1924 - Annual Convention Report

              4 6 ALBERTA W O M B N ' S iNswrwrKS ''",,•>
who by precept and example teaches it to the daughters
and to the ignorant " helps" who drift into her kitchen
knows? And by so much as she helps to ' bridge the
and improvident, the prosperous and unfortunate, helping to solve- the
problems of the age? • * f , ; /
Hall Caine in describing the thrift of his queer Cumberland folk
his jollv dalesmen sing: * " t l J>
" A man may spend and G o d will send * » . tim ' • " V /
If his wife is good for ought, ' "" to « i >> WjlW
But a man may spare and still h e bare • rf>^ « |
If his wife is good for naught." •* i •>
The truth of the couplet would apply equally to a n hnprovtdant'husbandV"','"
The average housekeeper deals only with the smaller outlays, and i t Js'only
ON small economics systematically practiced day b y d a y that she can pavethe WW
for easier and more luxurious living for her own household a n d a l a ^ e r a b i l l t J f ^ p
help them " ' 1 *'* 1
A charitable lady once sent some household comforts to a needy neighbor in
a basket which in its prime had been a very good one, but having been broken h ad
been carefully mended. . >, » ,,
The recipient of the bounty on observing this said to the childc u • !• ( f- i • — •
" Wonder your mother takes such pains to mend a basket when she has so much
money" < , It*
On repeating the remarks at home the mother replied: ' ' M y child, i t is b ^ the
fining of such small things that I have gained the means to help others.** <
She is a wise woman who knows where to save and when to spend whO'eafrdraW
the line accurately between needful and wise economy and petty stinginess;'). who
recognizes that to be generous one need not be prodigal, or to be thrifty need not be
mean Everything is relative. What is necessary economy i n one household,, may
in another be useless scrunping. Each housekeeper must be a law unto herself
and decide what for her is necessary economy regardless of her neighbor's methods.
An article in a recent newspaper scornfully condemns the woman who Spet( ds
her time mending an old apron, when for a small sum she could b u y materiaTtor a
neu one, which would wear twice as long; and adds that b y so doing she places her
labor on the same standard of that of the Chinese coolie This may be true of
the woman so situated that by some outside employment or the practice of some
accomplishment in the home, she can earn money for her own use. But how about
the scores and s" ores of house mothere, whose whole time is given to the household,.
« ho know no way or have no opportunity of earning money but to save i t? i ,-.
" A penny saved is two pence earned," and possibly the mending of many aprons
means the attainment of some small luxury, or the pleasure of helping another with
unrebuked conscience ( ,
The same criticism might extend to the turning of sheets, remodelling: dresses,
piecing quilts, cutting down garments for the children, etc., but who of us, following
the traditions of our elders, have not done some or all of these things, saving the
pennies that make the pound. It is said by many who have investigated along these
tines that the greatest waste is in the kitchen, in the use of too much fuel i n the
preparation of food; in the too lavish use of material and the throwing away of
left- overs • . ,
An instructress in a home for friendless girls says: " It is m y belief that much
of the poverty we have to combat is the result of waste; not because the hoiisfe-kee|>
crs intend to be extravagant, but because they do not know how to save.' ' The*
waste of bread alone is something enormous, and yet many fail to l a y any'ritr^ ss'
upon the value of a plate of bread- crumbs."
There are so many nice recipes at hand in which to use those staple artijfra&'
bread, meat and potatoes, that, with a little skill and painstaking i t seems inuteew-'
sary to incur any waste of these, even by a novice, and with the numerous concoctions
under the head of salads and relishes, providing a way to utilise all left- overs, the
unwary knoweth not what he eateth.
If the housekeeper makes a careful study of ways and means the possibilities
of the kitchen are almost unlimited, and as she becomes skilful these things '- arte
less distasteful, and what might easily degenerate into drudgery, has a n element of
growth and expansion. Have you noticed how we enjoy doing what we do- wall?
Even the humblest task can be made a pleasure if there is self- forgetfuuSBe i n the
service i
A tired woman once said it seemed to her she was always making 1
she believed if all the bread she had made were gathered together it