The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-09-11
SUMNER HOUSEKEEPING.
An Ingenious woman Finds . wise Way
to Get Rid OF Care.

Il wish the Recorder would tell rs
how to make summer housekeeping |
easy" said a woman. letting the tea |
bali which hung from her forefinger
rise and fall In a meditative way.
When warm weather comes feel so
tired of wash days and ironing days,
breakfast. lunch, and dinner. broken
only by the warnings of the old Bridget
and the blunders and breakages of the
new one"
Try our way" said Nine. Gill. the
heroine of the road-cart adventures of
the Novel Wedding Journey" Jack
can only leave the city for two weeks.
and spending the summer alone in the
country with Toodles and a nurse was
not to be thought of. Yet felt the
| need of a change. If not of a rest. and
contided my state of mind to Jack.
| who is always fertile in resources. and
| together we evolved an ideal summer
arrangement Tho kitchen range be-
| came as il it were not. Washing and
ironing were done out of the house.
| We paid g per week for the laundry
| work. which included that of two
grown people, my 10-year-old niece.
who was spending the summer with
me. and Toodles. There are plenty OF
women who can not go out to work on
account of their small children, aud
who are glad 10 get family washing at
50 cents per dozen. For 81 month
servant Chloe had her washing done
BY her sister. Thus we disposed of
one great bugbear. and left Chloe free
to relieve me of the care Of the infant
| Toodles.
Expensive. you sayp" Well, let us
see. Fourteen dollars month extra
for washing. Deduct from this Is a
month for coal aud wood and 81 for
soap and starch. For the three hot
months we were under total expense
| of S24 by this arrangement. 1t would
not have paid our travelling expenses
| had | summered out of town, with
Jack going to and fro weekly.
1T only remained to dispense with
the cooking to make life Arcadian.
Bread and milk said Jack. But my
cpicurean instincts revolted.
liable d'hotes,' said Jack. But we
couldn't run around to bohemian din
there was Chloe.
I'VE. finally decided to let Chloe at
tend to the simple wants of the young
er members of our family. feeding
them bread and milk. rolls, buns.
eggs, chops, and fruit; doing such
small cooking as they required on
65-cent gas stove. Now indeed life
was worth living. We had all the
comforts of our pretty, cool rooms.
instead of being crowded into stuffy
little holes in a summer boarding.
house. We were free to walk or
drive whenever we chose without ref
erence to the dinner hour. We took
all the walks which have been de.
scribed in the Recorder. and others OF
which | shall some day tell you. Our
friends called us the Jolly tramps."
Some one suggested that restaurant
breakfasts and dinners must have
grown tiresome.
BLESS you, we never did anything
we felt to be tiresome all through that
blissful summer" protested Gill.
Sometimes we shared the simple
breakfasts of Sallie and Toodles-
Chloe bringing tray to our room with
, buttered muffin, cup OF coffee an
egg, and sliced tomato. This did not
J have the same flavor as regular break
, fast at home; we made believe we
were guests ut hotel.
Like most colored servants Chloe
had all the instincts of a good cook.
and sometimes she varied our bill OF
fare by bringing us a broiled herring.
. When we felt an appetite for anything
more extensive there were any num-
: Der of nice little restaurants where a
cereal. fish, meat or eggs. cooked IN
, any shape, with potatoes, coffee. and
pancakes. were neatly served for 20
: cents. Sometimes our dinners were
> taken at one table d'hote restaurant
, and sometimes at another-French,
I Italian. German, or Spanish-and l
3 think we are fitted to discuss the rel.
. alive merits of them all. Occasionally
/ we took a more ambitious dinner at q
: hotel. Extravagances of this kind
t we're balanced by economical gypsy
g dinners taken on tramps. Again we
picnicked at home with can OF soup
heated by Chloe. some sliced roast
: beef or half cold chicken and potato
u salad from a delicatessen with the
: fruit in season. We grew so fond OF
= these little home dinners. still fancy
h ing ourselves guests and never LOT a
\ moment allowing that we were keep
\ ing house, that before the end of Sep
a TENDER we took more than half our
dinners at home, but the range was
s never lighted until the LIST of October.
n Our living expenses. including the
e restaurant breakfasts and dinners, were
e a trifie less than if l had kept house
p regularly, serving soup. meat, vege'
e tables and dessert every day.
l. Our simple mode of eating result
: ed in better health. We never pur-
it chased vegetables for our dinners away
n from home, but when especially tempt.
g ed BY fresh-looking asparagus or peas
u l carried home generous supply, and
q we dined on peas and pair OF grea
y Juicy Dreaded chops, or on asparagus
: and Dreaded outlet prepared over oul
!, little gas stove. l never said to my
). self What shall have for dinnerP-
4 indeed, seldom gave the matter o
q where we should dine a thought unit
the time came. spent a thorough!
restful summer. and we intend to keel
house exactly on the same plan thi
Il, year."-N. Y. Recorder.
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