Ten Dollars Enough: Keeping House Well on Ten Dollars a Week: How It Has Been Done; How It May Be Done AgainOwen, Catherine
General
Ten Dollars Enough: Keeping House Well on Ten Dollars a Week: How It Has Been Done; How It May Be Done Again
Owen, Catherine
Cost and standard of living; Home economics
She ordered in the morning what she thought might be a month’s supplies
of groceries, and for the day’s use:
2 heads of lettuce, $ .06
1 melon, .10
2 quarts peaches, .12
1 can of boned chicken, .50
Forequarter of lamb, 8 pounds, 1.12
2 pounds of butter, .50
2 dozen eggs, .50
———
Total, $2.90
Milk had been left at the house by Mrs. Winfield’s man, and ice also,
and bread by the baker.
She intended to have for lunch to-day chicken salad, omelette and drop
biscuit and coffee, all of which could, she knew, be prepared in three
quarters of an hour, so she helped Marta dust and replace the utensils
in their places, and made notes of what was lacking for her use,
although, as economy was her object, she decided to do with as little
addition to what was in the house as possible.
She called Marta’s attention as they replaced each article, telling her
its English name, and bidding her remember its place and keep it there.
Marta spoke no English, but Molly spoke fair German, and she managed to
make her understand. As the clock struck twelve, Molly took her into
the dining-room to lay the luncheon cloth; she showed her how it must
be done, that the fold must be just in the centre, the salt-cellars
always neat and smooth, a soiled knife never put on, and as she went
through these necessary instructions, the thought crossed her mind,
how frivolous and useless these little niceties must seem to a girl to
whom perhaps even a table-cloth had hitherto been an unknown luxury.
What wonder that it was in these small things so difficult to train one?
When the table was ready, Molly ran into the little garden, and
gathered a few red geranium flowers and their leaves, and arranged them
in a glass for the centre of the table.
“This is one of the charms of the country; even in a tiny garden like
this, one can always have a spray of flowers for the table,” thought
Molly.
It was now a quarter past twelve, and one thing that Marta must be
taught was punctuality. At one o’clock lunch was to be, and as Molly
would prepare it to-day, it should not be a minute behind.
“Come, Marta, I want to show you how to make biscuit; but first we must
look to the fire.”
Molly had made it herself before Marta arrived, and knew it was good
and the oven hot, but she wanted to impress on her handmaiden the
necessity of assuring herself that it was good, before beginning to
cook.
“I set the damper this way, so that the oven would heat as soon as the
fire is burning well, Marta. You see it is hot, and also,” taking off
the stove lid, “that there is fire enough to last; always make sure of
that, so that you will not find yourself with a poor fire in the middle
of cooking.”
This Molly managed to convey by words and actions, and Marta nodded
comprehension.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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