books

1. I have a book that ever so often  I like to review to remind myself how 'easy' we really have life today.  The book is "the Farmers Guide New Cook Book"  an updated edition copyright 1945.  It is a book to help women with everything they need to do. In addition to the pages and pages of recipes, there are sections on 'pickles and relishes'.  The how to make nine-day pickles, mixed mustard pickles, tomato catsup and pickles beet rings. Then there is the section on butchering day recipes and making scrapple, head cheese, liver pudding and bologna sausage; all kinds of things I would not eat.  My favorite is beauty and health secrets.  How to make mild cases of freckles disappear.  How to keep hair in curl - this was apparently before hair spray, gels and all that stuff, but uses gum arabic, sugar, and rose water.  The treatments go on and on...leg cramps, whiteheads, winter itch, curing dandruff, sore throat treatments and making salve from apples. Those women were amazing, doing all that stuff along with gardening, canning  food for winter, laundry, farm work....they didn't work outside of the home, but they did work hard and had to know so much.  Not to say that we don't today. just different.