Shampoo in the Shower

Let's face it. As much as I enjoy my nightly baths, there are times of the week and times of the month when an invigorating morning shower hits the spot. On Saturday and Sunday mornings - when I sweat hard during a 65-minute walk at the park - I need a shower to feel fresh and dry for the rest of the day. And when Aunt Flo pays a call, I couldn't do without a shower before heading out in the morning to face the world. The rest of the time, I'm perfectly cool with a nightly bath. I've come to prefer 'em. I love that squeaky clean feeling when I crawl under the covers at night --- and there's something about all that hot water that puts my head in just the right space for dreamland.

Folks in the '40s were just coming themselves to appreciate the virtues of a great shower, and showers were becoming popular enough additions to postwar American bathrooms that Good Housekeeping dedicated an article to washing your hair in the shower in its March 1947 issue. I'll bet they've got some advice that might be helpful to me:

Why not wash your hair in the shower? Once you get the hang of it, you will never go back to shampooing in a bowl. Try it this way. Before you strip, have everything you need at hand - cream shampoo or a cup into which you have measured enough liquid shampoo for two sudsings, a small brush, a towel placed where you can reach it with your eyes shut. Wet your hair thoroughly; then keep away from the spray when rubbing suds into the hair. To rinse, face the spray or turn your back, as you like. Either way, shut your eyes, and as the water begins to run clear, turn so that a strong spray can be concentrated on every part of your head. Your hair will be more thoroughly rinsed with less trouble than ever before; you'll step out clean from top to toe; and you won't have to mop the bathroom floor.

Good Housekeeping seems sold on showers! At least when it comes to washing hair. Isn't it funny how something which seems so natural to we shower-takers today had to be broken down step by step like this. Even the process of rinsing the hair. Well, I suppose washing my hair in the bathroom sink would seem just as unnatural to me. Here are some additional tips included in the article. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about dandruff!

• Whether you shampoo in a bowl or in a shower, always brush your hair thoroughly before you start, in order to loosen any clinging dandruff.

• Be sure to suds every part of the scalp and hair. Uneven cleansing is often the cause of drab locks.

• Use a hand brush or small hairbrush to rub suds around the hairline, behind the ears, and on any spot where dandruff is likely to be troublesome.

• Rinse until the water runs clear. Without perfect rinsing, it is impossible to have glossy, springy hair. Use a hand spray if you don't shampoo in a shower.

• In hard water, use a soapless shampoo or a soap shampoo specially made to rinse out in hard water. Or follow soap rinsing with a lemon or color rinse, to remove curd.

Can anyone guess who's famous gams those are in the photo at the top of this post?

Brown Sugar and Butter

Well, I don't have much to report on my date Saturday afternoon. It never materialized. We got our signals crossed and he apologized profusely, but it turns out email is a terrible way to try and plan something as simple as a cup of coffee. (I could've told you that! I was perfectly willing to give this guy my phone number in the beginning, but now I'm feeling like it's just not worth it.) We're planning to get together on Thursday evening, so I'll keep you posted...

Not much to report here from the home front. I've just finished giving my bathroom its extra special monthly cleaning. This morning's wash has been folded and put away, my ironing is prepped and ready to go tomorrow night, and I'm gearing up for some evening exercises. One of my Sunday rituals is planning my breakfast menus for the week ahead and - as I'll run out of frozen baked goods by the end of the week - I got to pick a new recipe to try next weekend: Butterscotch Biscuits. It's one of about a dozen variations on the basic Baking Powder Biscuit recipe in my 1945 cookbook. Even the name sounds scrumptious! Can't wait to try 'em out.

It occurs to me that butterscotch is a very vintage flavor. You don't see a whole heck of a lot of modern sweets taking advantage of everything that classic combination of brown sugar-and-butter has to offer. Butterscotch pudding mix is still kicking around and you might see somebody toss some butterscotch morsels into a cookie recipe from time to time, but - just for comparison's sake - The American Woman's Cook Book includes eight recipes featuring this flavor: Butterscotch candy (in hard or soft varieties, along with a variation called Maple Scotch), Butterscotch Biscuits, Mock Butterscotch Custard, Butterscotch Pie, Banana Butterscotch Pie, Butterscotch Sauce, Butterscotch Slices (cookies), and Butterscotch Toast. Do you have any tried and true family recipes that could join this line-up? My mom makes some lovely butterscotch brownies she calls Blondies.

Butterscotch was a popular color of the era, too. Have you noticed how much butterscotch-colored bakelite there is out there? From bangles to flatware handles, that rich buttery color was hot.

Oy, can you tell I'm PMSing? I've gone from bitter to butterscotch in a single post!

38 + 3 = 41

That's more like it! 41 lbs. this morning... which means I've reached my half-way point and left it in the dust. WHOO-HOO!!!!! I weighed in at 153 today. Gosh, I can remember way back in April when I counted forward to the end of the year. I figured if I could lose 1 lb. per week, I'd weigh in at 155 by New Year's Eve. Here it is late September and I've hit that mark already. My next goal? 145. I'd like to see it by November 21 at the latest.

I've honestly had a tough time this week getting back into the swing of things. Last minute social plans, the need to buy some clothes in my new size... there have been lots of things disrupting my routine, but I'm determined to put my house in order this weekend. The one thing I've clung to like a life raft has been my reducing and fitness plan. No matter what else is happening around me, I've got to keep riding this momentum for as long as it lasts. The next plateau could be around any corner.

So I may have a date - of sorts - this afternoon! Nope, not Curly. Just the fellow my friend set me up with. The emailer. I adopted the vintage attitude of waiting for him to make the first move and it took, well, I think it's been a few weeks now. Maybe a month. He finally wrote and asked me, "Would you care to get together sometime this week?" We've had to plan the date via email, but it looks like we might be meeting this afternoon for a cup of coffee at a restaurant which serves desserts only. And we'll see what happens. I'm not expecting any chemistry --- but you can't plan that kind of thing, right? He seems like a nice man. I wanted to see it through to an actual date because of our mutual friend. And I could use some practice with this whole dating thing! Perhaps we'd better check in with Lily Haxworth Wallace in The New American Etiquette (1941) to see if she has any advice that might help me out:

As explained in the section on "dating" it is quite proper for a young lady to ask a man to call on her and her mother or it is quite correct for him to ask if he may.

The inclusion of the mother in the invitation or request is one of the ways we have to show that we do not entirely forget the proprieties of the past, because, most assuredly, the mother will probably only stop for a few words after the young man has been presented to her. She will then vanish into another part of the house and only appear again just before she goes to bed or when the young man is leaving. When bidding the mother good night, the young man should ask her permission to call again. This need only be done at the first call.

The young girl who has an apartment alone or with another girl is faced with an entirely different problem. The girl en famille is never criticized by Mrs. Grundy when she entertains a young man even though she may be as much alone with him as the girl who entertains him in her apartment. There is no difference at all in what happens, but the girl alone, who entertains her men friends, is often the target of all sorts of gossip. Even the men who call, of course eliminating those who know her very well, seem to feel a difference between her and the girl in her own home.

The girl alone had better insist that her men friends leave early, not after midnight. It is better if she makes her dinner parties affairs for four. She should not invite her escort in if they arrive home after twelve. Her parties should never be loud affairs and it would be best if liquor is kept at a minimum. If she so acts, the single girl who lives alone will give Mrs. Grundy little to talk about.

The wealthy girl, who for some reason lives alone in her apartment, would be wise to have a companion - something like a chaperon - and then she can entertain to her heart's desire. Of course, if she has a retinue of servants, they, also, tend to keep gossip at a low ebb.

So far, so good. I'm not planning on entertaining this young man in my apartment. Thank goodness for restaurants and other public places! My fellow diners should help to keep Mrs. Grundy at bay.

A Few New Finds

Does shopping for the perfect skirt in a size 12 count as marketing?

I sure hope so. Then I can happily check Wednesday's mission off my list for the week! Actually, I did make a super quick stop at the natural foods store on my way home, but the better part of my evening was definitely spent shopping for new clothes. For the second time this week no less. My boss has come back to work and I've been spending all my newfound energy trying to replenish my wardrobe. There's nothing worse when you've lost a lot of weight than feeling scrummy in clothes that just hang on you, so it was off to the stores this week. Yesterday, I found a darling little plum-colored sheath which is flattering as can be --- and machine washable! Tonight's find was a little brown skirt with pleats along the hem at the sides and a fabric buckle-y doodad just above each set of pleats. Way too hard to describe, but I love the way it looks on me. I was awfully tempted by a gray skirt, but it was a bit loose around the waist and I know there's only one direction I'm headed when it comes to my waistline! Better to buy things that fit perfectly now - as they'll (hopefully) be too big for me before long.

The more time I spend cruising the racks, the better I get at shopping for clothes. What seemed awkward to this reforming frump a few months ago now feels like a skill I'm learning. Trying things on is a must. No matter how scared I am by the lighting in those dressing rooms! (Is it ever not absolutely frightful?) If it doesn't fit me perfectly, back to the rack it goes. And as I experiment, I'm getting to know what kinds of coverage I need in order to feel feminine without feeling immodest. What different colors do for my complexion. And how you can't always predict while a garment's on the hanger how it's going to look once you slip it on. I've been pleasantly surprised from time to time. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I enjoy clothes shopping - I'm too thrifty to ever really experience "retail therapy" - but it doesn't wear me down like it used to.

I guess these would have been the kind of skills a woman of the 1940s would have been practicing since she was a girl and accompanied her mother to the department store. True, there were plenty of women still making their own clothes at home, but there were probably just as many who never learned to do any dressmaking and purchased all their clothing ready-made.

The Manual describes clothing - like food - as a "flexible expense." Though about 15% of the average household budget of the era was spent on clothing, a skillful housewife could spend a little less when times were tough and some of that 15% was needed on other expenses. Here's one area where endless Mondays in the laundry room and the ability to think ahead could truly pay off:

...every wife knows the importance of her husband's appearance being suitable to his vocational position; and every mother knows that children involve sacrifice of parental outlays in dress or other items.

However, many factors affect the amount that must be spent for clothing - climate, activities, interests and social or business obligations, all are involved. A list of the year's needs should be made for each member of the family, and the items on hand checked off. It is often necessary to look ahead two or three years in order to plan wisely for a major purchase such as a winter coat. An estimate of the cost of items to be purchased can then be made. Actual expenditures depend upon your ability to compare quality and price, to watch for sales at reliable stores, to read labels and to follow directions for care. If you know the best methods for laundering, mending and pressing, you can prolong the useful life of clothes.

Now if I could just find the perfect new pair of brown shoes to match my new skirt...

36 + 2 = 38

Ooh, so close! I weighed in at 156 lbs. this morning. Just 1 lb. shy of my midway milestone. Soooooooooo close!!! I have to hold off on the confetti and streamers for a little bit longer. How's that for some incentive for the next week. I want to see that 155 so badly I can hardly stand it!

So I guess I was a little over-optimistic about my boss' vacation when it started. :) What a week. I went from feeling completely capable to feeling absolutely overwhelmed and struggling to get as much done at home as I had the energy to do. It's almost over, thank goodness. She'll be back on Tuesday. I'm grateful to have a couple days at home now to recuperate and get caught up on some housework. It's my kitchen's turn this week for an extra special, super-duper monthly cleaning, but I thought I'd sit down and catch up with my blog before getting started on that big job.

My vintage breakfast menu this morning called for Sweet Rolls, but there was no way on God's green earth I had the patience or energy to attempt any yeast breads this weekend! So I flipped through the pages of my cookbook to try and find a quick bread that'd be hearty and filling. You know what's wild? Being able to do that - knowing that I've got the ingredients for most things already there in my own pantry. That still gives me a rush. Here's the recipe for the Raisin Bran Muffins that caught my eye. This is a sugar-free wartime recipe --- the only sweeteners being molasses and the natural sugars in raisins. They were tasty, but nowhere near as yummy as the Rolled Oat Muffins I made a month or so ago.

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RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS

3/4 cup sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup bran
1/2 cup seeded raisins
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon melted shortening

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; add bran and raisins. Beat egg and mix with remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients, mixing only enough to dampen all the flour. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full and bake in hot oven (400 degrees F.) 30 minutes. Makes 12.

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Have muffin pans gotten larger since 1945? Not the Texas muffin kind, the everyday muffin pans... This recipe only yielded 10 muffins for me and a few of them were very small.

You'll be proud of me - I finally managed to choke out a conversation with Curly this last week! He came by my office a couple times on Wednesday, the second time to toast one of the bagels in the kitchen that somebody had brought in for a birthday. So his bagel's in the toaster, he's looking at a map on the wall beside my desk, and I'm finishing up a phone call and thinking to myself, "Jitterbug, it's now or never. You've got to move this beyond, 'Hi. How are you?' This is it!" I moved right into his space and asked him something I knew would make him laugh. And he laughed out loud. What a smile! I just wanted to see it again and again. He told me a funny story, then his bagel was finished and I needed to get back to work anyway. Goodness, anybody walking by would have instantly seen how attracted I am to him - he couldn't not have seen it himself --- I must have been smiling and blushing and batting my eyelashes like no tomorrow. I felt a little embarrassed afterward, but decided that if he didn't come by again for awhile that was a sure sign that he was uncomfortable with my attention. Well, he came by again the next day. That's all I needed to know. Open season!

Just so you know how hard it is for me to talk coherently when Curly's anywhere in the vicinity, here's a hint of what's running through my mind. Check out these beautiful pictures taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt at Penn Station in 1944. They're almost a little too personal to look at...

Gremlins

How many days 'til my boss gets back from vacation?

Four, I guess. Which means - unhappily - that I'm only halfway done. I'll be so happy to get back to my own job next Tuesday!

Gremlins of every size and shape have been sitting on my shoulders for the last couple days. Procrastination, Sloth, Self-pity... it turns out they've been with me all this time. I just haven't hear their voices very clearly for the last several months. Tempting me to cut corners, put chores off, just skip things altogether. And so I find myself here on a Tuesday evening trying to finish cleaning the bathroom (this should have been done over the weekend), fold and put away my clean laundry (last night's chore) - and, well, forget about the ironing! I'll have to save that for tomorrow evening. I haven't packed a vintage lunch once yet this week. So I'm struggling, but I'm trying to keep my eyes on the prize and get as much accomplished each day as I possibly can. Whatever I do, I cannot let the stress translate itself into snacking or skipping my exercises. Nothing tastes as good as the success I feel when I step on that scale the morning after a snack-free evening.

It's time to re-kit my wardrobe again. My size 16 pants are falling off me and the size 14s are getting baggy, too. I did some shopping last night and I seem to be fitting into a size 12 in most brands. That seems almost surreal to write. A size 12! That's a number I haven't seen in ages... Unfortunately, most of the stores here in town are stocking all kinds of new fall/winter clothes even though it's going to be far too hot here to wear anything but summer clothes until about December. So I hit an online store today and picked up two new pairs of cropped pants that should help tide me over. (I have these same pants in a size 16 right now, so I know the cut will work for me!) By the time I'm in a size 10, it'll be cool enough to pick up some of this warmer clothing. Thank goodness those online merchants are a little less slow to run out of seasonal inventory! I'd have been out of luck sixty years ago. That is if cropped pants were even suitable for a woman my age.

Thanks for listening to me blather on for a bit about my crazy week. Here's to much more vintage fun very soon!

The Housewife's Tool Box: Radio

Whether you owned an electric set or a battery-operated set, the radio was a constant and boon companion to the 1940s housewife. I used to think of the housewife as quite a lonely creature. From the time she saw her husband and children off to work and school until they began straggling home mid-afternoon, the work at home must have seemed a bit isolating at times. Especially for women whose children were all in school. But I'm not inclined to think that way any longer. Between marketing, callers, the round of chores they shared in common with neighbors, and - most importantly - the radio, I'd guess that most women didn't feel isolated or lonely at all. The outside world was regularly dropping by, so to speak.

There's an extraordinary recording which survives from Thursday, September 21, 1939 (70 years ago next week) when WJSV, a CBS affiliate in Washington, DC, recorded its entire broadcast day for the National Archives. The reason they picked that particular day is that President Roosevelt was expected to address the House and Senate in joint session regarding the war in Europe, but what's most fascinating to me is all the other stuff. All the mundane, ordinary programs that could be heard by anybody who tuned in a radio between 6:30 in the morning until 1:00 that night. This recording gives you such an amazing window into the kinds of things a typical housewife might hear piping out from the radio as she went about her daily work. It's probably as close as we'll ever get to a time machine... Check out how The Manual's skeleton housekeeping schedule for a Thursday compares to the radio programs as heard on this Thursday in September 1939:

Early Morning: Preparing and serving breakfast
6:30 - 8:30 am: Sundial (a morning radio program/part music-part DJ banter-part local ads)
8:30 - 8:45 am: Certified Magic Carpet (quiz show)
Forenoon: General pickup. Light cleaning of all rooms
8:45 - 10:00 am: Soap operas, in 15-minute episodes (Bachelor's Children, Pretty Kitty Kelly, The Story of Myrt and Marge, Hilltop House, Stepmother)
Thorough cleaning of bedrooms
10:00 - 10:15 am: Mary Lee Taylor (cooking program)
10:15 - 11:00 am: More soap operas (Brenda Curtis, Big Sister, Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories)
11:00 - 11:15 am: Jean Abbey (local department store infomercial disguised as news)
Noon: Preparing foods for lunch and dinner. Lunch, dishes, cleaning up kitchen.
11:15 am - 1:00 pm: More soap operas (When a Girl Marries, The Romance of Helen Trent, Our Gal Sunday, The Goldbergs, Life Can be Beautiful, Road of Life, This Day is Ours)
Early Afternoon: Thorough cleaning of bathroom
1:00 - 1:15 pm: News
1:15 - 1:45 pm: Still more soap operas (The Life and Love of Dr. Susan, Your Family and Mine)
1:45 - 3:15 pm: President Roosevelt's Address, along with pre- and post-address commentary
Late Afternoon: Rest, relaxation, correspondence, reading, personal care, etc.
3:15 - 3:30 pm: Another soap opera (The Career of Alice Blair)
3:30 - 3:45 pm: News
3:45 - 4:00 pm: Scattergood Baines (a Western)
Final dinner preparation
4:00 - 5:15 pm: Cleveland Indians vs. Washington Senators (baseball game)
5:15 - 5:30 pm: The World Dances (music)
5:30 - 6:00 pm: News
6:00 - 7:00 pm: Comedy programs (Amos and Andy, The Parker Family, Joe E. Brown)
Early Evening: Washing dishes
7:00 - 7:30 pm: Ask-it Basket (quiz show)
7:30 - 8:00 pm: Strange as it Seems (true stories/tabloid-type program)
8:00 - 9:00 pm: Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour (variety/reality)
9:00 - 9:30 pm: The Columbia Workshop (drama)
9:30 - 10:00 pm: Americans at Work (true stories/documentary-type program)
10:00 - 10:15 pm: News
10:15 - 10:30 pm: Music
10:30 - 11:30 pm: News
11:30 pm - 1:00 am: Live big band music from city ballrooms and hotels (Teddy Powell Band, Louis Prima Orchestra, Bob Chester Orchestra)

Even today, in 2009, when I could just as easily have something playing on the television or the computer while I do my housework, it's always the radio I reach for. Sometimes it's vintage radio programs like The Great Gildersleeve or Suspense - which is great for cleaning the bathroom! There's nothing like a suspenseful drama to get you through the grimiest chores. I read one reminiscence from a Michigan housewife who remembered that she loved listening to Dragnet while she cleaned house in the late '40s. I can totally identify.

Sometimes it's modern radio, like a local country station. A great beat or a melody you love singing along to (especially when there's nobody around to hear) can make all the difference when you're doing something repetitive - like ironing or sweeping. In fact, if you could peek into my kitchen on Tuesday nights, you'd probably find me dancing at the ironing board! And I bet there was many a housewife in the 1940s who jitterbugged her way through her chores and sang along with Bing Crosby as she sectioned the family's grapefruit for breakfast.

Incidentally, what I think I love about radio most is just its randomness. I can choose the genre, but I don't have complete control over what music I'm going to hear. Modern entertainment has become so controlled. Between our TIVOs and iPods, we can easily choose precisely which programs and songs we want to see and hear every day of the week. We don't even have to listen to commercials. But isn't there something kind of exciting watching TV or listening to radio in real time and discovering new programs or songs you might never have planned on catching? These days, it feels a bit like I'm walking on the edge.

33 + 3 = 36

I'm 36 years old and I've lost 36 lbs. as of today. There must be something lucky in that! I weighed in at 158 when I stepped on the scale this morning. Just 3 more lbs. to go to reach that midway point...

I've been experimenting with my Oatmeal and have just about decided that my favorite way to flavor it is with cinnamon and honey. I add a dash or two of cinnamon to the pot as the Oatmeal is cooking - which makes my kitchen smell divine - then drizzle on some honey. Toss a few Stewed Prunes on top --- and perfection. I like my Oatmeal a little chewy, too, so I always take the pot off the burner just before the cereal is completely finished cooking. How do you like your Oatmeal?

As we speak, my Drip-O-lator is bubbling away with a pot of coffee. That's one of my favorite rituals of the week. Saturday morning, a pot of coffee, and a chance to catch up with my dear readers. There'll be plenty of time later this morning to set my kitchen back to rights. And my one-year-old niece, Poppet, is going to be my date this evening. Her parents are taking Kitten to a show - they're trying to spend some one-on-one time with each of their daughters - so I get to have Poppet all to myself for a change! I don't think I could have asked for a more wonderful way to end the week.

It's funny how excited I get when I've got plans with my nieces. It's just like getting ready for a date. What will I wear? Do I have something sparkly or something with buttons she can play with? Poppet loves it when I wear a necklace. She'll turn it over again and again in her chubby, little fingers, then tug at it to see if it comes off. What should we do this evening? Should I pick up a new toy or book before I go over? One thing I know is that I'm definitely getting a goodnight kiss on this date - though it might come along with some cracker crumbs. Poppet's learning how to kiss right now and she loves giving lots of open-mouthed kisses on the lips!

Vintage etiquette guides are chock full of advice when it comes to dating, a term so newfangled in 1941 that Lily Haxworth Wallace still uses it with quotation marks in her New American Etiquette. Let's take a peek. How much of this advice would you say stands the test of time?

Many a girl or young woman is liable to rate the popularity of her girl friends according to the number of "dates" they have. Don't make that mistake. It is the quality of your "dates" rather than the quantity that counts. You probably had a better time with Tom tonight, even though he was the only one who asked you out, than Mary, who turned down three other invitations after she had made a "date" with Harry.

When you meet a young man on a party and enjoy his company, either you or he may properly take the step that will bring about another meeting.

When you are parting, he may say, "May I call on your mother and you some evening?" or you might say, "Mother and I will be home Thursday evening. I should like to have you meet her."

However, do not make the "date" unless you are quite sure that you really want to know the young man. Do not invite him or accept any invitation from him merely for the sake of a "date." Only make "dates" with friends or those you believe will be worthy of your friendship. Anyone you would prefer to class as only an acquaintance should not be your partner on a "date." If you are doubtful at all, make some excuse and withhold your favor until the doubt is removed.

A young man on a very limited budget has a right, if he goes about it properly, to seek "dates" with any nice girl, even though she comes from the richest family in town. He should not give her any false notions about his position but should tell her frankly that he would like to take her to the cinema and ice-cream parlor because that is all he can afford at the time. If the girl likes him, she will have more fun out of that date than she would with a man she doesn't like although his pockets may be well filled.

When you have made a date do not be tardy. That is very rude.

Never attempt to bring a girl friend along and, to the man I say, it is equally rude for you to bring a chum. Three was a crowd in the past, it is a crowd today, and will always be one too many in the future.

When you start out on a casual, unplanned "date," do not force your escort and others in the party to do what you want. Let other people make the suggestions most of the time. However, it is always welcomed if you can provide an answer to the question, "Where shall we go?" when everyone else is stumped.

Rats. Are you telling me I can't date unless I move back in with my mother? I sure hope Ms. Wallace has some advice coming up for the bachelor girl who lives alone.

Week Forty-three: The Mission

Time to step things up again... When the latest additions to my routine begin to seem super manageable, I know it's time to take on a new mission!

Fitness
You know I'm the first to give it up to vintage advice, but these limbering and stretching exercises are transforming my figure. I'm amazed at the changes I've seen in my waistline and my arms since adding these exercises to my almost-daily walks. Don't get me wrong. The walking has made a tremendous difference, especially in my legs, but - after about three months of these vintage exercises - I'm feeling leaner and lither and more flexible than I have in years. These may be some very basic movements, but when done slowly and regularly they seem to be making a real difference.

Here are a few more I'm going to add to my evening exercise routine beginning tomorrow night. These hip-busters were written up during the early 1940s by Betty Clarke, a syndicated woman's page columnist:

20. Stand with feet apart, arms out at side, bend body, touching left arm to right foot, then right arm to left foot. (20 reps)

21. Put feet flat on floor, raising arms overhead. Bend forward, touching floor with palms of hands. Raise arms over head, bend body back from waist. Relax. (20 reps)

22. You’ll need a three-foot rope, but your lounging robe belt will do if you can make a secure loop at each end of it. Lie on your back and put a foot in each loop. Lift your right foot as far from the floor as the rope permits. Alternate lifting right and left. (5 reps)

Reducing
My weekday lunches are still a challenge. Particularly because I get tired of eating the same thing more than once or twice in a row. The hot dishes called for on these menus, even the coleslaw on my most recent menu, are hard to prepare in just one or two servings --- and there's only so much room in my freezer for storing additional servings! I'm going to continue plugging away at this mission, though. It's made me truly appreciate the convenience in convenience foods, but my figure and my health are going to benefit immeasurably in the long run from moving towards whole foods at lunchtime.

Grooming
Here's the next step in the 1946 grooming routine. After taking my evening bath (a morning shower on the weekends), drying briskly with a towel, applying deodorant, and brushing and flossing my teeth:

Down with a nice, long glass of water - and so to bed.

I can do that. I've usually reached my water quota by the time I head in for my bath, but it can't hurt to save that one last glass for a little bit longer. Plus it keeps me from trying to down too much water too quickly in the evening. The more I spread this water out throughout the day, the easier it is on my bladder!