A HOLIDAY VISIT WITH INA -- DAY 6

Myrtle’s box, or keg, came yesterday and looks like it would hold about three gallons. Her letter says it is treats for all so that will add to it. Ethel found that $3.00 would fix up the radio so got busy and she, Earl and Myrtle sent the needful and we are very glad indeed to have it. There is a big box here from Earle and Bernice and a small one from Pearl, and Ethel got some bargain blankets so she sent two pair home and June’s get one and also they get a teapot from her. So we’ll have lots of Christmas. And Dad and June have each killed a young beef so that makes for good eats and we’ll soon have another good cow on the job. Ina Dobson, Christmas 1932

Now Ina speaks of receiving gifts, and clearly, she looked forward to it. I’ve wondered if she expected better gifts than she gave, and if she did, I forgive her. I think the old-time homesteaders expected the support of their children. But – Ina is pleased that Myrtle’s gift is “treats for all,” which will help her to make a happy Christmas for her guests. 

On one occasion Ina wrote that daughters Ethel and Pearl felt unable to send gifts. She made no comment about that, but her disappointment comes through. I suspect she felt that they were missing the point. She continually managed to give somehow out of her meager reserves, but when the daughters were short on funds, instead of being imaginative, they just gave up.

Vance, however, was poor but imaginative. “You are a good son and understand,” Ina wrote.

[In real time, we have snow this morning and it continues to snow. Mike has an appointment in Clarkston this morning, but I’m celebrating here at home.] KW

SPLITTING WOOD

Dawn at Gilbert, Idaho

It’s been several weeks since Mike and I were here at the farm. We had hoped to be finished with splitting and stacking the firewood by now, but weather caused delays. The temp today is quite mild (around 50). Earlier in the week, colder temps and snow were predicted for tomorrow (Sunday), but now the weatherman says it will be too warm for snow. The “Champion” tomato bush still looks strong and healthy, though tomatoes are not ripening. I picked three small yellow crook-neck squash before pulling out the bush.

 

Son Clint is here today to help his dad. This morning they made a brief hike south of the house, but seeing no deer, they returned for breakfast. Then they drove to Orofino, rented a wood splitter, and set to work in the wood piles.

Note limb leaning on woodshed

Mike counted 92 rings on the tree that fell from the grove into the north field, meaning that it began to grow around 1923. The house was built in 1917, and I don’t know whether the grove existed at that time or if trees were planted.

And speaking of trees, the limb that dangled from the pine beside the woodshed finally slipped to the ground without incident.You can see it leaning against the woodshed in the photo right.

Pencil Tree

Wood splitting in north field

Today I’m putting away Halloween decorations and setting up for Christmas. I know – it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but anything I can do now to get ready is all to the good. I ordered a new Christmas tree – an 8-foot, unlit pencil tree – and had it delivered to the farmhouse, so today I took it out of the box and set it up. I decided I wanted to try a taller but less bushy tree, and I’m considering one for the townhouse as well. So, I’ve worked along at pulling the twigs into place, and it’s shaping up nicely – for an artificial tree. KW

DRINK UP!

I have just finished consolidating food stuff from the farmhouse with food here in town. Our pantry, refrigerator and chest freezer are bursting at the seams. I also have a box of condiments in the garage where it should be cool enough to store them until spring. Needless to say, with the exception of dairy and produce, we aren’t going to need to buy a lot of food for a few weeks (if not months). 

But I just have to get out of the house and into town at least once a week because of “cabin fever,” so I headed into Clarkston yesterday to see if I could find post-Christmas bargains. I wasn’t disappointed: an ornament storage box here, a pair of pajamas on clearance there, a bag of chocolates here, next year’s Christmas cards there, some fresh bananas and milk – and holiday teas.

I had seen the Celestial Seasonings holiday teas at Albertsons last week as part of a special display of holiday items. Well, you know how it is – holiday teas appear only during the holiday season, and I like drinking them from the first of October through St. Patrick’s Day. So, when I see them, I buy a few boxes. I have managed to create quite a stockpile because I’m afraid I won’t find them when I want them.

Now, I need more of these teas like I need a hole in the head, but finding myself at Albertsons and thinking the tea probably hadn’t sold out, I asked myself where store management could possibly have stashed it. “At the front of the store,” I thought to myself, and sure enough, there was a cartload of it on sale for a dollar a box. I simply couldn’t resist – and five boxes went into my cart.

The picture above is my “working stash” of tea. The picture to the right is overflow. I’m running out of places to hoard – er, store -- my stash of tea, but I found a little space on the top shelf of the pantry. Tough as it is, I’m afraid to say what might happen if I see the holiday teas at $.50 a box! But if the store has to sell it at a loss, will the product return next year? Scary thought! KW

A RETURN TO TOYLAND

Toyland, Toyland, Little girl and boy land,

While you dwell within it,

You are ever happy then.

Childhood’s joyland,

Mystic, merry Toyland!

Once you pass its borders,

You can ne’er return again.

-- Babes in Toyland, 1903

Certainly I believe it’s true that Toyland is not the same once we grow up. The wonder, the delight, the joy in a new toy just isn’t the same from an adult perspective. The imagination just doesn’t seem to spark the same way as it does for a child. Even so, I think we adults can visit Toyland, and maybe we should.  This is my way of announcing my Christmas gift – “American Girl Molly.”

In 2010 I bought a used and naked American Girl doll, Kit Kittredge, the Depression-Era historical doll. Family members who knew that I was bidding on dolls suggested that I should have a new doll and exactly what I wanted. I didn’t mind that the doll was gently loved and naked. I wanted a doll that would be a model for my sewing creations and didn’t care about the collector value because I think that’s mostly a farce anyway. But I did mind that the seller apparently sold the doll before her daughter was ready. When the seller revealed this, I no longer wanted the doll and offered to relinquish the sale, but to the mother / seller, honoring the sale was more important than her daughter’s feelings. In the end, I didn’t feel good about the purchase.

So, when Mike suggested that he would like to give me a brand new American Girl doll for Christmas, I took him up on it and suggested “Molly,” the 1940’s historical doll. And that’s what I found under the tree – a brand new doll from the American Girl store. Of course, I’m delighted with her but not as a little girl would be. To me, she represents participation in a popular doll fad and a reminder of childhood delights.

One thing I noticed immediately about my new doll – no “new doll smell.” Back in my day, a brand new doll had an aroma just as new cars have “new car smell.” I suppose it was the fresh plastic. Eventually the new smell would wear off, as it were, and the doll was no longer new. Well, this Molly doesn’t have that aroma. Perhaps she’s already lost the aroma by sitting on a shelf someplace. Perhaps she never had it. But she’s clean and she’s mine.

P.S. The American Girl Company provides a contrived history for its historical dolls. I disagree with some of that, but evidently it works for them. I re-named my Depression-era doll, "Shirley Anne, American Farm Girl." Will I rename Molly? I'm not sure. KW

CHRISTMAS IN REVIEW 2011

Christmas future is far away,

Christmas past is past.

Christmas present is here today

Bringing joy that will last.

(Intro to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”)

Nick and Hallie arrived very late Thursday night (22^nd), and we all retired to our beds soon thereafter. 

Friday (23rd) was a day of relaxation. We visited the neighbors, carrying jellies, watched a herd of mule deer slowly eat their way over the hill to the south, played table games. I bought a new game this year -- "Fact or Crap." It was mentioned in a Lewiston Tribune review of games and I bought it on a whim. We gave it a try, and the four of us say it will never replace dominoes or Scrabble. And now we have a game we don't like. Pretty much a waste of money. In the kitchen, I made a batch of oatmeal cookies and we had chicken and biscuits for dinner with a small cherry pie for dessert.

The days blur when everyday seems like a holiday. It's hard to remember what happened when and to some extent it doesn't matter. Christmas Eve Hallie went for a run in the morning while Nellie and I followed at a slower pace. I took the above picture of the house and imagined that Ina was bustling around in there, getting ready for a Christmas Eve gathering of friends and family. The gift exchange at my paents' home was Christmas Eve, but now we open stockings and then gifts on Christmas morning. I did prepare a turkey dinner Christmas Eve night, and we had our traditional "Mystery Pecan Pie." Oh! And I made peanut brittle, which began to scorch before I removed it from the heat. Disappointing! However, the family ate it and seemed to enjoy it and when I asked Mike if I should make more, the answer was a resounding, "No! I can't stay out of it!" I will make more, though, perhaps in a week or two. 

"Santa" was so tired Christmas Eve night that packing the stockings was deferred until morning. It was a pleasant, quiet time of watching "A Christmas Story" while preparing playing with the stocking goodies. Nick's brand new stocking looked right at home with our old ones. Mike made waffles for breakfast and we tried various toppings -- real maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and jellies. Afterwards we spent a quiet hour with our gifts.

In the afternoon, Hallie and Nick (but especially Hallie) spent several hours pruning back the canes of the old wild rose bramble bush in the yard. It's sadly overgrown -- so overgrown that the blooms are small and insignificant. Besides that, it's an eyesore, I think, taking up more and more of the yard. The thorny canes were carried by wheelbarrow to a "burn pit" beyond the pond, and Christmas Night we had a bonfire. It was cold -- and a strong wind made it seem colder, but the side to the fire was warm.

Monday (26th) was a quiet day, a legal holiday though that didn't affect our day. It started with calls from son Murray and an old friend of Mike's. Perhaps we felt a bit wistful as Christmas 2011 drew to a close. The memorable event was Hallie's discovery an old dump under the brush on June's place. We brought three jars back to the house and she cleaned them. The oldest was obviously old, I thought, and said "Mellins Food, Boston," on it. Unfortunately it was badly cracked. Of the other two, one was an old canning jar without markings and the other said "Duraglas 1986." We plan to explore that site a bit more in warmer weather -- perhaps clean it up.

Tuesday (27th) was a work day for us. I took the tree down and then moved on to other packing, most notably emptying the refrigerator. Nick and Hallie said good-bye late in the morning. Then Mike and I continued finished our work to winterize and pack the pick-up. At the town house, I spent the afternoon consolidating the food and storing it wherever appropriate. KW

 Friday I took the fir boughs from over the windows and doors, then I used sprays of holly across the curtains and it is so much prettier, so next Xmas I’ll open your box early and decorate with holly instead of fir. Already planning for Xmas you see. Ina Dobson, 1937