The History of Aprons

Pin It I don't think our children know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material but along with that,
it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in the apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the menfolk knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Remember....

Grandma use to hot baked apple pies on the windowsill to cool. Her granddaughter's set their on the windowsill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

From a Grandmother to a Grandchild

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A poem for my son Lucas from his grandmother (he calls her Nanny).

My grandson is a man now

The years just passed so fast

I watched him grow but I still see

The little boy he was.

My first-born grandchild and I did not know

How deep my love would grow

I held that baby in my arms

And felt I held the world.

The time I spent with with him was precious

A beautiful little boy

So many memories crowd my mind

Of love and laughter and joy.

He grew up strong and healthy

I'm so proud of him today

He's kind and gentle and loving

And, to me, perfect in every way.

Baking and Jars

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Today it had cooled down quite a bit. A perfect day for baking! Baking is something I love doing in the fall and winter. After all the hard work, I have yummy things to feed to my family, the oven helps to keep the house warm and the smells from baking are enough to make you feel all good inside.






This is a standby at our home. Thumbprint Cookies!

Here is the recipe if you care to try making some.

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 cup for rolling balls
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
36-42 Hershey's Kisses

Preparation:

Unwrap the Hershey's Kisses from their wrapper and place in a bowl. Set aside.
Place 1/2 cup white sugar in another bowl and set aside.
Turn oven to 375 degrees F.

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients (except the Hershey Kisses and white sugar that are set aside) in a large bowl. Mix until dough forms and all ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Using a teaspoon, scoop up some of the dough and in your hands roll into balls. Roll the balls in the bowl of white sugar and place on un-greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are a nice dark brown. When you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately place a Hershey's kiss in the center, press down so cookie cracks a little on the edges.


These are extremely easy to make and are delicious! They don't last long around here.



While preparing to bake the cookies today, I had to take a picture of my jars. I love jars. I find them very convenient to use, they are pleasing to the eye and remind me of my dear Grandmother when I was growing up. I fill mine with rice, teabags, sugar, flour, popcorn, dog biscuits...anything that is bought in plastic bags can be stored in tight sealing jars.

Alot of my jars have sentimental value and I don't want them sitting in a china cabinet, not being used. I use all my old dishes. I would rather they be loved and used than sitting in a cupboard ignored and forgotten. My two oldest jars hold my flour and my sugar. They are very special to me as I remember Luke helping me bake cookies when he was just two or three years old. He loved sticking his chubby little hands in them to grab the scoop and usually ended up with more flour on the flour or himself than in the mixing bowl.

Use your special dishes, jars and mementos. The memories of them will continue as you use them and they will reward you with even more memories.


Give each of your family members a hug tonight!

Lazy Sunday ..... and memories.

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Yep, a lazy Sunday. The temperatures today was in the low 80's which is very un-usual for Northern Minnesota. These warm temps lull me to sitt in the shade, crochet or knitt while sipping on an iced tea, which is exactly what I did. While I was sitting there, enjoying the clouds roll by, I began thinking of my Mom who lives in Canada and whom I miss very much some days.

My Mom is of the Dutch heritage. She came from the Netherlands when she was five years old with her Mother, Father and six brothers and sisters. They arrived (I believe) in Montreal on a ship which took a week to cross the Atlantic. They arrived in Canada right after WWII.

When Luke was a year old, we had the opportunity to fly to the Netherlands (Holland) and visit my Mother's one brother who had recently married and moved back there. It was alot of fun seeing the home where my Mother grew up, the town where she was pushed in a stroller by my Grandmother and hearing the native tongue which I grew up with.... (my Mother and Auntie always talked Dutch to each other so us children wouldn't understand what they were saying!). It was the first time my Mother was back to her homeland since she had left.





Yes, it really does look like this in the Netherlands!





Schiphol airport.

We had a wonderful trip and of course it included ALOT of shopping!

I had already been collecting the delft blue for quite a few years before we even went on the trip but my collection grew while we were there.

I keep my collection in our china cabinet.

This spice rack was my Grandmother's and I cherish it.

Everytime I see them sitting there, I remember our special trip together. It is a memory that I hold dear to my heart.

Someday I plan on going back.