Well, let’s talk
of hard times some more. There comes to me in times like these a sort of spirit
of battle. I feel it as a challenge to me to outwit circumstances . . .
Ina Dobson,
1932
Here
we are at Friday. The first week of December in 1934 is nearly gone [in 2013,
too], but Ina was on-track with her Christmas doings – and standing it all just
fine, thank you very much.
It
had turned cold – I mean c-o-l-d -- a low of 2 below zero. Jack was up at least once in the night to
stoke the fires. It was no good to let the house get cold if they could help it
as it was difficult to get it warm again. For now they had plenty of wood in
the woodshed, but it might not last all winter at this rate.
Ina
and Shirley had done some Christmas shopping before Shirley left for Idaho
Falls. Now Ina was doubly grateful. She could make do with what they had
purchased and it was good that she didn’t have to ride to Orofino in this cold.
Jack
had lost interest in going to town. It meant harnessing the old horses to the
old wagon and heading down the steep grade – and of course, what goes down must
come back up. Travel by motor car was now more commonplace than by horse-drawn
conveyance, and Jack just saw the trip to town as something to be avoided. But
of course, they had to go to town for business and supplies, so Ina had to rely
on neighbors to take her. It was tough growing old on the farm, especially in
the midst of modernization. But enough of this . . .
It
was mid-morning and Ina had finished her housework. She kept a tidy,
uncluttered home that was easy to clean. [Yes, she did.] Now it was time to finish
a special project – a rag doll she was making to muffle daughter Myrtle’s alarm
clock. She had placed extra padding in the skirt in hopes that the doll would
serve her purpose. Now the skirt was hemmed and the doll was finished.
After
the noon meal, Jack saddled one of the old horses and rode out to the mailbox. The
mail included several nice Christmas cards and letters as well as a “before
Christmas” package from Shirley that contained gift tags, ribbon, and mints. It
was thoughtful of Shirley to provide these things, knowing that they would add
to Ina’s enjoyment of the holiday preparations. KW
Washington Iriving
4 comments:
Is this alarm muffler idea an original?
Ina just tells Vance that she made a doll to muffle Myrtle's alarm clock. I googled it and didn't find anything, so I suppose it was an original idea.
I love the quote from her letter at the beginning.
Hi Chris! I think Ina was a wise woman and I find that taking snippets out of context sometimes illustrates the point better than a full statement. In this case, she goes on to say that Jack won't share in her efforts and pulls her down. But I think that, too, is typical. Jack probably saw Ina as failing to realistically face the issue.
Post a Comment