Making Do and Hanging On

The end of February, 2009 and I can almost smell the garden when I go out the door.  The weather hasn’t stabilized yet, and we could even get snow again tonight, but little greens are growing both in the homemade greenhouse and in the recently constructed coldframe.  I haven’t gone outside yet this morning to check on the baby greens,  but I feel that a little chill won’t hurt them as long as they are under the protection of their covers.  There is something corollary about  the hardening off  of plants, and  the hardships of life that gives strength to the individual.  

I have been reading the book  “”Making Do and Hanging On,” with the subtitle “Growing Up in the Apple Country Through the Great Depression”, by Bruce Foxworthy.  I feel honored to learn about the challenges that the generation that grew up during the 30’s  has to share with us.  The history of Entiat is very young, and Mr. Foxworthy’s family epitomized the kind of people  that lived by principles of hard work and honesty that living in a beautiful but harsh environment required.  I can say that I have met no more friendly and giving people than those from that generation, and from this valley.  As we and our children’s generation are entering our  own hard times ahead, I hope that we can thrive and come out even stronger than before.  In a way, (as I was telling Ruthie last night) I am kind of looking forward to a  Depression.  

You are all invited to attend a program at the Entiat Public Library (or the Entiat Grange if need be)  featuring Bruce Foxworthy on Tuesday, April 14th at 7:00 PM.  He stopped by the library the other day to donate a book to the branch and we arranged a date for him to speak.  The next week, Tuesday, April 21st at 7:00 PM we are hosting Carl Allen who performs Woody Guthrie songs of the Depression era, as well as the song Roll On, Columbia – Washington’s State  Song.

Below River People

In the old old days, there was a town down at the bottom of a hill.  The townsfolk who lived there loved their little homes, their stores and their theater.  There was a barber shop and a beauty shop, a gas station and a market. The children played near the banks of the river, and sometimes took a ferry across it.  The ferry man would charge only a nickel to go from one side to the other.  Up on the hill there were acres and acres of orchard land where the red and golden sweet and crispy apples grew.  LIfe was happy, children grew and the weather changed from day to day.  All was content until the day of the flood.

That was the day that changed the world.  There had been plenty of warning.  It was decided that the little town would go under.  Many of the people planned to go up above on  the hills. Every day for months the people saw one house, then another travelling up the road.  People would say, “There goes the mayor’s house!” or ” I saw the old Albin place going uphill today!” Homes became  empty lots, and the little town lost many of the places that were fond to those townsfolk. In spite of the news of the  coming flood, there were some who wanted to stay in the homes they had built.  They thought that life could continue, albeit a little differently below water.  Hadn’t they heard of the great cities of the deep? If Atlantis could thrive, why not a little town?  There was arguing, and debating and even amongst families,  one decided to stay and one to leave.  Little Lily was from one of those families. Her brothers wanted to be with the above river people on higher ground.   “We can grow apples still, Lily. We will do just fine.” One even said he would go even further and live upriver. ”I will buy a horse and find where all the lost  mountain trails lead to. Do you want to go with me, Lily?”  But Little Lily just wanted to live where she always had, in the house her father built down by the shore.  And so she stayed.

She had prepared in body and spirit. First, she learned to swim for great distances underwater. Little by little, her lungs increased in size. She could hold her breath for minutes, then hours, then days.  As she swam, she discovered caves under the water where there had once been other homes. And in those caves were tools, and drawings.  The caves were dry in places and were filled with unusual kinds of creatures. They weren’t really obviously animals or plants, but kind of like coral mushrooms. They were similar to mushrooms in the way they had a stalk and a bulbous top, but more like coral in the way they were brittle and beautifully colored.  Lily wondered if they might be good to eat. She tasted one little one, and it was  crunchy, sweet and tart but salty with a taste similar to something like pickled berries. She felt a little burst of energy , and decided it wouldn’t hurt to try another. She found them very tasty, and but the most amazing thing was she found that she could swim faster and stronger after having eaten a few  these underwater morsels.

On she swam, deeper into the cave she had entered.  Now she noticed great limestone stalactites, and stalagmites that reminded her of the pillars and chandeliers one might see in a great palace or cathedral. Deeper and deeper she swam toward a kind of phosphorescent green light that she saw shining in the distance.

Picking Plums

 

Don’t you love the way he gracefully picks the plums from the tree? The trick to growing a good Italian Plum tree is so simple. Plant one or find one where it happens to be, and when the season arrives, pick the fruit. The birds will eat a few, but happily, bugs don’t seem to like them very much. We have found that the fruit is most easily preserved by drying it. A simple commercial dryer works great. This year we are experimenting with putting sliced fruit in the greenhouse on a piece of screening. On a hot day, the temperature in the greenhouse gets up above 120 degrees. The texture of the finished dried fruit is nicer than in the electric dryer.  Later in the year I will use the fruit in fruitcakes and breads, or just as a snack with nuts. I’m interested in more ways to use it. Sometimes I wish I had a cook living with us so I could just grow the garden and fruit trees, harvest and preserve the produce  and someone else would make delicious meals or treats with it.  Anyone interested??

Pops said he knows just what it feels like to be pregnant when he wears the pickin basket.  I appreciate that he tries to imagine what it must feel like.

What can a mother say?

My mama was and is a beautiful shining star.  This mother’s day I want to once again share her wisdom with you, my children and loved ones.  I feel a great joy in sensing that she is aware of her beautiful grandchildren and now little great grandchildren.   These words have been directed just as truly to you as to each of us.  The best I can give you is written here.

“My darling children,

If anything should happen to me there are a few things I should like to suggest you think about.

First, you can never know how very greatly God has favored me in giving me not one but five of the most lovely and talented children I have ever seen. I feel very humble and yet very honored that He should consider me the one worthy of being your Mother.  Always honor Him and know that the answer to every problem you may have is to be found in the Bible if you read it wanting to accept His word for what you should do rather than your own.

Try to make all your decisions on information you can assemble and then of your own free will decide the best course of action.  Dream and spend some time alone – reassembling your thoughts, verify your ideals, and establish the best method of achieving what you want of life.

I have great confidence in all of you. You must love others but be self sufficient and able to carry on alone, should the need arise.  Remember – God says, “Lo, I am with you always” You must be able to adjust to any and all situations.

Have compassion for all who are less strong than you – give them some of your strength. Use your talents fully.

Believe that everything works for good if you believe in God. Don’t dwell on sentimentality or reminiscing – it isn’t healthy. Be realistic – if you find it difficult – look to helping little children and you will soon forget anything but the present.

Let the search for beauty and excellence be your goal – in whatever field you putsue. See beauty in nature, in people- don’t let anger or hate corrupt you or make you ugly.

Fear nothing – yet use judgement. Live fully in order to be understanding of others and thereby enjoy their company and help them with their problems.

Try to exercise every day in the sun – a healthy body is most important to success.

Do not be tempted by others to smoke, drink or participate in other vices. Popularity with such persons or groups is only fleeting and cannot injure anyone but yourself.

You have been very ’spcially endowed, but know that there is an obligation attached to the awarding of your talents. You must use them for good purpose. I am very proud of all of your present accomplishments.

I ask only that God take care of you and that you will know He is ever near and that I, your Mother, love you all as much as is humanly possible.

Love each other, help each other – and remember I would kiss each of you goodnight if I were with you tonight.

Your Mama”

Mama Knows Bread.

I am on a quest to learn how to make bread. Since I was in our hometown of Entiat last week, and because I am excited to learn what I can in living a healthy, happy life, I took the opportunity to take a lesson from Mom and learn some of her sourdough techniques. There were a few bits of info that I hadn’t seen in my recipe book, that I hope to use for my next batches of bread. I will share them with you!

Mama keeps her starter in the ‘fridge in a mason jar with a handy plastic lid that screws on tight, but opens easily. She pours her entire starter into two bowls, and adds flour (some of which she grinds from whole grains), and water to both. She lets them both sit out and bubble, on top of the stove. She then stores one batch (the mother) back in her jar, and makes the dough with the other, (the baby).

We used part of our dough to make a delicious eggplant and roasted and home canned tomato pizza!

Hopefully later this summer, when the tomatoes and other fruits and veggies are ripe for harvesting, I’ll get a lesson on canning!

How to plant peas

I am behind in my gardening, but I just planted my snow peas, and am going to plant snap peas tonight, or tomorrow.  In pea planting, there is so much chance for success, that you can hardly go wrong.  Early in the spring find a spot that will get lots of sunshine.  You will either want to plant regular peas which have to be shelled, or you will choose edible pod peas which are either snow or snap. I choose the  edible peas, as I don’t have time usually to shell peas.  Soak your peas for an hour at least,  and up to a day in advance. Drain the water, and then coat the peas with inoculant.  It helps the peas to grow vigorously  and to capture the nitrogen from the soil. I usually buy legume inoculant from a garden store, or from wherever I have ordered my seeds from. Lately I have been buying from Johnny’s Seeds. Plant the coated seeds about 2 – 3 inches apart, beneath some sort of support. You can use fencing, or strings or anything the vines will be able to grow up.  The thing I like about peas is that they are full of good green veggie antioxidants, and are a good source of protein, and they can be raw or cooked. There are so many good ways to cook them.  Growing them also actually enriches your soil, and brings up more nitrogen, so it is good to move them to a new location from year to year.  Once they start to bear, pick consistently to keep the peas coming.  Snowpeas should be let to grow a little fatter to let the peas get plump inside. Snappeas should be picked as soon as they are about two inches long – their peas inside aren’t supposed to get big.  One year, I let the snowpeas get too big and the shells were tough, but we still ate them – after a fun little shucking session with Gpa and Uncle Johnny. Another hint – put relatives to work – they love it!

Everything you want to learn from Mom!!

Hi! This is Ruthie posting. I am starting a blog for Mom, because she is amazing, talented and very skilled. I’ve learned so much from her, but there are still so many things I still would like to learn more about with and from her. Here are a few: How to make bread, how to grow vegetables and herbs, how to can veggies and fruit, how to stay as healthy as she is, how to make a welcoming home, how to train a baby…. there is so much!!! Please post what you would like to learn from Mom, or what you have already learned!!!