I know my posts have been coming slowly, I am trying to balance out doing our one year 1943 history project and posting on my website. Of course we all know that home computers were not around during that time.
We can only simulate what we can of how people lived during 1943. At this time I am thinking about all our changes since our project and how we will continue to do many things from the 1940s after our history project is over because we feel better living like this.
While I was recouping from a flu like illness I had a lot of time to think. My husband took this picture because it is a rare thing for me to be in the bed during the daylight hours. This is Katherine laying beside me enjoying the sunshine coming through the window.
I thought about how things seem so much more rushed and complicated as well as difficult.
Simple things seem to be much more difficult today. Yes, 1943 is hard in many ways but it is also easier.
The other day my back was bothering me and I was dreading standing in the kitchen to prepare supper. I got out my pan and went to the living room chair and peeled and cut up the potatoes for supper. I sit down to do these things when I am having pain but I don't sit to do this much anymore as I did a long time ago. I started thinking that I use to sit and peel and cut up vegetables and so did my mother and grandmother. When did I start using a cutting board to do these things? I think it was when I had to start doing it faster.
I went back and got the carrots. I would use just a paring knife to do most everything and so did my grandmother. So I thought about all the things that use to be so simple and now are so complicated. It seems that now I use so many more dishes, pots and pans and make a bigger mess in the kitchen than I did before.
The thought came to me how it seems that I mess up more dish clothes and dish towels than ever before. When I was younger I did not have near the amount of towels I have now. I did not need many because I would wash my dish cloths and towels and hang them to dry at the end of the day. When did I stop doing this? I started a habit of tossing them into a small pail for wet items and waiting for the wash. I am once again going back to washing them at the end of the day and hanging them to dry.
This past weekend we went to our daughters for an over night visit. She prepared Carrots, potatoes and a whole chicken in a crockpot. It was a reminder about simplifying cooking.
My daughter never gets to take a cooking break due to my Grandson's food allergies and I am so proud of her how she handles this issue. She makes everything from scratch because she has to. She has found ways to make things more simple because it is hard to never go to pick up fast food.
I love her idea about hamburgers. First my daughter loves pyrex, she has a variety of patterns which is wonderful since they never get to go out and this changes things up in the kitchen.
She takes her ground beef, minces garlic and a bit of onion, salt and pepper with the meat then presses it down into a 8x8 pyrex pan. She puts it in the oven and bakes it at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes or until done. She then cuts it to put on her homemade bread or buns.
I decided the crock pot will be a non 1940s item I will continue to have in the kitchen because it saves electricity. At least I think it does compared to a kitchen oven. So I got out the crock pot and this photo above is the chicken I prepared to have for supper. I am all about saving on the electric bill.
Another random thought is, I save containers to put egg shells in when I am cracking them to keep from making a mess or wasting a paper towel. this is a butter container.
A simple potato cabbage soup makes a delicious evening meal with warm homemade rolls.
Soup is something that we are eating more often since we are back to basics.
I am glad that so many liked the post on the oil lamps. I don't remember if I said but we have six lamps, they have all been washed, wicks trimmed and filled with oil.
My last random thought for this post, I thought about how small our Bernadette was this time last year and how far she has come. She had been abused by some terrible person (her story is under the pet section), she was harmed in many ways, especially her spirit. If your house is not already full please adopt a pet that needs a home.
Grandma Donna
