Case of Mr. F. . . .
Mr. F. has no appetite for breakfast, often goes to the office without eating anything, getting coffee and rolls later on. He feels midmorning hunger pangs, yawns at his desk. His hands aren't steady as he lights a cigarette (B1 shortage) [I'm betting that's just the nicotine!] and he's losing his hair prematurely (B2 deficiency).
Breakfasts served were so monotonous that Mr. F. lost interest in eating...
Mineral and vitamin defects lead to his lowered mental activity. Diminishing glycogen reserves (form in which sugar, starches are stored in the tissues) hasten fatigue, important factor in accidents. Most industrial injuries occur before noon.
In evening, at home, Mr. F. is tuckered out, irritable; doesn't want to romp with the children...
Calculated energy expenditure for man weighing 154 pounds, in sedentary job, is about 2,400 calories a day.
Suggested breakfast
1/2 medium grapefruit
1/2 shredded wheat biscuit
Fried egg
2 crisp bacon strips
2 slices toast (whole wheat)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup top milk
5/8 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons sugar
Coffee
I sampled Mr. F.'s suggested breakfast menu this morning - without the bacon, of course. I skipped the shredded wheat as I was already eating toast with the egg. A filling meal, though frying isn't my favorite way to prepare eggs. It's tough to keep them from browning and get that yolk fully cooked. I've got half a grapefruit left over, so I'll give that another try tomorrow morning.
Today is Ironing Day, and I think I'm making some headway with this new craft o' mine. The only one of those Top Ten tips that is still eluding me: "Iron with straight strokes, with the thread of the fabric." You quilters out there must be able to recognize the "thread" right away, but this is still so mysterious to me. And in some of these synthetic blends, I can barely even discern a weave to the fabric. I think I must have learned to iron by puddling the iron about in semi-circles, so straight strokes feel very awkward. Did the '40s housewife have to maneuver the iron about in this way because the irons weren't as smooth and light as today's irons, or are "straight strokes" actually easier on the fabric?
Well, I've just finished ironing my first sheet. I tried it this first time using the "four thickness at once" method, and it didn't take too, too long. It's neatly folded and stacked up with two freshly ironed pillowcases. (They haven't looked this good since they came out of the package!) But what to do with the fitted sheet? The manual gives me no help on this topic as fitted sheets hadn't yet been invented. I'm going to have to do some additional research and leave the fitted sheet wrinkly this time 'round.
9 comments:
So impressed with the sheet ironing thing...to me, that is the pinnacle of housekeeping. My modern 'classic' housekeeping manual, Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson, suggests stuffing towels in the fitted corners if you want to iron them, or to just iron the flat parts. All the best!
Do you think Mr. F felt better after his improved breakfast? If someone cared about me enough to set that huge spread in front of my dining room chair in the morning, I would feel like a million bucks regardless of nutritional value!
Very impressed about ironing the sheets, too. I wish my grandmother had lived to see spray starch in a can. She would have been so happy.
Andrea
Pretty pillowcases.
Prairieknitter-I believe that is true, as I DO set such a breakfast for hubby now each morning, and I make sure table linens are all set, coffee on juice milk and coffee sometimes tea as beverages etc. He really appreciates it and has so much MORE energy!
wow what a wonderful 40's wife...hmmmmmm thought of a lucy episode...when she gussy-d up in her finest dress and heels..."sugar in your coffee dear, jam on your toast" all the while laying across the table...maybe that would get big daddy off on a good note...hee hee...cat
Jo, ironing sheets has always seemed like such a nitpicky kind of thing to do. They're going to get wrinkled after that first night on the bed. Was it pride in the looks of your linen cabinet that prompted women to iron their sheets once upon a time? Pride in a sense of a job thoroughly done?
Andrea, the funny thing about the suggested breakfast for Mr. F. is that it's not really a huge meal; it just sounds like a feast because there's so much variety. The serving sizes are actually kinda small, but the variety is so different from what we're used to at breakfast today.
i have a trick for folding your fitted sheets that might help for ironing them...
if you find the corners...where the seams are and fold them into the corners at the other end... then you can fold the sides and end in to make a neat rectangle... you might be able to iron the rectangle and then the sides and end and fold it away neatly...does that make sense? I could draw a diagram if you'd like
W_E, I think I can picture it, but if you could draw me a diagram, it'd be much appreciated... I've seen another tip online, but totally couldn't picture what they were trying to describe. And Ironing Day is just 3 days away! ;)
there's a pretty good flicker photo set here
you could probably iron it at step 3
Thanks for the link! Now I can totally picture doing it. My mom taught me to fold my fitted sheets in a triangular fashion - but I couldn't think of how to incorporate ironing into that. I can see what you mean now about ironing the fitted sheet while in the process of folding it. I'm going to put this to work on Tuesday!
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