Sinclair came by with his granddaughter, Hannah, and found a salad spinner, wooden bowl, a few books and a record album. Bob said he'd take more but his wife would shoot him.

THE CAT LADY DOESN'T SMELL

  All kinds of unique and amazingly tacky stuff floods into the Gift House. It's irresistable. For instance . . . this "Cat Lady" deodorizing dangler came this week. I had to bring it home, even for a few days. But on Friday, it's going back. I promise. 

PRINCETON CLASS OF 1956

Hard to know what to do about ALL the commemorative glasses. The Gift House is always loaded with them -- margarita glasses, champagne glasses and brandy snifters of every size. They commemorate high school proms and reunions, club dances, weddings, conferences, sorority events and anniversary parties.

Last year we got a box of them from the Princeton class of 1956. Very cool, and went fast. They had tigers on them. A commemorative glass that is 50 years old is kind of wonderful. Evocative, sweet, old-timey. But a glass from a stranger's wedding in 1998 or 2002 . . . hasn't become wonderful yet.

SWEAR JAR

What is a "Swear Jar?"

 Maybe you put money in every time you swear?

Chris Tofels

In case you wondered what kind of nut worked at the dump for fun, meet Chris Tofels -- resident hipster, jokester, WWII veteran and survivor of Guadalcanal and Normandy, inventor of the pop top and master gardener. If you have a problem in your garden, come by the dump and Chris might give you some advice. It's free, just like everything else in the Gift House.

TWO GENIUINE MUPPET PUPPETS

Two geniune muppets were waiting inside the Gift House
this morning.  How did they get there?  An orange bird and
a big blue fuzzy cookie-monsterous thing.  Come get 'em.

GIFT HOUSE OPENS

Grey and gloomy day. Hello and welcome to the Gift House. Joan Reed, director of volunteers, was joined by Judi Pepper, Fred Novello, Bud Brown and me to clean up the Gift House and get it ready for spring.  We had a couple dozen visitors. HOURS OF OPERATION until Memorial Day:  Friday thru Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  See you there.

ONE B I G MESS

Joan peeked inside the Gift House today. IT IS A TOTAL MESS. And I guess it doesn't smell so great either. All volunteers with extra time and cleaning supplies, please stop by and help get the place into shape for opening day. See you there on Friday 10 - 2 pm

ONE WEEK MORE!!!

The Orleans Gift House will open in just one week!  At ten o'clock on Friday, April 9th, you can start unloading all the stuff you can't wait to get rid of.

Want to be a volunteer? Contact Joan Reed, the director of volunteers, at 508-255- 5363 or email me, Martha@orleansgifthouse.com.   We work two hour shifts with one other volunteer and spend most of the time laughing.