Old Fashioned

Kaitlyn Hughes had no trouble picking out her favorite in the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department's 19th annual train garden display. The 12-year-old, who came with her cousins, liked the autumn scene the best. "I like it because I like fall," said Kaitlyn, of Edgewood, as she watched the trains circle the various scenes. "It's my favorite time of year. " She was baffled by the dinosaur sitting in the scene, however, as were Vanessa and Allison Carroll, of Halethorpe. "We're not sure about about the the dinosaurs," admitted Vanessa, who was visiting for the first time before getting a Christmas tree from the parking lot. "It's nice.

Michael Scheyer lost his wife five years ago, then lost work as demand for electricians withered with the economy. Things have been so tight that he recently went through some old boxes in a back room at his North Carolina home to see if there might be anything in there he could sell. What he turned up might just belong in a museum - or an aquarium: an old-fashioned yellow-and-red striped bathing suit, zebra-striped bathrobe and inflatable Donald Duck. Looks a whole lot like the Victorian swim suit and props that William Donald Schaefer used in his famous 1981 dip in the aquarium seal pool.

Jessie Thomas of Ellicott City sent in a request for a recipe for an "old-fashioned" beef stew. Mildred Wise of Baltimore shared a recipe she says she has been using for more than 50 years for beef stew that sounds like what Thomas is looking for. It is a basic recipe, nothing fancy, but tried and true. Her recipe instructions have the stew cooked atop the stove in a Dutch oven. I have found that beef stew works just as well when made in a slow cooker or low oven. You can follow the same basic instructions, but if using a slow cooker, brown the meat on the stove top and then transfer it to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients.

Victoria Fringer of Woodstock, Ill., wrote that she wanted help finding a recipe for vinegar candy. She noted she had been seeking this recipe for a long time and that "We used to make it as children." Kathryn Vaile of Catonsville responded. She wrote: "Hope this will do the trick. This is my grandmother's recipe -- she called it `crack candy.' Once the candy had cooled, she would crack it with the handle of a knife into pieces. My grandmother lived to 104. I have her handwritten recipe."

The Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Festival, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday at Rockwood Museum in Wilmington, Del., will offer high-wheeled bicycles, an organ grinder, Victorian crafts and fashions, old-time music, hot-air balloons, an antique show and an old-fashioned baby parade. For children there will be clowns, puppets, a mime circus artist, a storyteller and a traveling zoo. The manor house will be open for free tours. Homemade ice cream and other food will be on sale. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $1 for ages 5 to 16. Shuttle service is free from Merchants Square.

Like most couples, Susan and Harry Raymond fight and make up. They watch their son's baseball games and concerts together. When her car breaks down, he comes to the rescue. And around holidays like Hanukkah, they celebrate with his and her parents.Sounds like the ideal marriage, right?Try the ideal separation.For the past 11 years, the Columbia couple has been living apart, although never by more than a few miles. They still talk almost daily, still file a joint tax return, still say they like each other.

Debra Ward of Longview, Wash., requested a Sour-Cream Fudge recipe that doesn't have chocolate in it. Her response came from Daryl Olson of Powell Butte, Ore. Sour-Cream Fudge Makes 9 large squares 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup sour cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or other nuts Slowly cook first three ingredients over medium-high heat to soft-ball stage (between 234 degrees and...

Anne Kellogg of Walla Walla, Wash., wrote that she had been seeking a recipe for salt-rising bread for "decades. I had it at my grandmother's house in Washington, D.C., decades ago. She bought it at a local bakery. "I hope your readers can give me an answer." From Sara Frances Shay of Linthicum Heights came tester Laura Reiley's choice. Shay wrote: "I have never made salt-rising bread but for many years ate it from a bakery in Bluefield, W.Va. This recipe is from a cookbook published in 1941.

When the ''gorilla'' appears in ''Shipwrecked,'' everything goes well with the film. Until that time, you may be wondering who made this seemingly simple-minded adventure movie. When the man wearing a gorilla suit appears, however, you know that producers had children in mind when they did it.Taken as such, the new film is enjoyable. You won't believe a minute of it, but the younger children will love it, and they are the patrons for whom the movie was made.''Shipwrecked'' is very old-fashioned escapism.

Anita Wheeler of Bremerton, Wash., was looking for a recipe for making mincemeat bars. Toni Palumbo of Mercerville, N.J., sent in one she found in her local paper not long ago for Holiday Mince Squares. These traditional bar cookies are wonderful to make this time of year because you can find the jars of mincemeat in grocery stores. I used my food processor to cut in the butter, which made the recipe quite fast and easy. I'm not sure why mincemeat seems to be available only around the holidays but I'm going to buy an extra jar or two now so that I can make these delicious, old-fashioned treats any time of the year.