The part about me and my day is near the end of this entry, but first�This entry is 95% surely brought to you by my 1908 Book of the Household, which is officially 100 years old and which I've been perusing today, at times to my utter ?re-horrification. Mainly regarding chemical use. Ammonia, for example, was recommended to be used daily in 1908 for such things as cleaning your dishes spotless, stripping floors, laundry, killing certain things (though no direct mention of accidentally killing yourself). Gasoline was recommended to whiten clothing. I'll share some nuggets of 'thank god we don't do that anymore's' and 'how are any of us here if our great grandmothers did these things?'

Except for the chemicals mentioned, it's really a lovely how-to book and when the country goes to hell, I'll be able to do things the way they were done 100 years ago. :-) Electricity free.

The drawings throughout are of Gibson Girls scrubbing, folding, canning, straining lard, ironing with non-electric irons, etc. There are drawings of the devices used, such as the wash basins, which look rather like barrels cut in half. There's no mention of kitchen counters, only a kitchen table placed beside the kitchen sink is used to prepare meals. And yes, cooking was done with fire and lots of wood. Doing laundry in 1908 involved a: "wash boiler, wringer, washboard, washing machine, three or four tubs, two or three pails, clothes stick (this was so you don't get poisoned by the chemicals you put in the water), dipper, and large clothes basket." I won't horrify anyone with the details of the "new" washing machine, but it didn't sound much better. And I love the line: "If the clothes are first boiled with soap and kerosene, or other good washing fluid, they can be run through the washer in about 5 minutes". I personally prefer kerosene-free clothes�

For ironing, after the directions involving using a frying pan to heat your iron over the fire, it gives this tidbit about holding your iron, I supposed to not get burned after it has been heated: "A thin sheet of asbestos between two folds of cloth makes the best holder for flatirons." �yeah, dang�um�can I say no?

The new 1908 dishwasher is described as follows: "They are constructed with a galvanized iron cylinder, which is to be half filled with water containing any good washing compound and brought to a boil. The dishes are put in a cylindrical basket or tray, the plates and platters placed on the edge and held by brackets. Saucers, cups, and side dishes are placed beside them, the basket is lowered into the cylinder, revolved two or three times by means of a crank, reversed, and the dishes are cleansed." I have to say, I'm pretty sure it took more than a few twists to wash those dishes, and I am happy for the modern 2006 version that I have.

1908 on lead, the toxic metal, which is promoted as being good for water pipes, sinks, and paints�because it melts easy to make pipes without welding and is cheap. Brain damage is also cheaply gotten, but it doesn't mention that.

Belladonna? Well, in 1908 it at least is listed under poisons, but says this, which makes me just say...oh no�: "This drug is contained in cough mixtures, liniments, ointments, and plasters."

Oh, the bathroom, um many didn't have the needed plumbing or heating. First, one of the many "don'ts" listed if you have an actual bathtub in your possession: "Don't neglect the weekly hot-water bath, followed by a change of clothing to keep the body clean and healthy." :-)

I get some hilarious visuals when I read the bathroom section of the book:

"If the bathroom is near the kitchen, the tub can be filled by bringing hot and cold water in pails; and if the tub is elevated slightly, the water can be drawn off in pails and carried to the drain after the bath; or if a tub is used which does not have a faucet for drainage, the waste water can be easily removed by using a small piece of rubber tube as a siphon, or by a dipper and large bath sponge." Lol�I dunno bout any of y'all but I typically just yank the plug out and it does what it does.

And a nugget to make one thankful for heat: "Even if there is no furnace in your bathroom, it can be used from early spring to late fall."

This 100 years�like, my grandparents and great grandparents lived this way.

I'm feeling like I'm going through a time warp and I think maybe I need to undust my 1942 Royal typewriter to write�I'm only slightly being facetious. But, I've taken up sewing again, by hand as I don't have a sewing machine, well I do but it's a gorgeous 1913 treadle one and it sews in only one direction and you can't really stop once you start. Sewing by hand is easier for me, for some reason. I'm only testing a cute camisole pattern I have with cheap cotton which I originally bought 45 yards of to make 1800's underclothes, so I'm not sewing it exactly right, or with the lining as the pattern requests. I usually have to expand the, um�bosom�a tiny bit. This one seems to be ample, actually. I'm hoping it's not too big in the waist, if so I'll have to add elastic or ribbon there too.

While sewing and reading, I obviously haven't been writing, BUT I have been doing something else. I created a unique but not outrageous pen name I LOVE�I'm not saying it here, but if I get published, you'll all know it. It includes three ancestral names, including a hyphenated first name that ends in a silent E.

My mom has been coming in my room to tell me or gripe about everything from clothes to tables to laws to politics to counselors to her dead parents, etc. And when she comes in my room she doesn't knock, she taps the door as she opens it. And when I say, "knock first" she says, "I am." If I lock my door she'll hit it and yell at me till I unlock it, then yell at me for locking her out. Either way, I never get an hour to myself unless I tell her in advance that I'm doing something like, talking to Josh. When I tell her, "I'm writing." For the 34th time, she rolls her eyes and shuts my door again for maybe 10 minutes. I cannot write like this.

I've been eating actual food again since my mom went to the store.

W hasn't been around for three days.

I really need to shave my legs.

I've been thinking a lot about my childhood. Not really in any biased 'good or bad' way either, just thinking of the horses, and the buttercups, and moving to the paved-over city. The people I knew, and how I would describe them. Like my emotional grandpa who spit his dentures out into a glass or just stuck them on the table to make us all laugh and gave the best, most loving hugs I've ever received. His wife, who was bitter and always yelled, yelling at Nikki, who was 4, to stop swallowing the cherry seeds or a tree will grow out of her stomach. Collecting chicken eggs from their coop. Going to my schools with the enormous fields and playing with the garter snakes and frogs. And some things that happened at school.

While sitting out on the porch yesterday, the house finches, who are almost done with their nest, flew up to the nest mere feet from me. The female let out a distinct scream when she saw me, well it was a very loud peep, technically. They both flew up on top of the gutters, then flew down, hovering in front of me as much as they were able in an obvious attempt to check me out.

My mom got me some juice from Walgreens yesterday. It was on sale. When she got it home I went to open it and noticed that the expiration date was August 31, 2007�almost a year ago. My mom called the company to ask. The woman said it was bottled in Oct. 2006 and that it was probably not drinkable. She said it's happening in Massachusetts, where she is, too. Stores are selling old expired food on sale for really cheap, instead of throwing it away or donating it to foodbanks like they used to. And that most of it ends up not being safe to eat or edible. Yuck. I just hope Walgreens isn't doing this with prescriptions too.

I guess this is to for me today. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts when I stop feeling bummed about�everything.

~e