Hidden Haven Homestead

Last night and this morning I have been cleaning out my jelly cabinet ( a small wooden cabinet with 2 glass doors on top, 2 drawers in middle, and 2 solid doors on bottom). I have kept vintage glassware in the top and cookbooks in the bottom. I LOVE cookbooks! I have at least 200 cookbooks (not all in the jelly cabinet). I find them at thriftstores, yardsales, auctions, library book sales, etc. I just don't pass up a cookbook. I especially love the church or community made cookbooks as they have everyone's favorite in them so you know you are going to love it. Anyway after cleaning out and seeing the cookbooks I have here and knowing all the cookbooks I have still to bring here from Lexington I am trying to decide which ones to part with. Hubby and I decided we need to downsize and that will include cookbooks. We decided to do this when we were having to sort and decide what to do with mother's things after she died. That is a hard task and we don't want our children to have such a big chore sorting our junk. Plus we have way too much stuff anyway! I sorted the cookbooks in piles: Have to keep, really want to keep, like to keep, and can part with. The only trouble there is most of the books are in the first pile! My goal today is to look at every cookbook as who it would make a good gift to. That way it will be easier knowing I am giving it to someone that will love and enjoy it. I have a big folder of handwritten recipes of my mothers. She added ones she had clipped out of papers and magazines and some people had given her. I am going to make copies of all these and make cooking scrapbooks for my daughters for Christmas. Mother always had them and her other granddaughters over a few weeks before Christmas and they made tons of cookies, candies and goodies to divide and take home. My daughters put them in baskets to give as gifts to special friends and family members. I know that they will love having a "Nannie Cookbook". I am also going to keep 20 of my favorite cookbooks. That should be downsized enough to please hubby and me. I was always told that when you give a gift to someone its not really a gift unless you are giving something that you yourself love. All I can say is: I am going to be giving away ALOT of gifts!