We are nearing the end of January 2026 and our history study is 1942.
I love this study, I feel so much more comfortable in our home. With so much going on in our country and this world I find refuge in studying history and about our generations before us.
This particular morning I ate a banana and drank some hot chocolate. Charles had an egg sandwich and coffee.
It feels better to get lost in books and knitting, sewing and mending. I feel more empowered to weather the increased prices by making more simple meals and simple choices. I no longer feel that I have to nutritionally balance everything when the price of food, insurance, medical care, electricity and water has broke the box. The saying think outside of the box, well there is no box anymore, it got broke! So that broke me into thinking for myself and I am not listening anymore because of the chaos of any subject matter.
If we are thrown into an unaffordable, confusing time, with seesaw information about anything, it is time to think for ourselves. I am not saying to do what we are doing, I am saying this is what Charles and I are doing.
When I read history, I realize that everyone is on their own and all through time there are people that are trying to control other people. Do it this way, this is the right way only to find that right way was lethal. To buy this because you "need" it when they need you to buy it so they can become wealthy. Don't eat salt, do eat salt, don't eat eggs, do eat eggs, don't eat the yolk, do eat the yolk. Don't drink whole fat milk, do drink whole fat milk. Don't hang a clothesline, it is illegal, do not keep chickens for eggs, it is illegal. Don't run a red light even if it is 1:30 in the morning and you are on the way to the hospital with chest pains and nobody is on the road but we find ourselves sitting there waiting for that red light to turn green? We need to make sense.
Creamed onions, rice and kale with turnip roots.
So this week, being that we are living like ww2 for a year, I needed to get the small things organized.
I have been doing a lot of sample pieces of crochet and some hand sewing. I have been trying out things to make for gifts and for here at home. I had to learn some new skills and revisit some that I once knew how but had to relearn.
Last week I ordered a 1926 sewing manual to get information for Madge's old treadle machine. I have a manual for my 1923 treadle and know how important it is to have the manuals to go with the machine.
I knew when I purchased it that it was in tattered condition but it came with a very musty odor.
My mother always ironed our handkerchiefs, pillowcases and tops of the sheets. She made sure I understood that ironing sanitizes. I have spoke about this on my blog before about ironing handkerchiefs. This is what gave me an idea to iron the book. Now the pages turn easier and the book does not feel dirty or smell. I made a paper cover for it out of cardstock to keep it from flaking off pieces of the book. I would caution you to do something like this at your own risk of ruining it but mostly use common sense when trying things like this.
If you have a singer treadle machine and need help finding information on it, I have some good references if your machine has a model number usually on the front right front side base of the machine. I can look that up and tell you what year your machine was made. Just email me and I will be happy to do a look up for you.
We actually have another treadle that is a 1902 singer that someone had put on the side of the road for trash pick up. It is in very bad condition because it had been out in the weather but it is restorable and Charles wants to restore it one day.
I found a 1930 Thread and Needle chart. I do not know if the numbers have changed during time. If someone knows if these numbers have changed please let us know in the forum.
Since I am not a seamstress I have never understood what needle to use for a specific type of sewing that I am doing but I want to learn.
This past week Charles and I did some stocking up and we air sealed some cornmeal and dried beans. I normally use a organic cornmeal but we decided to purchase a more affordable cornmeal.
We stocked up because our 1942 newspaper suggested for people to stock up to have a four day supply of extra food. I am not sure what they were thinking with this list of emergency food.
We have to consider the times of 1942. If two of those family of four are children then they would have been happy children with 16 chocolate bars for four days.
We did stock up on the beans on the list.
I washed the beans and placed them in a pot with extra water for soaking. At least 2 or 3 inches above the beans. I soaked them for 24 hours. We do much better eating beans that has been soaked for 24 hours.
I made beans just for two people so I used one cup of pinto beans.
After 24 hours, drain the beans and put them back in the pot and put fresh water over them. For one cup of beans put five cups of water in the pot and bring the beans to a simmer, not a boil. If you boil the beans the skins want to curl off and the bean may get mushy. So just bring it to a simmer and simmer it for half an hour.
After the half hour, remove some beans and test them to see if they are done. If the beans are not old beans they will probably be done but if they are older beans they may take longer to cook.
Once they are done, leave them in the pot, remove them from the heat and add salt, I added one and half teaspoon salt, a half of a small onion and float a whole "uncut" pepper and cover the pot and let sit for thirty minutes.
I do not like hot spicy food but Charles does. By floating the jalapeno pepper it will give the beans flavor but not spicy hot. Charles will slice up the pepper and put it on top of his beans, I will just have the flavor from the pepper.
We find that cooking them this way we digest them better. This is a very good simple meal of beans and rice. The beans can be drained off after cooking them and saved for making refried beans, or put the beans over salad or in soup. We used some of the cooking juice over the rice.
As I am writing this post, it is Tuesday January 27th. I will type out a week of a diary to give a glimpse of a family in 1942. I always type out the diaries as they are written.
Monday Thero (temperature) 28 cloudy washed and put them out they froze and I am going to take them down and dry them in the house Ruth phoned and they are to phone back Doing work for Frank Home late
Tuesday Thero 26 cloudy Ironed and not much doins at is very damp and feels like snow Mrs Heller phone to see if I would make a dish of Hamburg and Mac up for Sunday she gave me the recept Ruth answered an ad in paper for work over at nesbitt making candy
Wednesday Jan 28 Thero 28 Cloudy and Snow very cold day started to snow about 8 and kept it up until Supper time its freezing now Ruth took uncle Bill over shoes up and bought herself a new pair came home with Mildred with her Eddie came they went out.
Thursday Jan 29 Thero 26 Clear Swept and not much doing Ruth home until 4-30 then she went out Dot did not show up. came in with her and stayed a little while went home to wash her hair Charlie _____Killed on some ship today.
Friday January 30 Thero 10 Clear Cleaned after Mom Dot Ruth and I played cards until they went uptown Ruth came home to wash her hair Bill Hill died of heart trouble Emma Found him in the chair. Virginia came home today.
Saturday January 31 Thero 24 cloudy & rain Baked and Ruth took them up it surely has rained slowed down came back about 2 it was still raining I made the Hamburg I spegetti dish today all but putting tomato and cheese with...
People had different types of diaries, some were daily and some were five year diaries.
This post is titled I Live Here. When I thought about this statement I thought about my home and how I use my home. Is our home just a place to take a bath and sleep or is it embraced to be all that it can be.
In the 1940s people used their homes well. They had routines, they had gatherings, they made warm meals and took pride in where they lived.
Our home is not disposable as a pair of shoes or an old purse, it is repairable and even if it is not the home you wish for, you can make it to be the best it can be. Embrace your home, wherever you live for this is what makes it home.
Grandma Donna
For the forum, if you kept a diary, what would you write in your diary starting from Monday of this week?
And/or,
Have you made any changes with the study?
Has the study changed you or your home?
Have you learned something new that you have researched?
See you in the forum... :)
