Monday, March 30, 2009

Grandma's Apron...

In a previous post I spoke about my grandma "Cissy" and the bakery and confectioner's shop, she owned and operated, for some thirty odd years.

One of the things I remember vividly about her, was that she wore aprons. Not only did she wear an apron in her bakery, she also wore an apron at home, constantly.
Most all of our mothers/grandmothers, wore aprons, or "pinny's" as we English call them ;)



I was forwarded a story today from a dear friend, who thought I might enjoy....
She was correct, I am passing it along, for you to enjoy ;)

Grandma's Apron....

*I don't think our kids or grandkids 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 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.

*Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool, now her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw after taking them from the freezer..

*Some people today would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.......I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron though........but love!!


An apron for Sunday, an apron for Monday, an apron for the garden, or Saturday's chores .


13 comments:

Patsy said...

I just love this post it sure brings back memorys of my grandmother.
Patsy

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I was never fortunate to have any grandparents --since they were all dead before I was born. BUT--my mother wore aprons. She only had a couple--but she wore them religiously!!!!!

Thanks for a great post.
Hugs,
Betsy

donna baker said...

I love aprons and have several. Mostly old ones. They are extremely handy and wish they would come back like hats. Back in those days, we wore white gloves and stockings to church each week. Now, those days I do not miss.

Pear tree cottage! said...

What a truly beautiful post and I too hd such a grandmother and still miss her hugs were I could smell the nutmeg and fresh herbs on her apron as she wrapped her joyful arms around me. I hope now as a nanni of almost ten I too will give them such memories.

I am so pleased to be able to visit you again my blogger friend, it is always such a pleasure.

Unknown said...

OMGosh, I have that same Simplicity apron pattern from eons ago!

Love the descriptions of grandma's apron and identify with my own as well as my great-grandmother.

Very true and sweet. Thanks for sharing.

Jill of All Trades said...

Love, love, LOVE that. I love aprons and always have. I have my grandmothers and it hangs in my pantry where I can see it every time I go in there. Can't wear it 'cause I'm a little rounder than she was. LOL.

George said...

What a great post! Thanks for sharing it. It brought back great memories of my grandmother's apron. I think I saw it put to all the uses you mentioned.

Carol Murdock said...

Wonderful post Josephine! I can picture the very events you describe from all the women in my family who wore and used those aprons! Thanks!
Carol

2 Dogs said...

I'm at work again popping in during my lunch hour. I am going to have to come back later and steal your Tudor widget. I love that show. Hope you don't mind.

Hugs for the day!

Jeannette St.G. said...

here, some artists wear aprons when they paint (usually women, but a few men do it too). I have a very sturdy one, but mostly forget to put it - LOL

Anonymous said...

How very true this one is... I can picture my own grandmother carrying eggs into the house from the chicken coop.

Janet said...

What a lovely story. I very rarely saw my grandma without a pinny on. It brings back happy memories.

L. D. said...

I remember the day when my grandma took off her apron to go to town and I thought it so unusual to see the front of her dress. I really like all of diverse things in your blogs and am very glad to find you. We lost our yellow kitty just recently. I wrote about her so much on my Larry's Creative Zone.