I have a copy of, "the NEW Fannie Farmer-Boston Cooking-School COOK BOOK", 1953. My father, in his retirement, took on the care of several Summer homes in Southern Maine. He would check on them during the winter, board up windows against storms, uncover rose gardens when the time was right, deal with emergencies...that kind of thing. During the Summer, when people were in residence, he was sort of a general, all around handyman. His largest client was old money...there was a beach named after the family, a road named after the family, and a huge home, loaded with antiques that had been the original furnishings. An elderly Black woman came up every summer from South Carolina to be their cook for the season. Little bittie thing, set in her ways and stubborn as heck, but since she'd been cooking for the family for decades, she knew what they liked and how to manage them. I had been separated from my father at age 5, and when I found him again in my early 30's, I went out to stay with him and my stepmother for a year to get to know them. He took me down to meet Marguerite. She was a kick, and we got along...several years later, when she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it up again the next season (or ever), she gave my father her Fannie Farmer for me. It still has a bunch of book marks in it, some with shopping lists, some with her name, some with cryptic notes I can't decipher, all in the same, slanted hand. I actually use the book quite a bit, but I don't disturb the bookmarks. I sometimes puzzle over the marked pages, wondering which recipe she had marked... I also have my mother's copy of "The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook",1952. It has a separate section of Passover recipes. There are no pork recipes, naturally. Generally, the cookies and bread recipes are good. As for unique...I have an Ethiopian cookbook...the only one I've been able to find. "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking-Society, Culture, Hospitality, & Traditions. I've only made a couple of dishes out of it. I love Ethiopian food, and when I found out how much Nit'ir Qibe (purified herb & spice butter) is used in most of the dishes I love, I realized why I love them. For example, in dishes made from 1 pound of ground beef, it is not unusual that they contain a cup of butter. A typical lentil dish pairs 2 cups of lentils with 2 cups of butter. No wonder I love it!

I had a collection of local books from a large section of school groups, churches, Fraternal Chapters, etc. going back to the 19-teens's and I donated them to the local historical museum. The problem comes using them without MAJOR editing. We no longer feed a family of 6-10, so recipes might need to be reduced in size to make 4-6 servings. Some ingredients are no longer available, or they are no longer in the same sizes due to several down-sizes over the past decade or so. A can of tuna today is 5-oz. and I remember it being as high as 7-1/2 oz. A cake mix is much smaller and the recipe may not work because of that. A "sleeve of graham crackers" are much smaller. Canned goods of all kinds once were 16-oz. There are recipes that call for a "can of coconut" because it came in a small can rather than a plastic bag. Anyone know how much was in a can? "Can of Hershey's Syrup" - it came in a small can and a large can. -Grainlady

I buy and sell at least a house a year, and have done more. I like to buy places like yours...dated, that others won't make an offer on because they can't see through the skin to the good bones :) So for what it's worth...here's what I'd do to get your house off of my hands :o) Your kitchen is horribly dated, and you know that. So what can you do cheaply to fix it? First, pant the grout black on the floor. Don't do anything else with the floor, just paint the grout. You'll have a high contrast floor that pulls in the black granite. Second..do the granite...it's huge, the fabrication costs aren't the major expense at all there...you have free granite available...take it! Tile right over that backsplash. 4" square tiles are very dated. I'd do white subway's (cheap from home despot) with a grey grout. Then change out all those knobs for black knobs. If that BS is solid, you can easily tile over it, and even do it diy if necessary, but changing the shape there will be a big deal. Then, paint those cabinets. And if it were MY kitchen to sell, I'd not only paint them, I'd trim them out by adding a molding strip to the inside of the existing strip (glue and some pin nails...not hard...I've done it a few times). And I'd paint the cabinets in a heart beat. Their shape and color are frankly horribly dated. Cleaning them up with paint is a big deal. It does NOT Matter what the future buyer does with the kitchen "after you do all that work". What matters is that you catch their eye and sell the danged thing in the first place! This is NOT a cool 1940's kitchen...it's a dated 70s at it's best. (I am currently doing a dated 70's kitchen myself...I will be doing the cabinets in a soft yellow). In yours I'd go for a white that works with the floor tile. You give yourself a crisp black and white theme that way. I don't like the white walls on a tall room like that. After all is said and done, I'd paint either a pretty butter color, or perhaps a soft green...gray would work as well, just paint some color! I am just one person who has an opinion :) But I do buy and sell houses and I drool over houses like yours where the stuff is left as is...because I'm one of a few (and I'd count many of the folks here like me) who can see beyond your "Stuff". But 99% of your prospective buyers...they can't see that. Some elbow work and a few bucks would help a lot here. Get rid of everything in the dining room except a table and chair. Edit to death. Those wires make me crazy, and they'll cost you thousands. I would add a chandelier or I'd buy a cheap oblong or rectangular table and do pot light conversion kits on the current pots. (You can't do that with your current table). If it were me, I'd do that before I'd add a chandelier. I would however change out that fan for a chandelier over the kitchen. Keep to simple black and white lines which will make your floor tile look great (if you paint the grout) verses doing something else that will highlight the out of date features. And change out the appliances. People do notice that. You know that :) I've never used an agent to sell a home, (I do it myself) but I will say....most agents I've run into have no clue what it takes to stage a home for sale. Typically they're failed workers elsewhere who go into real estate for a few years then fail again. (I've worked in real estate...I see this all the time). And then there are the top preformers who are really good...they can be of help, but you still get their opinion most of the time. If you really want to sell..consult a professional stager...not an agent.

I have several cookbooks. I had a bookcase added to the new kitchen at the end of the cabinet run. I especially like the ones from smaller towns, church, Jr league, garden clubs etc. My absolute favorite most used one is from my very small home town Catholic Church, from many years ago. I know every person that contributed recipes for it, many are gone now. My family had their recipes in it. My copy is well worn. They did a re issue of it just a few years ago and I definitely got another one. There's one from the Lake Charles, Louisiana Jr League called Pirates pantry, which I believe is still available, that I use often. Cracker Barrel has some very good ones in their store area. Local and rural community types. I have one that was my mother's mother's cookbook and then mom's and I ended up with it. It has a lot of writing in it and notes. I am so happy to know that it survived the flood!