This Week In My Home: Long Weekend

 

I found several kitchens this week I wanted to share.  Two or three new to me Hazel Dell Brown ones that made me swoon.  If anyone could add the va-va-voom to a kitchen it was that designer!  And she was so versatile.  A modern city apartment or a Pennsylvania farmhouse could both benefit from her design touch.

But what I finally decided to share was what I felt was a rather astonishing contrast between a 1911 kitchen and a 1930-something kitchen.   Just look at the difference 20 years could make in a kitchen!

The 1911 kitchen is open and spacious and attractive but a bit sparse.  As I gaze at it I wonder, "Where did they store anything?"  How many steps did that homemaker make between cellar/pantry, to sink or table?  How many more from table to stove or fridge?  No wonder the later ads all spoke wisely of 'step-saving' kitchens and often commented that more modern kitchens kept a woman 'young'!

I can see that modernization was at play in this design.  For one thing there are the tile walls which would make it more hygienic simply because they could be more easily washed down.  I love the additional light this kitchen has and I can see that electric or gas light hangs from the ceiling here.  

The 1930s kitchen on the other hand is a marvel just in contrast if nothing more, isn't it?  The overhead lighting is ample and centered over the two main workspaces.  There's storage galore.  The double sink is right behind the double oven stove for vegetable prep,  within a step or two of the dish storage (which likely is also handy to the dining room proper) and the breakfast area.  The refrigerator is in the room and there's suitable space for eating an early morning breakfast on the run.  The double storage behind the sink would likely serve as a pantry.  There's lots of natural light as well as the electric overhead lighting and there is a decent amount of counter top work spaces.  

I'd no doubt have been thrilled in either era to have the kitchens pictured above, but I can see easily why a more modern kitchen worked so well for any household where a single female was responsible for the duties therein.

Work:  

I allowed myself a long weekend.  I was sharing with a friend that it's funny how we never ever had a Memorial day picnic or anything ongoing because John was always working.   Then last year, when he had his first ever Memorial day off, the world was shut down.   And here we are this year looking at the first holiday weekend of summer as though it were any other day...

 I think one of my children had a long weekend holiday with his kids but Katie and Sam both had other things to deal with in their households and the holiday was the last thing on their minds.  So I decided to make it a long weekend for myself.  To be honest, it wasn't hard to convince myself of it.  I am struggling with a variety of minor issues and currently that issue is TMJ pain.  Interestingly it came around again right along with a painful few days of  IBS.  On reading, I discovered, much to my surprise, that the two are often linked.  So there you go just in case you didn't know.  I'm not devastated but I'm definitely not feeling well and running low grade fever with the IBS.  So it was easy to convince myself I needed a day off.

Mind you my 'day off' still involves meals and I did a load of laundry to hang outdoors and there was bread to bake and the bed to remake and...You get the picture.  I did about my usual amount of work albeit at a slightly slower pace.

This long weekend won't offset the month too much workwise.   The calendar shows me that we've pretty much five weeks in June.  I'll have plenty of time to get all my zone work in despite allowing myself a long weekend.

This week: Zone 1 Kitchen/Laundry/Back Entry

Last month I said I'd tackle the wall above the entry way shelf.  I did not do that.  This month that will be my primary focus.  I also want to frame some pictures to go in the laundry area.  I had some old magazine illustrations of dress patterns hanging there but I moved them several months ago to the wall above the sewing table.  I'd love to put something back above the machines.  It was pleasant to stand there and look at them as I folded clothes.   The laundry overall could use a bit of finesse.

I've also made a goal for each zone this month to declutter.   So that will also be on the work list this week for the kitchen.

I've minor work to do with the checkbook.  I need to write a check, allot some funds and just bring things up to date.   

I have promised Mama a visit.

I want to set up a June wardrobe.  I have new pieces to incorporate and that will also generate a new post this week, so there's an added bit of work.

And then I'm going to just stop planning right here because I don't have a clue what the week might bring.  It's enough to plan this much and do all the regular daily/weekly jobs that I'd normally do.

Kitchen:

Cookies are on my radar.  John likes having cookies on hand.  Well so do I!  However I find that I am prone to eat far fewer of the homemade cookies than I do of the store bought extra cheap sort.  I'm going to try to get a few cookie doughs made up and put several in the freezer(...Second thought perhaps some of those cookie mixes in a jar? or some of both?) and I will bake a few fresh for this week.  I'm really wanting brownies, so I think I'll make those first.   I'm tempted to try a 1950's homemade mix for brownies.  

Of course, I'll make bread and perhaps some biscuits for the freezer this week and a batch of muffins?  We'll see.  Too much is too much already and I don't want to overwhelm us with too many things at once for eating fresh. 

I'm not doing a Gathered Fragments section this week because I truly don't have much in the fridge as leftovers at present.   There's tuna pasta salad for lunch one day,  That's it.    Honestly,  I'm glad!  I had a whole week off from cooking last week and I enjoyed it right up until the last couple of days and then I just groaned knowing there were leftovers in the fridge that would go to waste unless we ate them.  Not the sort I could 'makeover' leftovers,  either.  But you know what?  We ate them all, except that soup I gave to the dogs.  No waste for us last week.  May the new week ahead bring fresh foods and fewer leftovers.

Here's what I have loosely planned for this week's meals.  The first meal is what we ate on Saturday:

BBQ country Style Beef Ribs (crockpot), hashed brown casserole (freezer), slaw I had leftovers of BBQ  Beef that we turned into sandwiches on Sunday.  I'll use the rest of the sides up this week.  

Pizza leftovers, Chips and Dip, Banana Ice Cream Cups not the healthiest supper but we've eaten healthy all week and all day long.  One such meal as this feels like I'm taking a day off from my job as chef and dishwasher perfect for a holiday weekend.

Grilled Steak, Armenian Potatoes, Blue Cheese Wedge Salads

Grilled Greek Chicken, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Rice Pilaf   I want to buy feta for the salad and Pita bread.  There should be enough leftovers of chicken and the cucumber/tomato salad  to at least make lunch pitas one day this week.  

Chef's Salads, Toast Triangles We never manage to eat 

Beef Burritos, Yellow Rice,  Pico De Gallo, Green Salad

Chicken Tortellini Salad, Crusty Bread, Fresh Watermelon  The recipe calls for tortellini but I happen to have frozen cheese ravioli and that's what I'll use.  It's the dressing for this dish that makes it so yummy.  I also happen to be getting fresh green garden peas this week so I'm setting aside a few to use in this dish.

Personal:

I'd like to do a mini spa treatment for myself this week with a mask, exfoliation, and fresh pedicure.   

The day I go out to visit Mama I'll take time to stop by a favorite store where I buy a lot of my costume jewelry pieces and see if anything catches my eye there.   While I'm in the same shopping center I will go into a nearby thrift store and look around.

I've started a new book Jane Austen's Town and Country Style by Susan Watkins that is really interesting.  

Cutting flowers for the house.

Taking time to have coffee or tea on the porch as I do my Bible study each day.

Just for fun this weekend we watched "The 21st Century" with Walter Cronkite hosting.   Some of the predictions for 2001 did happen if a little later and lot more compactly than predicted.   Anyway, I thought you all might like to take time to watch this and see how well they did in some of their predictions.