HG's Helpful Hint #35.

You know when you post a video from YouTube on your blog (using Blogger) and it looks like this?



Here's how to get it like this:



Just go to Edit Html and change the object width (within the quotations) to 425, then change the object height to 344 (also within the quotation marks). Do this in both places.

Et voila.

Best Days.

Have you ever really read the Farmer's Almanac?

Of course you know you can find prognostications about weather and seasonal suggestions for farmers. But my favorite feature is "Best Days," simply, the best days to do certain things, according to the phase and position of the moon in the Zodiac.

For instance, today is the best day to castrate your farm animals.

It's also the best day to dig a hole, wean, potty train, cut firewood and paint.

If you are trying to grow your hair, there are days for it. Likewise, if you are trying to retard hair growth. Tomorrow and the next day are days to begin diets if you are trying to gain weight. So you may want to rethink the timing of your diet.

I even got married on a day when the moon was right according to the Almanac. And I discovered one should never marry on the day or evening of a waning moon.

I know you are sitting there wondering when would be the best day to kill wild onions and weeds. The Farmer's Almanac knows all.

My husband is fond of telling a story about his grandfather, E. W. One early spring day E.W. rode out to his fields to find that his right-hand man had planted the beans.

"What you doing planting beans today? It's the wrong moon. Those beans aren't gonna come up!"

They cussed and argued and cussed and argued some more and those beans never did come up. They were replanted when the moon was right. And they grew like mad.

So, tell me today what it is you want to do and I'll tell you when to do it. Or you can just look it up for yourself here. You really should own a copy. Everybody should.

HG's Helpful Hint #422.

My husband is a great gift giver. Almost all of the nice things I own were gifts from him. He gave me this great bag for my birthday last year. I took it to dinner that night.

The next morning, I noticed a couple of small stains on the leather (why this bag doesn't have feet is beyond me) that looked like *gasp* grease. My brand new bag was ruined.

I tried to get it off with a small dab of water (which is perfect as you know because grease or oil loves water - can I say "duh" to myself here?) which only made it worse. My brand new bag was really ruined.

I searched my friend the internets for solutions. Surely, I am not the only person to have encountered this problem (within 5 minutes of owning the bag). And the solutions were as follows:

1) Use (alcohol- and aloe-free) baby wipes to wipe the bad spots.

2) Order Shining Monkey which is fabric protector sold for car care.


Now, there are those handbag purists who will order you to never spray it with anything (including LV). Those people must be much neater than I am. In my defense, the leather on these bags stains if you look at it. You must avoid abrasive surfaces and shocks of any kind, moisture, direct sunlight and heat. So, it's the perfect purse if you live in a bubble or store your things in a vault. You're supposed to let it develop a natural patina whereby the stains, etc., darken and blend. It doesn't really happen like that. And meanwhile it looks terrible. I decided to go for it and read many, many, many reviews that confirmed Shining Monkey was the solution (well, between that and AppleGarde). It works on fabric and leather, even suede.

So, I used the baby wipes to remove the stains. Then I ordered Shining Monkey here and applied it (yes, I'll admit, I was afraid) and it seems to have worked out really well.

It's been a couple of months and it doesn't seem to be inhibiting the leather from achieving the patina it's supposed to achieve and I'm no longer afraid to use the bag. So, what's not to love?

I have also used it on suede boots and it would be great for fabric bags and probably even the car seats for which it was originally designed.

*Caveat: Please be aware that Hello Gorgeous accepts no responsibility for damaged personal belongings or psychological problems resulting from Helpful Hints. Reader assumes all risk of acting on "advice." Advice is for entertainment purposes only. :-)

Give Me Some Sugar.

This is the best recipe* for cut-out sugar cookies. It's from an old cookbook my aunt gave me many years ago called "Palette to Palate." Before we delve into the recipe, take a look at the Silpat on my much-loved cookie sheet.

Silpat is one of the seven wonders of France. It's a washable, reusable silicone pan liner for baking. Through some kind of scientific miracle, it withstands heat to prevent food from sticking and results in even browning. Many, many parchment trees will be saved due to my discovery of this wonder. So, many thanks to my darling, beloved Aunt Sharon for sending it to me. You are a rock star, baby. Onto the deliciousness:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Granulated or colored sugar
Extra powdered sugar for frosting

Note: Oh, yes, extra powdered sugar for frosting because there is not enough p. sugar already in this.

Combine flour, cream of tartar and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, cream 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and flavorings (vanilla, almond extracts - if you dislike almond extract or can't use it, double vanilla). Stir in the flour mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours.

Divide dough into halves and shape into a large patty (it will seem hard but it softens up quickly). Roll each half about 3/16-inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board (I used another Silpat I have that is for rolling; you can also just use flour-covered waxed paper). Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, if desired, or leave plain and decorate after baking.

Place on parchment (or Silpat) -lined cookie sheet. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven until edges are lightly brown, only 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven; place on wire rack to cool.

If frosting is desired (I desire), just mix a cup of powdered sugar with a little milk until it is the proper consistency (unlike cake frosting, it will be thinner but not so thin it runs off the cookie). Sprinkle while frosting is wet.

Now, try very hard not to eat so many that you have to make another batch before the band concert which is where they are supposed to go. Enjoy!

*Technically, my mom makes the all-time best sugar cookies but they call for shortening and I just can't eat nearly as many thinking about all that shortening.

H. G.'s Helpful Hints.

Okay, this is just like Heloise. Only better.


I was looking for an image to depict my destroyed All-Clad 2-quart pan and this image pops up. A pan whose owner thinks it is a burnt image of Elvis. So if all you have is a burnt pan, you are so much better off. Because you only need help for your burnt pan, not psychiatric care for your Elvis idolatry. I am all over Elvis, but this kind of thing scares me. Like Jesus toast and all that. Really. Just take your meds and go back to bed. Or sell it on eBay. Those people love that shit.

However. If you burn the living tar out of your All-Clad pan such as I did recently while making applesauce, I have a remedy.

I thought I had ruined my pan because it was the serious burnt-on business that wouldn't budge even with heavy scrubbing. The blackness seemed burnt into the pan. No amount of scrubbing would move it.

Voila, the remedy:

2 T. hydrogen peroxide
1 T. dish soap
2 inches of water
large-ish sprinkling of baking soda

Boil for 5-10 minutes. It will literally lift off the pan. Watch it because it will bubble up like mad.

Hopefully you are not such a clod in the kitchen as I (am). If you are, you're welcome.