It was an expensive weekend!This past weekend, our range and clothes dryer went out on the same day! So it was off appliance shopping. With the new range...all the bells and whistle plus convection, I was reminded of this photo taken last Summer. What a contrast...between yesterday and today. No control panel or timers...not even electricity! There was no such thing a dinner at the last minute...a meal was started early in the day or you didn't eat. There was wood to be cut, fire to be started, water to be hauled and a trip to the smokehouse before dawn many times. This particular stove was probably a "top of the line" model...actually painted instead of cast iron. There are some familiar faces remaining today...flour, baking soda and cocoa....some things never change.
There are retro ovens available today as a throwback to earlier times but they are only shells of the original...there are some things I don't want to go back to!
Posts
19 comments:
I don't wanna go back there - life was too hard. I've never seen one of those stoves in action, but I remember the production that was laundry day when my mom and my grandparents had that wringer washer.
Maybe I won't gripe about the "cycle complete" buzzer on the dryer today!
June, I thought you might comment on this one! I see your recipes you post on your blog and I would imagine you wouldn't be to happy using these utensils!
Dan
I'm with you! I love my modern conveniences! Imagine baking bread in a wood stove????
I can appreciate the looks of that stove though!
Shabbygirl...looks great but as you say it probably leaves a bit to be desired on the baking end of things!
Dan
Yep, a woman's work--literally--was never done.
I wish hanging clothes on the line left them as soft as the dryer does. They smell so good after a day outside.
Do you remember the "sprinker" for ironing--a coke bottle (or Pepsi, in our case) with a little nozzle on top to sprinkle the clothes before you rolled them in a ball, put them in the basket, and ironed them later?
Oh, yeah, those were the days (not).
Excellent work, almost looks like a shot from the movie. Anna :)
Those were tough cooking and cleaning times! I do think that the old time stoves had character and personality.
I just looked at your many previous posts as well. Marvelous shots and I love your writing. Don't think I've forgotten about you- just haven't been able to stop by as regularly as before. Still love your blog!
Jennifer,
I had not thought of that but now that you mention it..I do have vague3 memories of the coke bottle with a sprinkler on it. WOW...that is a blast from the past!
Dan
Anna,
Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the comment.
Dan
Septembermom...
I do too...but I don't know if it is because they have a personality or just remember seeing these old stoves in the movies out of Hollywood.
Dan
Dani...good to hear from you again! I know things get hectic and priorities have to come into play about where we spend our time. I run into those situations as well from time to time. Anyway, it is always great when you stop by anytime. No pressure on this blog...just stop by when you can.
Dan
I'm from Vermont, Dan :) - country folk are we up here in this these parts of the U.S. of A.
hahahaha
Wonderfully done, as always!
I like those old contraptions. You should have seen the one that we had in the basement of an OLD farmhouse we lived in once.
The same changes that enabled convenience and quicker abilities, also made it too easy for people to take things for granted. What happens if the electricity goes out for any amount of time? Some of the younger crowd might possibly not know what to do :)
Course...look at me, we're putting in a woodstove - one that you could cook on if need be and have a bit of light from. There's some quick thinking, huh?
Great thought creating post :)
Dan, this is so neat! It looks like a fantastic cartoon!! :-D
-Kateri
Heather...you made a believer out of me! I have changed my mind! Here I was complaining about the old stoves not having electricity...theny our comment about electricity going out brought to mind last February when we had a devastating Ice Storm. We were without electricity for almost 5 days. How nice it would have been to have a wood burning stove! I STAND CORRECTED!!!! As a matter of fact, I am going to post a reminder of our ice storm on my blog again...in honor of your comment!
Dan
Kateri,
The high contrast of the photo does add a bit of surrealism to the photo.
Dan
As much as I love the look...I would be in trouble now if I had to plan that far ahead...actually, it might be nice to have that plan...
;^0
...As I took my grandchildren into a restaurant for dinner last night...that's the first thing I said when I walked in..."Gramma doesn't cook any more."
:^)
Kinda sad...I used to be known for my cooking, and now I didn't even have stuff in the house for a peanut butter sandwich!!!!
Cynthia...that is what "Grammas" are for...take out the kids to a restaurant...have a great time and then take them back to the parents! We paid our dues!
Dan
Yay! I love it when something I've said rekindles an important thought :)
I look forward to your post.
Post a Comment