Paririe life certainly is not what I thought it would be back East. Back East I wore the latest style of clothing, and did things ladies did. But out here - oh my, here's some of what I found as my "new life"...
Wash Day - washing our clothes is no easy chore. First I must make the soap by hand using lye and ashes. Taking the clothes to the creek water a half a mile away, I scrub them in the creek water until they are "clean". I say it's "clean for brown, but awfully dirty for white". I use a flat iron heated in the hearth for pressing my husband's shirts, although getting the iron the right temperature is another chore of trial and error.
Other chores include helping with the plowing, toting water and fuel and keeping an herb and vegetable garden. Since our "doctor" is 60 miles away, it is my job to keep our family healthy. Here are a few of my best remedies:
Coal oil for dandruff
Warm manure for snakebites
Warm urine in the ear for ear aches
Sassafras tea for spring fever
Roasted Mouse for measles (ingested)
9 shotgun pellets swallowed for boils
Buttercup tea for asthma
Beans thrown into the well over left shoulder for warts
Potato carried in pocket for rheumatism
My family is reasonably healthy and I am proud of that.
Next time, I will take you into the kitchen...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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