Home Journal

I took a drive down to Victor the other day with my friend Emily. Victor is an old, nearly abandoned mining town that is just south of where I live (maybe 25 minutes from my house). In it's heyday, Victor earned the name "City of Mines" by having the richest mines in the West. However, the mine owners and the other wealthy people lived in it's sister city, Cripple Creek. The city of Cripple Creek flourished during the mining days (and still does, with casinos and bars lining the streets), leaving Victor to live in the shadow of the town with the financial and political influence. 

Today, while Cripple Creek attracts tourist dollars with its casinos and flashy attractions, Victor sits almost unnoticed just to the south. The old town is just a skeleton of what it used to be. It's a fascinating place to wander through, full of history and untold stories. One of the drawing points of Victor are the antique stores lining the streets, there are few other establishments still in business. While Emily and I were in town we stopped by a couple of the stores, and stumbled across this little book sitting on one of the shelves.

As soon as I opened up to the first page, I knew I had to have it. 

It reads, "Notes from Home Journal," across the top and the first page goes on to describe where bread and butter plates should be placed on the table. 

The notebook is chock-full of little tips and hints for making a presentable table, or entertaining guests--like this bit about what to do with sugar cubes.

"Always serve the little square blocks of sugar on the saucer with tea or coffee thus guests can suit their tastes. It avoids confusion."

She (the writer of the journal, whose name I don't know) even kept newspaper clippings relating to cooking or home-keeping.

By far, the best part about the journal is recipes she wrote within it. There are recipes for all sorts of things: breads, puddings, cinnamon buns, fruit punch, and more. I am so excited to start making her recipes... I just know that my imagination will be going full speed when I do-- who was this woman and what was her name? where did she live? what was her life like? how many children did she have?

Sometime this winter I plan on transcribing the entire book to the computer. I am so excited to read through what she wrote, what she felt was important to remember in her journal. It makes me want to start keeping a journal of the recipes I use, maybe I should start posting some of them on this blog.