This is not a computer generated card, so don’t be misled by the title of my blog.  It’s one of the cards I’ll be making with residents of a local retirement community on Tuesday.  I CASEd (Copy and Share Everything) the design from my friend Susan.  She always has lots of white space and very clean, classic designs.

I used some retired products on this.  For participating in a Stampin’ Up! challenge several months ago, I received a huge box of retired merchandise, and one of the products was an old “Simply Scrappin'” kit.  I used the paper and stickers from the kit with current card stock (Pool Party, Whisper White), stamps (Bring on the Cake) and punches (Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches).  I stamped the envelope with the coordinating Papillon Potpourri stamp set.

Growing up on the farm, we learned never to throw away anything that could be reused, so that’s why I kept this “Scrappin’ Kit.”  Most of my clothes were either handmade by Mom or my grandmother, or they were remade hand-me-downs from cousins and aunts.  One of my very favorite dresses was one that my cousin gave me.  Mom remade it so it was a little more modern and thoroughly cute.  Even though finances were probably tight at times, my brothers and I never knew, because we always had food, clothes, a comfortable home and everything we needed.  To my knowledge, my parents never complained.  If they did, it wasn’t in our hearing.

Another benefit of farming was we either raised or grew almost everything we ate.  We grew apples and peaches and raised beef cattle, so roast beef, steak, and ribs weren’t a delicacy; they were the norm.  Often there was a pig or two being raised, so bacon and pork chops were also on the table a lot.  Dad was a hunter, so wild game rounded out the meat portion of meals.  A huge garden provided most of our vegetables, and Mom canned all summer so there was plenty in winter.  Obviously, the grocery bill was very low compared to non-farming families.  And since our home was part of Dad’s salary, there was no mortgage or electric bill.  Cable didn’t reach that far out and the internet wasn’t invented yet.  So a lot of expenses people had “in the city,” we didn’t.

I remember when Mom filled out a survey in one of her women’s magazines.  (This is the computer generated fun part.)  The survey asked how many people were in the family, their ages and genders, household salary and how much was spent on the grocery bill.  After the survey was mailed in, the information was fed into a computer and a custom menu plan for the family was returned.  Of course, it didn’t ask, “Are you a farmer?  How much of your food do you grow yourself?  Do you have to pay a mortgage or rent?”  Nope.  It just assumed you bought everything.

When our family’s menu plan was returned, it came with a letter.  The letter commended my mother for stretching her food budget, but claimed there was no way she could feed three teenagers – two of which were boys – and two adults on her grocery budget.  Perhaps she might like to apply for food stamps.  My parents thought this was hilariously funny.  My brothers just kept eating dinner.  I was mortified.  (Ok – I was 14 and a girl.  Of course I was mortified.)  And then Mom started reading the recipes.

The first thing that caught my dad’s attention was that all the recipes were for 6 people.  He decided they must be sending someone to live with us.  The second thing was that we probably would have been spending more money on these menus, because they called for things we didn’t grow – like canned tuna; almost every recipe used canned tuna.  Yeah, I can see my dad going for that. HA! – and seasonings Mom never used – like sage, rosemary, and thyme.  Parsley we had in abundance.  That was a staple for potatoes, so there were several bushes of it in the garden.  (Kudos if you caught the Scarborough Fair reference.)  One of the recipes I remember Mom reading (I don’t believe she ever actually made any of them) was “Tuna Noodle Rosie.”  It was yet another canned tuna recipe with noodles and seasoned with rosemary.  I cannot see my dad eating this.  Ever.  But he did decide that that was who they were sending to live with us – some woman named Rosie.

Years later Mom and Dad bought a dishwasher.  Dad named it Rosie.  After all those years, she had finally come to live with them.  She wasn’t quite as amazing as Rosie the Robot on the Jetsons TV show, but she did make life a little easier.  To this day, whenever I offer to wash dishes after a family meal, Mom will say, “Oh, I’ll just let Rosie do them.”

So there you have it.  My essay on why I’m using up retired Stampin’ Up! merchandise.  I didn’t see this particular kit on the clearance rack, but there are a few others available while supplies last.  They’re great for quick scrapbook layouts, but you can use them for so many other projects as well.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy!  Have a wonderful day!