You definitely were a domestic diva as were most women of your era—canning fruits and vegetables, sewing everything from our clothes to making slipcovers and drapes for your sister(s) and in-laws. You created your own patterns. You did laundry with the old fashioned washboard, washtubs and the ringer machine that squeezed the clothes dry enough to hang up on the clothesline. It’s too bad Dad didn’t buy you that automatic washer and dryer before you got sick. You were “green” before your time by using the water from the washtubs to bathe Ruthie and I. Once the plug was pulled, we’d scramble trying to put our legs up, balancing our bare ends on the edge of the tub, screaming like crazy, “We’re going to go down the hole!” Water swirled down the drain and you tried to assure us that we couldn’t fit through such a small opening. We didn’t get it and still screamed until all the water was gone. You took in ironing for ten cents a shirt. I heard you’d whack the head off a chicken and pluck its feathers. I often wondered if you had other dreams than being The Domestic Diva. I have few memories, but one is clear, how you’d relax: You’re sitting at the kitchen table, working a crossword puzzle, drinking a long neck Stag, smoking a Vice Roy and listening to KMOX. I’ve inherited your domestic diva-ness, but without the crossword puzzles, beer, cigarettes and KMOX.
One of the things my mom canned were green tomatoes, something I did this past summer.
Hi Lynn - I enjoyed this post. You are lucky to have inherited your mom's domestic diva-ness (is that even a word?). I inherited my mom's domestic talents which means I can hem a skirt, sew on a button, and order pizza. LOL I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I just figured out how to add your blog to my rolling blog list!
Thanks Lisa - yeah, I made that word up: diva-ness, probably not a good thing as a writer, but... it just seemed to fit for what I wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn:
ReplyDeleteNice blog. And nice canned tomatoes. And wow! what a drawing by your daughter. Congrats and keep up the daily blogging. I think you'll like it. :)
Margo
http://margodill.com/blog/
I love your blog, Lynn, and look forward to stopping back often. I guess I did not realize we are almost exactly the same age, and now we have something else in common--we both hold our mothers in memory only.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, Aunt Lynn! That's a sweet entry about your mom. I really like the picture of the canned tomatoes. I love canned green tomatoes, and have not had them in years.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margo, Dianna and Victoria!
ReplyDeleteLynn - If diva-ness wasn't a word before, it is now. I think a little creative license with words is exactly what a writer should do! It fits!
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn. Another lovely post about your mom. Isn't it interesting the things we remember? My mom used to re-use the washing machine water, too. But it was for the next load of towels or sheets, not clothes. When I was a teenager, I thought that was gross and disgusting and I refused to do it! Although she told me to....she wasn't at home when I did the laundry! :o
ReplyDeleteLynn, what a lovely memory. My mom was not a domestic diva; she was The Can Opener Queen, yet as you described your mom sitting there smoking and listening to KMOX, I could see my mom.
ReplyDeleteBlogging can be therapeutic, can't it?
ReplyDeleteWe rattle the cage that contains our memories, examining each detail from every angle. And on a really good day, we may even discover the meaning behind the memory!