By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 11th, 2012 Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The “sure thing” boat never gets far from shore. ~ Dale Carnegie
 From LIFE 19 Dec 1960, photographer unknown; Image courtesy of Letslookupandsmile on Flickr.com President Roosevelt once told Americans that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Fear keeps us from taking educated risks. Note that I used the term “educated risks.” An educated risk means that we have thought through all of the roadblocks and problems that may arise and have determined that the risk is still worth it. An uneducated risk would be investing in a “sure thing” based on a salesman’s phone call.
The Mister and I have taken several huge educated risks–we’ve followed jobs that required moving thousands of miles. Some worked out. Others didn’t. But I think my grandparents’ risk-taking DNA is strong within me. During the Depression, both sets of grandparents made their way to California and created better lives for themselves and their children.
Don’t let fear stop you from taking educated risks.
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 10th, 2012 Hosting a Super Bowl party? No need to buy those cheap plastic football doo-dads at Party City! Go retro with these football party ideas…
 Special Cheese Tray Idea, c1964; From 50 Wonderful Ways To Use Cheese, a promotional booklet put out by The American Dairy Association; "Football fans will tear down the grandstand-- if you build it with cheese! This platter, with a simple football field design on green paper, with cheese and olives ingeniously used as players, makes a perfect snack tray for before and after game parties. The clever hostess can develop similar ideas for other events." Image courtesy of alsis35 on Flickr.com
 Coca Cola Ad from 1951; Image courtesy of Paul Malon on Flickr.com
 "He-man host dinner of corned beef and cabbage lets Dad entertain his pals in great form." "Better Homes & Gardens" December 1958; Image courtesy of SaltyCotton on Flickr.com
 Line-Up For Leisure, 1946; Image courtesy of Paul Malon on Flickr.com I love, love, love the cheese platter but I think my favorite idea is the sterling silver football-shaped ice bucket. Do you have any retro-themed ideas for Super Bowl Sunday?
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 10th, 2012 Many of us deal with effects instead of the cause. ~ Unknown
 Image courtesy of Fidgetrainbowtree on Flickr.com
A few of us were having a conversation about how portion sizes have gotten larger throughout the years over on the Facebook page. I pointed out that American food is heavily subsidized and so food is, as a proportion of our monthly income, quite cheap. I remember reading somewhere that if Americans had to really pay for the cost of food production, obesity would greatly decline because people would naturally eat less food.
Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take personal responsibility for our own health. Because I think we should. But knowing some of these cultural dynamics makes it a bit easier to be mindful of the causes of ill-health so that we can make healthier choices.
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 9th, 2012 My “To Do” list got tossed aside today. For some reason I felt a compulsion to clean out a couple of closets. Since they had been annoying me for a couple of months, I wasn’t going to deny the impulse. While my linen closet doesn’t look like this, a good closet clean out does leave me feeling weirdly proud of my accomplishment…
 Early 1960s Life Magazine; Image courtesy of Eliz.Avery on Flickr.com
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 9th, 2012 If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. ~ Edison
 Rosie's Pitchfork For Victory, May, 1943; Image courtesy of Paul Malon on Flickr.com I’m going to tell you a secret: Our foremothers, the ones who we admire for doing amazing things, were really no different than us. They were mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and friends just doing the best they could in the circumstances that surrounded them. They stepped up to the plate when it was required of them to do so.
If, whenever you are reading about these women, you wonder if you could do the same, remember that you, too, are capable of doing amazing things. After all…you are a modern retro woman.
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 5th, 2012 When we left my bread making adventure the other day, we wondered whether the bread would continue to rise enough for us to have it with dinner that night.
It didn’t.
 Around 6:00, the dough had finally risen.  Punched down and shaped before resting for 15 minutes.
 Dough cut into four loaves.
 I tucked them all into their respective loaf pans and covered them with their plastic wrap blankets. The Mister said it looked like a nursery. We waited. And we waited. Finally around 11:00 they had doubled in size. I forgot to take a photo before putting them in the refrigerator. I was tired and wasn't going to stay up to bake bread. I'm not THAT dedicated!
 The poor guys didn't like being in the fridge. They got all shrivelly. I took them out to bring them back to room temperature. In theory, it should just take a couple of hours for it to come to room temperature and the yeast be all happy and gassy again. So, I took them out at 7:30 in the morning and it took until almost 5:00 for them to get back to baking condition. *sheesh!* Good thing I wasn't in a hurry or anything!
 Still not as high as I would have liked but they were going in! The one on the right was our little runt loaf. He was The Mister's favorite.
 Forty-five minutes later, not perfect looking but everyone was happy and the house smelled fabulous!
 Dumped out of their pans.
 Cooling their heels.
 It was worth the wait. The time in the refrigerator acted as a yeast retarder so that would have more time to do something or another with the net result of a tangier flavor. Perfect!
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 5th, 2012 The man who says, “It can’t be done, ” is liable to be interrupted by someone doing it. ~ Unknown
 Destination Moon 1950; Image courtesty of Captain Geoffrey Spaulding on Flickr.com
I hate living in a cynical age. People tell me that they are just being realistic but the pessimism and the snark and violent entertainment just feel toxic to my soul. I get so tired of reading and hearing in the news why this or that can’t be done. Well, why not give it a try?
We admire the great inventors who have changed life as it was then known. I think one of the reasons we admire them is that they kept plugging away at their idea, no matter how far fetched, until they succeeded. And, even if they didn’t succeed, they at least created the foundation so that someone else could take up their mission until a solution was found.
When President John F. Kennedy announced that America was going to put a man on the moon, we got to work to “make it so.” (That last part was for my fellow ST:TNG fans) And we did! In my grandfather’s lifetime, man went from not being able to fly to being able to live in space for extended periods of time.
As a modern retro woman, I am reclaiming that post-war “can do optimism” that seems to have been forgotten. Will you join me? It won’t be easy. But it certainly is possible.
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 4th, 2012 Cultivate a calm nature expectant of good. ~ Charles Eliot
 Keep Calm and Carry On 1939 British Ministry of Information Original Poster; Image courtesy of wartimeposters.co.uk
I think this British World War II poster epitomizes an ideal of that time period: Just stay calm in the face of adversity. No matter what happens, just stay calm so that solutions can be developed.
It’s not always easy to stay calm. Our fears strive to get the best of us. But, as the saying goes, fear is only “false evidence appearing real.”
So-called reality tv thrives on drama and histrionics. Research shows that what we watch, read, listen to, talk about influences how we behave. If we are constantly digesting histrionics, then we start blowing things out of proportion instead of staying calm so that solutions can be found.
Besides, if you don’t remain calm and end up having a panic attack in an airplane, this might happen to you.
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 3rd, 2012 I’ve mentioned before that music is the gateway to my soul. I grew up surrounded by church music and singing in youth choirs. There are times an old-time hymn will start playing in my head to bring me comfort and reassurance, especially on days like today when I’m feeling frustrated by this holding pattern that I’m in. Around noon, “Let Us Break Bread Together (On Our Knees)” started going through my head. Only it wasn’t let us “break bread,” it was let us “make bread.” I took that as a sign.
The temperature here in Los Angeles was perfect bread making weather of about 80°F today. I’ve been neglecting my bread making for a couple of months and The Mister has been subsisting on that store bought stuff that is woefully lacking in flavor. Even though I got a late start on it, I’m hopeful that we’ll have a loaf ready by dinner time *fingers crossed*
You can find the recipe by clicking here.
 Ingredients for four loaves of bread. The recipe came with the hand crank bread maker that I found at an estate sale.
 Scalding the milk. I actually used the rest of some half and half I had on hand. I read somewhere that scalding the milk releases some sort of enzyme and that is why we're suppose to do it.
 Adding salt, sugar, and shortening. This recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of salt which always seems like a lot but then I have to remember that it is spread across four loaves.
 Adding water and then I'll let the mixture cool to lukewarm. At this point I start measuring out and sifting the 12 cups of flour.
 This is 12 cups of sifted flour. The sifter was my paternal grandmother's and the measuring cups belonged to my maternal step-grandmother. I used a mix of 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 white whole wheat flour because I didn't have enough bread flour and I didn't have enough honey to make the whole wheat recipe. I think it is impacting the rise.
 I now make tick marks after each sifting each cup. I've been known to lose count around cups 7 or 8!
 The yeast getting all frothy and happy. Little does it know that it will be getting some serious gas, soon! I use regular yeast when I use a vintage bread recipe. I just get better results with it than with the fast rising and/or bread making machine yeast.
 The crank handle machine attached to the counter.
 First liquid then flour goes into the breadmaker and is stirred.
 The top is latched on and then the handle is turned for five minutes. Five very long minutes. People who claim that time stands still for no one has never turned a hand-crank bread machine for five minutes. If you want to develop your biceps, get yourself one of these suckers.
 The dough after five minutes of kneading/cranking.
 The dough after rising for two hours. Hmmm...it has risen quite enough. I'll let it rise some more....
So…stay tuned! Did the dough continue to rise? Will The Mister get nice, fluffy bread or dense, door stop bread? You will find out tomorrow!
By Dr. Julie-Ann, on January 3rd, 2012 Before buying anything it is well to ask whether one could not do without it. ~ John Lubbock
 Rationing, WWII propaganda poster; Image courtesy of V. Valenti on Flickr.com What a contrast. During World War II, Americans were considered patriotic if they incorporated austerity measures and only bought what they actually needed. When we went to war in the 21st century, we were told it was patriotic to go out and spend money. Even if we didn’t have it. It was okay. Just buy on credit.
And look where it got us…The Great Recession.
For modern retro women, we know that the “F” word is not bad because it means frugality. And frugality brings us peace of mind.
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