Decorum

We found this lovely book at an estate sale this fall. Decorum: A practical treatise on etiquette and dress is digitized and available through Harvard. The book includes 1877 and 1879 dates of publication.

It is full of gems - advice on social interactions of all kinds, dress, letter writing, courtship and marriage, and attire in the late 1800's.

On Wall Flowers at Balls:
The master of the house should see that all the ladies dance; he should take notice, particularly of those who seem to serve as drapery to the walls of the ball-room, (or wall-flowers, as the familiar expression is) and should see that they are invited to dance. But he must do it wholly unperceived, in order not to wound the self-esteem of the unfortunate ladies.

On Love at First Sight:
No doubt these is such a thing as love at first sight, but love alone is a very uncertain foundation upon which to base marriage. There should be through acquaintanceship and a certain knowledge of harmony of tastes and temperaments before matrimony is ventured upon.

On Trifling with a Man's Feelings:
Some young ladies pride themselves upon the conquests which they make and would not scruple to sacrifice the happiness of an estimable person to their reprehensible vanity. Let this be far from you. If you see clearly that you have become an object of especial regard to a gentleman, and do not wish to encourage his addresses, treat him honorably and humanely, as you hope to be used with generosity by the person who may engage your own heart.

On Breaking an Engagement:
...Still breaking an engagement is always a serious and distressing thing, and ought not to be contemplated without absolute and just reasons...It is generally best to break an engagement by letter. By this means one can express himself or herself more clearly, and give the true reasons for his or her course much better than in a personal interview. The letter breaking the engagement should be accompanied by everything in the way of portraits, letters or gifts which have been received during the engagement.

What is the ruling on a text message break up?

This is such a fun look at the view of etiquette and dress for "the best American society" in the 1800's.

Summer finds & fun

In an earlier post, I mentioned the fantastic vintage photos we found in Atlanta. Here are a couple of my favorites. You have to wonder what mischief these boys were up to - classic brothers fighting and playing. Love the photographer's eye for everyday moments.

Our other fantastic find was this amazing store called Mingei World Arts. The store had so many beautiful and fine things, including a large basket of chapati rolling pins. We selected three - all lovely with a beautiful patina. You and tell that these were used frequently and the wear makes them that much more precious. They are displayed in my kitchen were I also have a bowl of domestic rolling pins shared by family members or scavenged at vintage stores.

My mom and I have been enjoying some time together canning. We are alternating between tomatoes - pizza sauce, pasta sauce and salsa - and peaches. The latest version of peaches uses honey in place of some of the sugar in the syrup. I love the time with mom and love learning about how to preserve great food.

The latest finds

We have been fortunate enough to travel a bit this summer. In Atlanta we spent some time in consignment and antique stores. Aside from my $23 JCrew suit, a basket of black and white pictures in an antique store was my favorite find. I picked out a couple of dollars worth, but should have purchased the whole lot. Shopper's regret - the worst!

The photographer had mostly candid shots - two had her caption written on the back. Any that made me smile moved to the keep pile. Here are a couple of samples.

And, the big decision is what is the project? How will I use them? Maybe cards or an art collage - they are just too great to be in a dusty antique store and not shared.

Summer bounty

Our garden has been producing beautiful tomatoes. Despite a serious heat spell and a lack of rain, we have had an almost constant supply of tomatoes and peppers. Mom and I have been bonding over some canning adventures. You will find us on a Saturday or Sunday in my kitchen canning salsa, pizza sauce and a tomato pasta sauce. The pizza sauce is by far the winner!

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/pizza_sauce

Our first canning project was salsa. We decided that we wanted to save ourselves the messy foodmill and clean up, so we would just blend the hot salsa. This sounds easy. You ladle the hot soup into the blender, zip it through, and then put it back in the pot. We violated every safety rule and had salsa in my hair and splattered on the kitchen cupboards before we were through! We decided that we needed a better plan and that led to the purchase of the hand blender. Best money I have ever spent!

My favorite part is just learning along side mom. A long-time canner, she has all of the details in her head. She is a stickler for cleanliness, has all of the gadgets, and just standing at the sink with her peeling tomatoes after a long week has been so calming. I bring the recipe and she helps me get it through to finished. We also love to hear the pop of the jars sealing when they are out of the hot water bath.

Next on the canning agenda - peaches!

Meet our new hobby

Our long search for a vintage pickup came to an end when Jer found a posting on Craigslist for a 1950 Chevy in Osage City. The gentleman selling this beauty knew some of my family from the area and was just the type of guy we had hoped would be selling our dream truck. He had been taking great care of her - driving it every day to and from work at the parts counter for the local Chevy dealer.



We asked dad along to help with the test drive. We were really glad since neither of us knew how to start the thing. It has a starter on the floor next to the gas pedal, a key, and a choke. It might have taken us a little while and we both seemed anxious about proving we would be good caretakers of the truck.

She runs beautifully with an original engine. And, by beautifully, I mean a top speed of 40 miles per hour. It is an interesting contrast to the rest of our lives where we are driven by the clock and have to be places fast.

Once we made the purchase, we drove her home from Osage at the top speed of 40 miles per hour. I followed in the car and we only backed up traffic a few times on Hwy 99. We took a break in Alma for pizza and as soon as she was parked, we got our first compliment!



While she is not perfect, over time, we will begin to restore her. Jer has already installed a new wood bed. We have her at the shop now having the windshield reset with a new seal - still original glass, just a little leaky.


By chance, one of my new friends has a 1950's camper she and her boyfriend are restoring. We joked that we need to get our two projects together!


As for the truck, watch for us in parades in a couple of years or maybe at a Farmer's Market stall...or still doing what we are doing now...driving 40 miles an hour to deliver our recyclables to the station in Westmoreland and cruising country roads on our way back home.

Kind people - we are blessed.

This week has been full of challenges and blessings. Several staffing changes at work and a tremendously busy time for our programming has created a lot of extra stress and hours at the office. Just the nature of our work allows us to interface with the public a lot - some of the people are amazing and others are very insistent and demanding.

Lately, I am reminded that there are kind people in the world. I am surrounded by many of them - simply some pretty fantastic men and women who care a great deal about others. Today, a long-time resident of Lebo sent me one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received. Sara and I have connections through K-State and we recently saw each other during a meeting on the campus. At the conclusion of business, I shared that a Saturday program would require me to miss the third and final auction associated with my grandparent's estate. My husband would go as my representative with a list of things I really wanted to remember my grandparents.

Today, a package arrived at the office with a note from Sara. Her two daughters and son went to the auction and bought a lot of my Grandmother's jewelry. They had sent off several pieces to be made into a necklace for me. It is simply lovely. I was overwhelmed to think of the kindness of the gesture. It is a creative and elegant way of paying tribute to my Grandmother. I am blessed by kind people.

We have the most generous friends and neighbors around us showing kindness through small and large gestures... the sharing of plants, tools on loan, book recommendations, and thoughtful gifts. I have a visual for the number of thoughtful people in our lives in my kitchen, spare bedroom and garage. Brace yourself.

About two months ago, my husband put out a note at his school that we were low on egg cartons and if anyone had any they could share, we would appreciate it. The result was simply amazing.

My kitchen.

My garage.

My spare bedroom.

The bottom line is that you can get what you need when you simply ask. You can have more than you ever want when you surround yourself with great friends. I am blessed.

My grandparent's estate auction - round one

Saturday, April 3 was the first of three Saturdays devoted to my grandparent's estate auction. Avid auction goers, farmers, and collectors, the amount of stuff is overwhelming and impressive. I certainly understand my desire to accumulate - especially interesting old stuff. It must be genetic! Anything with a bit of rust or worn/well loved patina is looked at with affection. Things in multiples (collections) have so much power in form and function.

My dad has been working really hard to prepare for the auctions. His first task was to sort through the farm equipment and all of the years of stuff that made the farm go. Anyone who has lived on a farm operated by depression-era people knows that you keep everything - just in case! My grandfather kept bolts, nuts, screws, and many tools and pieces and parts. The wagons were loaded with boxes, old coffee cans, galvanized buckets, refrigerator drawers - anything that could hold items was filled to the brim with bits and pieces of the farm. I loved the texture and intrigue of all of the rusted bits.

We had beautiful weather, though the farm was a muddy mess from serious rains in the days leading up to the sale. Luckily, we had warning to wear old shoes. The kids loved roaming through the mud in their mud boots!

The old trucks, tractors and equipment were really interesting. We waited with anticipation to see if all the tractors would start...only one needed a jump. Thank goodness for good friends who are excellent mechanics.

We watched as the two old grain trucks that Jeremy drove when he helped with wheat harvest sold. Now, we hope we can get one with the floorboards still in tack, better brakes and a bed that operates consistently and doesn't get locked in the up or down position. The adventures of helping my dad!

I was most surprised to see all of the tires, rims and wheels as part of the auction. Hubcaps were another popular items. Grandpa saved everything. We had several scrap metal dealers attend and they bought up some of the metal parts that did not make any sense to me. My brother said they make 25% as a finders fee for the metal. When I was little, I wanted to own a junk yard and I think that is why I was so intrigued by their work.


We got such a kick out of the old license plate from Osage County, my home. It is secured to the truck with bailing wire on one side. This just speaks to how we do things - make do, figure it out, bailing wire can fix a lot.

The old barn has a pretty good lean. The weathered barn wood and great doors inside are pretty amazing. There was stuff literally everywhere on the place - inside the barn, in the Quonset, in piles. Piles of abandoned parts, a huge old church bus, eight bale feeder rings set on their sides, worn out bikes, and some really awesome, amazing junk.

It was a good day. Tired, sun burnt, emotional hangover...ready to go again in two weeks.