Saturday nights

Saturdays have changed a lot since I was a young girl...

Saturday morning was all about getting your weekly housecleaning done

followed by baking for the week.

(I don't think our baking ever lasted a week though?)

But Saturday nights is what I'm thinking about today...

Saturday nights was bath time in order to be clean

 for Sunday school the next morning.

I can't believe we took a bath only once a week.

Simpler times right?

I stayed at a friends house once where they actually had a bath house

and everyone bathed in the same water.

I suppose the cleanest person got to take the first bath? ugh.

This is who is bathing at our house this Saturday morning...

What do you do with your chipped pottery?

The birds are loving this one...

The birds were lined up waiting for their turn here.

And when Saturday night baths on the farm were finished

the water was carried out to water mama's cucumbers and petunias...

not a drop was wasted.

But if you're a bird...

you are not fussy and invite all your feathered friends

over for a drink of water.

Public bathing and drinking your bath water

definitely makes me glad I'm NOT a bird today.

~cheers, Petunia



What Would Grandma Bertha Say?

Since we began this blog

my sister and I 

refer to each other now

as "Pickles" (that's me)

and "Petunia" (that's her)...

just two very strong constants

in both our lives...

Pickles

and

Petunias

Petunias planted every spring...

Pickles canned every late summer...

 Now that I've canned 300 

quarts of pickles

(all by myself!)

I feel I've earned 

my pet name of "Pickles"

 It's a proud moment...

 

What would Grandma Bertha

have said to me?

 

Something in German I'm sure...

and I would be able to 

hear the pride in her voice.

 and then she and I would sit 

and rest and talk about all that hard work...

OOOFTA!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa

1938

Lisa...

I refer to her as the pickles of this blog,

is the sister lucky enough to raise a few chickens on her farm.

 (and one very handsome rooster named Sully!)...

I, on the other hand, live in town and only dream

of  chickens and a coop like those you see in magazines.

For now I will be content with sewing chickens on my flour sack towels.

b



Grandma's Kitchen

Didn't all grandma's have one or two of these beauties in their kitchen?

These hot pad holders were just for looking at...

you couldn't possibly use one could you?

This was a lot of crocheting for a touch-me-not.

I learned to crochet in the 1970's...

remember when those little granny square vests were so popular?

Well, that is why I taught myself to crochet.

Then in the 80's doilies were all the rage...again.

Because we can all remember when every surface in grandma's

house was covered with them.

Even the backs of these hot pad holders are pretty...

pure vintage.

b

Klosed Krotch

June, 1913

I don't have a clue what pa is doing here?

And why is he wearing only his union suit to do it?

The ad reads...

Never Binds Cuts nor Chafes.

(But I bet they itched like crazy.)

This ad from 1936 made me laugh.

It seems men have always been helpless.

b

Wash Day

I ran across this ad in an old newspaper the other day

and boy oh boy! it got me to thinking about the days

we used a wringer wash machine when I was a young girl

still living at home.

 

 

(And it was much later than 1938...ha)

 

If you used a wringer washer like this in your younger days

or if you've never seen anything like it

let me tell you about it.

 

You filled this machine with numerous buckets of hot water from the kitchen sink,

then you filled a rinse tub sitting beside this with cold water.

 

Always start out with your cleanest clothes because you will use the same

water for all your washing. Well, that's how my sister and I did it

when Mom wasn't around to monitor and make us change the water.

 Wow! that water was muddy when we were finished.

 

 

When you thought your first load was clean enough, no timers on this...

you ran every item through the wringer at the top of the washer, and into the rinse tub.

Watch those fingers and hands, they don't go through the wringer

without a trip to the doctor.

 

There is no agitator or movement in the rinse tub,

just you with your hands in the icy water.

Once the clothes are fairly soap free, the wringer swings around

and you put the clothes through it again and into your clothes basket.

 

Yes, this is why they used to call it Wash Day...

 It took all day!

 

Now remember...

all this water had to be manually drained from both the washer and rinse tub,

into buckets and hauled out.

 

If the weather was decent the washing mashine could be hauled outdoors for use.

 

All our clothes were hung out on the clothesline,

we didn't have a clothes dryer until many years later.

We hung wash outside in all weather.

Have you ever tried to take frozen clothes off a clothesline?

 

There is nothing that smells or feels better than line-dried wash.

I still like to hang out all our sheets and towels.

 

 

How was your walk down memory lane?

 

Now your clothes are ready for ironing on Tuesday.

 

Household Hint -

Clothes may be sprinkled in the evening

 and left over night if put in the clothes basket

 and covered entirely with a heavy towel or blanket.

 

b



kale

Sister Pickles and I are not doing a very good job of blogging here.

It's all her fault of course.

She has such a great blog "Sall's Country Life"

that it puts the pressure on me to step it up a bit here.

 

 I found a Super Bowl of soup to share with you.

It has kale in it!

 

And Italian sausage and bacon and cream and...

It has to be good with ingredients like these right?

 

 



 

Zuppa Toscana Soup

 

1 lb Italian sausage

2 large potatoes, cubed

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup bacon pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups kale

2 (8 oz.) cans chicken broth

1 quart water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

 

Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces. Brown sausage in your soup pot.

 

Add chicken broth and water to a second pot. Add onions, potatoes, and garlic. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.

 

Add sausage and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

 Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

 

So Good!

I served this super bowl of soup for Super Bowl.

 

Okay pickles...you're up next.

love, sis