"Christmas" in the Little House in the Big Woods

Let's join the Ingalls family for an old fashioned Christmas.

Each book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic series has a chapter devoted to Christmas. I thought it would be fun to revisit each of these chapters as we continue being "Safe at Home." Let's take a step back in time and join four year old Laura in Pepin, Wisconsin 

Chapter 3 in Little House in the Big Woods begins with Pa shoveling a wall of snow as tall as old Laura. According to Google, the average four year is 40 inches tall. Laura, as an adult, was on the short side and measured in 4'11". So lets round down to 36 inches and say Pa shoveled three feet of snow. He didn't have a snow blower and Mr. Edwards didn't swing by with a plow. (Mr. Edwards helping is impossible since he didn't meet the Ingalls until they moved to Indian Territory.) Pa shoveled a path from the house to barn, where the animals were all snug in their stalls. 

Laura hooks her readers early in the chapter with amazing icicle descriptions. "Icicles hung from the eaves of the house to the snowbanks, great icicles as large at the top as Laura's arm. they were like glass and full of sharp lights." As a child, I remember eating breakfast and looking at massive icicles outside the kitchen window. In January and February, I watched the icicles grow. In March and April I observed icicles steadily dripping until crashing to the ground. (Update: There are no icicles outside my kitchen window, but there is still time.)  

Dorris Ettlinger drew this bracket representation in her lift-the-flap book, Laura's Christmas.

Dear Pa carved Ma a decorative bracket as a Christmas gift. LIW wrote multiple paragraphs describing both process and product. While I was on a Zoom meeting, I tried drawing the bracket using Laura's description. It made no sense. What I do know is the bracket consisted of three pieces. Pa carved delicate moons, flowers, curlicues, stars, and vines into the wood, and then sanded the wood until it was "smooth as silk." When the bracket was finished, Ma placed her beloved China Shepherdess on the shelf. 

Sadly, no one knows what happened to the bracket. Although some speculate that the bracket never existed and that Rose Wilder Lane (Laura's literary daughter who "helped" Laura write the Little House books) saw the bracket on her travels and thought it would be a cozy addition to the book.

It will come as no surprise that Ma was busy in the kitchen cooking holiday food.  Here is a partial menu: salt-rising bread, Swedish crackers, baked beans, vinegar pies dried apple pies, and cookies. The family made candy by pouring boiled molasses and sugar over pie pans of fresh snow. (What girl hasn't warmed up some Log Cabin syrup in the microwave and poured it over snow to sad, sticky results?) 

Yay. Double cousins to play with.

Unlike us, during this COVID Christmas, family came to visit the Ingalls. Uncle Peter, Aunt Eliza, and three cousins (Peter, Alice, Ella, and baby Dolly Varden)  arrived on Christmas Eve. (NOTE: There were three marriages between the Quiner and the Ingalls families. Uncle Peter was Pa's old brother and Eliza Quiner was Ma's younger sister. Which means, Peter, Alice, and Ella were Laura's double cousins. Got that?)  

Once the relatives arrived the kids began running around the cabin. As a mother of three, who dislikes play dates, I can feel Ma's blood pressure rising. The five older kids were quickly bundled up and sent outside to play in the snow. Cousin Alice created a game called "Pictures." The cousins would fall off stumps, flat on their faces "Then they tried to get up without spoiling the marks they made when they fell." What fun! I wish I hadn't had the stumps ground out of my yard, so I could try Alice's game on Christmas Eve.

With six extra people in the snug cabin, Ma had to decide where everyone would sleep. Laura was thrilled she could sleep in a pile of buffalo robes on the floor with her girl cousins and Mary. Before they snuggled under the robes, the children hung their stockings above the fireplace.

Crazy Aunt Eliza did nothing to lull the children to sleep.  She told the adults a riveting story about their "savage" dog, Prince, protecting her from a puma while trying to get water at the creek. Ever practical Ma asked Pa to calm the children down with some fiddle tunes. He regaled the family with Christmas favorites like: "Money Musk,"  "The Red Heifer," and "The Devil's Dream."   

Laura only had eyes for Charlotte.

Laura and the children woke up to full stockings. What a haul! They received red mittens and a stick of peppermint candy. This was the Christmas Laura received her rag doll Charlotte. "She was so beautiful that Laura could not say a word. She just held her tight and forgot everything else." Pa and Uncle Peter got new mittens knitted in checks of red and white. Aunt Eliza gave Ma an apple studded with cloves. Ma gave Aunt Eliza a little needle book she made of flannel pieces.

It seriously sounds SO fabulous when you read about the Molasses/Sugar candy in the book.

For Christmas breakfast Ma made pancakes in the shapes of little men. Laura was so enchanted by the pancake that she ate the pancake in little bits while Cousin Peter bit off the men's head. This year I am going to make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Hopefully it will become a tradition, but if the rolls aren't a success I can resort to "Little Men" pancakes and molasses/sugar snow candy next year. 

It was too cold for the children to go outside and play "Pictures" so they spent the day looking at their new mittens and at illustrations in Pa's big green book. The family sat down to a bountiful Christmas dinner where only the adults talked. "Alice and Ella and Peter and Mary and Laura did not say a word at the table, for they knew that children should be seen and not heard." (If I enforced that rule at my house, I would be talking to myself.)

After dinner, Uncle Peter and his family headed home. Ma slipped hot potatoes into their pockets and hot flatirons under their feet. Laura summed up the day perfectly by ending the chapter with this sentence: "But what a happy Christmas it had been!"

What Would Laura Do?

• make homemade gifts
• play outside in the snow
• eat good, homemade food quietly
• closely inspect Christmas presents
• eavesdrop on adult's stories
• be happy

Join me next time as we reminisce about the year Mr. Edwards Saved Christmas!

Prairie Eydie

(. . . taking full advantage of her van's heated seats! No potatoes or flatirons necessary)

Chapter 10 - FINALLY "Mary Goes To College"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?" The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges. 

They ate blackbirds for lunch and saved money for years in order to send Mary to college. (Somethings never change . . and I am referring to the part about college being expensive, not the part about eating blackbirds for lunch.) During the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to reread Little Town on the Prairie to discover - What Would Laura Do?

In chapter 10, Mary finally leaves for college. As all parents of college students know, this means shopping sprees. Ma and Pa head to town and purchase a new trunk for Mary. Laura describes the trunk in tedious detail - you only need to know the trunk is made of tin and is encircled by strips of shiny, yellow wood. Ma said, "It is the very newest style in trunks, Mary, and it should last you a lifetime." Ma sets to work packing the trunk, cramming newspapers between all of Mary's belongings. 

Once the busy work of packing is complete, the family begins to ruminate on Mary leaving the prairie. For Mary's send off dinner, Ma makes cottage cheese balls with onions and cold creamed peas. Mary says, "Anything you put on the table is good, Ma." (Hmm. I might have to challenge Mary on that.)

Mary's organ is located in the Ingalls family home in DeSmet, South Dakota.

Laura and Mary go on one last walk to the garden to pick lettuce and tomatoes. Mary, while being scared about leaving home, is excited she will finally learn to play the organ. Mary also wonders if sunsets are different in Iowa and how Pa can spend so much money on her.  

I also wondered how Pa could afford to send Mary to college. The Pioneer Girl Project thoroughly researched this questions. Here is the link if you are interested in reading more. How could the Ingalls afford to send Mary to college? 

But here is my, Reader's Digest, version: Basically the Superintendent of DeSmet schools took care of the paperwork to get Mary admitted to college.  Legislation had been passed saying that blind students could attend college for the blind, in surrounding states for five years (though that was later upped to seven years). Long story short, Mary's tuition was paid for by the government and Pa covered transportation and clothing. (Hmmm. This doesn't jive with Pa's independent spirt and dislike of government.)

Yum. Lunch.

Early the next morning, Ma is up scalding and plucking blackbirds. The blackbirds will be a yummy, inexpensive lunch for the travelers to eat on the train, while traveling to Iowa. Ma put on her summer challis (challis is a silk and wool blend of fabric), Pa wore his Sunday suit, and Mary wore her best old calico dress. A hired boy, in a wagon, arrives to take the trio to the train station. Good-byes were said and the traveling party departed. "The wagon taking them away left silence behind it. Laura had never felt such a stillness. It was not the happy stillness of the prairie. She felt it in the very pit of her stomach."

Grace and Carrie begin to cry. Laura, who is in charge, gathers her wits and shames Grace for crying. "For shame, Grace! For shame! A big girl like you, crying!" Laura decides the sisters need a big, distracting project and suggests they complete the Fall housecleaning for Ma. 

I agree with Laura that an over whelming project can keep your mind off of what is really bothering you, be it a pandemic or an older sister finally leaving for college. Since being in quarantine since March I have opened an Etsy store (Prairie Girl Greetings), started a podcast (2 Chick Chat Chicks), lost 5.78 pounds of the 11 I gained, and written over 50 blog posts. I did not participate in Spring cleaning and didn't even know Fall house cleaning was a thing. 

Here is a list of Laura's Fall Housekeeping duties:

• wash and fill straw ticks with fresh straw
• wash and line dry all quilts (Laura was shocked how heavy wet quilts were.)
• scrub floors
• blacken the stove (Grace created more work with this one, since she decided to "help" and blacken the stove herself. Laura said what all mothers know, "She had not known how hard it would be, sometimes, never to be cross with Grace who was always trying to help and only making more work.")
• wash windows and curtains (plus, sprinkle and iron curtains)
• scrub kitchen shelves

A few days pass and finally the girls see Pa and Ma walking home from town. The girls run to meet them at the Big Slough. Ma was very pleased with the college. The teachers were kind, the students were pleasant, and Mary would be warm and well fed. Mary's classes were: political economy, literature, higher mathematics, sewing, knitting, beadwork and music. Mary was more challenged than my 8th grade son is at the moment. He wanders down for virtual classes around 8:00 ish and is done for the day three hours later. Maybe he should take up knitting?

The girls were excited for Ma to realize they had done the Fall housecleaning. Ma, not wanting the girls to be prideful, noticed and said "My Goodness."  A lousy - "My Goodness." I feel I have to do backflips every time my kids even bring their dirty dishes into the kitchen. 

Laura's autograph album is in Mansfield, MO.

Ma brought her daughters souvenirs from Vinton, Iowa. Grace got a picture book. Laura and Carrie received beautiful, embossed autograph albums. Laura's was red and Carrie's was blue. Ma wanted her girls to have what other girls had, "I found that autograph albums are all the fashion nowadays. All the most fashionable girls in Vinton have them." Carrie loved the idea friends writing verses in her autograph book and says, "I won't mind going to school so much now. I will show my autograph album to all the strange girls, and if they are nice to me I will let them write in it." I wonder if anyone wrote, LYLAS (Love Ya Like a Sister) in Carrie's album?

Here is the "typed up" version of what Laura's friend, Minnie Johnson, wrote in Laura's autograph book:

What Would Laura Do?

• See "not crying" as a sign of strength
• Curate long goodbyes
• Start an ambitious project to take your mind off of things
• Help her ma even when no money is attached

Prairie Eydie, Prairie Ma &  Prairie Daughter

See you soon, Bonnetheads, for Chapter 11 - "Miss Wilder Teaches School." 

Prairie Eydie

  

Prairie Eydie's Writing Challenge - Part 3

What?! You haven't started the 30 Cards in 30 Days challenge? It is never too late to jump in. Get started with this Little Ranch House in the Prairie post:

 Prairie Eydie's Writing Challenge

I enjoy completing tasks - from beginning to end. As a mom, much of what I do gets undone. Food is eaten. (Most of August was spent cutting up watermelon.) Clothes are worn. Grass is tracked through the house. As a teacher, I repeat what I said one day - a different way the next day. Completion is elusive since I continually circle back and add on. 

What Up Doc? What's up is Prairie Eydie's Writing Challenge.

l Iove letter writing because I can write a letter, from start to finish, in under a half hour. I can express my thoughts (in a variety of colors), add fun stickers, address an envelope, find the perfect stamp (Bugs Bunny stamps are now available at your local Post Office.), and place it in the mailbox for pickup. Check! A completed task.

Throughout quarantine, I have been receiving wonderful letters from my mom's friend. (Wait! She is now my friend too.) She has been sending cards, e-mails, and letters her whole life. 30 cards in 30 days is child's play to her! She recently added to my original list of who to write to during the challenge:

• grandchildren (She sends them a personal letter at the beginning of each school year. I don't have grandchildren, but I do cherish the letters I received from my grandparents.)
• people in nursing home and assisted living
• people in prison
• young moms (Think of the moms who had babies during COVID - they never got the flood of visitors, so a letter would be welcomed.)
• organizations with inspiring missions
• teachers - past, present, and future

I have enjoyed receiving cards these last several weeks. My mom sent me a card with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt - "Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight." My friend, Sandy, also sent me a card with an Eleanor quote. "Do one thing every day that scares you." And finally, my college reminded me of something I had forgotten. "Best wishes for what may be a challenging school year. Good thing we're tough." 

It is Prairie Girl Greeting's  Hollywood Starlet MEGA card set.
Prairie Girl Greetings 

Selling my cards at  Prairie Girl Greetings, has been a dream realized. I love knowing my designs are carrying messages, thoughts, compliments, encouragement, and High Fives around the globe. 

I am also collecting valuable feedback:

• Make cards to send to men
• Poodles! You must have poodles!
• Create a "Get out the Vote" card - FAST
• More birthday cards, please
• Finish the COVID card set - I needed it weeks ago 

After publishing this post, I will write a card (from start to finish) for the 30 Day Challenge. It's a birthday card for a talented, forward thinking friend. It will be my 19th card. 

How are you doing on the challenge? Remember: everything counts - texts, emails, post-its, notes, cards  . . . 

Prairie Eydie

Prairie Eydie's Writing Challenge - Part 2

I am NOT Kitten you when I say these delightful cards are available on Etsy at Prairie Girl Greetings.

Prairie Girl Greetings

I am 15 cards into the 30 cards in 30 Days Challenge. I wrote to my Uncle, my mom's dear friend, and a "long lost" (but never forgotten) family friend. I sent a card of courage and gratitude to a fellow middle school Reading Specialist. Sprinkled in the mix are Thank You(s), Happy Birthdays, and Missing You (Meowy Much) cards. Everyone I wrote to are people I know. Now I am ready to branch out and write some letters to people I don't know.

This is the image Harrison Ford's "people" sent me. My copy is in a box somewhere; I look forward to finding it someday.

I am going to write some fan letters. This is an activity I LOVED as a tween/teen. I would gather addresses of my favorite celebrities from Tiger Beat and Bop magazines. Hours would be spent penning just the right letter, back then I was naive and thought my letters were actually being read by celebrities. Billy Joel, Tom Wopat, Daryl Hall, and Harrison Ford are a few of the celebs I wrote to. (Harrison Ford sent me an autographed B&W photo of himself as Han Solo. He signed it in blue marker that I smudged while trying to figure out the authenticity of the signature.)  

This time around I will write fan letters to people who aren't singers or actors. 

Sharon Draper, my very favorite YA author, will be hearing from me. She is such an inspiration as she became an author after being an English teacher for years in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her books are riveting and beloved by both teachers and students. 

I love this so much!
If you need even MORE Kelly Rae, head over to her website (link below).
Kelly Rae Roberts

I will write a letter of gratitude to Kelly Rae Roberts. Kelly Rae's art and her on-line classes inspired me to start my own card line. Her art breathes gratitude, love, and courage.  

My copy is autographed, water logged, stained, dog eared, and loved.

Finally, the wonderful Natalie Goldberg will be receiving a letter of thanks. It was Natalie Goldberg's book, Wild Minds, that gave me permission to write and write and write. Wild Minds was recommended to me by my Grandma Sara, making the book even more special. 

Who wouldn't want to celebrate their birthday with these fun ladies?

If you need cards to begin the challenge, I also invite you to visit my Etsy Store, Prairie Girl Greetings, and check out my selection of whimsical cards. During the month of September, all orders under $30.00 can chose a free card. Orders over $30.00 can chose 2 free cards. Just let me know what card(s) you want in the message section. Click on the link below to get started.

Prairie Girl Greetings

Let me know who you are writing to and who have you written to in the past. I love getting new ideas. Okay, now get to writing!

Prairie Eydie

Prairie Eydie's Writing Challenge

The calendar says it is almost September. September is the second January, so it is time to introduce a fun, new challenge into our days.  

The challenge is: 

• 30 handwritten letter/cards/postcards in 30 days
• Make going to the mailbox an event again. (If I am being honest, I will admit that getting the mail, during a pandemic, is a highlight of the day.)

Here is a "Tardy Note" Bruce Springsteen wrote for a young fan who was out late Rocking and Rolling at a Springsteen concert.

Here are some FAQs

Do I have to write one letter a day?

Nope. I have been known to write 5+ notes in one sitting. The goals is to have 30 letters written in 30 days. How you reach the goal is up to you.

Can you suggest people to write to?

Sure. The list is endless. College roommates, co-workers, friends, kids, loved ones, politicians, students, doctors, teachers, dog walkers, neighbors, authors, singer,  baristas, farmers, people with birthdays, and muses. Oh. Don't forget the  2 Chit Chat Chicks. LINK

What if I only write 6 letters in 30 days?

Great. Make your own rules. Just find joy in the journey.

What should I write about?

• reminisce about a fun time
• say "Thank You"
• Send a joke
• Let someone know their Heart is never alone
• Send words of support 
• Share a recipe
• Say "Hi" and write some "news"
• Catch someone up on your life
• Send a photo
• Write a haiku
• Say congratulations
• Express yourself
• Cheer someone up. Cheer someone on.

Some of Prairie Eydie's stamps

Do I get extra credit if I make the letters all pretty?

I have been a teacher for 30+ years and am not a fan of extra credit. However, I am a fan of buying the perfect postage stamp - my favorite stamps are John Lennon, Sesame Street, and flowers.

Do my letters need to be handwritten?

Only if you want to surprise people with handwritten, stamped goodness in their mailbox. I am sure people will also love receiving texts and emails.

This is a letter Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote to a fan of her "Little House Books".

I invite you to listen to a podcast, 2 Chit Chat Chicks, that I co-host with my friend, Leah.  This week's topic is "Staying in Touch." Listen in as we talk about our favorite pens and stickers. We will also read letters from our past. Click on the link below to have some fun.

2 Chit Chat Chicks KEEPING IN TOUCH

I am sure you are missing your Prairie friends during the pandemic. Let them know you care by mailing a "Meowy" cute card.

I also invite you to visit my Etsy Store, Prairie Girl Greetings, and check out my selection of whimsical cards. During the month of September, all orders under $30.00 can chose a free card. Orders over $30.00 can chose 2 free cards. Just let me know what card(s) you want in the message section. Click on the link below to get started.

Prairie Girl Greetings

Well? Are you in? I hope so.

Prairie Eydie

Chapter 6 - "The Month of Roses"

Today, in Chapter 6, Laura lets us know her true feelings surrounding DeSmet, South Dakota. She also amuses herself with people watching to make the work day fly by. But - will Ma be amused? 

Laura calls June, "The Month of Roses". "The roses scented the wind, and along the road the fresh blossoms, with their new petals and golden centers, looked up like little faces." Unfortunately, Laura is unable to stop and smell the roses because she is hurrying to work.  

Prairie Eydie's Pink Cone Flowers dwarf the Coleus, Coreopsis, and Lamb's Ear

Being quarantined at home means lots of time for smelling and tending to my flowers. The pink cone flowers have exploded and they host fuzzy bees throughout the day.  The fading bee balm is still visited by hummingbirds, so I will wait to cut it back. The only perennial I am not on board with, is Phlox. I admit this with trepidation as my dad, Prairie Pa, is an avid "Phlox Phan." I feel Phlox is trying too hard with its blinding shade of pink, similar to an eye shadow I wore in the eighties.  

Laura, at 14, laments being too old to play. She is a working woman now and gives her wages, of $1.50, to Ma every week. The money will be used to send Mary to college. Ma feels guilty for taking all of Laura's money. But Laura says she has no use for money since she already has:

• good shoes,
• underwear,
• stockings,
• and an almost new calico dress.

If only I could channel Laura's simplicity into my own life. I seem to "need" a pricey neck cream, so I don't have to start wrapping my neck with scarves every day.  I also "need" a new pair of Birkenstocks and a pedicure to go with them. Sigh. Laura probably never considered neck's elasticity or the state of toes. (I wonder if LIW ever had polish on her fingers or toes? My guess is, probably not.)

Laura daydreams about being 16 and teaching school.  A satisfying dream because she repay Pa and Ma the money they spent raising her. I am darn sure, at 16, I wasn't day dreaming about cutting my parents a sizable check. Rather my daydreams centered around my cute boyfriend and what vintage formal I would wear to prom. I am also convinced my children have no thoughts of repaying me for all the Klarbruns, granola bars, and Cracker Barrel Mac and Cheese they have devoured during the pandemic.   

Laura doesn't hold back on her true feelings about the town of DeSmet. "The town was like a sore on the beautiful, wild prairie." LIW appeals to our senses using phrases like:
manure piles rotting
gritty dust
fatty odor of cooking
musty sourness

Laura does enjoy looking out the window while she bastes and bites off threads. One day, her attention is caught by two drunk brothers singing and kicking in screen doors all along Main Street. (They even kick in the screen door of Wilder's Feed Store!) One of the men is short and puffed out. The other man is tall and lanky. 

Surprisingly, Laura finds the drunken spectacle HiLaRiOuS. She laughs until she cries and her sides ache. Mrs. White, Laura's boss, isn't amused.  She says, "Think of the cost of all those screen doors.  I'm surprised at you. Young folks nowadays seem to have no realizing sense." 

I can kind of see why Laura found William O'Connell to be hilarious.

(NOTE: I did some digging and found out that the drunk duo weren't brothers. The short man was Tay Pay Pryor, Mary Power's dad. You may remember Mary Power as Laura's dear friend from The Long Winter. The tall man was William O'Connell. It is said that William's brother brought him West to curtail his drinking. Obviously, it didn't work since DeSmet had two saloons and Will was out carousing during work hours.)

The Three Stooges aren't for everyone.

Laura tries to convey the drunken hilarity to her family at dinner, but no one laughs. Ma says, "Goodness gracious, Laura. How could you laugh at drunken men?" (This brings me back to childhood dinners when my brother, Mark, would recount entire episodes of The Three Stooges. No eye poke or "nyuk, nyuk, nyuk" would be left out. No one was entertained by these monologues except Mark, who could barely stop laughing to tell the story.) 

There would be no sips of Chardonnay, after the chores were complete, for Ma!

Ma and Pa then discuss the disgracefulness of William O'Connell. Ma doesn't hide her feeling about alcohol. "I begin to believe that if there isn't a stop put to the liquor traffic, women must bestir themselves and have something to say about it. It's a crying shame that such things can happen before Laura's very eyes." 

The chapter ends with Pa's twinkling blue eyes catching Laura's brown eyes.  Laura then knows that Pa doesn't blame her for laughing.

What Would Laura Do:

• Notice flowers when rushing to work
• Enjoy people watching
• Be a jolly dinner companion
• Communicate with family

That is all for today, Bonnetheads! See you soon for Chapter 7 - "Nine Dollars."

Prairie Eydie

Chapter 9 - Blackbirds

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?" The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges.  Today we learn about destructive blackbirds, horrid corsets, and the uncertainty surrounding hoop skirts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to reread Little Town on the Prairie to discover - What Would Laura Do?

After months of dreaming and saving money, it is finally happening. Mary is going to college in the Fall! Pa earned 100 dollars as a carpenter and the grains Pa planted are thriving. The oats and corn will be sold for cash to both buy coal and pay taxes. Plus, Ma's vegetable garden is going gangbusters! LIW writes, "There were little new potatoes for dinner, creamed with green peas, and there were string beans and green onions."

In order to "shock oats" you need to first tie bundles of oats with bands of oats. Then you must balance five bundles together and cover those bundles with two additional bundles. The stalks are spread to shelter the original five bundles. Easy Peasy!

Unfortunately, when the sun is shining on the Ingalls you can expect a plague of locust or a seven month blizzard to descend upon them. This time blackbirds beset the family. The pesky birds are eating the oats and leaving straw behind. Pa seems only mildly concerned about the birds. He says, "Never mind, there's a good crop of straw, and soon as I get the oats cut and shocked I'll clear out the blackbirds with a shotgun."  Ma sums it up by saying, "This earthly life is a battle." Can I hear an "Amen"?

Laura and Ma are making Mary's winter dress, along with six petticoats and three flannel union suits. Sewing is a complicated process involving newspaper patterns, dress maker charts, and lots of math. Laura realizes Ma hates sewing as much as she does. Bummer since women have to sew everything the family wears. If I had to sew everything for my family we would become minimalists with a capsule wardrobe of three items each. Or maybe two items. Do we really need more than a shirt and some pants?

Hand colored fashion plates from the Fall 1881 issue of Godey's Lady's book. During the "Little House" years a magazine subscription cost between 2 to 3 dollars. Ma never had a subscription and had to look at friends' magazines. 

Ma is worried. Rumors are circulating that hoop skirts are coming back into fashion. She has no way to verify fashion trends unless she walks miles to look at Mrs. Boast's Godey's Lady's book. Ma decides to cut the dress to accommodate hoops. I love how Ma and Laura want Mary to be fashionable at college. Ma's heart probably ached, knowing her sheltered, blind daughter would soon be living in a different state for seven years.   

Catch-stitching

LIW devotes pages of Chapter 9 to the tedious sewing process. Using all the pretty yarns and threads she received for Christmas, Laura is catch-stitching the hems of Mary's petticoats. Laura feels smug, knowing no one at college will have prettier underwear than Mary. 

For a tense moment, it appears Mary's dress doesn't fit. Ma, who faces every calamity head-on, seems ready to "end it" over Mary's dress. Luckily, Laura figures out that Mary's corsets are loose. The corset is tightened and the dress fits beautifully. Ma, not even caring about the sin of vanity, says "No matter where you go, you will be a pleasure to every eye that sees you. And, I am thankful to say, you may be sure your clothes are equal to any occasion."

Would Mary and Ma still wear their corsets during a pandemic?

Mary's loose corset ushers in a discussion of corsets. Ma and Mary wear their corsets 24/7. Laura cannot aide wearing her corsets to bed since she values taking full breaths of oxygen. Ma worries about Laura's figure and brags that Pa was once able to span her waist with his two hands. Laura gets a little saucy and retorts, "He can't now and he seems to like you." Laura is excited she will get to escape both her corset and sewing to help Pa with haying. 

Pa interrupts his farm work  in order to kill blackbirds. The birds have finished their first course of oats and have moved onto the second course of corn. Pa shoots so many birds that he runs out of cartridges. While Pa runs into town to buy more catridges, Ma and the girls run up and down the rows of corn SCREAMING. "And always the swirling wings rose and settled again. Always scores of blackbirds were clinging to the ears, and sharp beaks were tearing and pecking." Unfortunately, the blackbirds weren't scared and more uncommon blackbirds with red heads and yellow heads joined the common blackbirds in decimating the corn crop.

Clever Pa comes up with the idea of eating the blackbirds. Surprisingly, "Everyone agreed that they sere the tenderest, most delicious meat that had ever been on that table." One evening Ma even surprises the family with blackbird pie. As Ma always said - "There's no great loss without some small gain." Which makes me remember Prairie Pa's pandemic post - check out the link below if you happened to miss it.

Prairie Pa: Pandemic Musings

Laura begins to worry Mary will no longer be able to attend college. The corn and oats are gone. Pa will have to use his savings to buy coal and pay taxes.  But Pa surprises the family by saying to Ma, "Tomorrow's Saturday. If you'll plan to go to town with me, we can pick out Mary's trunk." 

Wait? What?!

 Pa is going to sell the heifer calf for 15 dollars and Mary will be off to college. Mary is worried that Pa is going to be set back an entire year, but intrepid Pa answers, "Now we've made up our minds you're going. A flock of pesky blackbirds can't stop us."

What Would Laura Do?

• Do her very best, even when it involves sewing
• Be generous with her sister
• Scream, wave arms, and run to save crops
• Try new foods
• Worry about finances

Okay Bonnetheads - see you soon for Chapter 10: Mary Goes to College. (Get your tissues ready.)

Prairie Eydie