3 January 1957 “First Electric Watch Unveiled Today, Washer-Dryer Combo, and Some Sketches”

  Today the Hamilton Watch Company announced the latest in modern technology, the first every battery operated electric watch. The Hamilton 500. It needs no winding either. Here the ad shows that watch battery smaller than the man’s cuff button.
Up to know watches ran on mechanisms that need to be wound, much as old clocks. The Quartz movements will not arrive until the last decade of the 1960’s. So, this is innovation. The only problem will become apparent when we find out how often the battery needs to be changed.
The Hamilton Watch Company ( Lancaster, Pennsylvania) began developing the timepiece in 1946. Here we are eleven years later and though the development is not quite complete, the pressure to beat the competition has them announcing the watch. It was popular and today these first ever electric watches command a high price. We are moving more and more towards technology as the norm. Grandfather’s old wind up pocket watch will soon retire to the bureau drawer, making way for technology.
HERE is a UK site devoted just to electric watches such as the Hamilton 500.
I am amazed that this technology exits now, here in the 1950’s. This ad comes from Better Homes and Gardens from this year, 1957.This is a great little size combo and I would love something like this for my small kitchen. I know they make these combos now, but I wonder if I could find an old 50’s version of this, if so I’d love it! Any craigslist ads out there in the MA area, let me know.
As you may or may not know, part of my journey here in the 1950’s is going to include art and craft. After spending two years here in the 1950’s learning to cook, clean, schedule, and be an all around good little wife (Still learning though, always learning) I am ready to make my art and craft a part of my routine. In fact because of the skill of routine and planning I have learned from the 1950’s, I finally feel as if I am ready to undertake such a voyage.
So, this month’s project (which might stretch into February) is to write and illustrate a children’s book. You saw a sketch on my last post. Some of you mentioned wanting to know the process, so this really put it into my head to document that more. This way I can share the process with you and you can see smudges and smears of paint and ink turn into a finished product. Hopefully it will be of interest.
I have been greatly influenced by my times. The 1950’s is a ripe and vibrant time to be an artist. There is SO much going on from packaging and illustrative work to the modern and avant garde to Grandma Moses (Anne Mary Robertson) who was born in 1860 and is very celebrated here in the 1950’s.
I thought a children’s book a good way to segway my writing and my own late obsession with the modern free form movements of figural work used in children’s books and advertising of the times.
So, for what they are worth, here are some of what I worked on today. These are simply water color washes on paper with some pastel over and water added. Then a simple pastel sketches to get some ideas. Here is a close up of one of the two figures. You can see, a very basic outline on paper. I will show more tomorrow on some of the next layers. Now, is this too much information? I wasn’t sure if you would be interested in the very rough sketchy beginning stages of what will become a finished page in a book. The features may change, the stance all of that, but this is how I have been starting out.
Here is a rough up of the mother. I have many versions of her and not sure how she will turn out. This was a rough pencil and some dry brush and marker, then scanned and some computer work. Again, this is just a sketch, please do not think these are in any way final pieces, so do be kind there.
I hope all are enjoying their new year so far and keeping up with their resolutions.
Happy Homemaking.

2 January 1957 “Q & A Sunday: Meal Planning and Marketing”

I often get asked about meals, meal planning, and shopping. How to make lists or plan meals. I think, in many ways, this needs to be a personal thing, based on availability, amount of budget, and the number of people for whom you have to shop/cook.
Some people have their meals planned out to the letter before going to the market. For me, as I like to ‘poke about’ and see what is out there, I simply have a skeleton list. I know that I need enough meat and veg and starch for 7 meals. I know that I need to maintain my pantry list ( a separate list) of things such as flour and spices. When one gets used to simply cooking most of your things in this basic way, it can be rather easy to shop.
For example, I do use frozen vegetables to augment fresh (except in Summer when we eat from the garden). I sometimes use canned things, such as whole plum tomatoes to make homemade spaghetti sauces or casseroles etc. But, for the most part I have found that cooking simple always seems to be the best and truest way to enjoy the food. I do like sauces and other adornment, but still a good pork roast simply glazed and served with roasted potatoes and a green salad is a wonderful meal and quite easy to prepare.
My list, then, will often be broken up into items such as meat and veg. As I will want to choose the best items once there and then the type of veg I might like with the meat I have chosen. By having a running pantry list at home for things such as spices, flours, baking powder, syrup, honey, tea and so on, the main staples of the week are easy to shop for.
We eat no prepared cereal (just steel cut oats and cornmeal) and rarely do I buy things like chips and we do not drink soda. Milk and cream are the only beverages I buy. We drink water with all our meals and usually have a cocktail or a glass of wine.
Here is a sample of the type of food we might eat. As I said, I don’t make the meal plan set in stone before I shop. I simply know to buy for 7 days. I usually use guides such as, I know we need about 4 oz of meat per meal for dinner, so that’s 56 oz or three and a half pounds of meat. This gives me a number when I am looking at meat at a price per pound. I will often buy a bit more than this when meat is well priced.
I honestly believe that simple ingredients cooked well with good seasoning, a pretty presentation, and fresh veg and a good dessert make an easy and happy meal.
Breakfast
Saturday:  Fried Eggs, Bacon (2 slices ea) toast (one each) Grapefruit half (each) Coffee with cream, Jam and butter.
Sunday: Waffles with fresh fruit (Or homemade jam), whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausage links (one ea) coffee with cream, syrup.
Monday:Steel cut oatmeal (So wonderful-though it takes 30 minutes to prepare) with brown sugar and syrup and bananas. Whole wheat toast (one ea) with Jam and butter. Coffee with cream
Tuesday:Omelet made with leftover veg (or anything. Eggs are a great way to use leftovers, for dinner as well with quiche or soufflé) bacon (2 slices ea), 1 orange sectioned and one apple sliced divided for two. Coffee with cream.
Wednesday:Eggs Benedict on English muffin. sausage link (one ea) coffee with cream
Thursday: Fried Eggs (one ea), pancakes with syrup and fruit. Coffee with cream.
Friday:Corn meal made as hot cereal (simply take corn meal ratio of 1:2 with more liquid. I use milk as it makes it creamier. Let milk just simmer-that’s when it just starts to steam-and add corn meal. stir until thick, about 5 minutes.) Served with warm milk, syrup and fruit, usually bananas/apples and walnuts. Toast with Jam. Coffee with Cream. Friday is a good hot cereal day as it is marketing day for me. We have only one car now so I need to be ready to go and drive hubby in to have car for my marketing and errand day. Easy, good and filling.
Now, for lunch, I simply prepare a ‘third meal’ for hubby’s lunch the next day. So if I were making chops, I would make three and three portions of veg and so on. This way I have made and packed his lunch the night before and can pop it in the icebox for easy morning. For myself I usually eat light. I take an half hour or so and sit down with a pot of tea, a magazine and either tuna sandwich and cottage cheese. Or a salad with crabmeat. Sometimes I have egg salad. I usually have a little slice of whatever dessert I have going, but this I need to lessen so I can drop some pounds. But, not having a child at home and hubby at the office, I really have less cooking mid-day.
Dinner
Saturday:Pork Chops, asparagus with cheese sauce, carrot and celery spears (usually served in a glass with frayed ends. I saw this as a presentation in one of my vintage books and think it a fun way to showcase simple raw veg, so important in our diet) and dessert (usually a slice of cake or pie, or some cookies. We usually have tea in the evening with this and sometimes a bowl of nuts to accompany).
Sunday:Roast Chicken with stuffing, mashed potato and turnips with garlic, green salad with raw veg (carrots, tomatoes), steamed green beans. Dessert.
Monday:Leftover Pie made with Sunday dinner fixins (chicken, stuffing, etc) mixed with eggs and milk and baked in easy ‘pat a pie’ pastry.  The above recipe are the measurements I use for a one crust pie like this. The other is good for a two crust. This is a great way to whip up a fruit pie last minute. Simply mix fruit with some sugar and cinnamon and a bit of flour and pour in. Either top with crust or make a crumble of butter/brownsugar/and flour and sprinkle on top.

1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C  Salad Oil
2 Tbs milk

Tuesday:Chicken soup (made with bones and unused portion of innards of chicken for stock), warm bread and butter, rice with mixed vegetables stir fry. Dessert.
Wednesday:Pork Roast with apples and apple glaze. Potatoes and carrots cooked with roast. Celery stalks and radish and olive dish (fresh veg), gravy. Dessert
Thursday:Fried Chicken thighs (often the cheapest cut),Biscuits, creamed onions, fresh salad, Dessert.
Friday:Either I put the slow cooker on before I leave the house for marketing or errands so it is ready for me when I come home and have time to prepare. Or I might take Thursday’s leftovers and make for example creamed mushrooms on toast with the leftover fried chicken warmed, de-boned and sprinkled on. Veg and Dessert.
I am not sure if this is of any help to any of you. I would be curious to know how you plan your meals and what you like to cook. I will sometimes pull out my Cordon Blue Dione Lucas French cookbook and make Bouillabaisse or other fun things, but often I find these type of things also easy in that you are simply using good ingredients in an easy and pure way. Once you begin eating your own foods and realize how easy it is to cook simple and delicious meals, you will toss away those pre-packaged dinners and meals.
Happy Homemaking.

1 January 1957 “Happy New Year! and The Coming Project”

Happy New Year all. I hope you all can say you have had a wonderful year. My Hubby made a nice comment last night at our little party we hosted in our home. He said, “Well, I can say honestly at the end of this year I am not saying Thank God it is Over!” We all laughed and reflected that we have had a rather nice year. With all the changes in the world and the increasing fear of those changes, it was a good year for the pair of us, at least.
As you may know I have been contemplating for the past month on my possible return to the present or to simply walk naturally into 1957. My solution is for the most part, go forward with the 1950’s. HELLO 1957!
Now, with that, I have decided that I want another focus to my year. With my usual continuation of news and research of 1957 and my ever striving for more homemaking skills, I have decided that art and craft will play the major focus for 1957. That is not to say I will limit my posts or my interests only to the art world, on the contrary, it has been the past two years of my varied interests and study that have finally made me want to get back to creating tactile art.
I, of course, consider all the Homemaking skills art. I KNOW a loaf of bread baked to perfection and the shine of a kitchen floor is art and it takes creation and skill, believe you me. Yet, I feel the need to want to digest all that has been happening and will continue to happen in the 1950’s into tangible art and craft I can see, feel, touch.
The coming year, as well, will surely be ripe with many changes.
Music is continuing to grow ‘wilder’ and more beat driven. Here Jerry Lee Louis reminds us that a piano IS a percussive instrument.

And as is usual for me, I will not only focus on the good. I might still wear my rose-colored spectacles, but sometimes there appear smudges on them. The radical changes in our world are increasing. Things like Elizabeth Eckford attempting with 9 other black Americans, to attend a Little Rock AR High School later this year. This will result in some amazingly scary results.
To the happy items such as Theodor Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, created The Cat in the Hat.
The art world is increasingly running the gambit from more classical painting, such as this portrait of Princess Margaret by Pietro Annigonni from this year.
To  this child like sketch indicative of either children’s or mental patient drawings done by Picasso this year 1957.  With that the world of Advertising and the amount of images we are becoming bombarded with create Art in more places than once were. Products, TV commercials, magazines, even a box of detergent can be a thing of beauty. And the increase production in Books and Children’s books creates a boom world for artists pre-computer graphics. So, to me, the expressive arts, 2-D and 3-D are even more relevant.
Add to this the growing craft of Needlework, knitting, sewing. Endless offers are available to the homemaker and crafter to make and create by ordering patterns or easy instructions in magazines. Even paint by number is an expression for the burgeoning middle class to ‘pick up the brush and have an artistic hobby’.
So, how will my project work you might ask? I plan to, each month, propose to myself an ‘art & craft’ task. One month might be to write and illustrate a children’s book to creating and constructing 1950’s inspired wooden/paper dolls. Sewing, embroidery, what have you. I shall, for the most part, allow one month’s task to help me decide what the next should entail. Also the study and research of what is happening in that month in 1957 will most likely greatly affect my view and therefore ‘artistic vision’ for the next month. I hope to fuel my desire to create and nurture into this project even more.
You will also have notice that the blog has changed. After a year of learning, frustration and annoyance with the site and the seeming insurmountable work in it, I have finally figured out the best way to make my blog BECOME my website. This will allow me to have links to all my past posts (which I am still going through but it is SO much faster than trying to redo them all for the site). There will still be the Forum and the Corner Store and hopefully in the future, depending on which direction my ‘art and craft’ takes me, an actual little store of possibly my things for pin money. The site and the blog will become one so that rather you go to apronrevolution.com or the blog they will lead you to the same place. This will allow me to better make use of what I have, easily file away what I shall write for future use and have the time to focus on my art while still running my home and garden.
I hope all of you will still want to join me on this journey this year. I still can’t believe it has been two years! And so many lovely friends I have made. I would like to get back to my Q & A Sunday’s and still try to blog M-F with Saturday off for any blog tweaks and to focus on my art.
Our once featured Apronite of the month will make a return to the site/blog but I am not sure in what way. As I would like still to feature one of you a month. Perhaps you could suggest what you would like to see in that vein and that will help me to make it happen.
Well, after all that, my first art challenge for this month (which might need to spill into February as well, as it is a shorter month) is to write and illustrate a children’s book. I have been imagining a story around my favorite Hen, “Buttons” for some time. I hope to use she and her comrades as ideas. My first few sketches are greatly influenced by the more simplified forms of the 1950’s illustrators.  Here is a sketch that I started a few days ago to decide what direction I would like to take for this first art project. Here you can see our little Heroine running about. It is merely a beginning now, but part of my project will be to share sketches and idea’s so you can better see, as well as help me, get to a final piece I am happy with. As always Please give me your opinions good or bad, I want to grow and improve.
Thank you all again for your continued interest in my little project and I hope the coming year of 1957 will keep you at least amused. Again, Happy New Year and as always:
Happy Homemaking.

31 December 1956 “Marilyn Monroe: The Embodiment of the 1950’s? Auld Lang Syne”

Marilyn moved back to CA this year, having lived in NYC since 1954, when her marriage to Jo DiMaggio failed. She moved to the city to enroll in Lee Strasburg’s acting studio. Though close in age, he and his wife and family almost took her up like a daughter. Something which greatly affected their daughter and actress Susan Strasburg who played the younger sister in Picnic in 1955. She would  later reprise the role of Anne Frank on Broadway at the age of 18. Of Marilyn she said, she was like an older sister she loved but of whom she was also greatly jealous.
Marilyn’s time in NYC resulted in her marrying playwright Arthur Miller this year on June 29th 1956. They then moved to England to work on The Prince and the Showgirl. Not one of Monroe’s more well received films.

Her reason for returning to Hollywood was her upcoming work on the film Bus Stop. The film was released in August 31st of this year. It was a more dramatic piece for Monroe and better received by film critics.

She does, however, sing one song in the film, “That ole Black Magic” Here it is: (I could only find the version that the talking was dubbed in French, but the song is left in it’s original version of Marilyn’s odd ‘Southern’ accent. I wonder what actual Southerners thought of her ‘accent’)

During the filming of Bus Stop was when Monroe really began abusing sleeping pills and prescription drugs in general. We shall never know if her ultimate end was her own on purpose or by accident. I personally feel it was simply a mixture of Depression and a mistake. One could easily, when popping pills with such abandon and mixing them with alcohol, make themselves unknowingly a deadly cocktail.
In 1961 when she had been released from a psychiatric hospital by then divorced husband Miller, she almost overdosed after singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” To President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. She and Miller were then set to remarry on the 8th of August 1962, but Marilyn Died on the 4th of that year.
There is almost something of the 1950’s distilled in Marilyn. Her rise from a simple girl in the late post war 1940’s to a big star. She was basically physically remade with plastic surgery and various lessons during the 1950’s. The curvaceous gold digging  femme fatale ambition of her characters was almost a representation of the 1950’s in America. The sudden rush of wealth and endless new drugs and fun. One didn’t know what to do with it, so we enjoyed it, played and made the world bigger and better in one short 10 year period. But, in many ways, maybe it was too much too fast and too soon. As Marilyn ebbed, so to does the life of plenty we were just beginning to get right. Even her own demise at her hand really is rather a metaphor for us. The power, the nuclear power, the money, the increasing need and greed for oil and all it entails, all of it a very deadly cocktail easily ill-mixed could become a death potion rather than a lovely cocktail.
The 1960’s harbor many changes for us that we still feel today. But, as I have discovered over these past two years, there was a sleeping dragon in the 1950’s which we built upon it’s back our economy and lifestyle. As I understand more and more where we came from those short decades ago, I want to fix what was wrong and restore what was right. But, can we find a base to build a dream on? Can we walk on clouds? I am not sure.
As I approach 1957 and see 1960 in the headlights, I wonder. I do know with our modern technology of the computer we are able, we vintage minded, to seek one another out. Though we may all have different reasons for harkening back to a past many of us were never originally involved in, I know there is a common thread there. And that, that thread, could be the beginning of a great garment in which we are all seamstresses. I hope it is a wonderful quilt of accomplishment and success that we all work on together. I think if we are mindful of our stitches we can succeed. That is enough of that metaphor.
I hope all of you have had a wonderful year, I know 1956 has taught me a lot and I look forward to 1957. Tomorrow, hopefully, I can be more specific about how and what I feel 1957 will be for me and this blog/site.
Happy New Year and as always:
Happy Homemaking!

30 December 1956 “Christmas Gifts”

I know I have been on a sort of sabbatical from posting lately. I think the rush and excitement of Christmas left me not bothering with my computer to much, so I am rather late in sharing some Christmas gifts with you.
Here is Christmas morning. We forgot to snap a shot until we had already begun unwrapping. You can see Sophie, our little Italian Greyhound, has already been in her stocking and is happily chewing away on a treat from Santa. I chose, via the suggestions of my vintage magazines, to forgo simple green and red for wrapping. I chose Green and pink as a main theme and punctuated it with blues and browns.
Here is a little nosegay of ribbon flowers I made using the instructions I shared with you. This was for our Christmas swap this year at our family Christmas eve party. I made the vintage tag from an old image and used Hubby’s typewriter to type names on tags.
  Here I created a Christmas beach scene. It doesn’t look very appealing in this photo, but it was rather darling. I used glitter and glue to simulate sand and waves and made my own little clam shack. Here is a close up of the little house. What I did was scan some images I have from a book that reproduces early New England buildings that you cut out and create. They are HO scale if you want to use them in model railroads. What I did was scan it and then change the colors to light and bright colors like you find in these Mica Christmas village houses of the 1950’s. You can see the fun pastel shades and they are always covered in a clear form of glitter. So that is what I did. Next year, I may make my own village. If I do, I will share the plans with you. If you want to recreate this one, here is the full scale version I colored and is ready for printing. Just click on it and save and print. It actually has a little front and rear porch roof and railings and a little entranceway I did not add, but you could. I added glitter before I cut it out and glued it together. Just use Elmer's glue or homemade paste and an exacto knife. It is fairly easy to see how it goes together and put glue where you see the little dots. It all affixed to the lower right image with the yellow wood. Have fun if you make one! Change the colors up if you want. It is no longer HO scale, though, as I made it smaller for my package.
I thought I would share some of my lovely gifts with all of you. Now, much as a lady in 1956 would have done, all my gifts are not from 1956. I think, unless one was super up to date and modern, antiques and old things were just as appreciated in 1956 as today. In fact I have many books on collecting antiques printed in the 1950’s.
Rather I was in 1956 or today, I have always loved the 19th and earlier centuries. Here we see a lovely Paris Fashion plate from 1870’s (one of my favorite times for fashion) framed. It is old as is the frame. An actual antique little boy doll. A collection of Sir Walter Scott first printings and a little book by a 19th century Baroness. Hubby knows I am trying to brush up my French so I found these lovely French Novels and books in French. My French was always schoolroom French so my reading was much better than my speaking.
I was so excited to get this cookie press. I have been coveting one for ages. Now I can make proper Spritz cookies as well as other things. They are also great for making savories for cocktail parties or fun tea sandwich spreads.
Here is a good Spritz Cookie Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Sift together the flour and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg yolks, almond extract and vanilla extract. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients. Fill a cookie press with dough and shoot cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. If you like, decorate with sugar or sprinkles at this time.
3. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven.

I was surprised to see atop some of my gifts from my Hubby, these darling little vintage pins. They were used in place of bows (he always has been a great wrapper of gifts) Here they are close up. I love wearing pins. They are such a fun Vintage accesory and are usually affordable. You can use it to pin a scar around your neck, decorate a collar or dress, even attach to your handbag to add a little swirl of style.I also received these wonderful vintage earrings in my stocking. They are made from actual shells and rimmed in gold. Aren’t they wonderful. These will look great at Summer parties or boating. As you may know I have a set of vintage champagne goblets that are antique with a platinum ring. Hubby found, at our local church antique shop, a complete set of wine and dessert glasses that match! I was thrilled to say the least.
And you all may know as well that for my Everyday dishes, I collect and use the Temporama form the 1950’s. I have been lusting after the coffee urn for the past two years here in the 1950’s but they are hard to come by and when they appear on eBay are always overpriced. I was happy to see that Gussie and Hubby went in on one for me for Christmas, I was excited! And Gussie got me a gravy boat AND the matching plate. I once had the boat, but broke it in our move, but never had the plate. The plate is important for drips. I also received a new butter dish that goes with my salt and pepper and sugar.
I also collect antique bird cages. I have always been fascinated by old ways of keeping pets, and vintage bird cages are wonderful to just display or keep plants in or Victorian stuffed taxidermy birds. Or, in some cases, even a real bird, as this one may be large enough for a canary.
I felt my appreciation of older things validated as being “very 1950’s” when after opening my vintage bird cage, I was thumbing through my 1956 December McCall’s I got for Christmas to find this page. A very similar bamboo bird cage is shown here in a display for home. I loved that is used orange as well, as I like to use orange in my home because of all the warm wood tones.
Well, I have had a wonderful Christmas and I hope all of you have done as well. I am getting excited and a bit nervous for the coming year. I still have not officially ‘launched’ my new 1957 project as yet. We shall see, we shall see…
Happy Homemaking all and Happy Coming New Year!

29 December 1956 “Hungarian Revolt”

In October and November of this year was a revolt in Hungary. I have wanted to discuss it for some time, but it is so involved and also so embedded into the framework of where we are now, that I have started again and again, only to find it all so embroiling I could do it little justice.

Suffice it to say, I shall simply show this video of the time. It shows how those in Hungary tried for freedom and the Communism then present in Russia stopped it. Russia was our ally in WWII and little was sad of this whole matter. Yet, at this time in the 1950’s we claimed, as a country, to be appalled by the outrage that was Communism. This went on with no help from us or other parts of Europe, today we are endepted to and continue to participate with one of the largest and most powerful Communist country in the world, China. Have we learned anything or were we simply only taking it what was told us even then, in 1956.
To all those who fell trying to gain freedom and right I salute you, here at the end of 1956. I can do little to write anything poignant to represent you and little was done to help you physically then. To that, I am sorry.
The new year approaches, new resolutions and hopes swim in our view. The light at the end of a tunnel or a light blazing to blind us to the truths of our current world, I don’t know.
Here is a quick synopsis of the revolt:
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956.
The revolt began as a student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. A student delegation entering the radio building in an attempt to broadcast its demands was detained. When the delegation's release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State Security Police (ÁVH) from within the building. The news spread quickly and disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital.
The revolt spread quickly across Hungary, and the government fell. Thousands organized into militias, battling the State Security Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned, as former prisoners were released and armed. Impromptu councils wrested municipal control from the ruling Hungarian Working People's Party and demanded political changes. The new government formally disbanded the ÁVH, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.
After announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Politburo changed its mind and moved to crush the revolution. On 4 November, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition. These Soviet actions alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened Soviet control over Central Europe.
Public discussion about this revolution was suppressed in Hungary for over 30 years, but since the thaw of the 1980s it has been a subject of intense study and debate. At the inauguration of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989, October 23 was declared a national holiday.
I worry sometimes of our future, perhaps that is why the past is such a safe place to live. Where are we going, any of us, as a country and a planet? Are we now living in a time when future people will look at us and wonder, “Could they not see it coming?”

26 December “Happy Christmas”

I have not posted for a few days. It has been a flurry of activity around here and literally did not have my usual afternoon spot of computer time. In some ways, being away from the computer for a few days in a row can be very addictive. I shall not, however, make it a habit in the coming year and will endeavor to post daily.
How funny that here, at the end of 1956, I should be embracing more the vintage things rather than longing for the modern. I love my computer, don’t get me wrong. It allows me to post and write and also more and more do art and create. Yet, as a tool it is fine, but as an eater of time it can be immense. So, when I found myself a few days without it, I did not miss it. But, I would miss all of you and what the blog has come to mean to me.
I wanted to share some photos of gifts today, but our camera has gone missing. I shall then do that tomorrow. But, these past busy days were fun and well, busy. On Thursday, I went to my nieces and helped her prepare for our family Christmas eve party. It is here turn to host, so I was there to help. We have a theme each year and it has spanned from 1950’s to Dickens Victorian. One year we did a black and white ball and all had to dress in black and white (easy for the boys in tux of course). This year the theme was a pajama party! It was fun. We served up breakfast foods, had stockings on the mantle and Christmas parlor games. What fun!
For food there was crab and dill quiche, vegetable quiche, Quiche Lorraine, French toast bake, home fries, and lashings and lashings of bacon and sausage! And, of course, mimosa’s poured heavily and were much imbibed.
And yesterday, Christmas day, we had our family Christmas of hubby and Gussie and I. Then around 4 off to my MIL for dinner and more presents and a fire and relaxing.
So, here I am the day after the holiday and unable to locate my camera. I will today and then post my gifts, and other photos. I am finding it more and more difficult to remind myself to document my life with pictures. When I started, back in 1955, it was more about the project. My life was focused on the minutiae of the day, what to wear, how to cook, what to serve, what I would have watched. This year has lead more to my growth  in these areas and also an increased practice of, oddly enough, computer skills in my little endeavors to make a site and forum.
Now, however, I find those things most likely worth documenting so normal and part of my life I don’t think of them as unique. Then I find myself thinking, “Oh, the guys and gals on the site would have liked to have seen that.”
To me a girdle hanging to drip dry, the fastening of stockings, laying the breakfast table with vintage dishes and a big spread of food, hat, gloves, and heels. All of these things have become such a normal part of my life, I just have sort of moved on as far as thinking them unique. And, in so doing, in many ways this blog has become more about my day than the uniqueness of the 1950’s. Yet, in my daily normalcy, it is very 1950’s so it is still, in many ways a vintage blog. One can get rather mixed up in time when one becomes a time traveler.
I realized yesterday morning how it was all so normal, yet how unique we were truly living. Hubby, in his vintage Pajamas and dressing gown reading his copy of a 1956 book Gussie had found for him. I, reading my 1956 December McCall's from my stocking, also from Gussie and she in her pajama’s trying on the nice vintage kid gloves  and hat I bought for her. I began discussing the articles I was reading in my magazine, admiring my new coffee urn that matches my Temporama dishes and thought, ‘If someone were to suddenly drop down in our home at this moment they might (if they didn’t look out the window at any modern cars) think they were truly in 1956. Our house is old, much older than 1956, vintage clothes, magazines, dishes. Even our topic of conversation was casually about the article I was reading about the the little prince and princess of England Charles and Anne. Yet, we still are very modern in many ways. It seems, without my conscience effort any longer, we have seamlessly meshed the past and present.
It leaves me realizing how the coming year will still find me reporting from the past (most likely 1957) yet still just living my ‘normal’ life and sharing that with you. And normal for me is rather a mix of the old and new. But, in many ways, I have always been rather comfortable with the past. There was a time when I mostly read books:history, novels, philosphy, etc from the 19th century and earlier. If it was published after 1930 I had little interest in it. I felt a kinship for the old, a look back and what was. Of course college in the 1990’s was hardly an inspiring decade. A sea of torn jeans and flannel shirts, grunge was des rigueur. Even the art world was rather bland, the expressionism and pop art having faded to a bland or shocking move towards performance and process. So, in many ways, my life was probably always on a course towards the past, yet for me in some ways I have come more into the future. The 1950’s were really a new modern world. Of course, prior to my trip to 1955, I had sort of taken on the malaise of the modern urban dweller. Jeans and Uggs. Shopping and materialism. Yet, in my own art, I always found myself portraying or considering the 19th century. As if my true life was simply waiting to be born after being cocooned in the modern for a decade or so.
Now, with  the approaching year I do find myself wanting to look more specifically to art. To the expression in pictures and words. In many ways I consider the past two years almost as a performance piece as well as my life. Now, with 1950’s being such a normal aspect to me, I feel like I can actually express something I should care about in an ‘artful’ way.
Now, of course you all know I consider the art of the Home to be, in fact, an Art form. Running and planning a home, the preparation of meals and the making of clothes, even cleaning all are true art forms. Ones in which I still am a student, yet consider it is a lifetime classroom. But, I have of late come to want to express myself artfully in a more specific representational way. In pictures and words. A children’s book, paintings, drawings these sorts of things. And I think they shall play a major role in my coming year.
My site, a year long attempt that, right now, I am rather disappointed in, needs to be simplified and streamlined so that I might focus more on my creating and then simply sharing with you. More time to discuss the art world and also the art forms of the home as well. I think a good homemaker can talk Rembrandt and Redecorating and Cleaning, don’t you?
So, here comes the new year and I hope all are getting ready to face it with new challenges and new excitement in improvement and joy in the Home and family. Happy Homemaking.
I will close with this song, “He’ll be coming down the chimney” which was the official Christmas seal song of this year, 1956, sung by Rosemary Clooney. I could not find her version of it, so here is Guy Lombardo’s version.

And here is a  wonderful Home Movie from 1956 Christmas. From my Vintage Heart to all of you, Happy Christmas and A Wonderful Holiday!

21 December 1956 “Wrapping Gifts: Another Homemaker’s Art”

I think the presentation of gifts once had as much import as what the package contained. Be it the higher cost of things, the almost non-existent use of credit or simply the time allowed the homemaker, gift wrapping was an art.
This shows another aspect of the homemaker that is something I have come to hold dear: time. Many today might say, ‘Well, the little dear, she just had all the time in the world. And nothing to challenge her mind, so no wonder she spent so much time on making gift decoration”. Yet, consider giving less, taking more time in the wrapping and having the time at home to enjoy that process. Even if one were a working woman, wouldn’t you rather be at home, humming along happily to some Bing Crosby while snipping bows and fastening toilet paper rolls into little soldiers than out rushing through the mall, swiping that card over and over? I know I would.
Here we see a woman helping a wounded soldier with his wrapping.(Image from HERE) It is of interest to note that though scotch/cello tape was available, many suggestions show that glue as well as string were also used to hold paper on packages. In some cases, we are told in lieu of paper (think of during the war when there was little paper and little to give, one had to decorate as best they could and make the package as nice as the gift)to decorate the plain box with what was on hand. Here we see plastic spoons on plain boxes and even cutting out images from other paper to make a theatre mask.
The idea that the package can be as fun or as important as the gift is shown wonderfully here.This Penguin would do lovely over a bottle of wine or even, for the cook, some fine quality first press olive oil. I know I am always appreciative of fine cooking supplies and you might get a chance at a fine meal in return for your thoughtfulness to the chef.
This darling and kookie little guy is going to show up under our tree this year. How adorable and what a great way to make use of paper toweling rolls, toilet roll tubes or simply making a tube with scrap paper. We always save mis-printed or mistake computer paper. Sometimes that printer doesn’t want to behave or there it gets jammed, don’t throw that out. Not only can you cut it and staple it to make a fine grocery list notebook, it can go with the crafts for just such times as this, wrapping fun!
These three examples are fun ways to decorate that package. The last is ingenious and very green. They have taken a wishbone from a chicken or turkey (why throw it out!) and decorated it with sequins. Then, on Christmas day, the recipient and a partner can make a wish, ingenious.
I also love this idea where one takes one item and arranges it to look like another.Here it is dishtowels/tea towels arranged to look like baby clothes. Wouldn’t this be a lovely idea for a baby shower? You could fold cloth diapers to resemble this little outfit. Or men’s handkerchiefs could be used and see Father’s eyes when he looks to mother with that questioning look “Mother? Is the stork coming?”
These remaining images show some fun ways to make bows. What is interesting is the color range of Christmas paper, it isn’t all red and green. I have decided to do some pink and green this year, as I rather like it together and it makes me think of Spring. I found some plain green paper and pink ribbon.
  Following these images are the ‘How-to’ for these bows.Here are the instructions. All images are clickable to become larger.
   
I adore these roses and here are the step by step guides. I might have to make a pretty pink nose gay atop my green packages.       I like this idea as well, because the little seed packages atop a gardener’s gift (a book or garden gloves or little metal row markers) would be much appreciated. Especially since I will be starting seeds in January, it makes a Gardner’s heart beat quickly to get thinking about getting back to that soil.
So, I hope these ideas are not too late (many may have all their wrapping done) but they certainly could be added to gifts already wrapped. Enjoy and Happy Homemaking.