10 May 1957 “Give A New Kitchen A Good Start: The 1954 Way”

I love to share the various kitchen ideas and layouts in my vintage magazines. They often have some good advice one might not have thought of. They often give a lot in a small space as well.

Today’s kitchen is from 1954. The article tells us: READ MORE

9 May 1957 “Come On Down and Join Us! No Spam No Bots!”

Today I wanted to invite any and all to our Forum. We have had a forum here at the Apron revolution since last year. We have had some wonderful in depth conversations and then, suddenly, once we hit a certain number of honest to goodness members, the spam began! READ MORE

8 May 1957 “Happy Mother’s Day”

 Today is Mother’s day, as many of you know. I hope you have a wonderful day. Celebrate your mother and enjoy being celebrated if you are a mother.
We are taking my mother in law to our local farm for their Mother’s Day tea today. We will sip tea, watch the animals, browse their lovely plants, it shall be a fine day. READ MORE

7 May 1957 “Do Our Gadgets Help or Hinder?”

This morning I had a harried modern morning. Hubby had to be to work earlier so I had to get up and head out the door. Now, let me preface this by saying I almost never use the car any longer.
When I originally decided to get rid of our second car, we were half way through 1955, but then knew that we would be moving back to a different home, so it got put on the back burner. And even though I knew I was driving less and buying less, I was still making unnecessary trips to buy things I did not need. I did not have to be innovative or a better planner so that when I had the car I made sure I got everything needed. Or if I needed something I didn’t have, how to make do and be creative.

So, now I have come to loathe the car so that I use it once a week for my marketing day. I plan everything out to get it done on that day, post, bank, shopping and home. This morning, however, I had to rush out the door and get to the bank. Once there I am told, “The systems are down”. “What does that mean?” I ask, innocently enough, “Well, we can’t do anything”. “I just need to deposit”, say I. “Well, we can take it but we can’t give you a receipt. READ MORE

6 May 1957 “Before Your Baby Sitter Comes: A Vintage Article, Father Knows Best on the Radio, and a short film: How Quiet Helps at School”

  Hubby and I have not yet stepped into the role of parents. The various discussions on preparations for such a decision almost always includes child care. We feel, for us, if we were to have a child I would like to be the primary care giver and being a SAHM. Yet many women today cannot do this. Many women today, as well, have careers that they cannot leave off. And even for SAHM, there are times when mother and father have to go out (hopefully) together. So, the subject of the ‘sitter’ must be a very important one in the discussion parents have to have.
Therefore, I wanted to share this article from one of my magazines entitled: Before your baby sitter comes” (Simply click on each image to enlarge and read)
 READ MORE

5 May 1957 “Espalier Fruit Trees: Beauty and Function”

I had a comment asking about espalier fruit trees. I have mentioned espalier trees in the past. This is a very old form of keeping fruit and also displaying line and form in purely ornamental trees and shrubs.
Espalier :A tree or shrub that is trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, often in a symmetrical pattern.  (French, from Italian spalliera, shoulder support, from spalla, shoulder, from Late Latin spatula, shoulder blade)
I thought I would start with some images showing the various shapes of espalier.
  (READ MORE)

4 May 1957 “Growing Chickens, Budding Fruit Trees, Stone Walls, and No-Rise Bread”

I haven’t shared any chicken news with any of you lately. If you recall, back in January I ordered a dozen fertile French Copper Maran eggs. You can see what a lovely chocolate brown they are. I put a few in my incubator and a few under my broody hen. What I learned is I should have put them ALL under the hen. The three I gave here all hatched, while only one in the incubator did so. Obviously Nature over Machine won out this time.
As I have also mentioned my dogs LOVE chicks. Here you can see my little Chi, Monty, happily snuggling with the little grey chick. She is one of my own chickens fertile eggs. A purebred Blue Orpington from my rooster. The sad tale with Monty’s love affair with the chicks, is once they become full sized hens, they no longer love him, often chase him and he runs squealing away. Yes, my chickens can beat up my dogs, what can one say? READ MORE

3 May 1957 “Fun Kitchen, 1950 Alice in Wonderland live action Movie, and Rss Feeds”

First, let’s start the day with this lively little ad. I like the checklist, very specific to these darling cabinets. I can say NONE of the checklist items are in my kitchen, sadly.
I also, as many of you know, love quaint and quirky look of the Early American mid-century design. Here we see happy function and practicality in metal cabinets and linoleum flooring living in serenity with old wood walls, colonial benches, brick walls and cross-hatch leaded paned windows. Read entire post --->

2 May 1957 “The Little Corner Shelf”

The corner shelf. That quintessential vintage kitchen accessory. This image here, is of my own corner shelf. My house, which is very old, had its 1880’s addition ‘done over’ in the 1950’s. My cabinets are of wood and were made to fit the space, as this house, even in the 1950’s, was never on square. A lot of settling can happen in 300 years.
I have always loved these little corner spaces. My own here houses a plant in a vintage yellow 1930’s McCoy Pottery planter, the gravy boat and sugar and creamer to my Temporama set and a smattering of shells and starfish. A nod to my proximity to the ocean. I also love pale blue, yellow and red in a kitchen. And touches of dark green, as from this plant, is very 1940’s actually. (Read Entire Post)...

1 May 1957 “Celillo Falls, Oregon”

Vice president Richard Nixon speaking at a dedication of the Dalles dam.
In 1952 the Army Corp of Engineers began the construction of a concrete dam to run a new electric power company in Oregon. They completed the dam in 1957. On March 10, hundreds of observers looked on as the rising waters rapidly silenced the falls, submerged fishing platforms, and consumed the village of Celilo. The various falls had been a part of the communities food and money. Here is a poignant video about that day and its affects on the local people... (Read Entire Post)