This week and laundry

I can certainly understand why the invention of modern washing equipment was so liberating to women of the 19th century. My week has been all about laundry and when and if the weather would cooperate and let me finally finish. But oh how lovely it is to be hanging clothes, listening to the birds,smelling the outside ...and hoping the rain holds off for a while. Not the first time I have hung laundry but for some reason this past couple of weeks it has meant something more to me ..I think we have lost this art of appreciating what we do for each other. Of understanding weather, of smelling our world. I can say our world inside smells like wood smoke and cooking and outside ...well it smells like it should , breezy, flowery, fresh, sometimes earthy but always real and good...I thoroughly enjoyed my week this week...regardless of the mountain of laundry and the threat of rain.

Ken here, I have been treated to a thoroughly Victorian meal, complete with a botanical theme. At least 15 different plants graced the table (if not more) and a fine array of sweet and savoury delights in a room lit by close to 30 candles. We went for a stroll after supper and the light from the dining room was warm and homey as any I've ever seen. My wife Margaret certainly makes the atmosphere as close to Victorian as can be. Well done I say.

We are toying with idea of having guests in our home over Christmas weekend for a true Victorian experience. We are looking for feedback and welcome your comments in this regard. Whom ever spends the Christmas weekend with us will need to be in full Victorian garb and need to want to experience the Victorian Age in total. This means park your car at the back of the driveway, lock your cell phones, laptops and all other modern electronic gizmos in the trunk and be ready to talk about the events of Upper Canada in 1865, ie: the debate about Confederation, the happenings in Toronto, London and England. The Queen and her mourning status after the death of Albert. In other words, no hockey, no TV, nothing from the 20th or 21st century shall be discussed. Our guests should read up and research Victorian parlour games of 1865 Upper Canada.

What does everyone think? We welcome your comments.

My husband mentioned our botanical supper ...The Victorians took great care in their meals and how they were presented.Food was real and beautifully presented.Meal time was formal by todays standards ...but it was relaxed, unhurried, and real. This is a wonderful time of the year for mealtimes as we have fresh everything coming up in the gardens. Fresh greens were eaten at every meal, I am sure savored especially because of the knowledge that they would not have access to these fresh delights all winter long. We have lost the joy of seasonal eating, of dandilion salads very early in the spring before the leaves turn bitter, of making the flowers into wine or jelly to last the rest of the year...of beer as we have so recently discovered. We have forgotten the smells and the bursts of flavor of our first strawberries,raspberries and gooseberries...with todays all year round tastless wooden fruits we have forgotten these joys and the need to savor them to their fullest before they are gone for another year..And I think many of us have forgotten the art of really planning and putting by for what we will need in the future and especially for the long winter...This year is really reminding us of these gifts !!
See you soon...