Wednesday 28 January 2015

A Week In View




My cactus (Rhipsalis grandiflora) is in flower.   This is exciting for me because although I've had it for a few years, this is the first time it has flowered. 

I am making some wrap around aprons to wear while I'm cooking or doing my chores around the house.  They are such useful garments; I remember my grandma and my mum always started off in the  morning by putting a "housecoat" or "pinny" over their clothes to protect them and keep them clean.  I suppose the "pinny" has fallen out of favour (except for those horrible joke ones with pictures of the bits of anatomy we normally keep private) because the jobs we do around the home are less dirty now than in days gone by.   I remember my grandma black-leading the range, polishing  brass and stoning the front step.  Looking after a home in those days was hard physical work.  At the risk of sounding ancient, I also remember the copper boiler in the kitchen, laundry blue and the mangle, all of which were part of the weekly laundry routine.  Without the convenience of a washing machine, modern washing detergents and easily washable clothing, mum and grandma wanted to keep their clothes clean for as long as possible, hence the "pinny".

I have modern household appliances and have never black-leaded anything in my life (it was always too messy a job for me to help mum and grandma with) but I am going to take a leaf out of their books by covering up my nice clothes with my wrap around apron

Friday was a cold frosty day perfect for a day out, so N and I went on a visit to Raglan Castle.  We spent a couple of hours having a good look around and then had our picnic.   I love a picnic and even Sainsbury's mushroom soup and some crusty bread tasted special when eaten outside.  After eating we drove into Monmouth, which is a lovely little town and one I want to go back to soon to have a proper look around.



2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh if you sound ancient then I do as well. I so remember the copper boiler my gran had and the blue bag and also he mangle! I don't think we appreciate how lucky we are these days with all our labour saving gadgets. A picnic in January sounds wonderful, there's nothing better than a steaming hot soup and some crusty bread. Like the sound of your aprons too. ;))

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  2. I remember my grandmother always wearing a pinny, and being allowed to investigate the pockets, which always contained things like stringpencil stubs, and safety pins, and polo mints!

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