Redirecting...

So. I haven't been around here much of late. Things got busy, and then, well, I'm never really sure what's worth writing about, and then I worry about not having photos, or just not having anything interesting to say.

What IS interesting, though - or, at least, I think so! - is all the silly stuff you find in old books.

Just a taster:

"A breastfeeding mother or nurse should drink diluted wine at mealtimes, and between meals should drink sufficient quantities of light beer or cider". -Larousse Ménager, 1923.

For more fun with old books, come and visit us at our new home:
 treasureinmybookcase.wordpress.com

Alternatively, my professional alter ego is now lurking at www.catherineprady.com . Not the most fun website in the world ever, but if you need something translating, you know where to go!

Don't underestimate the housewife

So. This morning, we had a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses. I do enjoy a good theological debate (yes, really), so I invited them in. Guess what? They said no. They wanted to talk to my husband. 

I don't think their refusal was entirely motivated by misogyny (one of them was a woman...), but it may well have had something to do with the fact that, in their eyes, I was "just a little housewife".

Now. A word to the wise: Don't underestimate the housewife.

She: 

• looks after children, and is the one to introduce them to the world. In religious terms, faith is often passed on through the mother - just look at the traditions in Judaism.
• from a political/economic perspective, she is generally responsible for most of the household outgoings - who's writing the shopping lists round here? Oh yes. ME.
• is also a cook-driver-cleaner-teacher-nurse-nanny-painter-interior designer-planner... the list goes on.

I used to think, from time to time, that I was "chickening out" by staying at home and not getting a job outside, pursuing a career, etc etc. I was wrong. It takes a lot to stay at home. There's none of the relief of adult company at work or of being away from the to-do list. You don't get holidays and you don't get sick leave. (What you do get more than outweighs that, but I'm arguing with imaginary Jehovah's Witnesses here, ok?)

So, to get to the point, any housewife is more than worth talking to. Maybe the man is the head of the household - but to paraphrase the mother in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, "the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head aaaaany way she wants".

Also, this particular housewife has two masters' degrees and runs her own company. Just sayin', missionaries. Just sayin'.

Strawberries!

This time last year, we had a bit of a problem with cherries - our cherry tree was massively productive, we didn't have a freezer and we couldn't even give them away because everyone else in the village had the same problem.

This year, we had a very hard winter and it froze too late for the cherry trees to be happy. Our tree has literally (and I use the word in the full knowledge of its meaning) no cherries on it (well, there were two, but something ate them before they had time to ripen). The neighbours are having the same problem.

The strawberries, however... now that's a different story! We inherited a fairly large strawberry patch when we bought the house, and, despite the slugs' best efforts, we've had 4.7 kilos (just over 10 pounds) of strawberries in five days.

So, what are we doing with all these strawberries?

This should give you an idea... :-)