Keeping the Old Ways Alive

When reminiscing about how the roles of woman have changed through the years, there has been some remarkable progress to help  how women fulfill their duties of wife, mother and keeper of the home.  Appliances, creative and in genius household helps and every imaginable tool are a few of the modern conveniences. But, although the techniques have changed some, the tasks haven't.  With all of the improvements in our day and time, we are busier than ever and rush frantically from here to there.  Although it may not be feasible for many women to stay home and keep house all day, there are a few ways to bring some of the older, meaningful ways of old into the home and keep some traditions alive. 

A few things I enjoy doing are cooking from scratch when possible, hanging out clothes on the clothesline, baking bread (using a bread maker!) and even wearing aprons. 

A friend passed along a cute email about aprons and their history.  Here is a trip down memory lane:

I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

Now, if you've got a little apron fever, you will love Susannah's Kitchen and the creative way to bring this past tradition alive in a fun way for today's times!