Grandma's Apron, My Apron and the Warehouse Antique Mall

Well...I told you on Saturday that it was going to be a big day for Kim and me...because it was our annual junking day...and my first day out for fun since the accident on August 11th.  We do that every year and have for years and years...Go on a big junking day the weekend before my birthday...but with all that was going on with my leg/ankle this year...I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it.
Kim said "We're GOING if I have to push you in your walker chair"  :-)  Soooo we put my old crutches in the car in case I needed them and off we went.


Our first stop was at The Warehouse in Marion,

Illinois.  That's such a super junk store...several levels and just loaded to the ceiling with good junk.

We didn't buy much there...I think we spent $21 altogether...and then we headed for John Logan Craft Show in Carterville.

We had circled the gym and bought Kim's hand cream she always buys and then we spotted them...right up ahead....A huge display of bib aprons in old fashioned prints and they were only $7.95.  So we scurried up to the booth as fast as we could and I picked one out and Kim picked one out and we were in hog heaven....ready for any chores and with brand new aprons to wear while we did that chore....
 
Kitchen aprons are almost a thing of the past...you know it?   For one thing...seems like there aren't that many women IN the kitchen these days.  We just heard a story on WPSD-TV and they were telling how to check your oven and other kitchen appliances before Thanksgiving...so you don't get up on Thanksgiving morning to put your turkey in and find that your oven doesn't work.

Well BREAKING NEWS!!!  The stove and oven and other appliances are always in daily use in our house in Round Knob Canyon...And cooking for Thanksgiving starts 2 DAYS before the big feast.  We know how to do it the old fashioned way and do it right in Round Knob Canyon.
 
And that big fat turkey?  IT goes in about midnight on Wednesday night and cooks low and slow for about 8 or so hours...makes for an absolutely delicious...moist and tender turkey at meal time. 
And that corn bread for that dressing that is to die for?  It gets baked on Tuesday afternoon and put in the frig...so it's ready to crumble and mix into the dressing that everybody fights over.  The pies are made on Wednesday afternoon...just after the blinders and nose clip are put on the geezer.  Oh there's SO SO much to do to cook for a big Thanksgiving feast....so the beat goes on....from Tuesday...right up until I set the table on Thanksgiving Day.

And what's time in the kitchen....without a vintage apron?  I'll bet many of you older ladies worn aprons while working around the house years ago and maybe still do.  I actually wore one for decades until about 6 yrs ago and I loved wearing an apron.  Then I just kinda got out of  the habit. 

I had several...the little half aprons that we'd tie around our waist and I had 2 or 3 of the bib aprons, too.  Still have them, in fact.  And none of these little cutesy aprons for meeeeeee...I have old print aprons with pockets...I wore them as a uniform...not to model in a contest....
It was so much easier to stay focused when I had my apron on.  It was kind of like my work uniform and it helped me to remember that I was in the middle of this or that project.  And if I'd get the one I had on just a little dirty, I'd toss it in the laundry and get out a fresh apron...I need to get back to that habit because it really DID help me stay on track and boy I need that now more than ever to help me catch back up.

I think I'll put on one of my vintage aprons this morning and really get back to work...as best I can, wagging around this big walking boot. 
As soon as I broke my leg and we got home from the hospital.  The first thing geezer did was to take up ALL my throw rugs and shabby chic pillows and he even put away some of my table clothes and this and that.  He said "I'm going to be running things for the unforeseeable future and I'm putting away these things that may get in your way...or mine. 
SOOOOOOOO today I think I'll dig out all my throw rugs and start putting some of my foo foo back.  It's the little things like that ... that make a house look like a 'home'....At least that's MY opinion. 

Below is a little poem about Grandma's Apron.  Just reading it brings back priceless memories for me...I hope it does for some of you too....And I found TWO...so I'm going to post them both.....

Peace and love from the canyon...I love you all gobs and thanks so SO much...for stopping by.

Grandma's Apron (author unknown)

When I used to visit Grandma. I was very much impressed, by her all-purpose apron, and the power it possessed. For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed. The strings were tied and freshly washed, and maybe even pressed. The simple apron that it was, you would never think about; the things she used it for, that made it look worn out. She used it for a basket, when she gathered up the eggs, and flapped it as a weapon, when hens pecked her feet and legs. She used it to carry kindling when she stoked the kitchen fire. And to hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire. She used it for a hot pad, to remove a steaming pan, and when her brow was heated, she used it for a fan. It dried our childish tears, when we'd scrape a knee and cry, and made a hiding place when the little ones were shy. Farm produce took in season, in the summer, spring and fall, found its way into the kitchen from Grandma's carry all. When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest. I'm sure the apron she chose that day, was her Sunday best.

Grandma's Apron

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears…
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men-folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.  You can find The Warehouse on Facebook by clicking here...  

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