Winter seems reluctant to come to us. In December we had some flurries but not enough to cover the ground. We had a couple of cold snaps but nothing sustained as a winter normally has. The common talk around is that we’ll get winter in February and March…..just right for freezing ice and sleet. We are in an area where it’s too warm for snow but rain coming down hangs onto the upper reaches and just perfect for tree breakage and power outage.

What really hurts is when the trees and power-lines are loaded down with ice and the wind comes up. It’s possible to hear cracking and thumping from night into daylight when the damage is evident. Most of us wait to hear if the furnace comes on or not…..that tells the tale.

Otherwise the month of January has pretty well been normal as normal is, and it’s a time when I can sort and throw, clean out, rearrange and give away. We all have things we don’t wear, don’t use and/or don’t want. It helps others to take it to a distribution center and get it out for someone else who feels blessed to receive it.

Winter is a time to slow down and take stock of where we’ve been and where we want to be. I’m a list person and I can pick and choose what I want to do on a certain day…..I usually do the worst first. Then the rest is all down-hill. Does anyone iron anymore?

I had a FW this week talking about all the things that were once common-place in a household. One item was a pop bottle sitting on the ironing board with a cork and metal stopper which had holes in the top. One child thought it was going to be used for a salt shaker. Well, folks my age know immediately it is the “sprinkler” bottle that Mom’s used to dampen clothes and household items for ironing.

The loftiness of the dryers and the fabrics that don’t need ironing have pretty well gotten rid of the sprinkler bottle…….as well as the ironing board, along with it. If we need to press something it is a steam iron which makes its own moisture.

How well I remember the basket full of white shirts to be ironed and most all of our wearable clothing. At times I would procrastinate until the ironing would mildew. Then they have to be washed again. If you’re lucky enough to catch it before it mildews…..a great way to postpone the job was to put it in a freezer or refrigerator.

Yes, things are a lot different today and when we look back to the early days of managing a household it’s a glance back to life that by today’s standards is akin to bouncing along in a Conestoga wagon headed West. I guess it is certainly easier in a lot of ways which gives time to do something other than housework but somehow there is a nostalgia factor that makes me proud of “the way it was.”

Essentially Esther

It is so sad. One of my best friends died this past week and I have been in seclusion to bereave my loss. I took the best care of her and we had daily visits together….I checked in on her twice a day many times but with all the love and devotion I gave her she has died.

Some things are meant to be and others not at all. We’ve had this relationship for years but she was expected to last longer than she has. It will never be the same without her……I took my happy days to her, my sorrow, my reward intentions, lots of social events held here and she is just irreplaceable.

With my hand in hers we hosted wonderful friends and occasions. We were a team that put smiles on the faces of our guests……now I will have to bury her and learn to do without her. I suppose it is providence. I suppose it is for my own good. I suppose I should have limited her capabilities more but I suppose I was too needy.

I know I have to be the only person you know who actually wore out an ice-cream dipper. She began flaking off her shine in the inside and now I’m afraid to use her because she probably came from China and has lead under the stainless steel layer. Alas…..at least I’m doing the right thing by letting her go……..she had Aides.

Kitchen Aides…………..

Essentially Esther