A song within my heart

A Singing Heart

I woke up this morning
To a singing start;
I went about the live-long day,
A song within my heart.
"Sing before your breakfast;
Cry before you sleep,"
Is an old, old saying,
But never one I keep.

I sing, and I go dancing,
With music in my tread,
Until at length I've sung myself
To supper and to bed.

~from Kitchen Sonnets
by
Ethel Romig Fuller

If aprons can evoke happy memories of special times and places in the past, what else can they summon? How about warm and comforting thoughts of special friends--when you take the apron strings and tie them around your back, it's almost like getting a hug in person!  So I would be remiss if I didn't share another favorite apron that holds a special place in my heart and in my kitchen drawer--my very special tea apron from a very special friend!

The two of us lead busy lives but when we can we get together for an oh-so-elegant tea party, complete with flowers, linen napkins, darling dishes and something tasty to nibble on while we chat away.  We could talk for hours!  This apron is such a happy reminder of our special times together over a cup of tea, overlooking her beautifully tended garden.

We were double blessed by knowing this woman--she was also my daughter's harp teacher and I spent many happy afternoons flipping through home and garden books in her living room while the lessons went on in another room, and from there our friendship grew into something I treasure greatly.  She is a woman who blesses everyone who comes within her presence, and I am so lucky she is in my life.

I love the sunny yellow of the apron fabric and all the little graphics make me smile.  

And when I reach for this apron and put it on, I envision that soon we can be doing this again:

Here's a charming little poem about friendship and tea by Earlene Grey, titled Musings with a Cuppa.  I hope you enjoy it.  I think I'll go have one more cup of tea before work!

Someday

Soon I will be free.

Without tightness or propriety.

Sans care and sensibility.

And when I am free.

I will sit in the sun

And drink tea

With cuties and kitties,

Never minding what

Others might see,

Ever laughing at what

They might say.

Happy Friday!!

Very twee...very me!

It's a two for one day!  I'm sharing favorite cookbooks and aprons that are United Kingdom themed.  I have British and Irish tea in my tea cupboard, British tea cups and tea pots displayed in my kitchen, and British cookbooks galore:

Shall I pour a cup of tea?

Not to mention my years of collecting the special Britain issues of Victoria magazine, filled with amazing recipes that have never let me down in the kitchen.  Put on Paul McCartney's Creation and Chaos in the Backyard, and sing along to English Tea while cooking up a wee bite to eat!

Would you care to sit with me
For a cup of English tea
Very twee
Very me
Any sunny morning

What a pleasure it would be
Chatting so delightfully
Nanny bakes
Fairy cakes
Every Sunday morning

Miles of miles of English garden
Stretching past the willow tree
Lines of hollyhocks and roses
Listen most attentively

As a rule the church bells chime
When it's almost supper time
Nanny bakes
Fairy cakes
On a Sunday morning

So of course if I am in my kitchen mixing up scones or Irish soda bread or rolling out shortbread cookies, I need an appropriate apron!  And while it may not look as British as you are expecting to see, I love this cheery apron.  The floral print at the top is so homey and friendly.

But it is the print at the bottom that stirs my imagination.  Every time I look at it I am transported back to Westminster Abbey:

or Bath Abbey:

I was incredibly blessed to be able to visit both sites with my husband and mother, truly a dream come true.  I am as thankful for these memories as Robert Burns was when he penned his Selkirk Grace.  Let us all thankit the Lord, indeed!

Sae let the Lord be thankit! 

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit. 

Happy Thursday!

The world will little note...

I've been sharing "favorite apron" stories the last few days, but today my blog is in honor of a young woman of 20, Jennie Wade, who wore an apron while making bread in her sister's kitchen.  Her sister had just given birth and Jennie was at her sister's home helping out, when a bullet entered through the kitchen door and made Jennie the Battle of Gettysburg's only civilian fatality.

 Mary Virginia (Jennie) Wade statue outside the home where she was killed

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg. Address, and in honor of Jennie, and all the brave young men who died on those horrible three days in July, 1863, here are some pictures from the battlefield when we toured it in May of this year.  God bless them all.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

My husband's family take their last name from the Scales Plantation in Madison, NC.  The plantation owner's son formed this brigade from his county.  We've had the opportunity to visit the plantation and the Scales family cemetery and were amazed to find this memorial at Gettysburg.  "All men are created equal" was a principle worth fighting for.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

Scenes from the diorama inside the new Visitors Center

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The Relatives Came...bearing aprons!

I may not wear pearls while cooking like June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) or wear a nice dress like Aunt Bea while serving breakfast (Mayberry) but I do love to wear aprons!  Last night I made homemade butternut squash-apple soup and a nice hot loaf of Irish soda bread, and my apron saved my clothes from a thorough dusting of flour.  But even more than saving my clothes from splatters and stains, my aprons bring back great memories.  I didn't feel like modeling so one of my dining chairs became my dress form last night. My husband and son watched but wisely said nothing while I draped my aprons over the chair...I think they are getting used to my blogging idiosyncrasies.  Either that, or they have decided I really have gone around the bend and are just too nice to point it out.  Which they should be, since the homemade soup and bread were for them!

Memory number one:  family.  I love Thanksgiving and I have so many happy memories of friends and family gathered around my big dining room table.  We sometimes hosted up to forty people, and had to borrow extra tables and folding chairs from our church to accommodate everyone. We usually had more than one "kids" table and it was all lively and noisy and fun.

A special cousin and her family joined us for many years, and I have wonderful memories of the two of us chatting up a storm in the kitchen as we put the final touches on the meal and watched our children run around doing all the crazy stuff cousins do when they get together.  One year she brought a lovely old- fashioned  porcelain St. Nick that is still the first decoration I unpack each Christmas. Another year it was the charming book The Relatives Came, which I carefully lay out on the coffee table each holiday gathering. Every time I pull it off the shelf in my library it summons back so many happy memories of loving times with special relatives.

And another year it was this harvest apron, which is my go-to apron almost every time I cook.  I love how soft and comfy it is, and I especially love how it makes me smile, even though it must be close to twenty years old.

The apron, like this page from the book, is a great reminder of the really important things in life--the laughing, the faces shining with pleasure, and of course, the hugs.  Oh those relatives indeed!

I'll be back tomorrow with another favorite apron that evokes special memories of England every time I tie it around my waist.  In the meantime, here's another apron poem to tug at your "apron" strings!  This one is by Joyce Johnson--I hope my aprons hold as much endless love as this Mamma's apron does!

Mamma wore an ample apron To cover her clean dress. She’d tell you that’s what it was for If you’d asked her, I would guess. But that apron had more uses Than I could even count. It brought in eggs and vegetables And could hold a large amount. Her apron could bring giggles In a game of peek-a-boo With her newest, sweet grandbaby As she hid her face from view. That apron dusted tables And shooed away the flies And did just fine as oven mitts To take out bubbling pies. But the greatest of the treasures That old apron could hold Was the endless love from Mamma 

Abiding in each fold. 

Kitchen favorites--tie one on!

Cookbooks are certainly one of my favorite kitchen items, but if you peek into my kitchen cupboard drawers you'll find another favorite.  No, I'm not talking about my junk drawers--I'm talking about my apron drawers! Who remembers aprons?  If so, do you still wear one when you cook?  I love aprons, and am very seldom in the kitchen without one tied around my waist. Aprons went out of fashion for awhile in the 80's-90's, but seem to be staging a strong comeback, according to the latest craft magazines and specialty store displays.  There is even a magazine devoted strictly to apron patterns, and gosh darn it, those patterns are cute!!

After WWII, people were eager to put the war behind them and settle into domestic life.  Early family television shows had mothers wearing aprons, and it became an unofficial symbol of family, mother, and apple pie ideals. Aprons signified a cozy kitchen, and enough food for everyone. This uniform of the American housewife could be plain and practical, fun themed and kitschy, or sheer and ruffled for dress or hostess duties.  You can see the different styles on these famous mothers (and aunt) below:

Mass produced aprons featured kitchen themes, the fabric printed with pot and pans; spoons; toasters; and other kitchen items. Homemade aprons were a popular use of fabric remnants and made welcome gifts or sale items at church bazaars. Homemade aprons could be decorated with ruffles, contrasting fabrics, rick-rack, trim, or handkerchief pockets.  And now, after going out of fashion, they are BACK with styles Mrs. Walton or Aunt Bea would have never dreamt of.  Some of them are so pretty (or white?!) that I can't imagine actually cooking in them, but wouldn't they be fun to have for special occasions? 

Who wouldn't feel extra special wearing something like this in the kitchen?

Or this one?

And how fun is this cherry apron--it makes me smile just looking at it!

Creative women are even designing "aprons in a jar"!

Which of course could make a really cute Christmas gift for your favorite baker!

Christmas apron in a jar with cookie recipe gift tag

Tomorrow we'll take a peek inside my "apron drawer" and see what I aprons I particularly cherish.  Until then, here is a sweet reflection to start our week on a homey note.  

"GRANDMOTHER'S APRON"

THE PRINCIPAL USE OF GRANDMA'S APRON WAS TO PROTECT THE DRESS
UNDERNEATH, BUT ALONG WITH THAT, IT SERVED AS A POTHOLDER FOR
REMOVING HOT PANS FROM THE OVEN.

IT WAS WONDERFUL FOR DRYING CHILDREN'S TEARS, AND ON OCCASION
WAS EVEN USED FOR CLEANING OUT DIRTY EARS.

FROM THE CHICKEN COOP, THE APRON WAS USED FOR CARRYING EGGS,
FUSSY CHICKS, AND SOMETIMES HALF-HATCHED EGGS TO BE FINISHED
IN THE WARMING OVEN.

WHEN COMPANY CAME, THOSE APRONS WERE IDEAL HIDING PLACES FOR
SHY KIDS.

AND WHEN THE WEATHER WA COLD, GRANDMA WRAPPED IT AROUND HER
ARMS.

THOSE BIG OLD APRONS WIPED MANY A PERSPIRING BROW, BENT OVER
THE HOT WOOD-STOVE.

CHIPS AND KINDLING WOOD WERE BROUGHT INTO THE KITCHEN IN THAT
APRON.

FROM THE GARDEN, IT CARRIED ALL SORTS OF VEGETABLES. AFTER THE
PEAS HAD BEEN SHELLED, IT CARRIED OUT THE HULLS.

IN THE FALL, THE APRON WAS USED TO BRING IN APPLES THAT HAD
FALLEN FROM THE TREES.

WHEN UNEXPECTED COMPANY DROVE UP THE ROAD, IT WAS SURPRISING
HOW MUCH FURNITURE THAT OLD APRON COULD DUST IN A MATTER OF
SECONDS.

WHEN DINNER WAS READY, GRANDMA WALKED OUT ONTO THE PORCH,
WAVED HER APRON, AND THE MEN KNEW IT WAS TIE TO COME IN FROM
THE FIELDS TO DINNER.

IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE SOMEONE INVENTS SOMETHING THAT
WILL REPLACE THAT 'OLD-TIME APRON' THAT SERVED SO MANY WORTH-
WHILE PURPOSES.

REMEMBER:

GRANDMA USED TO SET HER HOT BAKED APPLE PIES ON THE WINDOW
SILL TO COOL.

HER GRANDDAUGHTERS SET THEIRS ON THE WINDOW SILL TO THAW.

THEY WOULD GO CRAZY NOW TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY GERMS
WERE ON THAT APRON.

I DON'T THINK I EVER CAUGHT ANYTHING FROM AN APRON---
EXCEPT LOVE.

Happy Monday!

Cookbook memories

What's a girl to do when she doesn't have a single solitary idea in her head as to what to write for her next post?  Why, she heads downstairs to her computer, asking the writing gods to send a decent thought or two her way.  And lo and behold, when she sits down to stare at her blank screen, she discovers that her husband has elevated the monitor with a cookbook.  One of her favorite cookbooks.  Hmmm....favorite kitchen items....

So here we are--a show and tell of some of my favorite cookbooks.  I love cookbooks, mostly for the sweet memories they bring back of vacations or special holidays. They tend to be one of the items I look for when on a trip, and I couldn't resist picking up this cookbook/cd in Door County this past summer.  It has lovely selections and wonderful recipes from famous tea rooms. Baking scones while listening to Satie's Gymnopedies...that goes on the kitchen favorites list!

And the book that is currently propped under my computer screen? It's Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American.  I always enjoyed watching his show on PBS, and was sad that he died before he was able to address some allegations against him.  Despite whatever happened in his personal life, his cookbooks are great.  It's not Thanksgiving at our home without George Washington's "raggo" of onions and Thomas Jefferson's apple pudding!  Definitely on my favorite kitchen things list...

The last cookbook on today's list?  My well worn copy of BC's International Cookbook--I have such great memories of my son coming home from grade school, grabbing this book and making delicious Irish soda bread for us to enjoy with a hot cup of tea.  I can still see him sitting at the kitchen table, nibbling on the warm bread spread with butter and strawberry jam and telling me all about his day.  That will always be an extra special favorite kitchen memory!

The week has flown by, my presentation is finished (yay!) and it's time to greet the weekend!  I need to start pulling out my Thanksgiving recipes and planning my menu, and I'm looking forward to flipping through more cookbooks, reliving family gatherings and special times in my kitchen.  And that is a very favorite thing indeed.

We may live without poetry, music and art;

We may live without conscience and live without heart;

We may live without friends; we may live without books;

But civilized man can not live without cooks.

He may live without books,-what is knowledge but grieving?

He may live without hope-what is hope but deceiving?

He may live without love,-what is passion but pining?

But where is the man that can live without dining?

Owen Meredith, (1831-1891)

Happy Friday!!

The glory is fallen out of the sky

With a looming deadline of TODAY for an important presentation at work, today's blog will be short and sweet.  Hopefully things go well and I'll be back to my more "perkier" self once the stress lifts and I actually get some sleep.  In the meantime here is what greeted me two weeks ago as I left for work (it was so beautiful I had to run back in the house to grab my camera)--it's enough to take your breath away!

And then of course, there was yesterday morning.  Look up:

Look down:

Look all around:

Hello, November.  I guess you've decided to settle in and stay awhile!

I just remembered I didn't show you my "souvenir" from The Breakers!  I splurged on a lovely English tea cup and saucer.  I should have taken time to stage the picture better than this, but that looming deadline was weighing on my mind...

But a touch of elegance and a nice cup of hot tea go a long way in making evening work bearable!  

ee cummings must have seen the same sky I did yesterday morning, in order to so beautifully describe the passing of all shining things so eloquently.

The Glory Is Fallen Out Of

the glory is fallen out of

the sky the last immortal

leaf

is dead and the gold

year

a formal spasm

in the

dust

this is the passing of all shining things

therefore we also

blandly

into receptive

earth, O let

us

descend

take

shimmering wind

these fragile splendors from

us crumple them hide

them in thy breath drive

them in nothingness

for we

would sleep

this is the passing of all shining things

no lingering no backward-

wondering be unto

us O

soul, but straight

glad feet fear ruining

and glory girded

faces

lead us

into the

serious

steep darkness