Improving an Impression, Part 2: The Homefront
Some of you might find this a less interesting post than the other two. I'm going to be talking about the things I want to do at home to help improve my impression. It includes sewing, but also cooking, gardening, dancing, gear-maintenance and reading.
Cooking: several years ago, I purchased a reprint of "The Compleat Housewife" for a song (my copy is a replica). I read it, f s's and all, and was promptly overwhelmed. So many ingredients I had never heard of, those I had in unthinkable quantities, in oven temps and cooking methods I could not decipher. I picked it up again the other night, and allowed myself to only read receipts that seemed appealing by the title and mentally broke them down in size and method. E. Smith probably worked in a large house with a very wealthy family who had guests aplenty. I think over the summer and into the fall and winter, I want to try a receipt here and there on a much smaller scale to see how they work and if they taste good to our modern tongues.
If I sell pickles at events, maybe I could also do other things, like preserves or baked goods.
In the future, I hope to have one of three things: a fire pit, a metal portable pit or a proper hearth. That way, I can try out fire-cooking in my own space.
Gardening: This was inspired by more than just the event. Our new landlady has opted to live in the house and she's been tearing out the old bushes and attempting to plant flowers (in China in the cities, you don't really have land to plant on, so this is all very new to her). I've been helping her out and her excitement and wonder has lit a spark in me. Plus, I was able to go to Longwood Gardens on my trip home and it made me think about gardening again.
I probably didn't write about it, but two summers ago, we tore up two beds in the yard in an attempt to garden. We were unfamiliar with the clayey soil and the rampant deer problem, so within three weeks of planting, everything had been eaten to the nubs and we gave up.
When I came home, I googled "colonial garden plants" (without plants, apartment complexes come up) and "18th century gardens." Most of what came up were herbs. I had noticed the only plants left alone by the deer (and are still alive) are the oregano and chive plants I brought from NJ (they also managed to survive the winter in pots buried under snow, the basil and thyme did not). Wild strawberry plants also grow on my little plot, along with lemon balm (that can quickly become a weed) and garlic mustard that my mother pointed out. There's also a daisy-like flower growing that looks like it could be a variety of cammomile, but none that I've ever grown. I could tear up the plot again and plant herbs and calendula (maybe hot peppers around the edge to ward off the bastard deer, haha!) The other plot is circular and gets slightly more sun. We only tore up half this one, and I tried to plant poppies, but only the daisies and primroses from the people living there years ago still stand. I could make this into a flower garden, as long as the deer won't eat them. I really, really want a rose bush and am looking for an apothecary rose and some other 18thc fragrant varieties. Maybe lavender and hyssop.
However, I don't want to be my mother: I don't want to grow these things, then cut some of them and hang them up and never use them. Things to ponder.
This might take a little more time, as the beds are pretty well grown and would take a great deal of work to tear up. We'll see what the weekend brings!
Gear-maintenance: I just bought a small skillet that needs reseasoning and some wooden tools that need sanding and oiling, and some of the maintenance falls under sewing (redyeing some stuff). My copper kettle is still shiny and my pots still seasoned. I'm going to need some new gear if I am serious about pickle-selling. I was eyeing up Blue Cat Button's custom yokes, and will need appropriate buckets. Tin ones seem more reasonable than wood, but I don't know how vinegar will affect it. This definitely needs more research. I'd consider a wheelbarrow or wagon, but space is at a premium in both house and car.
Dancing: I had so much fun and got good exercise dancing, I want to keep dancing! But, alas! All the Dancing groups are closer to the coast and civilization. But, never fear! A dancer said that Contra and Square dancing are descendants of the formal and country 18th century dances and suggested I find a group. There are two active ones in Ithaca alone, and both have weekly dances! I have not gone yet, but I will let you know how it goes!
Reading: Bah! It's summer, I'm busy! I'll read when it's 15 degrees Farenheit.
Sewing: this is what we all do, and pretty much how we all met in the etherworld. I have a list in my head of all the things I would like to make before I get too old to wear them (no one wants to see a crone in pastels!), but a shorter list of things I would like to have finished before this season ends. In all that I've been reading, it seems us camp followers were a miserable lot and were expected to be "respectable" to be a part of the army, but disdained by everyone else as being "not respectable." Only pretty, decorous ladies who were the wives of high ranking men seemed to get the praise, without anyone thinking twice about them being afforded that luxury while the rest of the women weren't. Though, I do once remember reading an account from an officer making note of a woman who delivered a baby when they were on the move and then got up with the babe to catch up with everyone else. He in that instant admired her and all the other women for their strength and perserverance, and wondered if any of the genteel ladies he knew could withstand such a life.
I've had a basic kit forever. Some of it I'm replacing out because it's not quite right, like my Dormeuse of Dubious Construction. I want to eventually phase out my shortgowns, too. I'm adding in some things that working women would have had and worn regularly and things I started ages ago. For some things I'm using fabric I was unable to sell at the event.
New blue linen petticoat (cut earlier this month)
Half-boned stays (started 2009, for the HSF Lace and Lacing Challenge)
Mill Effing Farm linen Bedgown (started 2010; promptly shelved, effing wasteful)
Quilted wool petticoat (3 yards of brown flannel purchased in 2008, it's faded to a weird color, I may re-dye it back to brown, black or pea green--help me obi-wan, I can't decide!)
New shift, linen
To re-dye blue: summer shortgown and a pair of stockings whose color I hate
Cotton stockings into mitts (Remake Challenge HSF)
Two Fig Leaf jackets, one wool with longer skirts, one pink damask .
Navy Worsted gown
Single color cotton print gown
Decorate berege and bonnet in working-class fashion
Caps, a plain and a poofy
Eventual:
Fully boned stays
Linsey shifts, two
Knitted mitts
A wool petticoat in the German style
The rest of my ideas fall outside of the "1770s working class" genus.
Phew! That was a lot more than I intended to type about. I guess in the future, I will talk about these as I go along.
Cooking: several years ago, I purchased a reprint of "The Compleat Housewife" for a song (my copy is a replica). I read it, f s's and all, and was promptly overwhelmed. So many ingredients I had never heard of, those I had in unthinkable quantities, in oven temps and cooking methods I could not decipher. I picked it up again the other night, and allowed myself to only read receipts that seemed appealing by the title and mentally broke them down in size and method. E. Smith probably worked in a large house with a very wealthy family who had guests aplenty. I think over the summer and into the fall and winter, I want to try a receipt here and there on a much smaller scale to see how they work and if they taste good to our modern tongues.
If I sell pickles at events, maybe I could also do other things, like preserves or baked goods.
In the future, I hope to have one of three things: a fire pit, a metal portable pit or a proper hearth. That way, I can try out fire-cooking in my own space.
Gardening: This was inspired by more than just the event. Our new landlady has opted to live in the house and she's been tearing out the old bushes and attempting to plant flowers (in China in the cities, you don't really have land to plant on, so this is all very new to her). I've been helping her out and her excitement and wonder has lit a spark in me. Plus, I was able to go to Longwood Gardens on my trip home and it made me think about gardening again.
I probably didn't write about it, but two summers ago, we tore up two beds in the yard in an attempt to garden. We were unfamiliar with the clayey soil and the rampant deer problem, so within three weeks of planting, everything had been eaten to the nubs and we gave up.
When I came home, I googled "colonial garden plants" (without plants, apartment complexes come up) and "18th century gardens." Most of what came up were herbs. I had noticed the only plants left alone by the deer (and are still alive) are the oregano and chive plants I brought from NJ (they also managed to survive the winter in pots buried under snow, the basil and thyme did not). Wild strawberry plants also grow on my little plot, along with lemon balm (that can quickly become a weed) and garlic mustard that my mother pointed out. There's also a daisy-like flower growing that looks like it could be a variety of cammomile, but none that I've ever grown. I could tear up the plot again and plant herbs and calendula (maybe hot peppers around the edge to ward off the bastard deer, haha!) The other plot is circular and gets slightly more sun. We only tore up half this one, and I tried to plant poppies, but only the daisies and primroses from the people living there years ago still stand. I could make this into a flower garden, as long as the deer won't eat them. I really, really want a rose bush and am looking for an apothecary rose and some other 18thc fragrant varieties. Maybe lavender and hyssop.
However, I don't want to be my mother: I don't want to grow these things, then cut some of them and hang them up and never use them. Things to ponder.
This might take a little more time, as the beds are pretty well grown and would take a great deal of work to tear up. We'll see what the weekend brings!
Gear-maintenance: I just bought a small skillet that needs reseasoning and some wooden tools that need sanding and oiling, and some of the maintenance falls under sewing (redyeing some stuff). My copper kettle is still shiny and my pots still seasoned. I'm going to need some new gear if I am serious about pickle-selling. I was eyeing up Blue Cat Button's custom yokes, and will need appropriate buckets. Tin ones seem more reasonable than wood, but I don't know how vinegar will affect it. This definitely needs more research. I'd consider a wheelbarrow or wagon, but space is at a premium in both house and car.
Dancing: I had so much fun and got good exercise dancing, I want to keep dancing! But, alas! All the Dancing groups are closer to the coast and civilization. But, never fear! A dancer said that Contra and Square dancing are descendants of the formal and country 18th century dances and suggested I find a group. There are two active ones in Ithaca alone, and both have weekly dances! I have not gone yet, but I will let you know how it goes!
Reading: Bah! It's summer, I'm busy! I'll read when it's 15 degrees Farenheit.
Sewing: this is what we all do, and pretty much how we all met in the etherworld. I have a list in my head of all the things I would like to make before I get too old to wear them (no one wants to see a crone in pastels!), but a shorter list of things I would like to have finished before this season ends. In all that I've been reading, it seems us camp followers were a miserable lot and were expected to be "respectable" to be a part of the army, but disdained by everyone else as being "not respectable." Only pretty, decorous ladies who were the wives of high ranking men seemed to get the praise, without anyone thinking twice about them being afforded that luxury while the rest of the women weren't. Though, I do once remember reading an account from an officer making note of a woman who delivered a baby when they were on the move and then got up with the babe to catch up with everyone else. He in that instant admired her and all the other women for their strength and perserverance, and wondered if any of the genteel ladies he knew could withstand such a life.
I've had a basic kit forever. Some of it I'm replacing out because it's not quite right, like my Dormeuse of Dubious Construction. I want to eventually phase out my shortgowns, too. I'm adding in some things that working women would have had and worn regularly and things I started ages ago. For some things I'm using fabric I was unable to sell at the event.
New blue linen petticoat (cut earlier this month)
Half-boned stays (started 2009, for the HSF Lace and Lacing Challenge)
Mill Effing Farm linen Bedgown (started 2010; promptly shelved, effing wasteful)
Quilted wool petticoat (3 yards of brown flannel purchased in 2008, it's faded to a weird color, I may re-dye it back to brown, black or pea green--help me obi-wan, I can't decide!)
New shift, linen
To re-dye blue: summer shortgown and a pair of stockings whose color I hate
Cotton stockings into mitts (Remake Challenge HSF)
Two Fig Leaf jackets, one wool with longer skirts, one pink damask .
Navy Worsted gown
Single color cotton print gown
Decorate berege and bonnet in working-class fashion
Caps, a plain and a poofy
Eventual:
Fully boned stays
Linsey shifts, two
Knitted mitts
A wool petticoat in the German style
The rest of my ideas fall outside of the "1770s working class" genus.
Phew! That was a lot more than I intended to type about. I guess in the future, I will talk about these as I go along.