Monday, January 14, 2008

tagged #2

in 1974 life was hard.. but our income was not what yours is today
my married life is a piece of cake. with 7 kids in our home this was a busy time. I sewed drapes 6 days a week. 12 to 14 hours a day. each week doing 75 to 125 widths of drapes. I was paid by the number of widths.. this money bought the materials to build our home. piece by peice. in 1974 I had been sewing drapes for 7 years, I had 7 children to feed, keep clean, Twice a week I churned 3 gallons of cream to make butter. I ground wheat and made 15 loaves of bread a week, we had a cow, that gave us 3 gallons of milk a day, We raised 2 lambs, 3 pigs, a calf and a big, really big garden that I and the boys took care of, Gordon was teaching school to find ..............................75 cents and put 3 gallons in the car got us there and back.
In 1978 that spring we raised 250 chickens.. a large garden Gordons parents came over to help us kill and prepare the chickens.. the boys caught the chickens... gordon killed them them other boys dunked the chicks in boiling water and pulled off the feathers. Grandpa dougal gutted the chickens, Gordon cut them up and brought them to the kitchen where they were cooked down in large kettles.. when tender.. grandma dougal and I took off the meat andplaced in it pint jars and processed the meat and broth in pressure cookers we started at 8am and finished at 11;30 pm at the end of that day I wrote....Gordon and the boys bought me a a gas grill, so for supper we cooked hot dogs and potato salad of course... it is really great to be a part of this family.. I am so proud of each and every one of my children ( and I remember all of this work was done cheerfully and with out a word of protest) sure.