12 December 1956 "Q & A Sunday: What does tomorrow bring"

I sort of cheated with today's Q&A because I am really asking myself: "What will next year be".
Honestly, I don't think I have the entire answer right now, nor if it even is of interest to anyone. I had planned to talk more about meal planning and such, but that will have to wait.
I don't know. I have just, this month, been really peculating the past two years in my head. All that I have learned and  accomplished, all the mistakes and successes they are really starting to sort of float to the surface; the cream on my milk if you will.
I know that next year WILL be another project year. It has come to mean to me, these past two years, much to have a very goal driven focused aspect to the coming year. It gives one hope and reach. I feel I need to go there.
What I have been coming to realize is that in many ways, the molding of myself into a middle class homemaker is, in some ways, an almost course of study one needs to become a mother. The need to create and nest to make that place in which to grown and raise children happily and successfully.
However, hubby and I are still very much undecided in that realm. I have sort of given myself a two year time limit to make that final decision. And, I feel in many ways if the idea of an actual child does not pan out, the child of art will still be in me. The need to nurture and create and live within a sort of 'idealized' world that I would want for a child might then be transferred to art. In that I mean, creating tangible things, be it paintings, clothes, what have you. And not, I now find, with any real sense of commercialism.
The one element I have learned these past two years is how much the commercial world DOES play in our modern lives. That element which, though not vanishing, really was diminished here in the 1950's really resonates with me. The idea of creating art simply and soley for its sake, much as I would create a child and help build their life for their sake, not for any future gain or hope other than their happiness. This seems, to my own personality, a very healthy almost freeing realization in the terms of creation.
In many ways I have really begun to see these past two years not only as the best and hardest course of study I have taken, but in a way an almost conceptual art piece. The two years, taken together, in a way are my 'performance piece' and again, not for anyone nor for any grant or recognition or purpose, but because I was driven to know and understand.
In that 'piece' then, I have come to appreciate and realize the art and beauty in the simple. To know the artist in all we homemakers, the sheer talent in the fold of the crease, the steam of the iron, the table setting, the glaze on the ham, the smile on our friends and family at a party we have made or the smell of bread fresh from the oven. These things, these very visceral poignant moments were to me often elevated to the feeling I have got in a great museum or a European Cathedral. Not in their ability to mystify nor make me wonder in my smallness, but to make me relish and enjoy the beauty of the moment in my own small yet amazing way.
I certainly see the term 'artist' in a broader sense. I see the countless mothers and women out there as artists working in the medium of family, home, food, fashion, life; living itself, the making of a home is and should be seen as an art form. And art, in its purest sense isn't done to shock or show off or even be sold, but done because the artist is drawn to do it. It is made becasue the artist cannot imagine NOT doing it and striving to improve it is part of that process. And Homemakers, all of us despite our different takes or various skills, are artists. We all strive daily to improve that piece of art work, that ultimate performance piece: The Home and Family.
So, this is really not a post at all but simply a stream of consciousness I am now feeling. I hope, for those of you who have followed me this far in my journey, will stick around to see what next year, my 1957 might be. I hope, in some wonderful cathartic moment, to know just what that will be come the 31st of December. We shall see.
But, in the mean time, even though my posting for this month has been erratic and not as informative as it has been in the past, know I am thinking of you all and relishing and reveling in all your artistic greatness as homemakers. I salute all of you.

10 December 1956 “Cocktail Party”

This is the card I designed, laid out and printed for our upcoming Christmas cocktail party. I played around with a few ideas. I was going to have the rooster on the rim of a martini glass with a woman in a 1950’s cocktail dress as the olive in the martini, but it became too fussy. Obviously, the tongue-in-cheek of it is that the rooster, also known as a cock, his ‘cock-tail’ forms the “C”.
There are many stories as the derivation of the word ‘cocktail’, most of which were probably told after having a few, thus their truth is only as good as the amount imbibed. This is my favorite version:

In 1779, after her husband was killed in the American War of Independence, innkeeper Betsy Flanagan opened an inn near Yorktown that was frequented by American and French soldiers. An English chicken farmer lived nearby. Due to the political climate at the time, Betsy was probably not too fond of her neighbor, prompting her to promise her American and French customers that she would serve them a meal of roast chicken one day. Her guests occasionally mocked her boasts saying she would never go through with it. One evening, an unusual number of officers gathered at her inn, so Betsy served a lavish meal of chicken, stolen from her English neighbor. When the meal was over, Betsy moved her guests to the bar, where she served up drinks decorated with a tail-feather from the chickens. The officers drank until morning, periodically making rowdy calls for more "cock tails."

The old use ingredient for cocktails use to require: stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters. When a cocktail no longer  required this recipe with bitters, that cocktail that did have all these ingredients became known as ‘The Old Fashioned’.  Thus, an Old Fashioned contains this old recipe for what was once considered a cocktail
Old Fashioned
2 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1/4 oz. 2:1 rich simple syrup (or one sugar cube if preferred)
orange peel
Ice cubes
Tools: muddler, barspoon
Glass: old fashioned
Muddle syrup and orange peel in glass. Add bitters and whiskey and stir. Add ice cubes and stir again. (I like mine with a maraschino cherry for taste-though I never eat them)This is a muddler barspoon combo. A muddle is used like a pestle to mash the fruit etc in the bottom of a glass to release the flavor for when the liquor is added.
We will be serving various vintage cocktails, such as
Cranberry Champagne Cocktail
¼ oz Grand Marnier®
1 oz cranberry juice
5-6 oz Champagne
Pour Grand Marnier into a champagne flute. Add chilled cranberry juice. Fill flute with ice cold Champagne. Garnish with a long, curly sliver of orange peel.
Manhattan
2 oz Rye or Bourbon whiskey
½ oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura® bitters
Add the ingredients to a mixing glass half full of ice cubes and stir. Rub the cut edge of an orange peel around the lip of the chilled cocktail glass. Strain the drink into the glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
This next drink is fun and surprisingly delicious. Do you like thin mint girl scout cookies? Then you must try this cocktail. Even though my recipe is from my 1956 May Gourmet magazine, I am making it for our Christmas party, as it is Green! I might serve it with red-sugared rim glasses, how fun and festive!
Grasshopper recipe
3/4 oz green creme de menthe
3/4 oz white creme de cacao
3/4 oz light cream
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

What are some of your favorite cocktail recipes?

8 December 1956 “Make This Mouse & Fun Mail Order”

Continuing on some of our ‘Home-Made Christmas’ I had to share this darling little mouse. Now, I know it might be odd to give this as a gift, it is still a fun thing to make and keep for future Christmas. I also think his/her suit could be made in any colors and not look like Santa and therefore be a fun gift for a small child or someone who appreciates Vintage. Because, actual vintage is lovely, but things made now with love with actual Vintage patterns are very special I feel.
Again, we must remember that instructions and patterns back then were much more ‘adult’ in that they did not hold your hand step by step. But, I think if one takes the time to read the instructions and copy out or simply change the dimensions of the squares on the computer to 1” it would be fine.
And Just for fun, I love these types of shopping ads in my old magazines. They especially show up around the Holiday issues. Here are a few mail order ideas you could get for your loved one’s in Christmas 1956.Which of these little gifts would you have liked to get under your tree? The Ham? The Jumbo Ashtray? The Jet Age Model?
Have a great day and Happy Homemaking.

7 December 1956 “Cocktail Dresses”

Next week I am hosting a cocktail party here at my home. I am only just now preparing to make my dress. Here is a Dior Cocktail dress from this year 1956. As you can see, skirts are still very full, in fact getting fuller, but hemlines are moving up a bit. I really like the hem to hit just below the knee when it is full. This dress is strapless.
Here is Betty Furness (famous tv commercial spokeswoman for westinghouse) in 1956 in a floral cocktail dress.
What I have been considering is a sheath dress of dove grey dupioni silk with a sheer full overskirt, such as these. You can see that the pencil skirt part of the dress is just hinted at through the sheer guaze of the overskirt.
Now, I also have this vintage dress pattern which is meant to be a cocktail dress. I have made it in cotton as a day dress and it was quite comfortable. I have, therefore, thought of making this dress in the dove grey dupioni silk and simply have the entire dress covered in the sheer grey.
I like both a full and a pencil skirt. A fuller skirt is more fun to move in, obviously, but I think both look nice. My fuller figure is often shown off better in a sheath as it grabs in the right places to actuate a gal’s assets.
This is the grey sheer fabric I have for the dress. It is hard to photograph, as it is so sheer. It is covered in little grey/silver satin bows. Here you can see it over a very 50’s grayish pink lining. I have also considered making the sheath dress out of a pink silk, similar to this in shade, with the grey floating over that. I really love grey and pink together and it is a very 50’s palette. Only, I might like the subtlety of the grey silk with grey organza over it. What is your opinion readers?
How many of you are throwing or going to Holiday parties that allow you to dress up? If you aren’t why not throw one? It doesn’t matter if your in the middle of the corn belt or in NYC, a gal loves to dress up. You might find many of your friends would love the chance to be ‘fancy ladies’ for an evening.

5 December 1956 “Q & A Sunday: 1950’s Diet and Health”

This weeks question from one of my fine followers is as follows:
  I have a question about a comment you made in your Lard post.  The way you describe how your eating habits have changed since going back to 1955 is impressive.  Not to mention lowering your grocery bill by doing so.  Have you or your husband received any positive test results or positive feedback from your doctor, if you've discussed this with him/her.  I'm not trying to pry, just wondering for my own health needs.  Seems like we Americans need to get back to real life AND real food.
If you think this would make a good Sunday question/answer post I'd love to see you expand on the topic.
I thought this a good question to deal with as we approach the Holidays. We American’s are now officially over-eaters in our normal day to day life, but add the Holiday to this and look out! Therefore this seems a good time to discuss this.
When many people today consider the 1950’s and food, they often think, “Oh, Bacon and Butter; everything is dripping in butter and lard; Steak and Red meat” and so on. There are even modern commercials that play on this stereo-type. Here we are to “Meet the BUTTERTONS”

This commercial is the perfect example of modern propaganda. It is false in many ways. The first being that in 1950 entire sticks of butter were spread all over everything. First and foremost food in 1950’s was MUCH more expensive than today. Today’s food IS cheaper and more plentiful mostly attributed to corporate farming and the high percentage of imports of goods from foreign markets.
Secondly it is false in its dietary claims. To say that “I can’t believe it’s not butter” (Which I bet were I to taste it I COULD believe it was NOT butter) is better than butter is ridiculous. It is a margarine type spread. It is processed from a variety vegetable fat and is actually grey in color. It is often made from the least nutritious oils, such as cotton seed, which is also used as pesticide. The ‘butter color’ has to be added to give it the appearance of actual butter.
It is also whipped in a can which contains much air and you therefore get less than you would in a solid stick of butter. This is also true of whipped butter. Therefore,  anyone who buys whipped butter : you are paying for air. If you like whipped butter, make it yourself with your mixer and even add a little cream or milk, whip to the consistency you like and store in the ice box! You can even add herbs, garlic or make honey or cinnamon whipped for the breakfast table. But start out with a good solid stick of butter. I actually buy butter in a 1 lb block and simply cut it into the quarters you get when you buy the pre-packed pound with four 1/4 pound sticks. IT is less to throw away and cheaper to buy. But I digress…
Rather than describe the production of margarine in my own words, I found this which does a better job. Here is what we ‘smart modern families’ are eating when we eat margarine (and many other products that contain margarine in them any ‘cream based’ soups, packaged cheese/gravy sauces you name it)

How is margarine made: Step 1
Margarine makers start with cheap. poor quality vegetable oils, such as corn, cottonseed, soybeans, safflower seeds and canola.
These oils have already turned rancid from being extracted from oil seeds using high temperature and high pressure. Rancid oils are loaded with free radicals that react easily with other molecules, causing cell damage, premature aging and a host of other problems.
The last bit of oil is removed with hexane, a solvent known to cause cancer. Although this hexane subsequent removed, traces of it are inevitably left behind.
Unfit for consumption
Moreover, some of these oils are not suitable for human consumption to begin with.
Cottonseed oil, one of the most popular margarine ingredients, has natural toxins and unrefined cottonseed oil is used as a pesticide. The toxin, gossypol, is removed during refining.
Cottonseed oil also contains far too much Omega-6 fatty acids in relation to Omega 3. While both Omega 6 and Omega 3 are essential fatty acids, an imbalance between the two is widely believed to cause various health problems, including heart disease.
Most experts on the subject believe that a healthy ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 is between 1:1 and 1:2. Cotton seed oil, however, has over 50 percent omega 6 and only trace amounts of Omega 3, giving a ratio of 1: several hundred or more.
As cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops, there are also concerns that cottonseed oil may be highly contaminated with pesticide residues. However, insufficient testing has been done.
Canola oil, which is widely touted as the healthiest oil of all, has problems as well. Consumption of Canola has been linked with vitamin E deficiency as well as growth retardation. For this reason, Canola oil is not allowed to be used in the manufacture of infant formula.
The oils used for making margarine are also among the Big Four genetically modified crops – soy, corn, rapeseed / Canola and cotton.
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How is margarine made: Step 2
The raw oils for making margarine are steam cleaned. This destroys all the vitamins and antioxidants.
However, the residues of pesticides and solvents – that is, hexane – remain.
How is margarine made: Step 3
The oils are mixed with finely ground nickel, a highly toxic substance that serves as a catalyst for the chemical reaction during the hydrogenation process.
Other catalysts may be used, but these, too, are highly toxic.
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How is margarine made: Step 4
The oils are then put under high temperature and pressure in a reactor.
Hydrogen gas is introduced. The high temperature and pressure, together with the presence of nickel catalyst, causes hydrogen atoms to be forced into the oil molecules.
If the oil is partially hydrogenated, it turns from liquid into a semi-solid.
Trans fats are formed during partial hydrogenation. These are fat molecules that have been twisted out of shape. In liquid oils, the molecules are bent, with the hydrogen atoms on opposite sides of each other.
During partial hydrogenation, the molecules are somewhat straightened and now all the hydrogen molecules are on the same side.
If the oil is fully hydrogenated, it turns into a hard solid that cannot be eaten. It no longer contains trans fats because the "out of shape” oil molecules have all been broken up to form straight chains. But this does not mean they have become healthy again because of all the unnatural steps above.
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How is margarine made: Step 5
What comes out of the partial hydrogenation process is a smelly, lumpy, grey grease.
To remove the lumps, emulsifiers – which are like soaps – are mixed in.
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How is margarine made: Step 6
The oil is steam cleaned (again!) to remove the odor of chemicals. This step is called deodorization and it again involves high temperature and high pressure.
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How is margarine made: Step 7
The oil is then bleached to get rid of the grey color.
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How is margarine made: Step 8
Synthetic vitamins and artificial flavors are mixed in.
A natural yellow color is added to margarine, as synthetic coloring is not allowed!
In fact, early last century, all coloring was not allowed and margarine was white. This was to protect consumers so that they do not get butter and margarine mixed up.
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How is margarine made: Step 9
Finally, the margarine is promoted to the public as a health food – with the full endorsement of many scientists, doctors, nutritionists and health authorities.

Another aspect of the 1950’s diet that is interesting and tied to the higher costs, is the amount they ate compared to we modern people. Food cost more, you had to prepare more from these basic foods and needed to stretch it. So, you ate less of it.
I was at our local farm yesterday at a craft/Christmas fair selling my homemade brittle (made with real butter and no high fructose corn syrup I might add!) when I noticed the sign for the home-made ice cream. They have their quarts marked down to $7 from the usual $8 in the summer. Now, one might think, “Eight dollars for a quart of ice cream! I can go to –insert big chain grocery or Wal mart here- and get it for 2 dollars” But, we must remember, this is made locally with local sourced products. This would be the case in many ways even in the 1950’s. Even as production from the war years turned to creating the home-front 1950’s luxuries, milk and cream were from smaller farms and made in this country. The cost was higher to the customer because of those factors. However, this results in a Better product which we WILL eat less of because of the cost.
It is not a coincidence that the obesity in our country coincides with the low cost bounty of cheaply made and overseas imported products we can get for pennies at Wal-mart and other Big Grocery chains.
And the idea that those in 1950’s ate red meat morning, noon, and night is also a myth. The average middle class diet contained smaller amounts of meat (smaller portions) and things such as Steak were considered a ‘special occasion’. Even the Sunday Dinner roasted chicken was a sort of culmination of the week as a special dinner. The leftovers of which would probably be seen in a meat pie or casserole on Monday’s dinner table and a soup later in the week.
Even as packaged soups and meals became available in the 1950’s they were not as prevalent or the norm as they are today and often served to aide the homemaker in meals rather than stand alone as the entire meal. If mother bought a boxed pizza or spaghetti, it might be for a fun special night for the kids when they were off for a bridge night at friends. Or when the gang was over for soda’s and a night of listening to records. Here this 1953 commercial for chef boyarde (an actual person) even mentions it helps to aid dinners and keep the cost of meals down. Hardly meant to be eaten every night.

A steak dinner would be a special occasion eat out meal, or possibly at a neighborhood or party outdoor Barbeque function. Many nightly meals for the American Middle class were stretched amounts of meat purchased by mother. These cuts of meat cost more, as did the veg, but they more than likely were grown closer to home and not shipped as far. Certainly they were not eating apples and lamb from New Zealand.
Meat consumption is much higher today:

Meat Consumption at Record High
Now more than ever, America is a Nation
of meat eaters. In 2000, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry, and fish)
reached 195 pounds (boneless, trimmedweight equivalent) per person, 57 pounds
above average annual consumption in
the 1950s (table 2-1). Each American
consumed an average of 7 pounds more
red meat than in the 1950s, 46 pounds
more poultry, and 4 pounds more fish
and shellfish. Rising consumer incomes,
especially with the increase in two-income households, and meat prices in the
1990s that were often at 50-year lows,
when adjusted for inflation, explain
much of the increase in meat consumption. In addition, the meat industry has
provided scores of new brand-name, value-added products processed for consumers’ convenience, as well as a host of
products for foodservice operators.

There is also this idea that we had very little nutrition back then. If I refer to my cookbooks and magazines and homemaking books of the time, as I do, I am told fresh fruit to be served with breakfast raw. I also am told raw fruit such as carrot sticks, celery, tomatoes and the like are to be provided at meal time along with the cooked vegetables. We eat more raw fruit and veg now with our 1950’s diet than we ever did with our modern, milk cereal fozen pizza diet of the 21st century. How many raw fruits and veg do you eat today with meals as a modern family? Do you have children who ‘won’t eat this or that’. Because, that almost did not exist either in the 1950’s. You were expected to ‘clean your plate’ because there were others worse off than you (particularly the staving children in the remnants of war torn Europe.)
What does this mean for us today? Well, if we could wrap our heads around not expecting impossibly low cost foods and therefore allow local farms and in-country production, we could learn to stretch what we have and make more at home. This would also mean restaurants would make more good and local and though it would cost more, we would not over-eat. Then McDonalds and other fast food chains who make 99 cent meals could keep their ill conceived food and we would eat healthier and support our own towns and country and lose weight. The higher cost does not mean more money spent on food, but actually can be less. As we learn to make more ourselves and demand less food per meal, we buy less and better. So, I have found for us, that I spend less than filling the cart with cheap on-sale packaged pizzas, fried chickens, dinners, burritos and so on. And the amount of chemicals in the food is staggering.
Now, add to this the waste and garbage. The amount of packaging from a normal modern American’s diet is immense. The 195o’s counterpart had much less garbage. I found, since 1955, that our over three bags of garbage a week has become one small bag. Much gets composted and there is just not that much packaging. When I make many things from key ingredients there aren’t boxes and boxes of cereal, pre-packaged foods, and packaging for desserts and treats.
Therefore, I think it is safe to say that many eating habits of the 1950’s can even effect our general environment with the amount of waste we create. Now, when we buy less of these things, the market for them decreases and then they will need to make different or market differently to us. It is very much a pebble dropped in a vast pond whose ripples reach far and beyond.
With concern to our health, my hubby’s and mine, we are actually better fit than when I started 1955. Particularly when you consider the current cholesterol myth. Our family physician as well as our best friend who is an ER doctor, have told us that they now have found the cholesterol levels are more associated with ones genetics and that cholesterol levels should not be lowered in many cases. Some people who currently take cholesterol lowering medication (including my Father who has now been taken off it) are actually at risk. I will not go into it now, but the drug companies are tied into the food production companies and the Food/Seed creators such as Monsanto and there is much money to be made in medicine for ‘ills’ such as ‘high cholesterol’. And any Tom, Dick or Harry could get cows, and raise them to sell butter, but if we believe butter is bad that stops that. Then add to that the FDA regulations which continually increase the high cost ‘needs’ of farming which small farmers cannot afford to keep up with. (as an example a law recently passes which resulted in our local farm having to change the way they process their greens by adding 15,000 dollar septic system in lieu of the system they had which drained the water used to clean the greens outside to an area specifically planted with a crop that was meant to use the water and grow vegetation and return nutrients to the soil. Now, instead, they have a huge cement receptacle in the ground that takes the water and keeps it there, not replenishing the soil and basically wasting the water as well as making expenses some farms can’t keep up with. These farms would then find themselves performing ‘illegal’ acts in selling greens to their community.
But, that in and of itself is more than one post. So, back to our health: My hubby, who was never overweight, had actually put some weight on before 1955. Since then he has gone down a pant size and is much leaner. He eats three meals a day prepared by me. A large breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast or pancakes, water, coffee, butter and jam. He then eats about 4 oz of meat with veg and usually cookies or a slice of homemade pie or cake for lunch with water or coffee. (We stopped drinking soda when we saw the cost as well as the soda available in the 1950’s was sweetened with sugar not high fructose corn syrup. Also the soda of 1950’s was often in a 4 or 6 oz bottle. These bottles can sometimes be had made with sugar during one of the Jewish holidays. After waiting to find them we simply found we just didn’t need or want soda. Now when we might have one occasional it might be a treat. Though, I find now, I can’t stomach the stuff. It is too fizzy for my digestion and far too sweet!)
Our portions are 1950’s portions. We eat desserts made with butter and lard, such as pie’s and cakes and biscuits and cookies, but in moderation. I have not lost as much weight as I would like I (as I have the ability to nibble being home all day while hubby cannot as he is at work) But I weigh less than when I started my 1955 project.
I also suffered from a digestive issue which my doctor could not pin down. I had been tested for IBS but was found to not have it. After the first 8 months or so of 1955, I suddenly found I was no longer suffering from my odd digestive feelings. I also used to have odd ‘attacks’ where I would feel almost an anxious panic attack and then feel rather ‘shaky’. These were similar to someone with hypoglycemia or a diabetic who is crashing from too much sugar. These have not made an appearance in over a year now. The only think I have changed is my diet.
I also now find the taste of processed foods, if I am at someone’s home say, is odd. There is a chemical taste I find when I eat a store bought cookie or chip. I also find, if I eat modern potato chips, I cannot stop eating the. The same with Cheese Crackers. Yet, when I make my own cheese crackers (which are SO good) I could never eat more than say 10 or so, as my stomach feels quite full. Mine are made with butter, un-bleached white flour, grated cheese and seasoning. The store bought has so many chemicals I wonder if some of these are set to ‘trigger’ your eating response and therefore one could eat an entire box of cheese crackers without much hesitation.
I am not a physician nor a dietician. I can only share with you what I have found for myself and my family in the past two years of a radical diet change. It seems the more one gets to the source of their food and can create or control what goes into that food, the healthier one feels and the cheaper it becomes. I now can look at eggs, flour, milk, butter, lard, sugar and various baking things as salt, baking soda, baking powder and know I can make a vast variety of things from pies, to breads, to snack foods, and a variety of meat dishes. I even make my own Tortilla’s and find them an easy to make last minute bread to have at any meal.
I really feel if we can manage to embrace modern technology in a healthy way in which it serves us and we remain its master and not the other way round and combine this with a more ‘back to nature’ approach to our food. Now, there may certainly be many 1950’s food that might not be considered healthy but we do not have to live a black or white life. We can take the meal portions, the purer diet of the time and infuse it with modern realizations about food and vitamins.
I think a real look at ‘how we used to eat’ can only benefit our modern approach to diet. If we blindly believe cheaper is better, listen to ‘what is better for us’ by the commercials made to sell corporate made products, we will only continue down our path of obesity and increased diabetes. Just the amount of ill-health we now have due to the calories we drink is staggering to what a 1950 diet would have contained. Children literally drink a day’s worth of calories in just soda alone, now add to that packaged foods such as breakfast cereals, the poor diets in public schools and the fish finger/pizza/batter fried no veg diets of their dinners and you can see we DO eat more poorly than they did in the 1950’s.
Again, looking back to look forward proves to be a good idea. I think this conversation could continue and there is much to learn in the realm of our diets with regards to the past. I don’t think ‘it was all perfect and rosy back then’. But, I also know that there is much wrong with today’s food and diet and the more passive we become, the more we become ‘plugged in’ the easier we are to be sold to. And those who sell to us simply want our money and care little for our health.
Have a wonderful Sunday and Happy Homemaking.

3 December 1956 “Some Music From This Year”

I thought I would just post some fun music that came out this year, 1956. Enjoy!
The four Preps:

This is another well known song from the Preps

Harry Belafonte’s hit ‘Banana Boat’ was also released this year:

The wonderful Duke Ellington and “Take the A-Train”:

Johnnie Ray, here performing this year on the Frankie Laine Tv show. He sings walking in the rain and If I Had You:

Dinah Shore, on her own show, singing “Honeysuckle Rose”. I adore her dress here:

The lovely Kay Star singing her 1956 hit ‘Rock and Roll Waltz’. The term Rock and Roll is really becoming a part of the vernacular here at the end of ‘56.

Eve Boswell’s famous but not very often heard song “Pickin’ a Chicken”. It was a popular South African Song with new words. This song hit #9 on the UK charts this year, 1956. She was a very talented lady and lived in many countries and spoke many languages. Her follow up album would have her singing in 9 different languages!
Well, enjoy the music and Happy Homemaking.

2 December 1956 “Castro in Cuba and More Homemade Gift Ideas”

Fidel Castro and 82 of his men (including Che Guevara, Raúl Castro) land in Cuba. Most were killed and around 28 were able to escape to the country side and were hidden and aided by the country people. In the coming year he and his followers will begin to wage their war against Batista and American control in Cuba. It is the end of Cuba as an American destination of fun and frivolity.
Many here in the 1950’s know Cuba as a fun vibrant place much like the current popular actor and husband to Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz.

Continuing with our month long theme of Home-Made Christmas, I thought I would share more fun ideas from my vintage magazines.
I think this a darling idea and even the most basic sewing would result in a darling set. If you can sew a straight ling on a machine you can do this. This is also greatly aided by the design of the fabric you used. As you can see here, this wonderful fruit fabric with printed squares works wonderfully. To go along with that is the little idea of an apron. I suppose one could even buy a plain apron and the fabric, sew up the cloth and napkins and use the scrap to make the matching apron. I think most homemakers would be happy with this gift.   And let us not forget that men also need aprons. Here is a great one for the Barbeque fanatic.Look how cleverly they have cut it from the piece of fabric, waste not want not. This would also make the trip to the fabric store or digging through your own fabric surplus a dream, needing this one piece of fabric.
And for the crafty builder with little ones, why not make this adorable bunk bed?I believe we even have some ladies who collect dolls who would love to see this under their tree. The best part would be to find some vintage 1950’s crib decals and adorn it with those, making it new and home-made but with a vintage twist.
Happy Homemaking.

1 December 1956 “ Thanksgiving Photos and Lessons for Children Also Good For Adults”

I haven’t posted any Thanksgiving photos as of yet, so I thought I would today. As usual, while in the midst of enjoying the day, I forget to take more photos. The turkey was so lovely and I have no picture of it. There were other things as well including my guests who, for the most part, dressed vintage or else dressed up.
  I shared with you before the little name cards I had made for place-settings. You can see how I used them here.I made my ‘rose bud’ or ‘Bishop’s Hat’ folded napkin and placed these inside. What you can’t notice here is the little menu card, which sits above the plate above the dessert spoon and fork. It looked like this. We had no salad, so there was just a dinner fork and soup spoon and dinner knife. I used bread plates and knives and we had champagne, wine and water glass. I used my antique Sandwich glass water glasses (the red ones) and dark green napkins, to sort of hearld the coming Christmas holiday. Here is another view of the table. I served most dishes from a sideboard, so the table was free to have arrangement, candles and not too much fuss.
We had nibbles before hand and some lovely vintage 1950’s punch I also served egg nog (spiked or not) in my mothers hobnail set of white glass pitcher and glasses. I also used milk glass punch cups.
     With dinner, besides rolls, I served Brown Bread. This is a traditional New England bread. It is often served with franks and beans. Many buy it ready made at any grocer in a can and heat it up. It is then sliced. I wanted to make homemade version and it could not have been easier. I shall add this to the list of things I will no longer buy pre-made. 
I used a pudding tin, but if you hadn’t one you can steam it (as is often done) in a coffee can. You simply butter it, fill it about 1/3 of the way with the batter and tie tin-foil over the top.
I, however, have a few pudding tins. So, I used my ‘bundt’ shape. Here it is ready to be covered and steamed. You only fill it that little way, as it steams about 3 hours and fills up the tin nicely.Here it is all closed up and ready for its steam. Here is the recipe I use, it was from my Fanny Farmer Cookbook. I also used our locally ground rough corn meal, which was lovely and rather pretty in the cut bread.
Here is the recipe: I also made local cranberries. They are so pretty that I had to share them in their natural state. I know many people buy canned cranberries, but honestly they couldn’t be easier to make. You literally place them and sugar in a pot to boil, then simmer for ten minutes. Add what you like, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange or lemon zest, even frozen blueberries are wonderful in them. And the color is amazing. One guest even commented on the true red color (and how they matched the cranberry water glasses-planned on my part I might add, a homemaker is always thinking ahead) and asked if they were dyed. No, of course not, just by nature.
I also used Shitake mushrooms in my stuffing as well as in my homemade version of Green Bean Casserole. The Casserole was lovely. As I said, I have never liked the canned soup, canned fried onion casserole, when I have tried it, but this was lovely. I made homemade cream of mushroom soup with butter and cream and shitake mushrooms and even made my own little battered and fried onion rings. It was really delicious and very hearty.
   I had to share this close up of the mushrooms, as I couldn’t help getting a photo. These things were all prepared before the actual day, so I was more camera-ready, then on the actual day. No pictures of me, rather bad on my part.
I wore a grey wool pencil skirt and grey and blue plaid blouse with ruffles down the front and my blue pearl 1950’s earrings. It was really a lovely day and we all had such fun. And, of course, no TV, just music laughter and great conversation.
Now, to continue on our Christmas Preparations path, I thought I would share these great little hints about children at Christmas. I really believe this is good advice for all of us, child or not.Of course, making a Christmas fund is always a good idea. Since our voyage to the 1950’s we have set budgets on our Christmas buying, which we really never did before. I often didn’t know what I had spent until January, very bad indeed. And, as this is our second Christmas in the 1950’s, we have even reduced our Christmas spending budget. This  has encouraged us to spend less time in the stores and more time anticipating our time together. We shall have a cocktail party, a tree trimming party and of course our Family Christmas Even Party to look forward to. I will also be making some gifts this year.
  Here we can see that indeed, making our own gifts and decorations can be fun and really mean more in the end. When we think of each day as building good memories for the future, we can see how heartfelt or even silly but well thought gifts will mean more in our older days.
  I like this advice about gift wrapping and allowing the children, no matter if it is a ‘mess’ to do it. Good advice I think, though helping a child to do a good job, is of course a good idea in any task. This last advice to allow the child to take his time to deliberate on his gift buying is also a good adult bit of advice. If we take more time over less gifts, they will be better received for having been better considered, in my opinion. The fast quick ‘in and out’ buying  is exactly how we over-spend and no time more than at Christmas is this likely to happen.
So, let’s keep working towards our Home-Made Christmas and as always, Happy Homemaking.

30 November 1956 “Home-Made not Ready-Made Christmas”

I thought I would keep interjecting the next week or so with  some of the home-made decorating, gift making, table setting ideas from my vintage magazines.
To get us started I thought this home movie of a family enjoying their town’s Christmas decorations would give us a good spirit. As you can see, many of these wonderful outdoor decorations are obviously hand-made. And, I must say, say much more about the industrious spirit and innate artistic talents we, as a people, once displayed. No going to the big store and buying the giant ‘fan filled plastic blow up’ Christmas decorations. These were cut by hand from wood, or fastened with other materials, painted and constructed with our thoughts and hopes. Anyone can go and buy something and, as our towns now show, the homogeneousness of towns with all the same stores seems to be true to our Christmas. Any town in any state in the USA may have the same things in their yard all bought at the big box store. Why even bother? Why not make something original that will have meaning to those who have them in the future.
“Remember when Father cut and made this Santa out of wood?” is much nicer than, “Remember how we bought these for a few bucks and everyone had one?” Not that they will last long enough to be handed down.
Any way, enjoy this:

This darling little tree decorated with ballerina’s would delight any little girl’s room. The little figures could also become anything: Little toy soldiers, Christmas Carolers you name it!
This tree could be made with all sorts of fun ribbon as well as the paper they used. A great way to use ribbon from previous Christmas. Try and save and reuse old paper, ribbon and cards. Why fill the landfill when you can fill your brain with ideas and your wallet with more money you DON’T spend on new paper and ribbons and decorations?!
This wonderful little tree could do well in a modern or antique setting depending on the colors and striped patterns used by you. It is made with yarn and left over or extra yarn is easy to come by. Why not even take an old moth eaten sweater that can’t be used for patching sweater elbows, making pot holders, or dolls, and unwind it and make a darling little tree. Father’s old sweater, rich with pipe smoke, that you recalled him wearing and reading the times is now a Christmas tree! That is what good memories, with no expense, are built upon. I think old ribbon and even garden twine would lend itself to this design, don’t you?
Here are the easy to follow instructions. Let me know if you make these and what other ideas with these plans you can think of. Home-made Christmas, here we come!
Happy Homemaking.

29 November 1956 “Sorry to be AWOL”

I am sorry to be ‘offline’ for the past two days. Our internet has been completely out and after hours on hold, found out much of New England was having trouble.

Nothing rockets me back to the frustration of modern life more than dealing with automated phone menus, pressing random buttons, being hung up on by a computerized voice, and hours of ‘Musack’. I am happy for many things in our modern world, our computer is a wonderful tool to know all of you and to allow me to express myself, but when things go wrong, boy do they eat up your day! I know I should be thankful for all we have in the modern world but sometimes I wonder if the time it took to do things the old way was not better spent than the rush rush of modern life and the sudden screaming stand-still stop that arrives when ‘things’ go wrong. And ‘things’ are always the computer. In a store, the registers are down, its the computer. Heaven forbid we just press in buttons and hand back cash, but no everything is SO complicated and mixed up with computers that if we ever DO have a nation wide brown out, what a horror that would be! Let us hope that does not happen.

Well, I shall return later this evening with a proper post. I have a bit of Christmas shopping to do with a friend. I need to fill some Brittle orders today (my pin money maker is doing rather well for the Holidays) and we are getting our Christmas tree today.

I hope all have a lovely day and I shall see you later today.

Happy Homemaking.