Loving Some Old Fashionness

Eat it up, wear it out,
make it do, or do without.

click on this: Home Canning website

click on this: Lessons From the Depression

Marmee From "Little Woman":

"Don't you feel that it is pleasanter to help one another, to have daily duties which make leisure sweet when it comes, and to bear and forbear, that home may be comfortable and lovely to us all?"

Wash Day by Michael Bingham (I love this painting)

from Little House in the Big Woods:

"Each day had its own proper work. Ma used to say:

"Wash on Monday,

Iron on Tuesday,

Mend on Wednesday,

Churn on Thursday,

Clean on Friday,

Bake on Saturday,

Rest on Sunday."

Laura liked the churning and the baking days best of all"

My Dad and Diapers

I loved hearing the story of my dad, your Papa, coming home each night and taking care of the days worth of used cloth diapers one of us girls produced..I'm pretty sure Jody and I were in diapers at the same time. After the wash was done Papa would climb up into the attic (heat rises) where he'd take down the previous day's cleaned and dried diapers and put up the clean wet ones. I don't know if Dad told me he used drying racks or not. Maybe it was a line of some sorts. In my mind or maybe memory I always thought it was drying racks. Maybe my love of drying my clothes on the line was inherited. This is a precious story to me, Dad helping Mom keeping bottoms dry. Goodness Mom must have been so busy with 3 little girls, two in cloth diapers etc. Those were the days of no permanent press anything and everything was ironed. She was such a hard worker, great homemaker and cook. Mom told me she would mop the floors at night when all we kiddos were in bed. I always remember a clean house and good food on the table and Mom never complaining about any of it. What a great example. I so love both of my parents. You can file this story away in your memory to bring out and share whenever. Who knows, the current economic trends might even get more people to dry their laundry in such a fashion. Loves.

Happy Monday

I hope your weekend was good and that Monday has started out well. Maybe the fact that I don't have to fight the rush hour traffic and get to a job makes my life so good. I am grateful, very much so.

I have to share with you my successful garage sale find while walking Kirby Saturday. This great old Pyrex nesting, green bowl. What memories these bowls bring to me, fun ones usually having something to do with cookie dough being mixed in them. Jody has 3 of the 4 nesting bowls and is only missing the green one...until now. Merry Christmas Jody, or Happy Birthday Jody or whatever. Thee only catch-you have to come and get it. You know you'll need a break from the soon to be coming Oregon rains and the AZ sunshine and green bowl is just what you'll need. Can anyone tell me what the going rate is on ebay for this? It cost me $1.00 SCORRRRRRRRE.

I've had my eye on these lanterns at Target this summer. I even checked them out while in Oregon where they were on sale and you remember no sales tax up there - but I didn't think that glass would ride well in the suitcase home. Well....last week I found 5 of them marked down from $12.29 each to $3.09 each. One was missing a screw and nut that I politely pointed out and asked for it to be discounted. When told I could get a 10% discount I asked for more and got 20% off that one. So instead of spending $61.45 I paid $14.85. SCORRRRRRE. I'm loving just thinking of cooler weather and eating outside with these little lanterns hanging around.

For about 3 days last week I was smelling this mysterious, wonderful floral scent when I went out my front door. It was delicious. I couldn't tell where it was coming from and didn't recall anything blooming in my neighbors yards. Silly me, I finally looked down on my own front step and saw my Orange Jasmine in full bloom. Gorgeous and heavenly. This was a small plant I bought at IKEA about 5 years ago that has had a few blossoms occasionally and at times I've fought to save it from the heat. Low and behold, what a reward. The blossoms lasted just 3 days but what a great 3 days. Thanks little plant for the lovely surprise.

Saturday also brought a lovely invite to Trevlyn and Marks for a Grandparents Day dinner on Sunday. Wow, so fun and yummy with a great salmon dinner and topped off with a Paula Dean (or is that Deen) pound cake. Thanks kids sooo much and thanks grands for the sweet notes you wrote in our card. Grandpa and I loved them and we love you.

And I know if I don't say it now Jody will say it in a comment, Jody is not bothered by the Oregon rain. She loves cool weather and cannot stand the heat. I also notice that when it does get hot in Oregon, Jody doesn't really complain then either. She's just that way.