11 October 1955 “News, Recipes, VICTORY WEEK, and a Question”

I have had company for the past few days, so do please excuse the fewer posts.

I have been a bit lax in news as well, so here we go:

The actor James Dean died on 30 September 1955,  when his Porsche 550 Spyder collides with another automobile at a highway junction near Cholame, California. He's 24 years old.

Though he only really has three major films to his name ( the final movie The Giant, with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, was released posthumously in 1956) his death while young, rebellious in a fast car, along with his film “Rebel without a Cause” cemented his iconography.

To me this really represents what is coming ahead: The youth culture of ‘live fast and leave a beautiful corpse’. The idea of teenagers needing a world away from the rules of the adults. What is scary to me is, now they have that world! Those baby boomers ARE the adults and though there are exceptions to the rule, they often seem to me to want to all be James Dean. Even politicians seem to have the attitude of  “I do want I want without care or responsibility” and sometimes it sends a chill down my spine. But, none the less, the idea of the rebel is born.

What surprises me is so many girls look for the rebel as date material despite their very attitude of self before anyone, moody uncontrollable passions, and really lazy attitudes are the exact opposite to real long term happiness in a relationship.  The very idea that your image and how you are living in terms of perception of ‘cool’ to other people seems to me, now, to be the very cause of so much sadness and misunderstanding in how the real ADULT world really works. Here we have youth living happily in a world their parents struggled to make safe and calm and happy after what they had gone through with the war and everything, but maybe it was too nice. The teens, their children, found the reliability and constancy of warm homemade meals, rules and a clean orderly home stifling, but that is only because they took it for granted. Just think how many young children today would benefit from a parent at home, homemade meals, and the lesson of consequence for action and it doesn’t matter how you look to other people, but what you actually do and how you treat your neighbor is more important. Why does everyone have to be cool? Here is a clip of the argument in the movie with James explaining why he ‘had to do it’ because they called him “chicken”.

Now, obviously James Dean was a good actor, but this role, this niche of the misunderstood teen against the world, really was needed at this time. The sad part is how much it has become a blueprint for the world today. There are reality shows dedicated to people who need to ‘look cool and act how they want without regard to peoples feelings’ etc.

There has to somehow be a happy medium of self-worth, responsibility and equilibrium. It seems today EVERYONE is rebelling, but against what? All the walls and norms have been broken down. In some way I feel like we, the Apron Revolutionaries, are the real real modern day Rebels. When the norm in public is herds of people (teens and adults) tattooed and cool in their jeans and attitude, hip to the core, I feel like when I stroll in with my petticoat and hat and heels, I’m the real rebel, and believe you me sometimes I get the looks the old leather clad youths probably got.

On 3 October 1955, The Mickey Mouse Club premiers. Now, as some of you may know, I have many qualms with Disney. I feel in some way, the company has taken the free open world of imagination and old fairy tales and slapped a price tag on them. They are behind the ridiculous extended 100 year copyright laws in this country, which is ironic, since they are trying to protect stories that they themselves, ‘stole’, which is the old fairy tales, but I digress. This show seems rather sweet.

I can’t get over again the difference between this dance routine and the modern day cheerleaders. One of my hubby’s work associates told him they had gone to a local school show and the 9 and 10 year old ‘dance’ troupe basically did really sexy moves to a Hip Hop song. He, himself only early 30’s, was appalled. I think we do need some innocence back. I don’t understand if why we now have sexual freedom we need to be so focused on it? There are other parts to being a human being than sex and if we are liberated, why go on and on by displaying it? We should now be able to focus on other elements of life, right?

This shows another example of today people caring more about ‘how they appear to others’. If these boys today, clean and groomed in a suit and bowtie showed up, they would get teased. Yet, people are always talking about how conformist the 1950’s were, but how many of the masses of people, including adults, are fixated on how cool they are and how they appear to strangers at the mall and other functions? Just something to think about.

I was amazed by this video that aired this year (1955) on the Mickey Mouse Club.

What a novel idea! Instead of over charging students for education and making it a corporate business, they teach the kids how to both learn and to be responsible with actual physical work in exchange for mental! I wonder if this still exists today. What a great opportunity for those who could not afford an education and still understand the actual physical labor involved in how the world works. What do you think of this? I have a feeling if this was offered today we would have to listen to people say it was SOCIALISM, even though what is more socialism than the government bailing out the poorly run banks and financial institutions? Really, this is the industry of fair trade for work and education. Does anyone know if this college still exists?

Today, 11 October, the new innovation in Film of 70-mm film is introduced with Rodgers and Hammerstein's masterpiece, Oklahoma!

Another aspect I have noticed from the 1950’s to the present is the Horror movie. Really the scary horror film was born in the 1950’s and really for a kids audience. Youths on Saturdays would go see double features of ‘Creature” films etc. Today, the horror film baffles me. The series called SAW which I have not seen but know of seems to be a series of senseless violence and,well, horror. Certainly, I don’t want there to be limits on what is made, but I do want us to look at WHY we do make the movies we make. What is the result in our own society that such movies are so popular? Maybe peoples everyday life of endless work in mindless jobs and easy entertainment at every turn, the tv, the computer music everywhere, we hardly feel anything. So, to really get our attention, to make us FEEL anything,  we need to see bodies dismembered and destroyed. Again, if we use our brains and knowledge to dissect the world around us, we can enjoy ourselves, but also understand WHY we enjoy certain things and decide, is that really entertaining?

Now, for the kitchen:

Yesterday Gussie, who works on a local farm with the animals, brought home a wonderful surprise: Bags of veggies. Amongst these were a few heads of cabbage. So, I took out the ole’ cookbooks and found so many ways to use this wonderful vegetable.

I was sad to have to leave mine at the other house as we have rented it, but I am already going to plan a good amount of this wonderful vegetable for my garden next spring. It seems to keep really, well, likes growing in the cool weather and can be preserved rather easily.

The recipe I tried last night was Braised Red Cabbage and Apples. Though our cabbage was not Red, it was so good. Hubby adored it and my head began to swim with all the new ways I could cook and use this wonderful veg. I am sure many of you already cook with cabbage, but for me it is a new introduction to my increasing repertoire of food preparation. Here is the recipe:

Braised Red Cabbage and Apples

Caramelized chopped onion gives this dish its special flavor. IF you like, season more highly with nutmeg and cayenne or with allspice and clove (I actually added a little Tabasco sauce and it was lovely)

4 Tablespoons bacon fat or fat salt pork

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 small onion, chopped

4 cups shredded cabbage

2 tart apples, sliced

3 Tablespoons mild vinegar

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

Salt and Pepper

Water, stock , or red wine

Melt fat, add sugar, and stir until golden brown. Add onion and cook slowly until golden yellow. Add cabbage, apples, vinegar, and seasonings. Cook slowly until very tender. Add a little water, stock or wine as necessary to keep from sticking. Serves 4 to 6.

Now, I used butter instead of bacon fat, only because I was out of bacon, and believe me I WILL use the fat next time, but the butter was really nice as well. After making this dish, and it was so good, I found this footnote to the recipe:

Braised White cabbage Use 1/4 sugar and only 1 tablespoon vinegar.

That is what I should have done, as I used white cabbage, but honestly, I found it sweet enough and I love vinegar. I also used apple cider vinegar which is a little sweeter. Another thing I noticed was this said it would serve 4 to 6, my hubby and I ate the whole dish full last night at dinner! Another example of modern portions and amounts.

Speaking of this, I am getting ready for my marketing tomorrow which will be for our VICTORY WEEK. I am not sure who is joining me, but the shopping list is in one of my previous blogs, so print it out or write it down and lets make a weeklong move towards Victory over waste, consumption and to better health! I am curious to see how it will end up. We can be thankful it is just a week and not years and years as the UK had it during the war.

I am going to try this recipe tonight with more of our cabbage. (this could be a good one for VICTORY WEEK as well, as it uses very little and you could probably cut down to one egg yolk or use the whites for another dinner and the yolks for this, thus stretching your eggs out.)

Hot Slaw

1/2 cabbage

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup hot vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt.

Shred cabbage. Mix egg yolks, cold water, butter, vinegar, and salt. Cook over hot water, stirring constantly, until thick. Add cabbage. Reheat. Serves 4.

In my last post, one of my faithful followers Zebu posed the following question:

I agree that two-income families can definitely cut back! What do those of you who work say about your husbands? Would they go along with this cutting way back so that you could stay home? Would they WANT you to be able to stay home?

I am also interested in this. How many of you, who are not already single incomers, would like to be? Would your spouse go for it or be open to the discussion. How do you think your family and friends would react or treat you?

Well, until tomorrow and onto VICTORY WEEK!

7 October 1955 “A trip to NYC 1955, 21st.century Cheering, and Meat Buying”

 

I found this 25 minute video of two young college girls trip to NYC. It is interesting for the fashion and other things. I love how everyone wears gloves and hats and the main blonde girl has the most darling summer mesh gloves. This was obviously done by and for TWA, but interesting culturally anyway.

There is a bit when the girls see a parade and there are some girls in a ‘drill team’. To see their simple movements and long dresses seems so sweet and amateur compared to a cheer or drill squad today. What struck me, and again I am not a prude, is how over sexualized this type of thing is today.

So, as an example of the comparison of what the girls did in the parade in 1955 to today at a High School Cheer Squad.

I cannot believe how much like a strip club these moves are. I am not sure why it has become popular to have young girls be over sexualized. You would think that with sexual freedom one could stop focusing on it altogether, as ‘what is the big deal’. I just keep thinking if I were a parent and this was my daughter, would I feel pride? And for the girls themselves, rather than it being just fun for them, it is again about being sexy and ‘ready’ for boys. Women’s liberation here seems displayed in a way that is more about men ogling you as an object than any personal freedoms or fun. But, that is just my opinion. Maybe I am a prude.

Oh, I promised I would include the video on the return of nylon/stockings. It is sweet and I like the bit about Dior at the end. This is part of a film about post war world that Bob Hope Narrates.

Well, since we are planning on trying our VICTORY WEEK for next week, I have already noticed my own baking and cooking more this week. I like this, as well, because it makes me have more ‘realistic’ moments. I mean, I have not even started VICTORY WEEK yet and I am already noticing things about the amount of food I have compared to what I would have had during the war. For example, I used my entire weeks ration of butter yesterday to make a batch of cookies as well as a considerable amount of my sugar and flour.

I think what will make the VICTORY WEEK such a good test for me is that I can really feel, after it, how lucky I am to have so much available. It will also allow me to remember what it was to not have so much and to then not want to waste.

I have already, this year,  found myself using more of what I would have considered garbage or throwaway last year. Yet, there is always more realizations and more learning. For example, this morning at breakfast hubby and I had grapefruit. When we were done with it I realized I would not (were I lucky enough to have a citrus fruit) throw out that rind! I’d save it and use it to make marmalade. So VICTORY WEEK is going to be a good learning curve for me and this project.

I think if we can, we modern homemakers, not feel we have to ‘punish’ ourselves by using less, but to try and use much less to see how much we do have. The comparison will be good for us and help us to realize where we stand with food and that, yes, we can use less, consume less, spend less and be healthier and less wasteful.  All of this would make it easier to shop local, where it might be a little more than a chain, and still save.

I bet there are many two family incomers out there that could really cut back their food use/budget and maybe some thinks like expensive coffee drinks and allow one or both of them to work one or two days less a week. That would give more time to put into making your own and being less dependent and over time I bet they could become a one income family or two part time incomes. I honestly believe this! So, anyone out there wanting to try and become a single income family, these are the types of things we need to try. Unfortunately, just wishing it will be won’t make it happen, but to realize how much power you actually have in your own spending and abilities is a powerful tool to creating your life how you would like it to be! Apron Revolution, ladies!

Well, on the topic of food and food buying, I wanted to share this article on buying meat properly and not being duped by your butcher. It actually has some good info about meat that I didn’t know. Most of us just go to the local chain, never see the ‘butcher’ and just grab what is wrapped in Styrofoam and plastic. You can click on the image to make it larger and read the article.

Let me know what you think of the article and can we use the information today to shop wiser? I know you can talk and request things from the ‘butcher’ in a chain store. Our big Stop and Shop does have butchers, you just have to get their attention and then request things. I wonder how much their knowledge is diminished from the 1950s? Do they know or need to know as much about meat as a local shop owner or butcher?

I do not have all of my art things as yet unpacked, as they are awaiting me patiently in my future studio, but I did want to dash out a quick superhero. She will evolve and be better drawn in the future and might possibly be in a little comic strip now and again as the mood hits. I just had to draw the image of a homemaker with the apron as a cape and so thought I would share my little scribble with you.

 

4 October 1955 “Wartime Images: can they still be valid Now? Proposed Shopping List for VICTORY WEEK”

I thought since we are discussing rationing and our proposed “Victory Week” I would share some great wartime posters. What I found interesting about these, is really what they suggest are perfect for today’s world of faulty economy and need to conserve and be GREEN.

First off, this shows why rationing was a good idea and the fairness of the system during a time of shortage. I feel now as if this poster should be made to show the top A Wal-Mart large and ominous and little business being squeezed out and the bottom or resolution, a smaller wal-mart and other equal sized local business.

When food is scarce, it is serious business, and I think this poster says it all. However, today, though we have plenty, why do we feel the need to waste it? The amount of food thrown away is criminal, not only in our own homes, but in chains and other restaurants. This is true for clothing as well.This poster shows the horrors of it. When I see this and think of Old Navy and such stores today I want to cry. I worked for awhile when I was younger in a chain clothing store. We moved clothes so quickly from full priced to sales and then we had to destroy and throw them out when they didn’t sell in the alloted time. We could not save them and donate them, they literally had to be cut to shreds in the back room, stuffed in plastic bags and put into dumpsters. I know someone who works at J. Crew and at Forever 21 and all these chains do the same thing. Move in the product, mark it down in a week, second/third markdowns, then destroyed and tossed away. What does this say about our society? Sad.This could help us today as well. Even if you did buy a shirt for 5 dollars at old navy, you know what? if you mend it and not toss it out, or embellish it to give it a new look, you are still spending less money then buying more five dollar shirts! Maybe we could even do a ‘week of mending and no buying’ and see if we could dig out some clothes we don’t wear and see if we can repurpose them for ourselves so as not to buy any new and with any extra donate them.

  I think these two posters could be relevant today, perhaps not the Hitler imagery, but it drives the point home. Don’t waste when more than one person could ride with you. Save on gas, and wear and tear, so true today.Even the concept of ‘staying put’ for “Home Holidays” were popular due to the needs of the war. But, now in a recession time, why not make a local holiday? We always feel the need to get away and rush about and spend money. This poster is still very relevant, in fact we need to bring back more trains to ease the transportation burden away form the gas guzzling cars! Just in my own experience, having recently downsized to one car makes a world of difference. Now, when I have to go somewhere I really need to think about it and plan and not just ‘take off whenever’ and now my bike get’s used more!

  And, of course, the Victory Garden was serious business. It could literally stand between your family and starvation. The concept of giving up some of our lawn and flower garden space to actual food growing is ever important. I was happy to hear our new president, for the first time I think since Roosevelt the first, had a veg garden planted at the white house.

  Even a poster like this could be used to help us in our fight to build community. If we could make it feel as it we are NEEDED, from Father to little sister, then we could make a community. The kids could learn that besides video games, there is a way to work together to make a better place in which to live, so when they meet with their friends to play video games they will have made a change in the physical world as well. Balance. I think video games and computers are not going anywhere, which is fine, but all things need to be balanced and there is enough time and room in this world for video games AND building and making a community, don’t you think? And if we felt a need or a push, as a Nation, to make our local communities, it would take off. I am sad to say, however, that many media outlets (tv for sure) do not want this. IF we learn to get along and make do and men and grow our own food and also know our neighbors then we might ban together and open local shops and if we know mr. jenkins down the road, or Sally up the street and they have a shop we will support them and be treated kindly for our effort. Does anyone think this could ever be?

If we could make our own new ‘1950’s’ that would be our second chance to get it right. We would not be living in the past, but looking to the past to take the chance post war America started and then got lost somewhere in the late 1960’s.

This poster is a good hearld for our proposed ‘Victory Week’.

Now, for our Victory Week, I have been doing a little research. I was unable to find a typical American week of Rations for WWII, so if anyone has such a list, you could post it in the comments in this post.

What I did find, which is staggering, is a normal weeks ration for Britain during rationing. Vegetables were not rationed, but were nearly impossible to come by, so many grew and saved their own, thus the “Victory Garden”. Lawns and parks were given over to vegetables and farm animals were allowed in cities and small plots to aid in self-preservation.

Here is the list of what was allowed then.

Lard or Butter  4 oz. (that is only 1/2 a cup)

Sugar                  12oz.

Bacon                    4oz.

Eggs                        2  (this was supplemented with powdered    eggs, and of course many kept chickens at this time)

Meat                       6oz.

Tea                          2oz.

This was mind blowing for me and I am not going to recommend this, unless some people would like to try it. I would be willing to do it for a week if we wanted to try an actual WWII week. The above was for an entire week per person!  But, for this week, I think we could make a more manageable list for those of us who live in such a food rich world.

Here is my proposed weekly list, let me know if you think we should add or subtract etc. I think this list should be for two people as opposed to one and for every young child under 12 add 1/4 the amount and for every teen/adult extra add 1/2 the amount. No Chips or Candy bars (except chocolate exchange see below), Junk Food etc.

Bread    1 loaf  (purchased, you could choose to use your baking supplies to make the amount of bread you could for the week)

Meat       30 oz. (So basically that is 6 0z. of meat per day for 5 days and the other two days nothing, but divided how we see fit)

Butter/Lard  8 oz. (which is two sticks of 1/4 cup butter each, does this seem too much?)

oil   (corn, etc) 12 oz.

Bacon   1/2 package

Eggs         one dozen (unless you think we should make it less for more of a challenge? Although we would possibly have chickens)

Potatoes    5 lbs or about 14 full size (that is 2 per day used obviously how you want)

Milk              1/2 gallon

Canned fish/meat     2 cans

Canned Veg                 3 cans

Fruit (seasonal for your area) 5 pieces (ex five apples)

Snack    one bag of kernel popcorn

Fresh Veg  (seasonal for area) 5 pieces or exchange (ex 5 tomatoes or one bunch of carrots)

Flour   5lb. bag (this is an opportunity to make things with it, bread, desserts, gravies thicken soup etc)

Sugar 2 1/2 pounds (basically 1/2 of a 5 lb bag. Does this seem too much?)

Oatmeal (not sure size of smallest box, but that one)

Various baking ingredients you already have (baking powder etc if you don’t have then buy for the week in smallest size possible)

Chocolate    one sweet exchange  (this could be one normal sized candy bar or one 8 oz. bag of chocolate chips, make it one small item that you can either spread out, add to a dessert or hide in the closet and eat it behind hubbies back, whatever you choose but only ONE ladies)

Jam (what you have made or one 6oz jar)

Golden syrup (or you could use corn syrup) of Lyles Golden Syrup. I think 1/2 the can or 8 oz is more than a fair amount for the week for two. great in oatmeal or in cooking. Try some on that popcorn for a sweet treat. Those in the UK will know this product but it is not always available here in the U.S., but even my local Stop and Shop carries it and I use it. Here is what it looks like)

So, Meat with bones is always a good idea, as you can save the bone to boil for soup stock. I think there will be no ‘throw away leftovers’ as anything can be saved and added to next meal.

Here are a couple of authentic wartime recipes from Marguerite Patten, who was Britain’s authority on cooking. (Really the first celebrity chef, of course there was Mrs. Beeton before her) Here she is in the 1950’s.

Woolton Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb each of diced potatoes, cauliflower, swedes and carrots;

Three or four spring onions;

One teaspoonful of vegetable extract;

1 oz of oatmeal or rolled oats.

Method:

Dice and cook the potatoes, cauliflower, swedes and carrots in boiling salted water.

Strain, but keep three-quarters of a pint of the vegetable water.

Arrange the vegetables in a large pie dish or casserole. Add the vegetable extract and the rolled oats or oatmeal to the vegetable liquid. Cook until thickened and pour over the vegetables.

Add three or four chopped spring onions.

 

EGGLESS SPONGE

Ingredients:

6 oz self-raising flour with one level teaspoon of baking powder, or 6 oz plain flour with three level teaspoons of baking powder

2.5 oz margarine

2 oz sugar

1 level tablespoon golden syrup

A quarter of a pint of milk, or milk and water

Jam for filling

Method:

Sift the flour and baking powder. Cream the margarine, sugar and golden syrup until soft and light, add a little flour, then a little liquid.

Continue like this until it is a smooth mixture. Grease and flour two 7in sandwich tins and divide the mixture between the two. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until firm to touch, just above the centre of a moderately hot oven.

Turn out and sandwich with jam.

This is a great modern quote from Marguerite for cooking in today’s recession

“"The first lesson is: don't be defeated. Sit there as if you are planning a campaign. Have a look at what clever things you can do with the cheaper cuts of meat or offal. What about hearts? Have you had them? No? Well, that's because you're a modern person. But they're delicious. Stuff them with sage and onion and cook them very slowly so that they melt in your mouth. What about tender, young lamb's kidneys? Mmmmm. Wonderful!"

So, use that as a guide. I love Beef Liver and Kidneys and they are always inexpensive, as is the heart. Great sources of iron as well!

So, Let’s today in comments talk about my proposed weekly list. What am I missing? Should I reduce some things, increase? Let me know and we can revise and make it a set list. Then we can decide to start tomorrow, Monday, if you wish or we could put it off until the following week. Let me know. Let’s get to our VICTORY WEEK!

3 October 1955 “Buy More Pay Less or Pay More Buy Less, a Proposed Project of Rationing”

We are so used to the phrase “Buy more Pay less” that we forget it has led to our “society of entitlement”. We feel we DESERVE to get a bargain on everything which then forces us to not shop locally and force out small business and ultimately ruin our communities.

This image shows people waiting in a rationing line. What is odd, is I often see this in stores today, but people lined up to buy more and more of what they don’t need! I remember when the local IKEA opened, I fell into it as well. I remember standing in this long line just waiting to give up my money for things I honestly did not need. When I think of that now it almost sends a shiver down my spine. I really feel now brainwashed by the consumer culture.

I wonder if these ideas of the wartime economy may someday be our solution to our planet and pocketbook woes?  It would seem the idea of people coming together to solve a problem as a nation is a good solution. It makes us all feel part of it. Unfortunately, those making the money from our overspending don’t want us to believe it is happening so they lie to us and use poor imagery of anti-American ways to fear us into ignoring it. And keep us from coming together by the lazy ways of staying home with tv and computers, who could ever come together as a community and try to change when we are so lulled. When, really, how un-American is it to be ruled by a dictator of consumerism and fall prey to the propaganda TV stations that perpetuate the lies? But, I don’t want to go off on that tangent right now. I think we need to really think about that basic concept of buying more paying less or buying less and paying more (which supports our local business and helps us to economize and be healthy)

I sometimes think about rural central America and feel bad that they were once thriving little communities that sent their children off to school to have them return and make their part of the world better. The young people had dances and listened to the radio and played games. There was community. Now I think of these places as sad dustbowls where the downtown is gone and empty, just outside of town is the Wal-Mart and various fast food places. The teens are ‘bored’ and doing drugs and overdrinking and can’t wait to leave or if they don’t leave, they stay in all the time on the computer or video games. How have we become this?

I am sure there are women today who were homemakers in the 1950s that are so glad to have so many things so cheap,  and to use kleenex and paper towels, but in a way, they really can’t understand where we have come and in some way, let them have it. But, for those of us who are young enough that we are making the country still and preparing new adults for the future, we have to somehow stop the idea that we need to buy more and more and it had better be cheap!

I am always amazed and appalled at the way people in lines at stores will treat the help and with their own feeling of entitlement. If  someone is trying to return something beyond the stores policy or they don’t have their receipt, they go crazy and DEMAND that they get what they want! It is not the help’s fault the person made the wrong choice, or didn’t keep or read the rules on the receipt. But, this feeling of “I want it now and I want it fast and you better treat me like a God” is such a horrible trait and path we seem to be treading down.

I remember my first day out in Paris when I was a young girl.  I was coming form the American stores that treat you, the consumer, as if you can do no wrong. Boy, that was a rude awakening! I actually felt anger and frustration, but the longer I was there I began to realize, “Why do I think I DESERVE to be treated like a queen and at the expense of the people who have to work there or the shop keepers who have to buy and stock the items?”  There should be no rudeness on either side and certainly the customer should not just walk in and expect everything to be just for them.

I see now that even back then we were being groomed to be the consumers that can only be happy at a store that can afford to stock and return without fear unlike a local store.

So, back to shopping locally.  We  go to the local chain and the meat and chips are are half of what they are at a local shop. So, we buy more, spend the same amount, overeat and have more to throw away. I think if we could look to ourselves, we new Homemakers, as those ladies did during war rationing, we could really wean ourselves of the current over consuming habit.

If we said to ourselves, “we MUST shop locally and consume less”, we could just approach it as if we were in wartime spending. So, we cannot buy as much food, well then we have to be more creative about how we use it. Learn how to stretch it. That meatloaf can become two meatloaves with some bread added as filler; those leftovers can go in the freezer or into a pot for stew. So, chips are expensive, STOP EATING THEM, they aren’t good for you anyway. I know it sounds harsh and hard, but you know what, anything worth doing often has some  struggle in it, but when you have succeeded you are happy and content and glad for the struggle. Or one bag of chips for the month, then you have to ration them out! It might sound extreme, but right now we have been taught the other extreme: that we must buy as much as we can and fill our shelves to the brim and then overeat and buy more! It is not healthy for our pocketbooks, our health, our waistlines, nor our sense of being. I don’t like to think that we are training groups of children to think they can just consume and consume for ever and ever, how will that make them understand the consequences of anything?

I was amazed the other day when I was out marketing. I saw, with the produce, these little packages of sliced apples with a little dipping sauce. I thought, “How on earth is ANYONE too busy to slice an apple and put it in Tupperware?” Here is more packaging, plus I know there was some chemical to make the apple not turn brown that we then would eat and the cost!

So, I don’t want to go on another rant without any result.  So, what say you to an experiment we can share in? Maybe we should try a week where in we ‘pretend’ it is WWII rationing and see how we fare. I think that is a safe amount of time. We would simply use only what is the very basics, no chips (crisps) nor very large helpings or seconds, maybe even scale back desserts and only what we can make with the basics, flour sugar butter (Which I know they even ran out of  during the war).

What do you think, would it be a fun project? Maybe in the comments we could discuss it and set the parameters.

For instance we could say we could only use bread we made ourselves or bought at a local bakery (not a chain) and we could only buy one loaf instead of more.  So if we ran out of bread during that week we would have to use our minds to think, ‘what can we do?” I know that during this time many people turned to pancakes/flapjacks as alternatives as they were easier to make than bread and no yeast was required. SO instead of a sandwich you have a pancake with something rolled into it.  You know what I mean, be frugal and see what we could do.

We don’t have to be too extreme, but I would love to see the results, especially for those of you who have children. I think we are made to feel we are bad parents if we don’t have all of these things for our children, but the 1950s homemaker grew up in the Depression and she definitely did without during her childhood and of the childhoods I have heard recalled, so many children actually had fun growing up during those years, as they didn’t know they were poor. They only knew what they grew up with and had more imagination and patience because of it. In some way I feel like every generation we are just training ourselves to be lazier, less independent, more unhealthy etc.  But, I digress, we could make the rules however we want, but for one week, wouldn’t it be interesting? I wonder if we would learn any saving measures we could then adapt to our normal weeks and realize we don’t actually NEED the things we buy.

So, if anyone is up for the proposed week plan let me know. I think we could come up with a ‘required’ shopping list for the week. We could decide how much butter, flour, meat etc we are allowed and then we can stick to that and see how our weeks turn out. If you have children then certain things would be increased per child I would imagine. So, what do you say?

30 September 1955 “The Hankie and the Linen Napkin”

These two simple items and ideas can save you a lot of money and help the environment and give you a little pride along the way.
I know to our modern germophobic minds, the thought of the hankie being sneezed upon and returned to the pocketbook or pocket seems repulsive. Yet, if we launder them and have simply a set of seven (one for each day, though I am sure they could become addictive like potato chips!) we would have a clean one to use daily. Certainly, grabbing a Kleenex is easier and may seem more sanitary, but if it is your germs and you are merely applying it to your face, you cannot reinfect yourself with the sniffles! Now, add to this the added bonus of the money spent on Kleenex and paper napkins etc. I know even my paper towel budget is easily cut in half since I started this project.
The linen napkin. I know use these every day for every meal. When we were first moving and had to share the little cottage with all our things tucked away and no laundry facilities I just bought some paper napkins and paper towel. I could not believe what I went through in that one week! The waste alone! And, you feel good and grown up when you unfold that linen napkin and place it on your lap before you begin your meal. It is as if you are saluting your hard work and preparing for that time you sit and relax at the repast you have created and enjoy good conversation.
It’s funny how our incessant need to make more items that make the day easier and somehow go by faster. Why is that? It seems, if anything, we are running about more and are more frazzled today with all the new things we have. So, though it is impossible to get rid of your cell phone or not have a tv or computer, why not add some old things and remove some annoying modern things that do add to your day. The Hankie and the Napkin. Simple. Easy to add to your life. Now, you are saving money and helping the earth. In addition to this, you have now given your mind and creativity a canvas for some fun relaxing art time. If you don’t have to throw away your hankie or napkin, now you can think, “Hmmm, I wish these matched my drapes or wouldn’t it be lovely to see a little tea kettle come to life and dance around my apron?” We buy at home stores sets of things and all the added bits that are produced to ‘match’ the decor we buy. We can simply buy some piece or something we like and then ‘match’ the decor as much as we want with our own hand, by painting or needle work. Then it is also uniquely ours. There is something cold about the homogenous ‘sets’ of things one can buy at stores. The landscape is becoming the same and now go to any house in America and see that set of sheets, matching curtains and towels bought at Target. There isn’t anything wrong with it per se, but it does stifle the creative element and again, the Homemakers best and most powerful tool is her mind. We should exercise and use it all times as an important part of our job. Rather we are a full or part time homemaker, the mind needs it’s exercise.
   Now,

Look at this adorable child's hankie. The idea instilled early on to have and keep something and use it with care is important.  With Kleenex and Purell (by the way studies have shown that overtly using anti-bacterial items actually reduces your bodies own abilities to fight germs. ) we are teaching our children to be garbage makers. Here is this thing, there is an endless supply, use it and then throw it away! That is a scary message, isn’t it! And with that goes the fun and creativity of having a hankie or napkin. Certainly the dexterity given to a small child (boy or girl) who would be given some simple needlework on a hankie and then the pride from using that is immense. Even the responsibility of sitting down like a ‘grownup’ and using a sharp needle would probably seem bad parenting today, which is silly. But, how can we teach children to be responsible and adult when honestly, are any of us?  No need to learn needle work or drawing if you just use a Kleenex and throw it away. I mean the fact that we even say Kleenex, it is the name brand of the product.
But, I won’t go off on another rant, so here are some cute images of different iron on transfers that were popular from the 30s-60s.
I think you can still find these fairly inexpensively at local antique shops and online I am sure at etsy and ebay etc. I would check local places first. I would love to share these type of items on my new website when it is ready.
Here you can see how one would make their simple dress patterns come to life or have a more unique style. Surely this was an iron on pattern you would follow, but you could also stitch your own design. When fashion has a particular ‘look’ then if you can’t afford the Dior dress you can follow the example of its line and make it your own creation. The power of fashion and industry in YOUR hands, don’t you love it?!
  Here is an example of the anthropomorphized items that were popular. This image actually came from a site I found where the lovely lady was sharing some of her patterns like this. It is an example of the kind of links I want to make on my future site. To have a place we can come to find each other and such lovely people as she who are willing to scan and share patterns. 
There is an innocence about these that I find appealing. Though, once I would have scoffed at their twee sweetness, I now find them rather darling and the art historian in me wonders at this piece of Americana art form that deserves more research. If only I could live to be 300 I could someday write all the books I want. I could see a whole picture book/research book on these transfers alone!
Anyhoo, what was great about these simple outlined pieces of needlework, is they were perfect to teach little hands the art of needle and easy for a homemaker to have in her sewing basket for the odd rainy afternoon when the chores are done, laundry ironed and put away, a pot of tea and some pillowcases or aprons or Hankies that needed adornment. Such an idea today by the masses would be deemed, ‘a waste of time’ but by the very same people who would waste five hours sitting and staring at a box and doing nothing! (That’s TV if you didn’t get my image.)
So, even though I have never done any needlework before but a few stitches to hem here and there, I am going to get a box of plain hankies, sew up some plain aprons and buy some plain white cotton pillowcases and lookout! I actually had a great idea, I am going to copy my Pyrex pattern that I collect ( I once made labels for spice jars check an old post of mine) and use that as a pattern on some kitchen towels. Then I can embroider teal on white towels and white on teal towels, wouldn’t that be lovely? I know I don’t really need one more thing to do, but again, I find as I do more and make it a normal part of my life, I found room for more things. Of course, this might put back my correspondence even more, but just think of the darling hankies and napkins I will have! And what a great gift!
How many of you already do needle work? Have any of you taught your children this art form and at what age? Aren’t you itching to try some now?! I know I am!

28 September 1955 “A Rant, Marmalade, News, and Fall Fashion”

  As I begin to come closer to the end of 1955 I am finding myself more and more thinking of the future. I know,at my initial attempt at a 1955 woman, I first tried to buy as many things to ‘re-create’ the time as possible. I then found this action to be my modern ‘consumer driven’ need merely replaced by this challenge. I wanted to try something new, so what do I buy to do it?  Then as I began to use and appreciate the old things from that time (which I could buy cheaply and were still working), I began to discover how things are now made cheaply to be bought inexpensively and then tossed away to buy new. The garbage and pollution and money wasting of my time was more revealed.

Now, I am beginning to see that if I were a woman in 1955 I would not be buying old appliances to use, but would be excited about the future and wanting the ‘new items’. I would also expect to pay more but now it was a piece of machinery that can be maintained and fixed to last a long time most likely my lifetime. That is where I began to really see the difference. Particularly 1955 was really a year of plenty and growth. The world seemed to be promising and opening up for everyone. So the new and latest was what was wanted but the higher cost mingled with better craftsmanship made the purchase something to work towards and then take care of, the responsibility of action which seems to be devoid in a world where things are cheaply made, cheaply sold, then tossed on the scrap heap for new.

The world after WWII was all about the future. The past was unbearable and needed to be forgotten. We NEVER wanted to return to that place and time of war and destruction; “New and better” was des rigueur. But, now I find myself and many others longing for a past and that past seems to be right at that pinpoint in time when we looked to the future with hope. It seems to be an almost gateway to a new possible future.  I think now we look back in fondness at this time perhaps because we were perched on the beginning of a great new future. We were just getting it right and then somehow we took a wrong turn somewhere.  I am beginning to believe this is because we had that chance, that moment to make a new and better world and in some ways we did but in others it is as if we have given up that main element of humanity. The connectivity and responsibility of individual pride and action and the combined need of others.

So, I think the reason there are so many of us that look back fondly or are drawn to this time, this post war time, is that was when we had our clean slate. The page was blank and we could write on it. What probably happened was we had to get behind our government and think, “Go, U.S.A.” so we could win a war against Hitler, and then we just wanted to believe that government was there to protect and help us. But, it only takes a few bad apples. I even wonder if our silly involvement in Vietnam had not happened, would there have been hippies? Maybe people would have thought to look to their parents and older generations to learn and grow instead of the “Don’t trust anyone under 30” mantra of the baby boomers. And, now these same boomers, who are well over 30, expect the subsequent generations to pay for their old age.

It seems that we are moving slowly (or quickly rather) away from the local community. All our needs our being met by a few major companies that are moving into place to control the world. I know it sounds like farfetched conspiracy theory, but think about it: Stores like Wal-Mart that contain all the things we ‘need’ and even local drugstores are chains, food and clothing also chains. The landscape of  America is slowly being homogenized into an ugly sameness and we all blindly seem to follow it. Your phone company, as an example, is so inhuman and heartless.  Good luck trying to talk to someone in this country (more jobs outside our country thanks) or do something as simple as address a bill change of address. Everything is automated or shipped out to places far away. Are we headed to a world where we are merely plugged into three or four major corporations that control our food (Monsanto-if you saw the documentary I recommended) clothing needs and styles, communication? Even if we want to try to become part of our own community, how much can we help grow and make our own towns when there is still a Wal-mart, a CVS, McDonalds, Gap, Old Navy, Stop and Shop, etc.? On some level, this year has made me open my eyes and that is good, but on the other hand, I think I am becoming to feel more and more powerless as the year passes. I want to believe we can, we Apron Revolution, make a difference. But, when I hear about the world, at least our country, and it’s chains and corporate ownership of the very seeds we grow food from, it scares me a little.

I am sorry this is such an embittered post, but I feel and have begun to feel so frustrated and sad. Perhaps it is the reality of 1955 coming to an end and knowing 1956 isn’t really around the bend. There is a part of me that wants to just quietly live in my safe bubble of make believe, but as I see so many more of you seeming interested and craving for an ‘old way’ of life, I really do increasingly feel an obligation to somehow use this awareness of ours to grow more opportunity for the future. We cannot take on the big corporations, nor stop government, but maybe if we could, through example of simple pride and responsibility and a work ethic, begin to attract a few young people. The masses forming  lines to the malls and old navy and EB Games might have a few people who look our way and think, “Hmm, it is harder work to make my own clothes, or learn to cook, or read for an hour and lose some computer/TV time, but I feel better and stronger and more in control”. I am not sure if any of this rambling is making any sense. But, in my fear of our present and future I want to, in fact feel I NEED to, try and make the future better is some way and to make opportunities for future homemakers and self-sufficient and community driven ideals.

Perhaps it has been my move that has added to this feeling. It has become symbolic for me, as the year ends, to suddenly replace my location and return to a place that has history both my own and the country’s and face the challenge of this modern world in our ‘simplistic’ things. Our cell phones and DSL all set up to make life easier, and yet all the work and struggle to deal with them. I don’t want to throw out the “baby with the bathwater” I know these technologies are good for us, but what have we given up for them? We cannot get it back in the same form, but there must be a new way, a better way than we have now. There has to be a way to connect and grow and make a world around what is happening and still take the time and effort to make our own things and control our own lives more, shouldn’t there? Am I crazy? Do you think we can, a rag tag band of ladies (and gentleman) donning aprons and cookbooks with a penchant for sewing and old records, really make a difference? Should we make a difference? I am finding myself more and more determined to use this technology to somehow make a new year, not 1956 nor 2010 but some amalgamation of the two. The power of modern conveniences, as my 1955 counterpart would have wanted (the dishwasher, the blender, the washer and dryer these were intended to make her day easier), but what have we done with the free time? What would she have done with the free time?  We just seem to have filled it with ‘needing’ more and using credit until we find ourselves so in debt we must have two income households so we can keep paying and buying into the own destruction of our hometowns and the very look and feeling of our country. My 1955 self would have marveled at the new gadgets and bought them as she could afford them, but with her free time she would not have had more ‘tv time’ or ‘gone shopping with the credit card’. She would have used the time to freeze or can more food, plan more for her own family, more time in the sewing room or at the Junior League or helping in her community.

I know that “stay at home” is not the norm now. Most towns don’t have neighborhoods full of women who can meet and plan in the afternoon, but now we have this: the internet. So, we can meet per se and share and laugh. I don’t know, I think there is hope for a different tomorrow, but I don’t think I can plug myself back into the blind shopper along for the spending ride. I can’t even buy a coffee at a local Starbucks without baffling at my stupidity. A year ago a five dollar latte was nothing to me, today a two dollar cup of coffee seems a sin to me when I can get a pound of coffee for only a little more. It’s the trap of consumerism that I want to let go of and return more and more to the power of self-sufficiency.

Yet, even that word, self-sufficiency, often brings to mind neo-hippies and flowing beards or cultish people living off the grid far out in the country. Though there is nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t have to be only that. We can have a pretty little dress and heels, hat and gloves, and have just canned for the upcoming winter, sew our own clothes, use some devices less in lieu of by hand and still be self-sufficient. Make that bread yourself or buy from your local bakery, or if you don’t have a local bakery, maybe think about starting a small one with some friends. We really need to take back our Present. I think it is good and healthy to look to our Past to make it better. We are so conditioned to the moment now, that clothes from last year and ideas are meant to be forgot and to move forward, but that is a dangerous way to be. It seems the less mindful and aware we are the more we feed into the system of endless buying to fill the void and then we must work more to pay it off, but never wondering or looking to see, why do I have the void? “Why do I feel alone, or empty or unsatisfied? Somehow buying more things at lower prices isn’t making me feel better, I wonder why?”

I told my hubby the other day, when I saw an older person in a wheelchair, that I now sometimes feel a little trepidation when I think of the last of the ‘older generation’ dying off. The world is going to be left in our hands and the hands of the baby boomers and it seems scary. As if somehow, those people we did fight in WWII and were part of making our country in the 1950s, when they go, chaos will truly reign. The last of the grownups are gone, get to playing. It seems silly, but it has led me to really think more and more about what I want my future to be.

That is another element that the homemaker had that no one ever talks about now: the time and ability to think. We can make fun or joke about the unsatisfied woman ‘at home’ left to be bored watching her stories, eating chocolate while her husband goes out fulfilled in his work. But, that seems to be part of the modern propaganda to keep us FROM home. Because, the more we can think  about the world we live in the more we will open our eyes and realize what a mess we really are in! The power of thought and self-contemplation and direction is one of the homemakers best tools. If she were a super-hero it would be one of her main powers. “Look out, that corporation is taking over!” “Don’t worry” cries Super Homemaker, “Let me think on it”…”I have it, just stop buying their products/services and see them fade away!” “AGHHHH”, cries the corporation, “They realized the power was in their spending the whole time, curse you Super Homemaker!” or something along those lines.

The power of thought and thinking is our best defense and tool, but the modern world has made sure to stifle that. Tv, Computer, Video games, Malls, Cheap things to buy, easy fattening food, all of those things allow us to not have to or to not get to take the time to think. But, if we ever want to change for the better or even just affect our own lives, we have to. We have to sit still and quiet and really think about our life and the world around us and then get off our duff and get to work to change it!

Now, enough of my soap-boxing, I should share some real tangible things with you.

I had promised to share my grapefruit marmalade recipe with you, so here it is with some other fun sounding marmalades you may want to try:

I think the Tomato Marmalade would be wonderful on meats, don’t you?

Now for some news.

On September 22,  Independent Commercial Television (ITV) begins broadcasting in the UK. It is interesting to see they are showing American TV such as Dragnet and Bob Hope. Do any of you  UK readers know of ITV? Here is a video of the first broadcasts.

On September 24 President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. Here he is in October after his attack.  Interesting bit on fashion as well, enjoy. I adore the black day dress with the opening in back with the lacy white patterning.

Speaking of which, this week I am bound and determined to get to some sewing. I need clothes for fall. I am going to make some Plaid wool and Wool Felt Pencil skirts. Isn’t this suit dreamy? And if ever a gown could make me feel as if I was in heaven, it might be this lovely one from 1955 Paris, Oh, the yards and yards of velvet!

Well, enough of that. If I want to return to posting more often I can’t talk of everything in one day.

Happy Homemaking and Viva la’ Apron Revolution!