Every time I make play dough for Iris, it turns out too sticky. Today I decided to try Mom’s recipe:

Notice the precise measurement for temperature and a note at the bottom. It seemed my stickiness problem could be solved! Using seaweed for coloring, I began to mix up a batch of dough. Unfortunately, when I added the spirulina, it stank to high heaven. Then I realized I don’t own any white flour. Off we went to Heather’s house… The stench of rotting carcass magically disappeared after the addition of alum. Unfortunately for Iris, I decided to see exactly what Mom meant by “tough” and decided to make the mixture too hot. Result: balls bounce and the dough is beyond the manipulation capabilities of the average two-year-old.

Not wanting the dough to go to waste entirely, I wrote a note for Martin:

Inspection of the reverse of the recipe card lead to the discovery of the exact time period to which the dough recipe can be dated: