Food Storage #1

What should we store? Well, I like to ask myself, "How has Mankind survived up until now?"

Scots have eaten oatmeal every morning since time began. Latin Americans eat beans and rice daily--and tortillas in some places. Asians eat rice. Eskimos smoke salmon to last through the winter. Hopi Indians parch corn and peaches. Eary Americans kept a root cellar to store carrots, potatoes, turnips, for"fresh" veggies in midwinter. English sailors learned they needed vitamin C so brought limes along. A man who survived in Europe after WWII was asked what people most valued during that hungry time. "Oil," he said. "Vegetable oil." You could cook anything--flowers or grass if need be--in a little oil.

My chief experience living on stored food was in Alaska. In Hooper Bay we were expected to have ALL our food for the winter. The Eskimos did, too. (It was considered a shame to run out of food in the spring because you'd have to borrow from others.) Some of our fellow teachers brought just the basics. When the basics became boring, they envied our supplies of Mexican and Oriental foods, our BBQ sauce, etc. . The ones who brought only Sam Andy dehydrated stuff were tired of it in a week and simply couldn't eat it after two. We valued anything fresh. If we did get a head of tired lettuce, we didn't dare to waste any of it. Our neighbor had 50# of fresh onions, and we had 50# of fresh carrots so we shared. If we didn't make loaves of bread each Saturday morning, we had to manage without it during the week. Our only milk was dehydrated. All of us were surprised at the QUANTITY we used. It's more than you think when there's no chance to pick up a burger or call for a pizza--not so much as a candy bar to eat unless you already have it on your shelf.

In The Little House on the Prairie series, The Long Winter tells what it's like when a family had only wheat. Towards the end, the mother made sad little ground wheat bisquits that became so unappetizing the children would rather eat nothing.

Top picture, Hooper Bay girls in front of a pile of serrated, dried salmon. Bottom, in winter when we opened our back door, the snow had drifted up as high as Jake's shoulders; Sara and Rachel. Winter '71

Grandpa Evans

My Grandfather Evans, always a gentleman, was an excellent mathmatician (an accountant), had beautiful penmanship, and always dressed just right. Unlike the people in my own busy household, he was unhurried and quiet. He would hold us in his arms and whisper kind things. "This is my smart girl." I don't know what he whispered to the others.

This picture was taken when Grandma and Grandpa Evans took the ship Lurline on a cruise to Hawaii in the 50's--a very big deal. Everyone went to see off their friends and visited on board before the ship embarked. In the picture GG and my Grandpa are strolling on the deck. (The other people are all strangers.)

Womens Conference

Over ten years ago when Rachel lived in SLC, we went to the Women's Conference at the Tabernacle, my four daughters and I. It made me happy and I think about it when the meeting comes around. Tonight I went to the USU Institute Broadcast with the USU 4th Stake. President Hinckley is fighting cancer.

Cleaning - Old and New

Bon Ami cleanser, around since I was young, works well where "soft scrubs" are needed at a third the cost. My mother liked us to use it on windows because it cleaned without scratching.

I guess everyone knows about these so-called erasers, a sponge-like product that cleans up a well-used fridge door handle, as well as crayon, etc. In grocery stores. Generics available, two sponges for $1

Happy 90th GG

We went to lunch for my mother's birthday, September 16th, at the Painted Pony in St. George. The hit of the event was the family book. The next day after church, friends from her ward stopped by to visit.

Hats

My mother turned 90 yesterday. Willard and Rachel Evans are her parents. They owned a home in SLC and lost it in the Depression. About the same time, my mother had pnemonia and nearly died, so they moved to Los Angeles for her health. Grandpa refused to buy another house, so they rented until he died.

Ukiyo-e or Japanese Woodcuts

I finally uploaded the pictures. Here's a link or two. The second one is the best because you can go through several in the Fuji series.

I'm hanging some pictures this week, so Japanese colored woodcuts (ukiyo-e) are on my mind. The two artists who got my attention in college are Hiroshige and Hokusai (1760-1849), but there are many others. The artist drew a picture and then an expert artisan carved the woodblocks and printed them.

The wave picture is a part of a series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It was popular to do a series of pictures like “Sixteen Scenes from the Village,” etc.

I have pictures from a calendar my children gave me, and I like them as well as any so I’m hanging some up this week.

Another Flynn story: Jack Flynn, as a young man, knew these ukiyo-e artists and bought one of these prints at the time. It wasn’t an original, but the blocks have been reproduced to make prints that come close. That’s what his is in the photo.

Love, Mom

NPR Car Talk

I have rarely listened to the radio through the years, but we love Car Talk, two brothers giving car care advice to callers. If you have a second for the link, you might like Segment 1with the “Creative Signage.” We get the show Saturday mornings at 10:00, but it’s an NPR offering so you should be able to find it locally.

ReTIREment

There is a Santa Claus! At least, that's how Roger is feeling. When he came home today he hurried me outside so I could see the new arrivals: four Goodyear tires ("Goodyear Eagles" stamped on each) with chrome wheels, all ready to go on his 57 Chevy. Thanks to all who contributed to his "reTIREment" gift. No, his car doesn't look like this yet, but he's working on it even as I write.

Exercise

Until the last century, people had to work so hard or walk so much that a "workout" didn't make any sense. (In old English novels even the upper class are always out "taking a turn.") Actually, I find any kind of exercise--walking, running, a gym--hard. It's not the physical strain but the boredom.

I like Curves because they keep it short and sweet. You do each machine for 30 seconds, and between them you jog in place for 30 seconds. After making the rounds twice you're done. No one is yelling at you to "feel the burn." It helps that there are no boys allowed, and you don't have to compare yourself to hard-body types because Curves ladies, in all shapes and sizes, don't take themselves that seriously. And the price isn't bad. At $30 a month, you could go for a whole year and pay what cool girls pay for a couple of cool outfits at a cool gym.

Dorothea Lang

Dorothea Lang was famous for her photos of the Depression, such as this photo of a Migrant Worker and others. She traveled worldwide. Evidentally she also photographed well-to-do families to help finance her other work. I understand she was friends with sister photographer, Imogene Cunningham, whose work we know . She photgraphed the elderly Shainwalds who lived at the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in SF.