Habit, Confusion & Old Books

On a couple of occasions just recently I have found myself going to search a document for a particular word or phrase by using Ctrl+f, only to realise that I am not on the computer but reading through an old book...   

About an hour and a half ago the power went off, we were plunged into darkness, apart from a small string of battery operated fairly lights and the log burner.     I discovered that my habit of walking through the house in the darkness of the night stood me in good stead, I was able to make my way through to the Boot Room and the pantry to gather up the battery lamp, candles, etc.   

A quick scout around outside showed me that the rest of the village was also without electricity.    The power company assured me that they were aware of the power cut and engineers were on the way.   So we settled down to watch the flames flickering, listened to some old 50's/60's music and enjoyed the experience.   

The longest night made extra dark, for a while.   It makes you realise how much we depend upon electricity, how much of a habit it has become for the hand to reach for a light switch, or to flick the kettle on.

Baking day tomorrow so I hope we don't have any more outages.   

Books Full of Secrets

I have spent much of the last week reading my old cookbooks, not looking for recipes, but doing a little exploration and detective work.     It hasn't take me very far, but I have enjoyed it.

These particular books are fascinating.    Old, well worn, so well worn that some of them are falling apart, but they are wonderful documents.   

They are mystery stories -  well, all apart from the red one, which belonged to my mother.   It was her handwritten recipe book, so I have known it since childhood and it is very dear to me.

The others are all early Victorian handwritten recipe books.     Some of you already know about my passion for them.    My exploration and enjoyment of them continues.   I am a poor detective, for I haven't really made much progress in finding out who wrote them.   I don't suppose I ever shall, but that doesn't matter.

I have managed to unpick a little of the story from one of the very worn ones, it was originally a maths exercise book for the daughter of the rector of a church in Derbyshire.     Just a few pages were used for the original purpose - beautiful penmanship - and then the rest is filled with recipes for food and medicines, written in a much less refined hand.

That particular book is a treasure, it tells so many stories, even though the name of the cook is not revealed.   There are kitchen suppers, enormous school dinners, Christmas and Easter feasts for vast numbers of people, along with many hundreds of recipes.     Cook had to deal with 56 stone pigs, so there are lots of recipes for salting hams, etc.      It isn't always the easiest of books to read, simply because the handwriting takes some getting used to, but it has been worth the effort.       There are more leads to follow before I have completed my detective work on that volume.

The tan leather one seems to have belonged to a 'lady' her handwriting is beautiful.


The scope of her recipes is somewhat different from that of the vicar's cook.


The one next to it,  with the worn and nibbled spine, reads more like the cookbook of someone who lived in a town, rather than out in the countryside, but I need to do further work on it.

The light coloured book on the left, is very interesting - well they all are - it always reads more like a book which was used for amusement.   Lots of recipes, especially for ice creams and water ices, lots of handwritten knitting patterns, lists of people attending a funeral, a poem about a very tragic accident when a man fell through the ice on a pond and died.       That particular incident was easy to check up on, and it did happen, at a big country house in Cheshire.        More leads to be followed up on in the future.

Each and every book is fascinating.      Not least, the big black one.   More of that another time.
x

Hysteria and The Little Woman

Women have great reason to be thankful for their ignorance on some topics.   Our heads are not confused and distressed with the mists and mazes of politics; with a few painful exceptions, we are blessedly unaware that the country will be shipwrecked and the world overturned if X is elected and Y is not; we do not have to contend at elections, we know that the country has gone on and the Government endured though X was made an MP and Y was not.

The world wags in spite of it all, and we do not meddle with its revolutions.   Had I been blessed with a family of daughters I should earnestly have prayed that each one might be beautiful and womanly, and well fitted to preside over her home, leaving outside matters to others.

Home Notes

January 1894.

Dutiful wife and grandma that I am, I suppose this  means that I should do a little baking - ginger loaves full of fruit, candied peel and plenty of brandy. 

Please note:   If you get really desperate, or you don't enjoy baking,  you could always simply glug down the brandy, cut out the middle calories.

Put the cakes into the oven, clear away the mess, then get a good book and have a read as you enjoy the heady aromas of brandy and spices.     


Back to     Isobel's Home Notes:

Hysteria
Busy women are invariably the happiest.    It is in idle women that we find hysteria, depression, melancholy, and morbid feelings of all sorts arise.    Those who are not obliged to earn a living, and have not much work to do in the house, should take up a hobby, and occupy themselves steadily in one way or another.

Outdoor exercise for at least two hours daily should be taken.    Teaching poor children, making clothes for the poor, visits of charity, and visiting the sick are occupations in which all may feel that they are doing good.

To get up a girls' club is another good plan, and every woman should make a point of taking lessons in cookery, for the talent of cooking does much to promote happiness in life, as well as economy, should she have to set up housekeeping on her own account.


Can't imagine what may have prompted this post.
😉
x

Magic Pain Killers and Peg Dolls

Even if I were able to obtain laudanum these days I definitely wouldn't know how much was in a drachm, however, thanks to M L Riley, and her little black book of handwritten kitchen notes and recipes from 1892, I now know that a drachm is 2 salt spoons.   It would be even more handy if I possessed a salt spoon.


Magic Pain Killer

Spirit of harshorn, 1oz
Olive Oil, 1 1/2oz
Cayenne Pepper, 2 drachms
Laudanum, 2 drachms
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp brandy

Shake well in a bottle, rub the affected part with it.   It removes pains and swellings.   It is a magic remedy...allegedly.    Recipe taken from Annie's Edwardian Cookery Book.


Drawing Ointment
(for festering wounds)
Soft brown sugar
Household Soap

Mix one ounces of soft brown sugar with one ounce of plain household soap which has been softened by being cut into shavings and mixed with a teaspoonful of warm water.  Work well together so that you have an ointment consistency.  Spread on a piece of lint or clean cloth and bandage on to the wound.     from Hebridean Cookbook by Lillian Beckwith

I am thankful that I don't need either of those at the moment, as long as I remember to get up and move about every now and then, and keep doing the back exercises, a nuisance, but they do work.

I have moved on (for the time being) to making some peg dolls for the bazaar.  People request these year after year, I suppose they make useful little 'extra' gifts.   Each doll is unique, no two are dressed the same because I enjoy making them that way, dressing some for a day out, others for a day in.  They are my 'everyday' angels.

These three peg dolls are the first in a new range.   Madness!   They each have a hand sewn skirt/underskirts, plus tiny hand knitted jumper, some have hats/bags/mittens, according to my whim.

I still have some of my mother's old knitting needles and a few balls of wool.   This style of dressing the pegs came about by my need to do something fresh to relieve the boredom and goes to show, that despite the fact that I have never taken to knitting, all those years of attempting it, learning the basics and how to do some of the fancier stitches for Aran patterns, shapings, etc, but mostly just from 40 years of watching my mother constantly knit, have actually paid off.

I just made up the patterns for their jumpers and so on.   It wasn't exactly rocket science, but I was quite chuffed with the result.     My mother would be thrilled to think that she had managed to teach me this much!

These little snowmen will have hooks driven into their heads, they are tree ornaments, both sides are painted up as snowmen.     Not my original idea, I saw it somewhere else, unfortunately I can't remember where, so I can't credit them.   They are very cute, fun to do, though I could wish for a steadier hand - time creeps up on us in the most peculiar ways.


These, along with my fancy angels, all sequins and lace, are my offerings so far.    I have some other ideas simmering, so watch this space.

My self-allotted task today will be to paint some pegs to resemble 'Nutcracker' - no doubt the wobbly hand will show up, I can only hope that this adds to the charm.  😀

As you can tell, not much housework is getting done these days.      A quick dash around with the hoover and, occasionally, a duster, plump up the cushions, and that is about it.     My creative head is full of ideas but I keep getting interrupted to make meals, mow lawns and help cut back the wild growth from summer.   

All this sewing/knitting/painting time is allowing my mind to roam free and I have had lots of ideas for incredibly interesting posts - of course none of them will make it to the blog because I haven't got the time.   

Falling into a Sketch

I found a stash of old recipe books in a charity shop today

they cost the princely sum of £1.50 for all four.

Treasure!

Clutching some coins of the realm in my hot little hand

I went to the till.

The woman on duty was the manageress.

She has a tumble of long blonde hair and

was clasping her mobile phone to her ear,

chatting with great animation,

while examining the nails on her spare hand.

I waited

noting, noting as I did so,

the very smart paint job on them.

Something like these...

(Image found on google)

After a few moments she looked up and said

"Bear with, bear with..."

and I suddenly felt as though I had tumbled into a sketch.

Remember this, from Miranda?

I waited, the books were too good to leave behind
besides,
it had tickled my sense of humour
to find that someone really does use that phrase.