General Chat

Ann, interesteing to read about the hotel and I must tell you that I still, use Robin starch. I got my first washing machine, a Zanussi, in about 1967 and what good service I had from it, they are not obtainable here any more.

Had a lovely day to-day with friends visiting from East London, I even got to walk on the beach which was really lovely. They arrived at about 9.30 a.m and left at 4 p.m. I won't see them again until some time after they return from Australia.

It was a lot cooler to-day and at the moment it is quite gloomy outside, perhaps we will get some rain - I live in hope. Our lawn is quite brown.

Tha's all for now.


Val.

good morning, At last the sun is peeping through the clouds although only 10 minutes ago the sky was dark and we had a thunder storm. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that the day is at least dry!

I hhave now finished sorting out my Ancestors in various files all with the name of the family on the front. Now I have to decide what to put in each divider, i will put copies of Actual certs, the originals will stya in the acid free folder.
It was interesting going through the main five families and double checking my evidence as a found a few errors and also was able to add second names where I had only looked at the early census.

I will be back later today to add some more to the House Cleaning from the 1900s. I found a great site about this yesterday.

well time for some housework so bye for now.

This morning the clouds have disappeared and the sun is shining. We are out to lunch today withe six friends. We will stay local as one of the ladies has recently had her second stroke and whilst she is working hard to remain mobile we did not want her to become exhausted. I will write later about what we had.
I know that I have to finish writing about House Cleaning but could not resist sending this piece, I am have to do so in several messages.

Val delighted to read that you enjoyed your time with your visitors and I hope that the weather improves for you.

My next piece I will now send on the next page

Count Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy - “If you're not enjoying your work, you should either change your attitude, or change your job.”

section one.

Women's Chores

What must it have been really like for a Victorian women to have been homemakers and housekeepers--to be cooks, chemists, seamstresses, psychologists, nursemaids, accountants, bakers, hostesses, and so much more--all in a time when these chores and responsibilities would have to be done without the simple "flip of a switch". For the Victorian housekeeper, each and everyday had its own duties and chores. Her life was demanding and filled with responsibilities. Any tricks she could come up with to save some time were critical. Rising before the sun came up, for example, may have not only been suggested by the advice manuals as a way to avoid the summer heat and accomplish an entire day's work before noon, but for the average middle-class woman (who worked along with her one servant--or no servant at all--), this was just the way her routine had to be in order for her to accomplish the day's tasks, and it must have been quite daunting for her.

The very first thing that had to be done before all else was for a fire to be kindled in the cook stove. Then, the table was set, breakfast prepared, the family fed, and the dishes cleared. Without delay, the dishpan was filled with water which had already been warming on the stove during breakfast. Silverware was washed first, then glassware, cups, saucers, plates, and lastly, the more difficult or dirty cookware. To remove resistant residue on iron, steel, or tin, chain-mail scrubbers were used, or a bath brick (a solidified clay from the English River that served as a scouring powder). Wood ware and brass were cleaned, then the stove was wiped off, and finally, the floor was swept.

section 2

Now that the kitchen was tidy, the daily special chores could begin, and these usually varied from day-to-day.

Monday was "Laundry Day", also known as "Blue Monday". "Soaking" had already begun well before, as early as Saturday night for those whose religious beliefs forbade them from any type of work or labour on Sunday. The Utility Room contained no electric washer or dryer, no detergent powder, no liquid bleach, no boxes of softener sheets, nor any cans of spray starch. Instead, the laundry room shelves would have been stocked with bars of strong yellow soap, cubes of hard-packed blue powder, called 'bluing"--the bleaching agent of Victorian days, a scrub brush, the washtub with a corrugated metal washboard braced inside, and finally, a wringer.

On Monday morning, after the "rinsing", each article of wash was fed through the huge rubber rollers of the wringer, while the woman used one hand to turn the gigantic iron wheel. The laundry was then put through two washings on the corrugated washboard. Next, the laundry was boiled for 20 minutes in a third tub of soapy water before being transferred with a wooden "fork" to a tub of water for a "cold rinse". After a final rinse in clear water that was tinged lightly blue from the "bluing cube", the laundry was once again passed through the wringer.

If any items needed to be starched first, they were set aside to be dipped in and rubbed with a solution that was so hot, a tub of cold water was always nearby so that the woman could continually dip her hands into it to prevent scalding.

Finally, the clothes were taken to the backyard and hung with wooden pegs from clotheslines to dry. On especially cold or rainy days, the laundry was taken upstairs to the attic where lines were strung from wall to wall.

section 3

Finally, the clothes were taken to the backyard and hung with wooden pegs from clotheslines to dry. On especially cold or rainy days, the laundry was taken upstairs to the attic where lines were strung from wall to wall.

While the clothes were on the lines to dry, lunch could be set out. Monday's meals were intended to involve as little preparation as possible since the day was already so busy. Large Sunday meals usually provided leftovers for Monday, or perhaps something roasted in the oven could be served, along with potatoes and carrots, a canned vegetable, and a simple dessert, such as baked apples, or cookies. This would allow the woman time in the afternoon to scrub porches and to clean the laundry area/scullery floor with the left over wash water.

It would be late afternoon before the clothesline could be emptied, and the items (except for towels) would be sprinkled and rolled, ready for ironing the next day. With all traces of 'Blue Monday" cleaned up, the evening meal could then be served.

Tuesday was "Ironing Day". Supplies needed for ironing in the 19th century included a skirt board, a bosom board (for shirtfronts), a sleeve board, an ironing table, a dish of water with a sponge to dampen clothes or to wipe away extra starch, a fluting iron and fluting scissors to properly "finish up" ruffles, a number of flatirons that each weighed between 5 and 8 pounds, and padded-cotton "potholders" to wrap around their hot handles.

The irons were heated on a trivet over the stove fire, and while one iron had cooled down and was in the process of being re-heated, the next could be used. To keep the iron from sticking to fabrics (today they are covered in Teflon), a piece of beeswax held inside a scrap of cloth was rubbed across the iron's hot surface.

Ironing the clothes, sheets, and table linens was a slow, agonizing process. Various fabrics required varying weights of irons, and some required repeated passes over them. For example, lace had to be ironed repeatedly, but embroidery could simply be ironed on the wrong side over flannel. Shirtfronts needed to be ironed on a bosom board, then starched by using a "polishing iron". With the many changes of irons--plus having to re-heat each one in between--and the heavy, bulky fabrics that were used, along with the many changes of boards for each job, Tuesday was a long, hot, strenuous day!

section 4

Ironing the clothes, sheets, and table linens was a slow, agonizing process. Various fabrics required varying weights of irons, and some required repeated passes over them. For example, lace had to be ironed repeatedly, but embroidery could simply be ironed on the wrong side over flannel. Shirtfronts needed to be ironed on a bosom board, then starched by using a "polishing iron". With the many changes of irons--plus having to re-heat each one in between--and the heavy, bulky fabrics that were used, along with the many changes of boards for each job, Tuesday was a long, hot, strenuous day!

Wednesday and Saturday were the days of the week typically assigned as "Baking Days". Most Victorian households made their own breads, cakes, pies, cookies, etc., and it was a time-consuming and tedious job. Many housewives began making their bread first thing in the morning, just at the break of dawn. The process had actually begun the night before with what was called, "setting the sponge". Even when quick-rising yeasts had been available for sometime in the stores, many women still preferred to use the "old-fashioned method" which required a night of "working" for the yeast in a spongy batter before it was kneaded with flour into bread dough.
BREAD SPONGE

Six potatoes boiled and mashed white hot,

two tablespoons of white sugar, two of butter,

one quart tepid water;

into this stir three cups flour;

beat to a smooth batter,

add six tablespoons yeast;

set overnight and, in the morning,

knead in sufficient flour to make a stiff, spongy dough;

knead vigorously for 15 minutes,

set away to rise, and, when light, knead for 10 minutes;

mould out into moderate-size loaves,

and let rise until they are like delicate or light sponge-cake.

(From "Buckeye Cookery", 1878)





While the dough was set aside to rise, other chores could be tended to, such as breakfast duties, or perhaps preparing any needed pastries or cakes. Also, and possibly most important, it was a good time for "putting right the panty". This meant the time when the methodical housekeeper organized her store room, being sure that the shelves were clean or freshly papered, jars were properly labelled, tins were tightly covered for freshness, and cayenne pepper was sprinkled in the corners of the shelves to keep away rodents and insects. This was the time, also, for the woman to take stock of her supplies and to begin her list for "Market Day", so that she never ran out of anything.

During all this time, the oven would have been heating--a process which was much trickier than you might suspect. It required experimentation, experience, and good judgment. Today we simply flip a switch to the temperature we want, but 19th-century wood and coal stoves had no controls and no temperature gauge. Therefore, to determine if the oven was at "bread-baking-readiness", the oven had to be able to brown a piece of scrap paper in five minutes or a piece of crockery in one minute. Other women preferred to use the "arm test"--that is, the length of time the arm could be comfortably held inside--a moderate count of 20 was about right for bread and cakes. Baking time then varied from 45 minutes to an hour, and when the loaves were thoroughly cooled, they could be stored in a dry, well-covered container.

Section 5 etc to follow if you like these first 4

Must go and get ready to go out.
OH delighted because West Ham won the match yesterday !!!!

I enjoyed reading this Bridget and would like you to continue. I am so glad I didn't have nto do the washing and ironing in the 19th century!.

We had a lot of lightning and thunder last night, i don't like lightning especially the forked kind.

We heard at church this morning thaqt our tender for a plot of ground was accepted by the locasl municipality, this is good news as we have been waiting for years to acquire some ground. Now the really hard work will be raising money for the building.


Enjoy the day.



Val.

Val, sometimes it seems as if we are the only people on this thread but vat least we have kept in touch. What is the the new building for?

We were out forn lunch today and I was shocked at the change in our friend who has had two minor strokes. I felt so sad for her as she could not even cut her food and she looked unwell.

What is the new plot of land going to be used for. I shall try to add some more about housework in a few minutes.

Section 6
Thursday and Friday were general house-cleaning days. The Victorian housewife was conscientious about her home, and she took pride in her clean and tidy domain. The full cleaning usually began by draping dust covers over the furniture and then opening the windows to expose any hidden dirt. Curtains, mirrors, and picture frames could be brushed with a feather duster, but the ornate carvings on Victorian furniture and moldings might have called for the use of small bellows to blow out the dust. Carpets were swept, but in order to keep dust from flying all over the room, dampened tea leaves, coffee grounds, or sometimes, freshly cut grass was first sprinkled on the carpet. When dusting and sweeping was completed in one room, the dust covers were removed from the furniture, taken outside and shaken, then carried to the next room where the process began again.

In the kitchen, the black iron stove would be cleaned thoroughly, using soft soap and a flannel cloth, then polished to a glow with stove polish. The sink and drain were flushed with carbolic acid, then it was time to clean the floors. If they were painted, they were simply mop-rinsed. Varnished floors, besides the mopping, also received a rub-down with kerosene on a flannel cloth. Should a cooking-grease stain have appeared on a wooden floor, the housewife would saturate the spot with heated lye, then scour it with ashes, using a stiff-bristled brush. Finally, the wood floor would be cleaned all over with hot water, and then rinsed.

Most all Victorian families kept the same routine. Rugs and draperies were shaken and aired twice a month, even in rooms that were seldom used. Carpets were sponged clean several times a month. Windows were usually washed once a week. What's more, time needed to be set aside for other duties and tasks, such as making butter, shopping, making soaps and shampoos, and sewing the family's clothing. Clothes were primarily made at home, so there was always some sewing project going on. If it was not time to be making new clothes, then there were always existing clothes that need repairs, or some darning that needed to be done.

There were seasonal tasks and jobs to take care of, as well. Naturally, there were the holidays, which brought about extra work and demanded more time and effort. In addition, the summer and the fall meant time for canning and preserving, while the spring (and fall, as well) required massive, full-out house cleaning from top to bottom---that is: "Spring Cleaning".

Beyond keeping her home clean, "company-ready", and cheerful, the Victorian housewife was also expected to decorate it with taste, entertain gracefully, set moral standards for her family yet mother nurturingly, shop wisely, economize smartly, and keep a budget. The smaller the family budget, the more ingenious she needed to be.

It was not at all an easy thing to have been a Victorian homemaker, especially one without servants. With all the advice given by books and magazines on etiquette, raising children, home maintenance and expectations, many women felt guilty if they could not seem to meet the Era's standards of perfection. Most were overwhelmed by the demands made on them. By the time they crawled into bed at night, exhausted, they felt still guilty because they hadn't had enough time during the day to complete any number of tasks, or to "improve themselves" by reading! On top of everything else, they were still "wives", and they had "marital duties" and expectations, as well.

Eventually, reality superseded the demands to be perfect, and women learned that they could only give their best effort and hope that it was enough. Stereotypes from the era followed women for decades--even into the 1950's (television, after all, depicted mothers doing their vacuuming, dusting, and housework in high-heeled shoes and pearl necklaces)--but even then, most of us knew that those expectations were unrealistic. Yet, when we look around ourselves and realize all the modern conveniences we have today that the 19th century housewife did not, we must step back a bit in awe and wonder, and admire her for just how very much she was able to accomplish and to achieve.



kindly provided by Dawn Aiello

Nudge

Certainly interesting reading Bridget. I am so glad I wasn't a housewife back then. One wonders how on earth they managed, there are after all only so many hours in the day.

We must build a church, as we are using the Hall belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist Church for our services

I cleaned out out the study to-day and got rid of a lot of rubbish, it is amazing what we accumulate, I was really hot after that.

We spent a quiet weekend , visited friends on Saturday and that was about it.

Perhaps everyone else is too busy to write often .

I seem to be stuck with my family tree, there are just some things which I cannot unearth. Unfortunately finding records here is lreally difficult, because you must furnish the very information you are looking for to obtain a certificate from our Home Affairs Office - quite laughable! No census records are kept either they are all destroyed.

Take care .


Val.

Goodness Val, why are census records destroyed, are successive governments afraid of what they show???

How have you managed to develop a tree without being able to access records...|I simply cannot imagine how you have the ability to go back very many decades.

I am going to keep the thread going one personal mail made me realise that it is always there then should anyone wish to come back or join us, and I enjoy the reading of messages as well as contributing.
Must go now to pick up Jet and Joe, my dogs, as the have had their hair cut today and they are waiting to come home!!
Bye for now

I have records from England, census records, birth,marriage and death certificates which I ordered. My gggrandfather came over here from Southampton, I discovered from Electoral Rolls held at the Museum in Grahamstown that he had been a Town Crier and a Postal Contractor there which was somemthing I din't know. I wanted to get his death records from the SA Archives but haven't been able to find him. . I cannot understand why the census records have been destoyed, there is such useful information there.

Do Jet and Joe enjoy their visits to the Dog Parlour? My daughter's dog, Max, enjoys his visits for a bath and a massage.



Val.

Hello everyone, I hope that you have an enjoyable day. Here in Peniscola, Spain, the weather is not good. the sky is grey and the sea looks cold and unwelcoming. the trees are blowing around which also means that the Palm trees are dropping many of the seed all over the garden and some are also falling into the pool. Not much sign of the birds today either, they must have decided to stay in their nests.

Last night was great fun, we had 10 people come to the film night and we watched True Grit and the Toy Story Three and everyone was laughing and giggling away. We had home made, well from packets which went into the microwave, popcorn, Choc Ices, plenty of wine, soft drinks and coffee/tea if anyone wanted it. We were also lucky that most people brought wine or soft drinks with them.
Next Film night being decided today. We have decided that if as many people come as last night I shall push our dining table back, we shall put the eight chairs out and the six from the veranda and a few others dotted around the house and put them in lines rather similar to going to the cinema. !!! I may even print off some tickets.

who would have imagined a two months ago that a simple invite to a friend to watch a film with us would have evolved to this ....

Now I wonder if anyone has any ideas what I can do with a surfeit of lemons, oranges, and bananas. I have made the marmalade and the lemon curd, well enough for us at least.

Val Jet & Joe look magnificent and so slim it must have been very uncomfortable for them before but the weather has turned cold again so we are now giving them their food in the house which we do not do very often. when we went to pick them up after 3 hours in the parlour we were asked to go away for another hour. Their fur had become quite tangled as it had grown so long and of course their hair is very wavy...In fact I would have been delighted to have Joes' beautiful red coloured hair.

They now look much younger and considerably slimmer, next week they have their 6 month visit o the vet, just a general review.
well I have chatted on again so will stop for now and look back later in the day just to see if anyone has had the time to post.
Bye for now

Me again! Your film evenings sound great fun Bridget.

I did some baking yesterday afternoon, made some fresh scones for tea and they went down a treat. Temperature 30 again to-day.

I bought a 400g ball of wool which I thought would be good to knit with as there would be few joins, my mistake. I always knit from the centre of the ball but my word what a tangle the centre of this turned out to be, so I wound it into 100 g balls, reminded me of the days when we bought wool in skeins and then had to wind it.

I'm sure Jet and Joe feel a lot more comfortable too, as well as looking good.

What with one thing and another I have not yet finished painting my outside table, I still have a snail and a butterfly to paint, at the rate of progress I'm making by the time I have done them it will be time to give the other little pictures a face-lift!

Bye,

Val.

I haven't made scones for sometime I particularly enjoy cheese scones.
I used to knit but haven,t done any for a very long time. My mother taught me to knit but my two sisters are so neat they knit almost to the same standard as machine knitting. I hope this week to start my embroidery again especially as the weather forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain so...

We had a one pot meal today, with a free ranging chicken which I cooked in the oven and then as soon as cooked I took of all the breast, added a variety of vegetables using part used red and green peppers, onions, courgettes carrots, some fresh garlic, onions etc with a slosh or red wine and some herbs, then left it all in the oven whilst OH watched his sports programmes. I hate wasting food so with some small potatoes left from last weeks bag I scrubbed them put some oil over them and put them in the oven as well. So ended with a little washing up, do not use dishwasher when there is only the two of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal, we had a choc ice each for desert as there were two in the freezer from last night.

I have some dried fruit in water a dish at the moment which I hope will make the fruit swell nicely for tomorrow, now I have to think how to serve them. For our main course we will have the rest of the chicken which I may use for a curry... any other suggestions welcomed.

Well that is about all for today so good night everyone sleep well

B

Well, it was a lovely sunny day here again. A little chilly as there was a north easterly wind but the sun made all the difference. We cleaned the windows inside and out and I cleaned the bathroom while OH cleaned the two cars. Then we went to the hairdresser. Wish having my hair cut made me look slim Bridget as it does your dogs!!

So that is two days running it has been spring like and sunny. Yesterday we went to Batsford Arboretum to see the end of the snowdrops, the crocus, daffodils and Hellebores. It was lovely, we really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we will be shopping for food and Thursday we may go to a craft and needlework fair. we went last year and it was very good.

Friday we will be going to visit our friend who sadly is terminally ill, he is 77 and an ex golf partner of OH and we have spent many a social evening with them and even one holiday. He is such a lovely fellow and his wife is lovely too. Life is very unfair.