Menu Planning and Grocery Lists Home Economics

Just a quick post about Menu planning and Grocery List making. I have found a number of wives saying that they have trouble with menu planning...and it looks like, for years, we have been trying to get that grocery list making down to a science. From Wooden Pegboards, to Books, to .pdf downloadable sheets

I have to admit it does take a bit of organization...and considering I just cleaned out my large freezer to find 3 bags of Frozen Broccoli...ALL opened, I haven't completely gotten this down myself. 

So, the first part will take a bit of thought time but not a lot of work. I sat down at the computer and made a document I entitled "Menus". Then I proceeded to type out each and every meal we prepare. We all have those things we do over and over again and if, like me, you still try new recipes you will want a reminder of that meal and where to find it. After I wrote them all out and there were well over 100 I sent myself an email with this list as an attachment seeing as computers tend to die and take with them all your documents. 

When I am ready to make out a weekly menu I open up the document...since I only cook every other day and serve leftovers on my non-cook days, I needed 4 meals. I choose my 4 meals from the list, highlight them and then move them down to the bottom of my menu list...as used. Next week I will choose from the unhighlighted meals at the top of the page...highlight them and move them to the bottom also and do the same thing every week. This way I won't be repeating the same meal unless I really want to because of a certain love for a meal.  When they have all been used I remove the highlighter on the page and start over. 

When I try a new recipe that we love, I put it on the list, plus the cookbook and page number that I found it in. It makes life easier that way.

As for the Grocery List...again you need to be on top of the organization but it only takes a moment of your time. When I notice something is running out I use my phone, which tends to be with me all the time, and put it in the notes. Whether cat food or dish liquid or onions. When I am making my list from my menu, I will check out ingredients to make sure I have enough left of something or if I have it at all...to avoid 3 bags of Broccoli. I then add what is in my notes to my list. I like a paper list in a notebook best although I have used my phone at times. Writing something out with a pen is easier than typing on that little keypad for me. I bring a highlighter in my pocket book and cross out what is now in my cart. 

     Just a btw side note...I always put my groceries on the cart and start adding what I think my grocery bill is going to be and I have gotten pretty good at the guess, usually within a few dollars. I probably need to do that to prevent going over my budget but try not to impulse buy unless it is something I use all the time and it is an amazing sale...then I buy a ton of that item. 

Homesteading FAIL! Don't do this!

The Lazy Farmer...doesn't work, in more ways than one!

A question came around on a Facebook Page that was asking for advice on how to start Homesteading on their new property. I, of course, thought my answer was brilliant as I have been doing this for a few years now. 

     Year One...Season One...#1 Watch a ton of YouTube videos on homesteaders who have been doing this for years and years...also Pinterest...beautiful Farms and Gardens...Get Inspired by little actual information but inspiring end results. #2 Get 8 chicks even though you have never been around chickens and don't know what the heck you are doing...put them in a plastic crate in your house unaware at how fast they grow...what they smell like and Do Not...I repeat...Do NOT have a coop ready for them when you buy them.  When you realize that they must get out of the house...Scramble like mad and build a coop. Talk about hustling and NOW building when we had never built anything before and had no plans...I mean I figure it was a square box with a triangle roof...right? #3 Turn over 4000 Square feet for a garden...get tons of Wood Chips delivered from a tree company...Envision a glorious garden filled with Vegetables, melons, Weedless...flowers interspersed etc. Oh yeah...and while you are at it buy more blueberry bushes, fig trees and raspberries to add to the menagerie you have been putting in, (but not taking care of) since you moved in. Now...Let most of that hard work lie fallow because you couldn't get to it...don't cover it though to prevent weeds...let all the weeds and wire grass grow through it all. Don't spread most of the wood chips so that the red ants can invade the piles so much that even the chickens won't go near them. #4 Over Plant EVERYTHING,,,but mostly tomatoes...90 plants...and then never take the time to stake them so they are laying in the dirt and get Early Blight...Lose 90 plants!! Free Range Chickens Find Corn and eat every last cob...which obviously you didn't know because you hadn't been in that planted field for a month. They also found your cantaloupe and watermelon and pecked through the rind and ate the insides.  #5 And then...in the Early spring while planting is going on and you are rejoicing because of your first egg...Buy 2 Bee hives...and the first winter let one hive die because you didn't treat it for Mites...or maybe it was because it got too cold to go out and make sure that they have sugar water to eat...and the other hive somehow miraculously survived.  #6 OVERBUY seeds in the winter when all those pretty Seed Catalogs you signed up for come in and THEN miss the time frame you were supposed to start them to be ready for transplanting and have to buy transplants anyway. Oh...and make sure that you put the seeds that you did start in front of a window that has that whole UVA/UVB protection so that they sprout but die from lack of sunlight. #7 Decide that although you have failed at so much you should try to grow citrus in NW Georgia...so you buy 4 trees...then the frost warning comes and you are scrambling to put up some sort of Hoop House which again...lots of $$$ spent without really having a solid plan. So 3 trees are severely damaged by the cold and one dies....You put a house heater that burns out a plug outside running all winter and almost starts a fire and spend $$ on Electricity trying to heat something that is basically like heating a room with all the windows open and a fan in the windows blowing cold air in. 

I wish I could say that this is exaggeration. I wish I could say that I was smarter than this, not as lazy as I was. But...Farming takes constant work. There is always something to fix...something to build...someone to feed...cleaning up and out...planting, harvesting, canning and preserving.  I could easily work an 8 hour day outside and sometimes actually do just that. But then there is the housework, and cooking dinners, and laundry etc. to do. So, My advice...do one thing at a time. or very small at a time. Build a coop and run, or buy...but have a plan...have a small garden of easy vegetables. Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers. Be committed to water what you plant and to weed!! Get 2 chickens...If you want to raise them from chicks, fine...read something about how to go about doing that. The Library is full of books so that is one thing you don't have to spend money on. You will eventually get where you want to be...or decide that you don't want to be that vested in it. At least you will not have spent all your money and need to keep going just to get a Return on Your Investment (ROI) 

Guinea Fowl Needs Friends...so I gave him a mirror

I am trying to speak softly in the video...and hiding behind a chair...You can tell the attention leaves the mirror when he hears my voice. Anyway, I was keeping my chickens in the coop and run after they had used my freshly planted Garden as a dust bath...undoing the entire thing. I had 4 Guinea at one time that were raised with chicks...so they acted like chickens...they went in the coop to roost, stayed with the flock etc. The problem was that He is the Alpha bird...not the Rooster...Because he is mean!! He Loves using that kidney bean comb to ram the chickens and in the Rooster in the back side when they aren't paying attention...he also loves grabbing tail feathers and pulling them out. He COULD NOT stay in the run with these guys...there were feathers everywhere...he ate most of the food...he chased them constantly and rammed with his comb at every opportunity. So, we caught him and let him free range. I originally got these to eat bugs in the yard anyway so he was needing to fulfill his purpose. He is the only one left of 4...and they Guineas usually are in a flock. So sadly...he is lonely. He still sits next to the coop most of the day. When my daughter's cars in the driveway he sits with what ever car is there...and pecks at it. I realized it was because he saw his reflection and thought these were guinea friends. I found a broken mirror in the barn...taped up any dangerous parts with Duct tape and flip the mirror so the broken side would be up and stuck in near the coop. Just as I thought about his reflection he hung out near the mirror most of the day. He even tried to chase it head on to show the guy in the mirror who was boss...but he gave up that idea when the Mirror guinea was trying to ram him at the same time. Stupid Bird!! Anyway...I know I will be getting Keets (baby Guineas) so that they can grow up for him to bully but he will also have others of his kind. These are the ugliest, silliest looking birds and watching them run just has to make you laugh. Louder than any other bird on the planet also...but it doesn't bother me. He sounds the alarm and everyone pays attention...a lot of times it is absolutely nothing but he has the whole hen house going with him...squawking, crowing and basically a vocal Mayhem.

Autumn Homestead...Farm...Our Place...update Part 1

      Here is my Autumn Update from around the ...hmmm...what do I call it? Homestead? Small Farm? How about "Our Place" that is morphing into much more than a place we live?
      So, I watched my video from September 2016 and I have to say that things look much better than just a year ago. We finished the addition to the chicken coop and put a shingled roof on that side...except we did not have a solid enough foundation for the weight of that type of a roof so We need to figure something out. We have house jacks under it now but that isn't really a solid and permanent solution. I am thinking Cinder blocks and make a real foundation for it. It needs something. My Grandsons painted it for me. I just bought whatever paint was on clearance for mis-colored...so it is pink. I am thinking of getting my granddaughters to paint flowers on it...they are both 6 and I think that they would love to do some art work on it...definitely this Spring. Let's see...I sold what was left of the original hens as they were 2 years old in September. There were only 4 of them left. 7-8 months ago I bought 8 Buff Orpington Chicks and now they are laying like crazy! I think these are my favorites. 2 of my 3 Comets went broody...didn't hatch a thing...they don't stay on the nest if they hear everyone else eating outside. But, they wouldn't stop going back and sitting on those spoiled eggs and I couldn't get them over their broodiness. One got over it when one of the eggs exploded under her...LOLOL. She abandoned the whole idea and deserted the nest and I got to clean up that. The other one I decided was going to go the same way so I went to the local Farmers Supply and bought whatever they had in chicks so she is now mothering 4 Rhode Island Reds. I guess I am back to the same number of chickens. Oh well...20 sounds good. As I said in the video, we grounded the chickens because they destroyed a newly planted garden...but we kicked out the Guinea to free range as he was plucking everyone bald. Such a mean old bird...but I think he is lonely. When my daughters are home he hangs out at their nice new cars and looks at his reflection...pecks at it and basically doesn't move far from the cars. I know that if I see Keets for sale I will be a sucker and buy a few so he will have company.
    Bees are ready for winter. They have been treated for Varroa mites. We refilled the Hive Beetle traps with oil. They have a super of honey...sugar water...pollen patties and there are a ton of them. It has been summer weather so we don't have to worry about their numbers quite yet. We got a total of  85 lbs of honey. We gave some of it back to them for the winter. But although we weren't really on top of them all season I still think that is pretty good. I am happy with it.
  That's it for now...Part 2 coming

50's style Food Glorious Food, Stocking your Pantry Home Economics #1

   Home cooked Food...Big Breakfasts for the Kids before School...Family Dinners...Filled Cookie Jars? Is this what you think of as the Typical 50's life? Or TV Dinners and mushy canned Vegetables and an odd assortment of inedible treats? 

     

A bit over the top but loved the clip's exaggeration

     Ya Know...I am always assuming that everyone automatically knows how to do everything...That cleaning the house, sewing a button or fixing a hem...washing dishes by hand...cooking, menu planning, grocery shopping and, actually, the list is enormous of what I take for granted. But some don't! They were never taught because their moms didn't teach them and probably didn't know herself. I grew up where we were raised with these skills working around us. Our mothers cooked and Baked from scratch, they sewed on that button that was about to fall off, sewed our clothes, mine even knit us sweaters etc....and then the school system had weekly Home Economics Classes. In 7th and 8th Grade, One Day a week, after lunch we would be bussed to another elementary school and spend the next 3 or so hours to learn how to take care of a home. How to Cook, Sew, knit etc....all those things that are not run of the mill, part of daily life anymore. So...I figured I would share my retro knowledge with a side of 50's every once in a while ala "Greenley Acres Home Economics Classes" 😉
   So, First...FOOD, the good, the bad and the Ugly of Food in the 50's. It is true, there are some things that were not at their Zenith in the 50's and food was one of them. It was almost as if going through 2 decades of just getting enough food to eat (The Great Depression and Rationing of WW2) made us forget what good food was and how to eat healthy. So Here is a list of some of the unfortunate things I have seen in 50's Cookbooks

1. Gelatin...

   If you mean for it to be fancy and want to impress everyone you must add Gelatin...or Flavored Jello. Everything is a dang Aspic! So disgusting! What is an Aspic you say? It is Gelatin made with Meat stock as a base for meat and vegetables to float in and be molded. It is as repulsive as it sounds but was all the rage in the 50's. Just thinking of a sitting down to a meal and a molded, jiggling, slow motioin moving mass with floating peas and turkey set before you...Mmmmm.... "It's so tasty too, tastes just like Candy" Shudder (quote from I Love Lucy Vitameatavegimin episode) Originally Aspic was made by boiling animal bones...the gelatinous stock that was naturally made. If you have ever made Chicken noodle soup and taken it out of the fridge the next day seeing a solid mass, you know what I am talking about. So...No...just NO!!

2.Molds & Loafs

 If
company is coming...Put dinner in a Mold or Make it into a Loaf. Sort of the same thing as Gelatin...as those are always molded.  It doesn't matter what the loaf is stuffed with as long as it is "Frosted" in Hellman's Mayonnaise OMG! What were they thinking...If it was the 60's or the 70's we could blame the drug culture, but alas there is no excuse.

3. Spam...enough said

     Enough said because we need to move on. The Period after WW2 was filled with frozen TV Dinners, Canned Food, Dinners made with concentrate canned soup and the list of "convenience foods was growing every year. But we want to concentrate on feeding our families, good healthy, made from scratch food and how to be frugal while purchasing...stick to a budget. That is pretty much how the 50's housewife did things. I very rarely saw some of the things that are standards in our house, while growing up. We didn't have nuts..except before Thanksgiving. Chocolate chips were purchased for a particular recipe...along with Cream Cheese and even "real" butter. We used Margarine. When the milk man came...we got milk and nothing else. But what I have at all times in my house might be a bit much for most but I can whip up a meal without going to the store if I can't get there for one reason or another. Your pantry should be filled with things that are used frequently by your family.

MY PANTRY LIST

Dry Goods/Room Temp Safe:

• All Purpose White Flour
• Wheat Berries (I grind my own whole wheat flour)
• White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Powdered Sugar
• Molasses
• Honey (We have bees so there is always honey)
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Cocoa Powder
• Cream of Tartar
• Salt (White, Pink Himalayan, Real Salt)
• Pepper (black, green and white)
• Shortening
• Vegetable Oil
• Olive Oil
• Sesame Oil
• Vinegars (I make our Apple Cider Vinegar, but white, red wine, Balsamic)
• Pasta (Ziti, spaghetti, elbows, Asian Pastas for lo mein, Pad Thai, Couscous etc.)
• Rice (White and Brown)
• Quinoa
• Corn Meal
• Cream of Wheat
• Cold Cereal
• Oatmeal
• Dried Beans and Canned beans for quick meals
• Canned Tomatoes (from our garden)
• Tomato Paste
• Tomato Sauce
• chili powder
• Sweet basil & Thai Basil (garden) both dried and in the freezer
• oregano (garden)
• sage (garden)
• thyme (garden)
• Cumin
• paprika
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Curry Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Poppy Seed
• Dry Mustard
• Tabasco Sauce
• Extracts: Vanilla, Almond, Butter
• Tuna
• Potatoes
• Fresh Tomatoes (from the garden when in season, but always have them all year)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Coffee
• Tea
• Creamora (addicted...I know it isn't good for me)
• Jams and Jellies (Garden)
• Relishes (Garden)
• Sauerkraut (Garden)
• Pickled Peppers Hot & sweet (Garden)
• Coconut Milk
• Coconut Cream
• Grated Coconut
• Artichoke Hearts
• Niblet Corn
• Refried beans
• Different Stocks...Beef, Vegetable and Chicken
• Popcorn (not the microwave kind...plan on planting some to see how it goes)
• Corn starch
• Peanut Butter
• Bread Crumbs
• Crackers
• Raisins (Occasionally other dried fruits)
• Marshmallows
• Maple syrup
• I also have sprouting seeds...Mung bean and Alfalfa, they take only a few days to be able to use

Fridge:

• Celery
• Carrots
• Eggs (OMG...the eggs...we have chickens and they produce tons)
• Butter
• Margarine
• Almond milk
• Milk
• half and half
• Usually Lettuce and cucumbers
• Sharp Cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream
• Parmesan Cheese
• Mustard
• Mayo
• Ketchup
• Soy Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Usually Lemons and Limes

Freezer: (mostly from our garden)

• Spinach
• broccoli
• chopped green.red, yellow peppers (I haven't had to buy a fresh pepper in forever use them fresh when in season and chop and freeze excess for off season use)
• collards
• pumpkin or other winter squash
• berries
• Yeast
• some herbs
• frozen ginger root
• Veggie Beef Crumbles ( We do eat meat just not very often...maybe once a month & Holidays)
• Boca Burgers
• Chocolate Chips (Giant Costco Package)
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Walnuts

We buy fresh fruit and vegetables as needed for certain meals we want along with other dairy products and cheeses. With these things at my constant disposal, I can make a number meals without going to the store...or only needing to go for a few things

Chilis and other Mexican entrees with Jalepeno Cornbread
Burgers and French Fries
Chinese Fried Rice
Egg Foo Young
Pasta with Marinara sauce or Veggie lasagna
Macaroni & Cheese
Tuna Macaroni Salad
Potato Salad
Quiche
Cuban Black Beans and Rice
Piccadillo and Rice
Curried Vegetables and Rice
Broccoli Potato Cheddar soup
Beans, Greens and Corn Bread
Thai Peanut Butter Curried Noodles with Spinach
Scalloped 'tomatoes with Parmesan and cracker topping
Pizza
Garbage Pasta...basically pasta with a number of veg...artichoke hearts, parmesan, lemon and garlic
Morrocan Curry with Pumpkin, veg, Chick Peas and cous cous
Corn and Potato chowder
Thai Coconut Corn Chowder
Baked Potatoes stuffed with broccoli and cheese
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Pad thai
Vegetable Lo Mein
Vegetarian Strudel
Vegetarian Pot Pie
Vegetable soup
Cream of Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Countless breakfasts:
Eggs any way
Hash Browns
Home fries
french toast
pancakes
waffles
cereals..obviously
scones
muffins
quick breads
Donuts

Pies, Cakes, Cookies, Cupcakes, and Brownies

Yeast breads

Snacks:
Popcorn
Caramel Popcorn
Candied Nuts
Savory nuts
Rice Krispie treats

These are just some of the things that are obvious to me but I know if I were to look in my pantry I would be able to come up with even more.
Well, that is it for now. Hopefully, I won't be a month later before I post again. But Spring and all the planting is still going strong but I had a break from it when I sprained my ankle...thus...I got this done that I started last month. Post any questions and I will get back to you
. Have a good Happy Spring!

50's Housewife comes Home, Organizing your day

 

    You wake up on Day One of being home...You can't believe you are actually here? Even the sun is shining as if to say...this is going to be a great day...but...now what do you do? You've never been here before.   The first thing I did when I came back home was...sat around and caught up with hanging out with Netflix and playing all the Candy Crush I wanted and cooked occasionally, ate sweets and gained 15 lbs. SERIOUSLY!!! But...it was glorious!  I got some stuff accomplished but it was like playing hooky from life and Pajamas worked just fine when you are staying home.  Once I came out of the sugar stupor I realized I was wasting the time at home that I so desired to have back. I thought..."this is never going to work out without a plan". So, the first thing I did was to make a plan. What I was going to accomplish each day...and made it sort of a to do list.  I had a ton to do with closing my business and selling my inventory...taxes etc. So, I had to tackle that first and any leftovers from my 'past' life. Then...I broke up the days with a sort of wish list and some things I have still not accomplished...like Sundays Rest/Family Day.
But here it is such as it is. You will have different rooms, a different life...maybe a few kids rooms, Homeschooling etc. I usually will have some old TV show on in the background while I do some of these chores...especially Ironing and folding laundry. I Love Lucy...Leave it to Beaver...etc.

My menus for the week reflect my busy days or Craft Day are leftover or simple meals. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday...maybe a store pizza, or frozen Ravioli with leftover sauce I always seem to have in the freezer, Hot dogs on the grill etc.  I have a few quick meals for these days also.

Daily:

Dishes, wipe down counters, wipe down stove top, sweep kitchen floor, make the bed, pick up the house (not cleaning just picking up and putting things away) and the Work of the Day...or Room of the Day

Personal care: 

I tried to go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday..sometimes not so successful. But I do go to bed early because I realized at night was when I wasted the most time on the computer.  During my 50's experiment I was reading books or magazines before bed which was way cozier...and I was reading books that I had bought years ago on subjects I was interested in and had gathered dust waiting for me to pick them up...hmmm...I need to adopt that as a regular night time thing instead of being kept awake by the computer.  Anyway, So I set a timer on my phone that would go off at the same time every evening to tell me it was time to start getting ready for bed. Sometimes I ignore it and always regret it.  When I wake up I take my morning  medicine, start coffee, while coffee is brewing I go and wash my face, lotion, brush my hair and brush my teeth. I have to wait 30 minutes before I can eat or drink after my pill...bummer to have to wait for coffee. Then I go and write in my journal...it keeps me organized and also when I need to vent, the journal gets it instead of someone else :) Finally, Coffee...read my bible for a bit...then get dressed, feed the chickens and let them out in the yard. collect their eggs. I have 8 baby chicks I am caring for right now so I take care of their needs next. I have a homesteading accounts book and write in how many eggs I collected and either look at a list already made for the homestead for the day, or start a new one. So, I am taking care of my household chores while also doing a large "Victory Garden" and chickens and honey bees. Around 3pm I stop whatever I am doing and wash up and start dinner if it is a day to cook...Oh Yeah..somewhere in there I get dressed for the day. It really depends on how cold it is outside as to when I actually do that. We heat with wood so the Living Room is toasty while the Bedroom may be freezing! 

       

 I hope that gives you motivation to plan your own weeks, without a plan, without aim, the days just slip away.

So You Wanna Be a Stay at home 50's Housewife ... Making it Happen

    I was thinking about the Vintage Housewife revival and wondering what made them the women we think that they are. Can we actually reproduce that? It is more than loving the styles and making our houses look retro, although it is cozy. It is more than loving our family, wanting to be with our children and give them the best childhood ever, although you wouldn't have the 50's mentality without that being a priority. All the things that are done to reflect those times...baking cookies, cooking from scratch, loving housework, wearing aprons etc. is not going to really do it. I realized to be an authentic, 50's housewife you had to be a 1930's Child. You had to grow up during the Great Depression where money was scarce and making ends meet...real ends like rent and food, was the highest priority. Kids made a lot of their own toys and games, the clothes that were made were a lot of time out of feed sacks. I know that sounds so wonderful now and we look for those things in antique shops and on Ebay, but if you were a child growing up endlessly in that place of concern for the basic necessities feed sacks would be "making do". These were things that I never worried about and I can tell you the kids today don't give a thought to them either. Things like, if their shoes got too tight and knew there was no money for new ones...or while playing you accidentally ripped your clothes knowing it was not a disposable item like we view clothing today.
   To be a typical 50's Housewife you would have had teen and early adult years with a World War and Rationing. You would be seeing brothers, Sweethearts and perhaps fathers going off to war. You would be finding out some of your childhood friends would never be coming back. Mom, who was always there in the kitchen doing the best she could for you was now working at the Factory. Rosie the Riveter

seems like a great Iconic figure in the fight for equality (I personally have always felt equal) But what did it do to Home life? Mom worked all day, dragged herself home to do laundry, cook meals and keep the Home Fires burning and you saw the struggle and the worry. So all your formative years would have been seeing a fight to survive. And then...the war is over, the guys come home and you get married. There is a prosperity that you have never known, a security and a sense of pride in being an American that helped put an end to a war "over there". You stay home and have children in a peaceful environment. You are happy. You are content....Aahhh...Contentment. Is that even a thing anymore?  So, to be a 50's housewife you have to learn to be content with what you have and yes, purchasing new things became a manic obsession in the 50's...Like a starving man set before a banquet table, they went crazy with the prosperity and all the new inventions. We had what everyone else had. A Car, a vacation once every few years not anything lavish, washer, new shoes every year before school and then again at Easter. Our entertainment was getting together with neighbors, BBQs, going to the zoo, the movies and...that is about it and they were happy, thankful and CONTENT.

SO...

How can you make that happen? It seems impossible?  We can at least try...first things first so go grab a cup of tea and let's see if I can help

So, if you are serious what would be the first things to consider...besides changing your modern mind and learning to be content with little?

So...If you can do it...do it! You will never regret it! If you are almost there or need to really work it to get there...push forward, don't settle for living a life that you aren't satisfied with, always dreaming of someday but never putting in the effort to get there. There is no reset in life, kids don't have a pause button. If you are a happy Rosie the Riveter and part time 50's homemaker then keep up the good work. You get to be happy with your choices without having to defend your position just as those who choose to stay home shouldn't feel the need to defend theirs either.
Oh...and the now what? I can get to that sometime this week or next. So much to learn and do!

Leaving the 1950's...Retro Housewife Experiment

And Done!

Oooppps...This picture makes it look like I might sleep in the same bed with my husband...How un-1950's is that?

There...That's Better!

So, I have been done for a few days but as I have said in previous posts that Spring has sprung early on the Homestead and there are a million things I am trying to do to catch up and of course I added work to myself when I stop at the Farm Supply to pick up one thing and came home with 8...well plus the one thing I went in for which was seed potatoes.

        They are adorable and I needed to add to the Flock anyway...but back to the 50's

     I have to say that My house never looked so great. The 1950's had such limited options that I had time to do the things I thought I never had time to do. The computer was used to post the blog and answer comments but that is it. I had to ask my husband about some news I had no idea about and it all seemed to be much ado about nothing. So, I probably will try to curb the influx of stupid news...if there is anything happening that will directly affect me I am sure I will be told. It has been so peaceful being out of the loop with all of that. I also baked more in the 1950's and saved money with only shopping once a week. I have to say that with eating all these baked goods, and regular meals I lost weight...2 lbs. Nothing to write home about but I wasn't really trying this month so that was a perk.

   What I love about the 21st Century:

• My Ninja Coffeemaker
• Starbuck's Coffee
• Microwaves
• Unfortunately...Video Games like Candy crush...(that didn't take long to reenter that stupid addiction...I need to do something about it...maybe live in the 1940s...LOL)
• Shopping online
• GOOGLE!!!
• YOUTUBE!!!! Basically these 2 tools you can learn about anything and actually watch people perform these tasks...LOVE IT!

What I love about the 1950's:

• Peace and Quiet...(really...even if you don't watch much TV being on the computer with social media is a VERY LOUD disturbance into your life. I don't know if that makes sense to you but the amount of information and opinions is overwhelming. I will be keeping to the down low with reading all of it. )
• Purpose...okay that sounds dorky, but the limited 1950's housewife found purpose in being the best in her small world. Taking care of the kids, cooking the best dinners, looking after the cleanest house, pleasing her husband by looking nice and taking care of his life and banishing ring around the collar. You didn't have the broad spectrum of choices so you can actually accomplish things and do them thoroughly and well...instead of everything getting a quick pass as you move onto something else
• Being surrounded by the TV shows and music of the Pre-60's days made me realize how much we accept in our world that would have been considered unacceptable back in the Good 'Ol Days.  Sex is about as everyday assault in the 21st century as is traffic noise. REALLY!! It is way past ridiculous and not veiled at all. Lewd lyrics in music..TV and movies where you meet in the morning and you are in bed by the evening and if not that quick by the end of the movie definitely. As soon as you find out you like each other the next step is sex. 

Give me this....

...and they lived Happily Ever After

    I discovered this about myself and actually put this as part of the about me section of the blog:

   I am a mix of periods of time...I am a Pioneer in the 1800s on my way by Oregon trail, being resourceful and blazing a trail in my life an area that I have not experienced or walked in before. I am a housewife living through the Great Depression, being frugal and pinching pennies and trying to live simply and purposefully with the Motto "Use it up, Wear it Out, Make Do or Do without" I am a WW2 mom who has a Victory Garden going trying to feed the family and help makes ends meet...no rationing in real life but cooking from scratch with what we grow along with some staples from the stores works. I am a 1950's Mom/Grandma who happily stays home and does all those "tiresome" homemaking jobs...but with Joy. Fiercely proud of my family! Who loves traditions, who loves her husband and family and who still cooks, sews, knits and all those other "Lost Arts" which are experiencing a renaissance of interest with the newest Generation of adults. I am a modern homesteader with Chickens, Honey Bees, Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes, Grapes, Vegetables gardens all trying to be cared for organically and without GMO involvement. I have a desire to grow mushrooms and have Dairy Goats in the future and try to move us into a more Self Sufficient and Sustainable life in our retirement years. 

I have loved doing this...and may do something else in the future...maybe another period of time. The 40's look interesting :)

Have a good Old Fashioned Life...Hope to see you on here as I move on with my growing season. Thanks for all the comments, input and encouragements over this past month.

1950's Vendors came to YOU! Door to Door Salesman etc.

   I haven't been out of the house since Friday Shopping and errands day but I was thinking of how many people would come knocking at your door in the 1950's  or delivered  regularly and it wasn't just someone with cookies!  I actually bought something from the Fuller Brush man

 in the early 1970/s, I was a teen and felt bad for this poor guy that was a blast from the past, even in the 70's. I let him in and let him show me everything in his case...the whole schpeal. I ended up buying a VERY expensive hair brush...way more than my poor paycheck could afford but hey...it was the Fuller Brush Man.  Then of course there was....Ding Dong...Avon Calling

And my absolute Favorite..that didn't come to your door but made his presence known... all dressed in white! THE ICE CREAM MAN....or Good Humor Man, which ever, who cares it was what he sold that made you scream...they scream....we all scream for ice cream

Toasted Almond was my favorite Ice cream unless,  of course,  Mr. Softee came around

What great times these were...I love Lucy got talked into a Vacuum Cleaner sold door to door

and it seemed like there was always an Encyclopedia salesman along with Childcraft books

How About the Milk Man delivering Dairy products. We only ever got milk but I remember the list of things he COULD bring. 

I have 2 memories from the milk man...one was that I used our Milk box as a Barbie House, turned on its side using the lid as the door...Barbie had to bend at her waist to get into her home as it wasn't tall enough...That didn't seem like a problem to 5 year old me.   And also going out to the Milkman's truck to ask for some ice. This was before refrigerated trucks and the milk crates used to be buried in shaved ice and milk would splash out of the bottles onto the ice. I hated the taste of that ice...but I kept thinking that one of these days it was going to taste like "Ice" Cream...I was young and dopey obviously.

    Am I forgetting any of the door to door or neighborhood sales people?  Do you have any memories of these guys? 

    My 50's life is taking a bit of a turn with spring and a vegetable garden in the planning...I know that there was a lot of chemicals available to do your garden back then, but I grow organically so straying from the 50's in some instances for health reasons. 

Okay...so please share if you like this and follow me either on my Greenley Acres Project blog or on Google + as we are coming to an end of this 50's experiment. My blog is basically following me as I plant a vegetable garden, can our produce, take care of chickens and honeybees and basically our homesteading life. I will be posting how to videos with sewing and baking later on also.  

Retro 50's Homemaker on the Homestead Day in the life of

       What I think my mom did all day, in the suburbs, when I was a kid is probably short changing her. She was bored with the job when we got older though. Her schedule, I believe, went something like this:

6:30 Get up with Husband, make him Sanka (his preference) Make his Lunch and the kids lunches and wake up the kids for school

7:00 Feed Kids: Usually we had some sort of egg and toast...sometimes bacon or ham, or Pancakes and we could ask what shape we wanted them cooked in...clown, truck, flower etc. French Toast etc.  Mom also heated the syrup with a little bit of butter. When we ran out of syrup she would make syrup with cinnamon sugar...loved that. 

8:15 Kids are dressed and sent off to school. We lived a mile away and school started at 9...to add to the time for dawdling I am sure we left early. We didn't have to pick up our own clothes or pjs or make our beds. Nothing was required of us. 

8:20 Make a cup of tea and sit down to eat something herself

8:45 Wash all the dishes, counters and sweep floor in Kitchen. Take something out to thaw for Dinner. Go and make all the beds, collect all the dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. Pick up anything out of order (which was a negligible amount as she always was picking up) dust the furniture, Vacuum the carpets, clean the bathroom (only one for 5 people...life was hard...LOL) 

11:00 Sit Down for a cup of tea and watch her soap operas...Search for Tomorrow and Edge of Night if I remember correctly...eat lunch somewhere in there and fold and put away the laundry.

12:30 PM...I bet she was a napper and this is when that would happen

1:30 PM Go across the street to a neighbor's house, also a Stay at Home Mom, have tea and chat...definitely gossip about the neighbors. I know this as I have gotten the Retro-scoop over the years now that I am an adult. LOL

We got out of School at 3pm so were probably home by 3:30

3:30 Kids get home. Have them change out of their clothes into play clothes. Ask everyone if they have homework. Listen to Gayle lie about never having homework. Pick up the kids clothes and start dinner. Try to convince the kids to go out and play once they start fighting about what to watch on TV. 

5:30 Dinner is served

6:00 Kids take baths and get ready for bed - Then they can watch TV

8:00 Kids brush their teeth, potty and bed

Repeat...Repeat...Repeat...Repeat

To switch things out sometimes...make clothes for the kids, knit for the kids, make cookies for the kids lunches, Grocery lists, Get ready for holidays...fill Easter Baskets, wrap Christmas Presents etc.

Okay, now my 1950 Day today which doesn't look at all like hers:

• I wake up late at 6:15, Start Coffee, take meds, turn on Computer to view my blog and if there were any questions or comments. Stare at Facebook for a moment and then will myself to shut the screen. 
• Go out and fix my coffee. Back to my chair....stare into space during first cup no computer for 3 weeks in the morning and i still don't know what to do with myself
• Get up, make bed, put away clean dishes in drainer. Wash what is in sink, wipe down the counters, clear off Kitchen table and put away anything out of order. Pour 2nd cup of coffee. 
• Begin to write in my journal...phone beeps with a text. (I can't get away from the 21st Century) It is my daughter who is upstairs asking..."Gym?" Ugh..."No...tired. Just drinking my coffee now" I put the phone down...Guilt...I missed all last week. I text back "okay". 
• As I get dressed I ask her to go let the chickens out and feed them...reluctantly she does it. Now, where are my sneakers? 
• Drive to Gym, lift weights for 40 minutes. 
• Get home and decide I am not eating light I am starved. Heat up leftovers from dinner...long drawn out process! 
• Start making a list of what I need to do today while waiting. Sit and stare into space while waiting. Too Lazy to get up and turn the TV on and my arms and legs feel noodly.
•  Eat Breakfast...Beans and Cornbread, Collard Greens and Macaroni and cheese at 10 AM Is that wrong? haha
• 1)First thing on my list...Move Citrus Trees outside and water...Grunting as I go...these trees are 6 foot at least and heavy. 
• 2) Call guy about Honey Bee Nucs...We lost one of our hives over the winter and need to replace it
• 3) Sweep and straighten out mudroom...ugh! Floors are in need of replacing so this is a pain nothing will make them better until we tear the whole thing up.
•  4) Look at Mudroom floor and think about mopping it...look up and spy over the fridge a huge box of Raisin Bran and decide I am going to make Raisin Bran Muffins (this is ADHD at work) ...Mix and fill papers and stick them in the oven. Work a bit on my blog while waiting for the timer to go off 
  
• Butter a hot muffin and sit on back porch on this beautiful day and eat it
• Be swarmed by 13 chickens wanting my muffin with 2 pecking at my arm...give in and share and watch them fight over the small piece I threw at them. 
• Get distracted by the gorgeous day and decide to rake the garden next to the back porch...Plant the mum that somehow survived me not getting it in the ground last fall. Take Control of the Carolina Jasmine that has gone rogue and zip tie it to the large Rain Barrel...decide I want to fill a space in this garden and go dig up some Daffodil that decided to grow outside the garden space. Water everything. 
• Go back inside and pass over the mudroom floor again searching for the list...you know...the list that says sweep and mop mudroom floor. NEXT....
• 6)Sweep and clean out the Freezer of Chicken Poop...LOLOL Isn't that a thing on everyone's list? I have an old Commercial Freezer that no longer works but kept because the seal on it was a good thing to have to keep Chicken Food in...mice and other animals can't get into it. Well, we have been missing chickens lately...we think possibly a fox and one of our younger layers ended up missing the day before my Son's family came into town for the weekend. My grandson's went out to feed the chickens the next morning (they like to do it) and when they came back in my eldest said, "The funniest thing happened, when we opened the freezer a chicken popped out of it" Must have gotten in there when the doors were open when I fed them the morning before. She is fine but she made a mess in there...all the food she could eat...and poop out. So, I cleaned it out, scrubbed with antibacterial soap, fixed a shelf, moved the honey bee supplies back out there.
• 7) Bypass the mudroom one more time and get a call from my husband that he is already done and will be home a bit early today...so the mudroom will have to wait...OH DARN! Time to take a bath and do my hair etc. a quick once over in the rest of the house. Dinner is leftovers although I might just have a cheese sandwich or yogurt and fruit or Cottage cheese and hot pepper relish (I grew the peppers and canned last year and love the sweet hot relish on cottage cheese)  
•  After my husband gets home we will probably watch TV and I have some knitting project I am working on and will be doing that.   

   My Stay at home life is a bit different than my Mom's ever was. She wasn't living this Agrarian, rural life and she definitely wouldn't have liked it, although she loves helping me pick things in the garden when she is over in the summer.                                                                                                                

(89 years old!! Isn't she doing great! Hoping I have her stamina at her age. When she started on the Blueberry bushes I had to stop her and make her come inside as I was hot and done. She kept trying to tell me I looked tired and should take a nap...I finally asked her why she wanted me to nap...she laughed and said so that she could go outside and finish picking Blueberries. She was on bush #1 and we have 7!)

So, life at home is different for everyone, depending on what stage of life you are in and what year you are living in. But more and more it seems like my life is not too different on the day to day. When my kids were little it definitely was more housework oriented and getting their needs met...when they were a little older it was homeschooling and less housework as I just didn't want my life to be sucked into doing doing doing and not living living living. One thing about the 50's is that TV and radio isn't a huge draw and living like we are a one car family also doesn't hurt. I get more done because of those 2 things but also by not being on the computer. Even though today seemed like I didn't get quite as much done as I would have liked or have on many of the other days. Probably because all of my house working energy was sucked up by the Gym and also my distractions by outside.
  Well, Starting my last week tomorrow. I need to see how I am going to up my game for this last week. Stay Tuned and Share if you like this...Thanks

Homemakers in the 50's STAYED HOME! to get stuff done!

   

     I did what every red blooded American Homemaker did in the 1950s this week. I stayed Home! We would have been a middle class one car Family so I shopped last Friday and just got back from errands and shopping for this week. I saved a bunch of money on my almost daily runs to the market where I needed one thing and bought much, much more. The Cashier always asks, "Did you find everything alright?" And the answer she hears scores of times every single day is, "OMG, I just came in for milk...or butter...or bread..." or something else and the cart is 1/2 full. I know this because I actually asked one day if she hears this a lot after I said the same thing. Her response, "A LOT!!!!!!!".
    Being a middle class Family in the 50's I know I am probably on a budget.  I wrote my Menu last night trying to stick with what I already had purchased last week on my over spending Grocery Run and what was in the cabinets and freezer...So, this week I spent a grand total of $13.78. No really...I did! I spent more on Chicken Feed this week than on groceries for the family. I usually cook and eat what I am in the mood for, thus the constant runs to the store. But I was treating myself as if I were a restaurant instead of a home that has a ton of food in it. I pretty much stuck to my menu last week. What I didn't produce I will cook this week! I find that my discipline is lacking in the 1950s or maybe it has always been lacking but is now so much more obvious with the restraints, and I must say, annoying! How can I be annoying to myself?...hasn't been too hard at all. I guess I expected this to be a breeze as I do so many things the old school way...or so I thought.
 
                                                                                                                     





So, as I have said before, that I find it hard to stick with this completely. Biggest stumbles is Social Media and the Microwave. Every single time I have stayed on Facebook longer than to post this blog or stuck something in the microwave (usually my cold cup of coffee) I feel like Elizabeth Lane from "Christmas in Connecticut".

If you do not know this old movie...just a quick blurb. Barbara Stanwyck plays the part of a magazine columnist that writes about her beautiful Home in the Countryside of Connecticut, her husband and baby, and the wonderful meals she cooks. In Reality, she lives in an apartment in NYC, is single and obviously no child and does not know how to cook. Okay, so that is a bit of a stretch peeking at more than my share of Facebook and using a microwave on occasion but still...that is what I think of when I pull my steaming cup of coffee from the little miracle box after 30 seconds.  For the most part I have kept to the 50's though. I still have only watched TV or movies from that era. I have been listening to only 40's and 50's music. I have been thinking ahead for meals and baking a bit more. My house is getting close to 1950s housewife clean and organized, still have some areas that need some real time to do that but remember I am also homesteading and taking care of chickens and getting ready to start the transplants for the veggie garden. I even had the time to take an inventory of my seeds and plant dates along with what needed to be started indoors and when!

The 1950s gives me a lot more time to do what I have needed to do.
   I have made my second batch of Jello in 35 years and the Naysayers response? "Yyaaaaasssss!" I didn't try to use the mold this time. But it made me laugh how well received the news was.
  Valentine's Day I made Eggplant Parmesan (Family Favorite) and Pinwheel Biscuit Shortcake, (shaped like hearts)

with Strawberries, Raspberries and Blackberries, Fresh whipped Cream. Unfortunately my husband didn't get home till around 8:30 at night delivering everyone's Valentines gifts to loved ones.  (FedEx) Okay, that is it for this week...Taking Saturday and Sundays off as it takes a really lot of time to put these together. Who would have thought? Not me!  Share this blog if you are liking the posts. Thanks!

1950's Homemaker's response to the News!

 

 Okay, Sooo... I peeked at the news Today...just Headlines and was sort of astounded that it is very much like it was in the 1950's. I have been reading headlines from the 50's and it is The Same Players and everything. WOW!  To think of the 1950's as the Good Old Days...and how we all lived safe and peaceful..."Oh, Now...THOSE were the Days"  is neglecting to see the full story.  We started the Decade going to war in Korea because North Korea invaded South Korea. Ummmm...North Korea remains a problem as they are doing missile testing and have already lobbed one or two into S.Korea over the last few years.  June 1950 was the beginning of the Korean War because N. Korea invaded S. Korea. 

     In the 1950's Russia was flexing muscle and also had a H-bomb test to prove to the USA that they also had the technology to blow up a whole bunch of people. Yeah, well they also just did a test. And a "spy" Ship was just seen off the East Coast of the USA. Although it has been said that this is pretty normal...other country's ships near our waters as we are near theirs, just seems interesting in timing.

      They have flexed their muscle in the Ukraine over recent years, where after WW2 they ignored the Peace agreements of the times and basically took over Eastern Europe. We also saw ship movements by them in the late 50's early 60's which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. 
   And the last election was a surprise...nope not even going there... but so was Truman over Dewey...okay so that was 1948 but still Truman was our President in 1950!

 

    Pretty Uncanny if you Ask Me!

With the threat of Nuclear War came the preparedness video Cartoon...Duck and Cover. 

    Kids were doing drills in schools, just in case we were bombed. I remember having to hide under a desk or go out in the hall and cover my head.  So, People were afraid...the Moms and Dads of the day had already lived through the Great Depression and WW2...and now the Korean War, the Beginning of the Cold War and they knew from those experiences...anything was possible. So how did the Moms deal with it? They decided that it was a great way to decorate their homes with Atomic Modern. 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? LOL

 But, I guess it is better than totally Freaking Out! They still had hope for the future. The GIs were home, getting married, moving out to the suburbs with the new tract housing neighborhoods.

       Rosie the Riveter, became Rosie the Homemaker and wife. The Baby Boom was in full swing. Women dressed up for every day...hair done, makeup on and why? Well, I think it is because of Clothing, makeup etc. wasn't something that you could splurge on during the Depression or during the war with the rationing etc. going on. It was a new Life with plenty of Light on the Horizon. In spite of what the News was, people were happy. We are seeing a Renaissance of Women returning home to be wives and mothers and they are doing it in an ingenious way. They are being entrepreneurs at home with Artisan Crafts and Food. They are taking those extra hours that they get from the modern conveniences and using their time wisely and productively. They are dusting off the Lost Arts of Cooking, Sewing and Needlework and putting their own spin on it....AND...the Birth Rate is slightly up for the first time in decades!!! BRAVO!! WELL DONE! I would say...in spite of the Elections...the news etc. Smart people are doing what smart people have always done...They are living with hope...They are making Lemonade out of Lemons...or homemade Jams and Pickles out of Produce that they have also grown themselves!!!

1950's Retro Diet and Exercise Crazy? Week 2 Day 14

Boy, was I born in the wrong Era!!!

  I was looking at a Good Housekeeping Magazine from August 1957 and on the cover is this perk to buy this magazine...so of course that got me curious as I was getting ready to go to the gym myself.

Basically The diet was doing exercises, naked, with towels soaked in ice water as it was an August edition. LOL And the menu plan for the week was questionable at best in my opinion. 

 I also found an old Met life ad about reducing your weight to prevent health problems Titled "Cheers for Chubby"...they knew back then that it was an issue and still we are heavier than ever. 

Bottom Line...we eat too much and too much of the wrong things. We have to admit that! The new "Love Your Body" initiative is as dangerous as the "Starve yourself to death"...literally! How about..."If you truly Love Your Body...you will take care of It" I try to eat well and exercise. I AM overweight! I was raised with excuses and took up where my Mom left off. Basically sabotaging myself for decades.

    Jack Lalane, who had it right,

 started his TV Exercise show in the 50's. They thought it was going to be a complete failure but instead it started a revolution of being aware of what was going on with our bodies. That all the time saving devices were making us sit a heck of a lot more and with all that extra time, what were we doing? Sitting in front of the TV eating. 50's TV Dinners and TV Trays promoted it!

  This is a bad thing about the 50's. I haven't discovered many things that were an absolute negative, but the way we ate and sat is definitely one. I figure at almost 60 I have little time to get to my Goal weight as I have promised myself forever and plan on getting there by my birthday in June. Most days I do alright...except when I have a Smooth Talking Chocolate Buttercream Cake calling me from the kitchen. Oh... to be able to silence the voices.