Worth Sharing: Nuit de Noel

 

                                         Original Vogue advertisement for the scent on the left 

                                                        a vintage bottle and box on the right.

As I was reading my current Emilie Loring book, Fair Tomorrow, published in 1931, I was curious about a perfume mentioned in the first chapter.  Pamela Leigh has served an authentic Cape Thanksgiving Dinner to a couple.  The young woman counterpart of the couple is wearing a scent that Pamela immediately recognizes as Nuit de Noel by perfumer Caron.  Pamela recalls that in the 'good days' when she was independent and able, she'd once splurged 'recklessly' on a precious ounce of the perfume.  

I was curious because Loring often made reference to current fashions, operas, plays, etc., in her writings, but this was the first time I recalled a mention of a named perfume.  So I looked it up.  What I found was a lovely little history.  

In September: Goal Minded

 

At the time of this writing, we are nearly done with August.  It's literally just days until September and I've been thinking of home needs, of weather preparedness, of Christmas, and all the things that seem to push their way to the forefront of my mind as we approach Autumn.  My head is full.

This Week In My Home: Still Up In The Air?

I think one of the things that was fully embodied in the kitchens of the 1940's and early 1950's was the ideal that the kitchen was the heart of the home.   This kitchen is a case in point.

I believe if I remember the blurb correctly that this is an Armstrong kitchen but not my fave designer.  It think it was her assistant who had become lead designer after Hazel retired.  I encourage you to do a left click and open this one in a new tab so you can really look it over well.

The kitchen footprint is snug and compact. The work triangle is small.  We can't see the sink but I'm assuming it's next to the fridge there on the left hand side.  The bright sunny yellow works well as the kitchen doesn't appear to have a lot of natural light.  I love that the back splash of the counters and the interior of the cabinets are bright white, so you feel you can see all the things well in this kitchen.

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Living Well

 

Saturday:  "The counsel to have a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family’s storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency … [and] God will sustain us through our trials." (James E. Faust) From Becky's Frugal Measures blog

I put the portion in bold there.  It's something I mentioned this past week, not knowing that Becky was sharing the same essential thing on her blog.  I'm not Latter Day Saints but good sense is good sense no matter what denomination you belong to!! 

Gathered Fragments: End of August

 

I came so close to not even doing a post this week for Gathered Fragments, but I know you all are enjoying it and it just so happens that while I had a few fragments (enough to plan four meals this week!), I stopped in the discount grocery in the next town for my once a month shop there and found two racks of produce that was marked from 50c-$1 per package.   I went over the racks and picked up a good bit of stuff, enough to fill one of my larger grocery bags!

So here's my diary of how I used my fragments, gathered a harvest right here in my own home.  Enjoy!

Monday:  Cleared the fridge this morning and accounted for what I had on hand.  Here's the list I began with this morning:

In My Home This Week: Determined

I think this is an American Steel advert from the 1940s.  I had one of those steel sink cabinets with the porcelain enamel sink in a house that I lived in long ago.  And Grandmother had one that moved from house to house with her.  Hers was pristine, naturally, mine not so much.  But sturdy and durable was one thing these steel cabinets had in common.  Even today, I shouldn't fuss if I had steel cabinets in my own kitchen, especially one of those sink cabinets!

If I love a yellow kitchen, I also love a red, white and blue one where the red is the more subdued accent color.  This one is particularly charming with the big picture window and built in wall cupboards at the end of the room where the dining table is situated.

Diary of A Homemaker's Week: Free Fall

 

Friday:  I said on Thursday I'd not post about Friday but I am.   

I had a poor night.  Nothing new there and no more reason for it than I could pinpoint at any other time.  It just was what it was.  Up this morning a little later than usual but I had a breakfast plan and  no Caleb so I wasn't feeling particularly pressured.  I got up only because I wanted to bake bread before we went out for our late lunch and I know almost exactly what my window for that is and I wanted to be well within it.

When John and I had breakfast, I had bread dough well under way.  After our meal, I puttered slowly about the house cleaning.  My mission today was a Shabat cleaning only.  Not a deep cleaning.  Not a big push to get all the things I think I've missed these past two weeks done.  Just Shabat cleaning.  

Gathered Fragments: Week 3 of August

Friday:  Briefly today.  I made biscuits the other evening with the sour milk.  I used four for wrapping our Pigs n Blankets and I baked off the rest, about 10.  We had two each this morning.  I split them, toasted with butter and cheese.  I also pulled that last bit of Spam from the fridge meat drawer and managed to cut four thin slices.  It was an easy breakfast.

I used the last of the whey to make dough this morning.  I split the dough and used half to make a small loaf for Shabat and a pan of sticky rolls (not so sticky but delicious anyway) for John.

Over the Fence: Come Over for Iced Tea!

 

Well hello!  I was determined to get in an iced tea chat this week while I'm relatively free from anything other than my own plans.  Some Augusts past I hardly had time to write at all, but I've missed just chatting and writing in general.    Won't you come and have iced tea with me and sit a spell?

I've been season jumping in my brain.  I don't mean to be jumping ahead but this month always puts me in mind of Fall and Fall always makes me think of the holidays ahead.  Do you find that the time runs ahead of you, too this time of year?  I think someone must because I saw a Meme that said "August is next door to Autumn."

I know many vloggers are already decorating and posting videos for autumn decor but I just can't do it, not yet.  In our area of the state, we don't really see Fall like weather or scenery until November.   I feel I can wait until at least October to put out autumn decor.   When do you decorate for Autumn?

The Week Ahead: Period of Reprieve

 

Here's a kitchen from the 1950's.  I wish I could tell you the exact year but I failed to note it at the time I saved the image other than the era.  

This kitchen is pretty much a modern day one in my opinion.  The cabinet style, the bevy of appliances, the countertops all bespeak modern day kitchens.  Change the stove a bit, change the color of appliances to chrome and boom, 2021.   That says something about the overall timelessness of this kitchen's design.

Gathering Fragments: Another Week of Using What I Have

 

Saturday:  Went out to the herb planter early this morning and snipped off the chives again.  I love to mix these into scrambled eggs along with some cream cheese.  It was delicious!

For tonight's supper, I scrounged around in the fridge to see what I had for pizza cheese.  We went through a lot of Mozzarella this month!  No clue why but we did.  Anyway, I had a 1 inch cube of mozzarella* and about 2 tablespoons of shredded in a bag*...Not nearly enough for a pizza!  I dug a bit more and found a portion of a wedge of Asiago, a one inch cube of cheddar**, and the last bit of that hard dry aged Gouda* we had from earlier in the month.  All combined we made a decent pizza.   I have four slices leftover.

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Blowing Off Steam

Saturday:  Did not sleep at all last night.  Not one minute.  I've no idea why not but I didn't stay in bed last night and toss and turn. I got up and did some maintenance work on my phone which has been bothersome lately.  I rocked in my chair and waited for dawn.  Turns out I didn't have to wait alone.  John was up about 6am himself.  And while the sky got lighter we never saw a sunrise due to the cloud cover.

Early Morning Coffee Chat: It's Just A Season

Come on in and have morning coffee with me.  I've been up for hours now, and I do mean hours.  John was up early as well.  I didn't sleep at all last night.  He did but couldn't go back to sleep after waking twice between 4 and 6.   I'd love to say we saw a glorious dawn on the horizon but no.  Just clouds and such a gradual change of light that there was nothing to remark upon at all. 

We are in that slight cool down spell of August.  It's been almost pleasant in the full heat of the day and truly pleasant in the morning and evening hours.  Two evenings we took a drive with the car windows down.  One evening was nothing more than a trip to the dump (baby diapers stink too much to keep about for 24 hours) and another we went into town for ice cream after our dump run.   Both evenings, I was so tempted to sit on the back porch and just enjoy the air but I didn't.  No I came back inside and settled into doing last housekeeping tasks and then I went to my chair and didn't move until bedtime. 

The Week Ahead: Starting Behind Getting Ahead

                                                     1940's Hot point Kitchen plan

In 1905, Earl Richardson invented a new iron.  He formed the Pacific Electric Heating Company in Ontario, California and marketed his new iron.  The iron was innovative on many levels, not the least of which was the fact that it was heated by electricity.  The heat was hottest near the pointed end and hence the name Hot Point which later became the name of the company in 1912.  

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Adjusting To Change

Saturday:  John was given a pizza at church yesterday.  We both agreed that it would be our supper last night and so it was.  What luxury!  I like my homemade pizza very well but honestly last night's no cook meal  was so welcome to this weary homemaking Gramma!   By 9pm, John and I were both nodding in our chairs.  By 10pm, I told him, "I just can't keep this up.  I'm going to bed."   Gracious but I slept well.

All the way to 6:45am.  I think my body was just accustomed already to the sleep schedule from the week behind. So much for my plan to sleep in.   It was easy to relax this morning though and take my time with Bible reading and Instagram scrolling.  We had cheese toast for breakfast.  I didn't take time to make Bagels two weeks ago and I don't know if I'll manage it this week or not.  Worth while to do, for sure...Just making the time when the oven isn't going to heat the house too much and little boy isn't under foot is another issue.

A Diary of Gathered Fragments: Every Bit Counts

I'm going to change this up ever so slightly.  In the past I've been planning meals and then I'd think of the Gathered Fragments that I ought to use and then I'd alter meal plans to try and incorporate those or forget all over again.  A whole lotta planning was going on without a whole lotta execution.  

This week I'm NOT planning meals, exactly.  I'm going to look each day, see what I have on hand and plan that day's menu according to what we have, incorporating those items that really need to be used up sooner rather than later.

Goals for August: Really?

 

Honestly in reading my July goals and then my weekly to do posts, I wonder why on earth I even bothered.  I thought I was doing well but in actuality I got little done of all the items listed.  I managed the new zone work in two areas but failed utterly with the other two.  I got mulch spread at the house in town in the one section of flower bed and laid out the whole new roll of weed mat but need more.   I did nothing in my own yard and my only accomplishment was potting up all the bits of plants I'd rooted from cuttings.

The pantry freezer challenge was a bit of a bust. I spent the full grocery budget at the start of the month and I've made little progress on my proposed plan to stock the pantry and freezer afresh while eating the older items.  I spent small sums here and there and when I added them up the total was shocking.