Taking orders.

While thinking about more lady-like times and trends I constructed these two hostess aprons.  What makes them different is that they are intended to be worn after all the preparations are over and the lady of the house is now playing hostess.  

Each is made from heavy weight fabric which will hold up to washing and wearing and still be crisp and pretty.  The top one is a polished apple print with corded piping along the bottom ruffle and across the pockets.  The pockets and ruffle are also trimmed in lace.  

The bottom one is made with a Waverly decorator fabric.  The bib is gathered gently at the top as are the pockets.  The straps go over the shoulders and attach to the waistband.

The half apron starts at $45 depending on the cost of the fabric chosen.  The bibbed version runs about $75 again depending on the fabric chosen.  Email me at annkraeger@gmail.com for inquiries.  These two models however are not for sale.

More graciousness

I heard a while ago that mismatched in the kitchen and dining room is in vogue.  How fortunate since this house has been mismatched for the last 29 years.  When you have a large family dreams of having matching dishes, glasses, and cutlery is just that, a dream.  Kids helping in the kitchen equals broken dishes and glasses and silverware that has inadvertently been tossed out with the garbage.  Then there are the spills, splashes and splatters that leave a mother wondering if she can ever set a lovely table again.  I say a most resounding YES! Not only can you but you must especially if you have boys.  (No Ryan I no longer believe in totally taming the male of the species) But boys too need to learn to function in gentler more civilized settings.  

So how do you go about this without both expense and loss of sanity?  Over the years we have always used linens on the table.  Not because I am a grand person or anything like that but because economically they are just smarter.  Anything and everything can become a table cloth.  The one below is an Edie Bauer shower curtain that was purchased at a consignment store!  I have used yard goods bought on clearance that were simply hemmed to finish, antique linens from yard, estate, and consignment sales bought for a song.  Napkins can be made from dish towels bought at the dollar store, cut in two and finished.  Into the regular laundry they go, no special upkeep.  As for table cloths an inexpensive plastic cover can be bought at WalMart or by the yard at the fabric store.  Place it over your table cloth and it will save washing that cloth after every spill and splatter.

To make the table more seasonal I simply choose cloths with appropriate colors rather than looking for something with a theme print.  Then I layer up cheap runners (they can be gotten second hand usually with some defect) and finish with a bowl or teacup and saucer that coordinate.  The holes or tears or scorches in runners or table cloths that are purchased second hand become invisible when they are layered or covered with pretty dishes or a jar of flowers.
Presenting a pretty table not only makes you feel that your home is more welcoming but it inspires everyone who sits at your table to harken back to a simpler time.

Quintessential Fall

The chill in the air that marks the coming of fall is distinctly different from that soon to warm up nip that means springtime. In the same way, there are certain scents and flavors in the kitchen that are all about the fall of the year and no other time.  

That is true for this Sage-Scented Butternut Squash Soup.

If you don't have a pressure cooker now is the time to go out and invest in one.  This soup is not only warm and satisfying but it is fast and easy to make courtesy of the trusty pressure cooker and a readily available supply of butternut squash at this time of year.

For the soup you need:

1 TBL. butter or oil
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. water
1 tsp. salt
3 lbs. butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried sage

Heat the butter in a 4-quart or larger cooker. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add the broth, water, salt, and squash.
Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Quick-release the pressure or allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid, turning it away from you to allow steam to escape.
Stir in the sage. If the squash is not very soft, cover and simmer for a few minutes. Let cool slightly. Pass the soup through a food mill or puree using a standard or immersion blender. Reheat and adjust the seasonings. This is also good with sweet potatoes. Just substitute 1/2 tsp cinnamon for the sage.

The essence of woman

I have two nieces (actually I have a whole bunch of nieces) who are the originators of an online magazine.  Their magazine, Dignitas Magazine is all about everything that is woman.  It is about the wonder, mystery, and dignity that is femininity.  They seek, and rightfully so, to encourage the resurrection of everything truly feminine.  This world is in danger of losing the anchor of graciousness and civilization that God provided when he created woman.

I have been thinking about those two nieces lately and their purpose and this apron is the result.  The need for the world to recapture the modesty, tenderness, and purity that woman was meant to be must start one apron, one suitably modest skirt, one truly feminine attitude at a time. May God bless and prosper their intentions.

What is work anyway?

     I recently had a FB friend say "It's always work, work, work at your house, take the day off." as a comment to something that I posted.  That has gotten me thinking about what work is and whether I really do work.
     I have to admit, on paper a lot of things seem to get done around here.  On any given day several loads of laundry get washed, dried, and folded (I like my laundry room empty at the end of the day).  Then there is the cooking.  Meals do get prepared and served along with the commensurate dish washing and cleaning up that goes along with any meal preparation. (In this house that is often a mountain of dishes since there are special diets and no prepared foods.) Everything is made from scratch.  Then there is the whole farm thing going on.  There are always animals to tend, pens to clean, machinery to maintain, and other sundry things that I am not going to list but they are always waiting for attention.
     Now it's really starting to sound like "work, work, work!"  But I keep thinking about it and still I don't feel like there is a lot of work going on around here.  Then I got to thinking about one very important ingredient that may be missing from other places that is here in abundance; joy.  We all like what we do and we love each other.  As I have reminded all my kids at one time or another: "Remember why you are doing this and for whom you do it. If it isn't done for love, don't bother."
     That's the key! Now, don't get me wrong there aren't a bunch of lovey, huggey, saints running around this place.  We all have our moments both of joy and of dissent.  But by and large what goes on around here is for the good of all, the service of others and it is done with a joyful attitude.  Sure, there are jobs that we all dislike doing.  I for one despise making beds!  I used to work as the bath aide at a local nursing home. When you have to make 15-20 beds in a shift (without fitted sheets) you don't learn to love it.  But you do learn to find a reason to do it, fast, well, and with a good attitude.  No one makes a bed faster or better than I do.  Nor do I like ironing but I do that too.  I love freshly ironed linens on the table and I love how my family looks in the clothing that I have prepared for them to wear to church. They are the reason to do it and do it well.
     I guess the point that I am trying to make is that work is only that if you make it so.  I like the fact that Ian cranks the tunes in the shop when he is working on a tractor and it isn't going his way.  It isn't to drown out the bad language but to help the time pass.  I love how Matthew sings at the top of his lungs while he is hoeing the potatoes.  It is certainly not because hoeing is just a joyful job but because he is a joyful person.  I love MK playing music while she shovels out the pig pen and chats with her animals while she does it.  She certainly isn't enjoying the smell of the manure, she's enjoying the fact that the job will be done and the animals will be healthy as a result.

The Simple Womans Daybook 1 October 2012

Outside my window...it is truly a fall day! The clouds are lowering, the wind is blowing and it is threatening rain again.  Today is a good day for doing one of two things; either curling up with a good book and a hot cuppa' or cleaning the house in order to keep the blood up and the body warm.  I plan on getting to both of those things today.

I am thinking...about motherhood a lot lately.  Thinking about the difference in my heart between being a mother and being a grandmother.

I am thankful for...a loving husband and a good massager!  The old hips were giving me trouble because of this damp weather but heat and massage took care of that!

From the kitchen...something warm, nourishing and filling I think.  Potato soup!!!

I am wearing...long, warm, pink flannel nightgown.

I am creating...comfort and peace.

I am going...to make a holy hour at 11 and to do some shopping later in the afternoon.

I am reading...C S Lewis' A Mind Awake

I am hoping...to get the house clean before I have to leave for holy hour.

I am hearing...Layn talking about his tractor, Melissa answering him, Doug out in the washroom dressing for work, and the bluejays calling outside my window.  

Around the house...this place looks lived in!

One of my favorite things...the smell of fallen maple leaves.

A few plans for the rest of the week...I have two quilts that need to be finished and delivered.  There is a pile of mending that needs attention now that the ironing is done, and then there is always the usual laundry, cleaning, cooking and stuff.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

Looking up into a tree that Matthew used to hang out in all the time. Today is his 21st birthday. I shall make a cake and we will celebrate this youngest son of ours.