Good Day "41"

Most people had what was called an "Springhouse"...an natural spring ran through an brick lined long sink...and mmilk and such was kept in an ceramic jar with an cork in the top of it..the water flowed constantly around the jar..spring water never freezes, its an constant 50 degrees year around 24/7 days a week. Some people used free flowing creeks the same way inside hollowed out tree trunks and they let water flow through them. But your correct...refrigeration wasn't used as much back in the old days as it is today. For one thing the fire was kept going over the fireplace and food kept continually cooking to where it never had the chance to make for germs that were harmful...ground was well seasoned before they planted also..not the so called "sludge" off sewers that we have these days...and seeds were not genetically altered either.People like Thomas Jefferson had huge under and into the ground storage area for Ice, they would cut blocks fo river ice during the winter and haul up in wagons and be stored on fresh clean hay..he had "Ice" year around. Storeage area was next to his wine cellar...and of course any water could drip out of the storage area year around as it melted..though packed in straw, there wasn't that much melting. Healso had an small pond upove ground near his house..they went down to the river and fished brought the fish up alive an put them in the pond until they wanted them for dinner. is house just amazes me For instance...he had huge double hung windows...in the summer they pushed them up and unlatched the outside shutters to each side and he had an instance doorway to let the air in and keep thebugs out.. All his food preperations was done in an kitchen below the house and his kitchen in the house was mostly an long buffet like counter for serving.and dish storage...and keeping the food warm after it was cooked. His house was more for entertainment of an lot of people then it was his house exclusively...he had off his decking upstairs..across from his kitchen two little like cabins...one was an bedroom, the other his office/library...that is where he did everything. They both had fireplaces in them...and were considered private domain for him only. From them everything else was built around him...house, garden, tool shed, slave quarters, smoke house, kitchen downstairs,wine cellar  garden area, fruit trees, slave quarters, carriage house, and down by the river his boat dock..though he sat considerably higher then the river... he used for transporation to Washiington D. C. area rather then horse back through Indian territory as they roamed the hills back then. Very last thing he had at the bottom of his hill was an family burial ground.. Behind his house up on top was an circular herbal and flower garden, where he tried to grow every plant he could get his hands on. Plus beign the top of the hill and flat..he had an mazing view for miles around also.He had an big deck between the cabins and the house so he never had to walk in mud also, he saved the runoff water under the decks which went into an cistern near his garden...and he simply turned on the spigotto irrigate his terraced garden area..or I should say his slaves. By the time he had most all this built..he was President and also an Ambassador and didn't live there much. He wanted to be known more for his educational involments then his Presidency..but he was also much into science also. He traveled the world and he used what he saw in other countries..his terraced garden came from his travels in South America. .These people lived very comfortably..far so then many people of today even..for they don't have the huge bills to have to pay.. for what they needed to keep their homes operating. They also had slave labor for doing the things that freed them to persue higher lifestyles and learning and traveling places. He could of been

an drunken lazy slot for all his wealth..but he never was...and like so many of our greater men..he lived simply..but lavished entertainment on his guest instead quite freely. Most our founding father's do not have lifestyles of being married and exclusinvely the "husband" style most wives think of...they were self made men that didn't allow for that kind of extravagance. They took care of their wives, but I doubt they were strickly romantic types to their wives. Wives back then were more of an social standing then then relationship anyway. He fathered several children by his household "black" mistress..she was at his side constantly and more so then his wife was daily..she was also educated and could read/write and balance the household budget, besides running the daily operations he was involved with..more so then most "Eurpoean" women of his day.. .

Hubby's off now..so am waiting to see if he has cell service where he's at right now. Grand-daughter here with me, she announced she was coming to stay with me this week.... earlier this morning.  So will have to get back to my sister later on..she was talking of coming over for an day or so also. .If I get tired of everyone, all I got to do is drag out some work that needs done. They generally scatter at that thought. I'm reading about Kate and the baby that hasn't come as of yet...my son was born mid-week..and while I was in labor, they still had to break my water, even though I was having contractions 5 minutes apart from the night before until the next evening at about 8;30 pm, when he was finally born...we had to turn him also, because of how he was laying...now take this..I'm having him natural birth..so like I was on my knees for an bit in bed..with each contraction slowly turning my body, so he would turn inside of meproperly..then that done..wham!. they broke my water.he came out in no time. It was very important he was not an big baby or I'd had an C-section instead. But I was an couple of weeks late also..so maybe Camila is correct...the baby comes this week sometime. All is well...she probably has the best doctors for such an occasion. I did though he came in an left with me another doctor as he had to go to Salem in an hearing for the hospital he was an board member of. He had been my doctor most my life up until then...and he saw to it that on the baby's crib's..instead of Mother...and then the name..ithad.. "momie" and then my name.  My own mother had passed awayone year earlier. The only part of the hospital that had not moved into their new facility was the maternity ward and emergency ..I ended up being one of the last laides there..but was I ever pampered also..so it wasn't to bad. They let me stay an extra day also without charging me for it. I laid there thinking about how the Virgin Mary must of felt having Jesus kind of by herself also at the time...no immediate family around on her side. But anyway...so goes. He's so much taller then I am now..you'd never think of him as an little baby. 

Things have changed beyond belief haven't they Ruth. Like you suggest, never did us any harm.

Good Morning--no Ron things arent the same are they--i also notice the attitude of staff in shops -some are very rude with the take it or leave it attitude they seem to forget it is the customer who is paying their wages.

Have a nice day all--and take things easy.

Just pulled the strawberry plants up, they were absolute rubbish this year. Gooseberries are going mouldy before they ripen, cherries are being eaten by the ants, the ground is so dry the plums aren't getting enough water. Good being in the garden eh?

The only thing that appears to be doing okay (so far) is the Fig tree, we shall see.

As for Peggy and the trunks, no you haven't pressed anything Peggy it's what Google does, that is bombard you/us with related adverts etc. You only have to show an interest in something and wham, they've got your details.

Try it out on something obscure and you will see what I mean.