Archives
06:20:00 o'clock BST
Making Do
Growing up, my parents never had a lot of money. My dad was an aircraft electrian in the Canadian Military and, while it was fulltime work, it wasn't really a very high paying job back in them there days. My mom was a stay at home mom until I was 11, and I have to say it was really nice coming home from school and knowing she would always be there.
Having grown up during the depression, my mom was an expert at the skills of thrift and enterprise. We lived in a small, two bedroom tin house, with no basement, during those lean years. Military wartime housing. The house was always tidy and clean even if the furniture was old and threadbare. Our clothes were always tidy and clean as well. My mother sewed alot of them herself and others were picked up at charity shops or handed down from friends and relatives. She had an account at Sears and Robuck....a most popular mail order catalogue in those days...today it's known only as Sears. That account was used for only the important essentials...like maybe a well needed winter coat...and she always paid it off post haste. Being in debt was just not something anyone did then, not for anything, if you could possibly help it.
Meals, although often plain, were always tasty and nutritious. Everything was made from scratch. We never had sucha thing as a ready meal and eating out was a seldom experienced luxury and treat. She used to save grocery store stamps to buy us gifts at Christmas. We didn't get tons of stuff like the kids do today, but what we got we appreciated beyond belief. I remember one time she made me doll furniture for my Barbie from old cardboard boxes and toothpicks. I played with that furniture for days and days and to me...it was the real thing! We learned to darn socks and take down hems when dresses were outgrown and trousers got too short. I remember spending hours spit shining and polishing my father's work boots for a nickel a time, that's 5 cents...and I was glad to get it! My dad used to put up and service television antennaes on the weekends to make extra money, but that was for his pocket money. I remember he and my mother having a particularly bad argument one time, and he came home with a new dress for her...it was black and had a gold embroidered jacket. It was beautiful and probably meant more because he had bought it with his hard earned antennae money. No, we didn't have much, but we were happy and content for the most part, and I guess those are things that money can't buy.
I never had alot of money when my kids were growing up either. I chose to be a stay at home mom and my ex husband was also in the Canadian Military, which was still not a well paying job, although steady. With five kids, things were often tight and I was very thankful for the example of a thrifty mother and for those mending and darning lessons I'd had as a girl. We never felt poor though, and we always managed to take the kids out for a meal once in awhile, something that NEVER happened when I was growing up. I remember the only furniture we had in our living room for years was some that a neighbor had been putting out by the road for the bin men to take away...it was better than the stuff we had...so my ex husband offered him $10 for it. It was this ugly avocado green plaid, but it was new to us and so we were more than happy to get it. I remember splurging on a avocado green, velvet covered plastic basket chair to match it when we got a few pennies ahead. Our lawn mower was an old push mower that my husband had rescued from the tip. He sharpened the blades and painted it up and it was as good as new. It did a pretty good job at cutting the grass and was good exercise as well.
Things got better as the kids got older...the military had a few really good raises and the government started giving out healthier tax refunds and child tax credits. We did have more lean times, but mostly as a result of our own stupidity, and we were never really rolling in the dough... but for the most part we were comfortable and I like to think I gave my children a happy childhood and good memories and I hope that I taught them important lessons....like the treasure of a loving home and family and the importance of faith...truth and honesty...the value of hard work, and it's rewards...the difference between joy and pleasure...the wealth of being charitable to others...making things last and making them do.... lessons I, myself, had learned as a child. Once again...treasures that, for all the money one has, just can't be bought...nor can they be stolen...treasures earned and learned at the knee of a loving parent. Now, how bad can that really be....
Speaking of thrift...here's a delicious meal that my husband just loves and so do I. It is a very old recipe that I found in one of those cheap little cookbooks you pick up for £1 at all the touristy areas and seaside post card stands. It's a supper dish found in both Monmouthshire and the Welsh counties, and if the potato is your favorite vegetable like mine it, this is a real pleaser.
*Potato Pie*
Serves 4 - 6
This has to be my husband’s favourite supper dish. I just can’t make it for him enough. Simple, yet hearty…there’s no need for meat. I like to serve it with buttered slices of a crusted and hearty whole wheat cobb and pickled beets. Sometimes simple really IS best.
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
½ cup milk (¼ pint)
1 ounce butter
4 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 to 3 ounces fresh white bread crumbs, lightly crisped
Melted butter to brush on top
Pre-heat oven to 205*C/425*F. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender.
Drain well and mash with the milk and butter until smooth. Stir in the cheese and seasoning to taste.
Butter a square 1 ½ to 2 pint casserole dish and sprinkle with the crisped bread crumbs, pressing them to the base and sides with the back of a spoon.
Spoon the potato mixture into the dish….there is an art to this…I spoon 9 large dabs into the dish along the sides and then the rest of it into the middle…that way I can spread it into the dish evenly without disturbing the crumbs too much.
Rough up the top with the tines of a fork and brush with melted butter. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Sometimes I make a basket weave pattern on the top, depending on whatever strikes my fancy at the time.
PS> The picture at the top is my sister, brother and I. I reckon I was about 7 or 8 at the time, or maybe even younger....I don't have my eye glasses yet.
Written by mariealicejoan Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
-
It really is strange how willing we all seem to be these days to go into debt. A mortgage, car payments, and credit card patments are almost expected of a person. However did peoploe live in them old days, eh?
Fred
http://journals.aol.com/ravenjuiced/those-eyes-that-the-che rubim-dre/ -
Marie,
This is a lovely entry. My Mum used to pass clothes on from one of us to another until they were not fit to be worn again either. You have very happy memories!!!
Kate.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/bobandkate/AnAnalysisofLife/ -
What a lovely entry I do so enjoy your memories ~ we never had a lot as children as there were eight of us ~ but we never seemed to miss out on happiness ~ Ally
-
Yet another great entry ,yes I guess we were poor too ,but I always thought we were lucky ,we had a great childhood and didnt seem to need anything ,.,.,.,Jan xx
19/11/06 23:07
http://journals.aol.com/rosas
www.booksbyrosasbarassi.com