Warshing

I got the following in an email---

Something that SHOULD make you realize just how good you have it!

Washing Clothes Recipe

Never thought of a 'washer' in this light before. What a blessing! Imagine having a recipe for this!
Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe: This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.

WARSHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

Sort things, make 3 piles

1 pile white,

1 pile colored,

1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch.

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence.

Spread tea towels on grass.

Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

Oh yes... I am thankful.. this was my grandmother's life for 12 years after she married my grandfather and moved to the cattle ranch with no electricity or running water.. and my mother was 10 before the power and water came.. so she got to help in this process. And because Amuma (Basque for grandmother) came from the south, the spelling is perfect. John even teases me because I sometimes say warsh. My mom says it every time..

I always remember when I have to wait in a grocery line, and I've said it to many of you, we are blessed that we do not need to grow the wheat for our bread, or raise the cow and slaughter it for the hamburger. The vegetables and fruit that we pick up and buy today, 70-80 years ago we would either have to grow ourselves, or would have never even heard of.

What is 10 minutes of waiting in a long line, with a poor checker who is stressed out, trying to go faster so people don't get nasty about the wait, compared to a whole season of growing and butchering to get a years supply of food that was much more sparse that what we have now?

Oh yeah.. and 100 years ago, my body was the height of beauty! All those size 4's were considered consumptive, and a risk to marry. There were books out to help skinny people plump up! Take that Twiggy!