A thought, a recipe, a household hint … 2

In January I blogged here about my collection of housewifery titles including Aunt Kate’s Day-by-Day Book [1937] and Aunt Kate’s Household Companion [1938] which contain ‘a thought, a recipe, a household hint, for every day of the year’.

So, dear reader, for 8 May (in brief):

A thought

Abraham Lincoln said [among a few other things]: God must like the common people or He would not have made so many of them.

A recipe

Aka clootie dumpling.

A household hint

Washing the steps. On cold mornings, the housewife who has to clean outside steps is not to be envied. Her hands are very apt to become rough and sore with the effect of the keen air on them when they are wet. However, this chafing may be prevented by putting a few drops of paraffin in the bucket of water. The paraffin will also help to make the steps cleaner.

When did women stop scrubbing the front step? Or using red cardinal polish on it, which I remember my mum doing? A labour of love if ever there was one.