20 + 1 = 21

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. For those of you following my little reducing saga, you'll remember that two weeks ago I had to stop taking the diuretic I'd taken for the last couple years to help control my blood pressure. After losing 20 lbs., my blood pressure had dropped so low that I needed to begin stepping down on the meds, and the diuretic was the first to go. Within four days, I gained 4 lbs. in water weight. During the last 10 days, I've worked my patooty off and managed to lose not only 4 lbs. to compensate for the water weight but 1 more lb. to boot. And all the time I've continued drinking 64 oz. of water per day - the same amount of water I was drinking while I was taking the diuretic and the same amount I drank everyday last week --- so I'm feeling pretty confident that what I've lost this last week has been genuine poundage. At any rate, I weighed in at 173 this morning. We're back on the move, dear readers!

The red Mexican bird of paradise is now in bloom which means our long-winded desert summer is about halfway over --- it also means, unfortunately, that my little apartment is starting to smell very stuffy. I've tried to keep things sealed up in here since it became blazing hot in June. The windows are never opened and the door opened just long enough for me to exit or enter. I'm not sure what the cure for this midsummer stuffiness might be. Is there some secret none of the natives have filled me in on yet? It's too hot even in the middle of the night to crack the windows. Ah well, I guess I can endure the stuffiness for a couple more months.

The Woman's Home Companion Household Book (1948) has some wonderful suggestions for those seeking to cool their homes - in looks and in temperature - during summers in a pre-air conditioning world. Maybe these'll come in handy for you lucky dames living in a more temperate climate! It's fascinating to me how much more amenable people once seemed to adapting their decor to the season instead of fighting Mother Nature tooth and nail to keep things looking the same year-round. It was almost expected - either when you did your spring cleaning or about the time you put up your window screens - that you would switch out the furnishings, linens, and draperies throughout your home for the summer ahead.

The first few are very practical tips for cooling your home and circulating air:

• Closed windows and drawn blinds throughout the day will prevent sunshine and warm air from penetrating the house, as southerners learned long ago. Wait until the sun has left the horizon before opening windows and raising blinds to welcome any cool air the evening may bring. Opening upstairs windows and keeping the lower ones closed will permit the warm air, which has risen to escape.

• Electric fans put in action in strategic points throughout the house will keep the air in circulation... In front of the fan or fans, place a tray filled with chunks of ice - they will cool the air which is circulated by the fans.

• Evenings will be somewhat cooler if candles are substituted for electric lights.

• Sofas and chairs, which in the winter faced a cheerful fireside, should now be directly or obliquely in the path of any breeze the windows or doors may lure into the room.

These next two have the comfort of the housewife in mind:

• With an eye to relief from the burden of cleaning tasks, many housewives use a blanket cover instead of the traditional bedspread. A dressing table which has good lines can be left unskirted during the warm months.

• Summer is no time for laundering fine damask, babying fine crystal or polishing prized silverware. During the warm season, use only the simplest, most informal luncheon cloths and place mats.

This last series is all about "cooling" your decor:

• Bright slipcovers [examples: white with green ivy print or a floral print in blue, white and a bit of wine] rank high in importance among summer transformations. Not only do they play a part in cooling off the color scheme but they protect upholstery fabrics from the harm to which dust and sunshine streaming through summer-open windows expose them.

• Large rugs - Oriental, velvet broadloom, wool piles, etc. - deserve a professional cleaning annually and it is practical to send them out for cleaning and storage when the warm days arrive. Living room, dining room or bedroom floors left bare by their departure will look much cooler and will have a chance to display their own hardwood beauty.

• Use sheer white fabrics to make cool, filmy summer curtains to replace warm winter draperies.

• In place of the usual kindling wood and logs, pile laurel or pine branches across the andirons and in the woodbasket. For a more dramatic change, store the andirons, etc., and set a big potted plant or basket of greens in their place.

• Wooden bowls... are nice for serving rolls, fruits and vegetables, as well as salads.
  
  
• This is the time to use vegetable-shaped soup bowls, leaf-shaped serving dishes. Hunt out amusing salt and pepper shakers and relish dishes of all kinds. Have pottery vivid in hue - in one solid tone or colors which combine.

Crushin'

My kitchen and I are becoming friends. I'd never have thought it possible. But as I hoisted my garbage can out from under the sink last Saturday and scrubbed it clean, it became clear that something's shifted in our relationship. I'm not afraid of my kitchen anymore.

Is it the fact that I'm actually learning how the things in my kitchen work? One Saturday, I was cleaning out one of my drawers and rolled the drawer out just a little too far in the process. The little wheel came off its track and, try as I might, I couldn't get it to roll back in properly. For about one minute, I thought I'd just have to leave it sagging there until the landlord could get to it. Something moved me, though, to pull the drawer all the way out, kneel down and poke my head in there so I could figure out how the other drawers operated. Lo and behold, I figured out exactly what I needed to do, and the drawer rolled back into place perfectly! And I had to do some investigating, but I was able to get my microwave functioning again, too.

Maybe it's just the fact that I'm spending so much darn time in there cooking. No longer is my visit to the kitchen just the booty call it takes to reheat a frozen pizza. I'm right in there washing, chopping, peeling, grating, mixing, kneading... doing the stuff it takes to make this relationship work. (I'm not sure I like where this metaphor is going!) I'm not always successful in the kitchen, but I'll not make the same mistake too many times. And all this one-on-one time has really made me notice things I never noticed before. Like that my kitchen sink has a brand name etched into it. Who knew? It's a Kingsford II.

And let's face it, we women like a kitchen that's a little rough around the edges and needs some taming. I've been putting my Saturday cleanings to good use by reorganizing things to make my storage space more efficient. Breakfast cereals are now stored together instead of being mashed into whichever cupboard would have 'em. Likewise with baking staples, canned goods, and dishes that don't get everyday use. Just last weekend, I cleaned out that mysterious fourth drawer I'd forgotten about and put it to use holding my aluminum foil, plastic wrap, freezer bags, cheesecloth, and extra sponges.

Henry Humphrey, the editor of Woman's Home Companion Household Book (1948), tells us that beauty trumps even efficiency when it comes to the kitchen. It is vital that a room in which the average homemaker spends more than four hours per day sustain her spirit with vibrant colors, contrasts in texture, and cheery novelty motifs. Some of his advice is surprisingly practical advice, however. Here are some of my favorites:

• Good kitchen color schemes are bright. Since there is generally so much white in the kitchen (sink, stove and refrigerator), it is advisable to stay away from white walls unless the room must have them to reflect light.



• There are many styles from which to choose when decorating a kitchen. Early American, French Provincial, Mexican, South American, Swedish, Polish, Pennsylvania Dutch all have been used successfully. You may add to the list indefinitely, but your kitchen will be much nicer if you pick a style before beginning to re-decorate.



• Wallpaper is a charming finish for the breakfast nook. It offers both texture contrast and eye-interest as a relief from the smooth kitchen walls. Wallpaper also relieves the feeling that meals are eaten in the kitchen, and gives the effect of a separate room.



• Never hang curtains on a window over or near a stove.



• Breakfast nook windows should be treated in accordance with the view outside. If... nothing can be seen but ash cans, a blank brick wall or your neighbor's kitchen windows, Venetian blinds with a fluffy valance and short window sill-length draperies will make your breakfasts pleasanter and more private.



• In the interest of safety and cleanliness, carpets and rugs of any kind should never be used in the working area of the kitchen.

Humphrey suggests several color schemes for the kitchen, each of them grounded in either a dark colored linoleum or wood floor. Which scheme is your favorite?

lemon-yellow/turquoise
pale turquoise/cherry
yellow/shrimp
apricot/pale green
chartreuse/sea-green
lavender/deep blue-violet