Back in the crappy olden days, making a home for your family was not considered drudge work. At least that’s the belief Meredith Publishing, publishers of BH&G books, were selling to women. I am of two minds about this. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, Meredith Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1961. As person who
I’m taking it easy today. JK! (That’s kid speak for “just kidding.”) [For the toxic among you, I’ll be talking about Makitta drills below!] After our return from Memphis, I had five and one-half days to get the joint– including the Bunkhouse and some outside parts– ready for company on Saturday afternoon. And not just
Did you see #10? Plug-in vision-phone. How cool would that be? What is the thing above #5 that has a line but no number? [Betty Jane has a Ph.D. by the way, so that’s Doctor Betty Jane to folks like you & I.] Crappy old books such as this are good for a laugh. How
In today’s Drudgework Monday we’ll do a lot of ironing, review some movies, and muse about civilization. Twenty-two point eight five gigs– that’s how much ironing I did this weekend. I do not mind ironing. I have to be in the right mood, and the weather has to cooperate, but given those, it’s not a
Obviously, have coffee and check Windy for the weather. But not according to Heloise who says, The first thing to do in the mornings is to put your dishes in the sink to soak and then make the beds! I don’t know why, but this is most important. It gives a woman a feeling of
Omni corrumpuntur et intabescunt in tempore; Saturnus quos generat devorare non cessat; … Or if you prefer… All things are corrupted and decay in time; Saturn ceases not to devour the children that he generates; all the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, if God had not provided mortals with the remedy
Good food is of prime importance to my family, therefore; I shall take pride in doing an outstanding job of cooking from “The Cooks Creed” in Meta Given’s, The Modern Family Cookbook (J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago, 1942) That’s a Johnsonville smoked brat, Campbell’s pork & beans, and homemade macaroni salad with yellow bell peppers,
I left the World-Wide-Web to venture out into the real world. Twelve hours. Twelve measly hours and Van der Leun has three new posts. That’s on top of the three new ones I saw this morning which I barely had time to glance at before we left The Farm to make our way to the
Today is the day I begin picking up and dusting each of the 3320 books in my library. I had hoped to start last week, but until today, I was still coming to terms with a) Daughter C’s insistence on decorating for Christmas– looked very nice, I was still finding things that needed to be
Reposted from April 2016. I was searching for the Meal Planner’s Creed (coming up soon) and I came across this rant. See also this. Enjoy! In response to this: the drudgery of housework And this: slaving away in the kitchen Dear Mrs./Ms Moore, Presumably you have a house or an apartment or an igloo or
Originally posted December 31, 2014. Converted from old Blogger format, so please excuse the appearance. How to Be Your Own Decorator, Helen Koues, Good Housekeeping, New York, 1928. We are fast approaching the time when homemakers turn their attentions to storage, organization and redecorating. (If you don’t believe me, take a gander at all of the
With no decorations on The Farm I’m not overdecorating for Christmas. In fact, I’m not decorating at all. My Christmas OverDecorating Partner in Crime is fixin’ to move out. And so, … I weighed on the one side of the scale the energy it takes to turn The Farm into an awesome Christmas Lights &
As you can see, Daughter C outdid herself. Lovely, don’t you think? The weather is forecast to be very Thanksgivingy– Southern Country Mouse-wise. One or two Thanksgiving orphans will join us. Traditional menu, though not sure what Daughter C and The J-Man are bringing. Table is set. Well. Okay. Underneath all of the dishes &
A while ago I bought a new spring-loaded lid wastebasket for the kitchen. The old one had just a smidge too much duct tape holding it together. Unfortunately– and although it was pretty pricey (~$70?)– I did not do enough research on this online purchase. Turns out, the inner canister is not sized for regular
It’s incredible! Handmade complete with skulls as banister ornaments, a gargoyle, door knocker– that’s Lurch, by the way– and headless woman.
Daughter C has decided it’s time for Fall. There are ghosts everywhere! Thus concludes your mid-morning dose of real life here on the Farm in rural Mississippi where the temperature is forecast to be … 89° and the cotton farmers are getting anxious because we’ve had so many downpours in the last few days they
“Lights of Other Days” by John Frederick Peto (1854-1907), from The Beauty of America in Great American Art (MCMLXV– that’s 1965 for those who don’t do Roman numerals); image from Art Institute Chicago. The other day, when I told the story of the Libertarian washing machine, faithful reader Suek commented with these thoughts on light bulbs,
Dear Girls, What do you think? Should we knit ourselves some matching outfits? Or crochet some critters “using egg shaped hosiery containers?” How about some flags for Christmas? Wait… wait… . Let’s cross stitching some Bashful Bunnies! What do you think? Love, Your mom