Mmmmm... Nice Buns

A number of people have asked if they could have the recipe for the buns that Helen makes for family gatherings and other events involving the consumption of good food and drink. Therefore, we've decided to make it available on Between Keyboard and Chair. This recipe makes 3 - 4 dozen buns.

Helen White's Homemade Two-Hour White Buns

Ingredients

• 3 cups warm water
• 8 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Fleischmann's Quick-Rise Instant Yeast
• 2 eggs
• 7-8 cups all-purpose flour - to make a workable dough

Instructions

Mix yeast and 4 cups flour. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and water, mix well. Add flour and yeast. Blend well, add remaining flour and salt. Turn out on floured surface and knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary while kneading. Cover and let rise 15 minutes in a warm draft-free place.

Punch down. Do not knead. Let rise again for 15 minutes, covered. Punch down and form into buns.

Put buns on greased pans or in muffin tins. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1-1/2 hours. Bake in 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes.

Looking at the pictures has made me hungry so I think it's time to leave my position Between Keyboard and Chair to have a delicious bun with my breakfast. See you again soon.

A Quilt Story

My wife, Helen, has become an avid quilter since making her first quilt back in 2008. Prior to that she had helped her mother, Edna Ireton, with her quilting. Edna was restricted to a wheelchair for the last 15 years of her life as the result of a stoke which left her paralyzed on the left side so Helen and her sister, Barbara, would assist with the cutting and assembling. The Hands of the Quilter Stilled

Helen is an excellent seamstress and is frequently called upon by family members and friends to alter or repair garments. She also has over the past few years also been asked to refurbish old quilts. You Can't Throw That Out!

Following Edna's death, her quilts were being passed on to family members and her granddaughter, Hilary, just loved one old quilt. The quilt was quite tattered and worn around the edges because of the use it had gotten over the decades. Hilary approached her Aunt Helen to see if the quilt could be repaired and, as usual, Helen agreed to see what she could do with it to make it usable again.

Helen refurbished the quilt and attached the the following story for Hilary to the back so it wouldn't be lost.

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A Treasure In Grandma Ireton's Cedar Chest

Flower Basket Quilt Story

Every quilt has a story and this is the story of the Flower Basket Quilt, and the surprise it delivered over seventy years later to Hilary Ireton, grand-daughter of Grandma Edna Gertrude Ireton (nee Gardiner).

This quilt was created by Grandma Ireton and you can be sure a lot of love went into each stitch. Grandma was happiest when creating something beautiful with her hands.

Grandma Ireton would have made this quilt in the late 1930's. Great Grandma Mary Ellen Gardiner (nee Dowdall) would have, no doubt, helped Grandma cut the fabric into the pieces needed to complete the quilt top. The old fashioned prints used would probably be from shirts, aprons and curtains as well as flour sacks washed and bleached until the sacks were as white as snow. Grandma sewed the pieces of fabric together using a treadle sewing machine, using her feet to manipulate the machine treadle by pushing with her toes and heels in an even manner to create a smooth stitch line.

All quilts have three layers: the top fabric or quilt top, the batting layer, and the backing material. Grandma and Great Grandma hand quilted all three layers of the entire quilt using wooden hand quilting frames which made it easy to keep all three layers tight and together while hand quilting.

When the quilt was completed it was placed in Grandma's cedar chest only to be used after she was married. Grandpa and Grandma were married on May 20, 1942. Grandpa and Grandma lived on the family farm at Drummond Centre. The farm has been in the Ireton family name since April 1, 1896.

Grandma Ireton died on February 10, 2010, at the age 93 years. Much to Hilary's surprise Grandma's beautiful Flower Basket Quilt was passed down to Hilary to be used on her bed.

Grandma used the Flower Basket quilt for many years on their bed. In October 2012, Aunt Helen White (nee Ireton) refurbished the quilt replacing the original binding with new fabric to return the quilt to a usable state.

Hilary, when you sleep under Grandma's Flower Basket Quilt, you sleep under a blanket of love.

Good Night, Sweet Dreams

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See you again soon from Between Keyboard and Chair

Don

Natasha's Quilt

This article is long overdue for Between Keyboard and Chair. On July 1, 2009 Grateful We're Not Dead entertained at North Gower, Ontario for a fund raising BBQ in support of eye surgery for Natasha, a young lady who has been coming to Canada as part of the Ottawa Valley Aid for Chernobyl Children since she was 7 years old. Natasha has been slowly going blind and this year she came to Canada to have surgery on her eyes. You can read more about Natasha on the OVACC website.

After the band packed up on July 1st, Helen and I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Natasha for a few minutes and discovered what a lovely young person she is. On the way home, Helen decided she would like to give one of her hand-made quilts to Natasha to take back to Belarus. So on August 7, following Natasha's eye surgery in Toronto, we delivered a lap-quilt to her at the farm of Burt and Nancy Grundy just outside of North Gower. Needless to say, Natasha was surprised and pleased to receive the quilt and informed us that blue was her favourite colour. We had an enjoyable visit with Natasha, Nancy and Burt and I grabbed a few quick shots of Natasha and her quilt before we returned to Ottawa.

Natasha's Quilt


Label on back of the quilt


Helen and Natasha with the quilt

Prior to Natasha returning to Belarus, we received a very nice thank you card from her.

Now this was the year that the Canadian Government (i.e. little Stevie Harper and the boys) refused to agree to new travel demands made by the Belarus government and it looked as if none of the children from Belarus would make it to Canada. However, a little Canadian ingenuity and determination goes a long way in bypassing the roadblocks thrown up by politicians and bureaucrats.

At least, that's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.

Have a good one.

Don

A Day to Remember - September 19, 1958

On September 19, 1958 my family and I were invited to a wedding reception in the Perth Town Hall for Dick Warr and Shirley Code. My parents were unable to attend so it looked like another quiet Friday night unless I hopped on shank's mare and walked the 5 kilometres to Innisville, the nearest village.

*Enter fate, stage left*. Our landlord and his wife, Art and Lena McCall, were also invited to the reception and asked if I'd like to go with them. So at 9PM that evening I was on the loose in Perth at the dance.

The first person I ran into that I knew was Ivan Malloch, an acquaintance from Drummond Center. He was a couple years older than I and had a car. We stood around an listened to the music for a while and then the band announced that they were going to play a square dance. Now being a Lanark County boy, fiddle tunes and square dancing were second nature to me so I started looking around for someone to dance with. That's when Ivan pointed out a lovely young lady, Helen Ireton, sitting along the wall. He said she was a neighbour of his and she liked to dance. She was wearing a red sweater, plaid pleated skirt and slingback shoes and from where I was standing she looked fantastic. So, young buck that I was, I sauntered over and asked this vision of loveliness to dance. And she accepted! We ended up dancing together for most of the night. Helen says the thing she remembers most about the way I was dressed is how shiny my shoes were.

That was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted 50 years. That 50 years has included being married 6 years later, moving to Ottawa, raising a son, and for the most part just enjoying life together. We've had many interesting experiences and I imagine we wouldn't likely change any of it. And through it all I can safely say, we've stayed friends.

So I'd like to raise a glass to Helen, my friend and lover for 50 years.

UPDATE: 2018-09-19
In 2018 I had to make a slight adjustment to the remembrance. After reading the posting, Helen pointed out to me that she wasn't wearing a red sweater that night because she didn't have one. She wore a brown plaid A-line skirt with a matching fitted vest and a white blouse.

So I guess it just goes to show, I'm not infallible. But then, what husband is?

Hmmmm... And I'm still wondering who was wearing that red sweater and did I miss out on anything?

That's how I see it from Between Keyboard and Chair.