Saturday, January 04, 2014

more from downstairs

The big tree with me and my home made big fluffy fabric ornaments.

Seriously, how many people have an accident driving through a car wash? I did. When we were living downstairs in the big house I drove my employer's mercedes through a car wash (that's back when you actually were in a line of cars driving through a car wash) and gently banged into the car in front of me. Talk about an embarrassing moment. I was probably talking to someone else in the car and not paying attention when the guy in front braked. It was a fender bender, and if I remember correctly, only my car had damage.


As this frigid winter weather lingers here and around the country I am reminded of the snowy and cold winters we had those years at the big house. I have a vivid memory of two weeks when the temperatjures lingered at 25 F below.
The Gardener had to keep Mr. H's
old plymouth running.
Each morning I'd check the thermometer outside Mr. H's iced bedroom windows and we'd shiver and wrap him in more blankets. Day after day. The snow never left the ground that winter. I remember the graduate students that lived with us were always having trouble starting their old cars.

 I loved playing Mr. H's grand piano and he would listen from his room right above the living room. As well as the parties and friends over for dinner that we often enjoyed, it was great fun to have lovely, stately guest rooms for our parents and siblings to stay in when they visited. At the back of the house was a rustic sort of bunk room where the boys in the family had slept. The Gardener, also a grad student, used it for his study, and I'd climb the back servants' stairs to that room to get the next installment of the paper I'd be typing for him late at night.

I loved cooking on this stove.
 I shopped at the small grocery shop in his little town. Royal treatment there--food was bagged or boxed up for me and carried to the car, or even delivered to the house. Once I had a sales slip that reached from my head to my toes. Of course we were feeding quite a few with all the staff coming and going. I had to learn to make some exotic food for him. Things like sweetbread (cow brains or pancreas), and tripe (cow stomach), tongue, and something I enjoyed more--veal a la marsala. For this latter meal I was instructed to pound the veal with flour and the curvy edge of a saucer--yes a piece of his old pink Spode china. He would listen upstairs for the "ringing of the plate." I confess I still pound veal (or chicken breasts) the same way.
Hand drawn wallpaper graced the dining room walls.

One of my memorable moments was a birthday party we had for him.  Maybe it was his 85th. His nurses came, as well as his secretary and a nearby daughter. One of the nurses had sewn fabric on a finger towel so that it looked just like a tuxedo rather than the bib that it was. He wore that down to dinner. The guys helped to serve and of course carried him down the winding stairs in his wheelchair. And what did he request for that special dinner? Tongue! I'll never forget it. That huge cow tongue on a platter was a sight to behold. A special night, yes, but meanwhile a little freaky in the kitchen.

Sometimes I think our years there were a dream. We were young, teachable and so grateful for the opportunity to live and work in such a beautiful place. It's a time we often reference or talk about with friends and family, and it's a joy to still exchange letters at Christmas with his son and DIL whose family we visited on the farm. Thanks for sharing the memories with me.

The Gardener on his way to class.

27 comments:

  1. What an amazing provision from the Lord for you both when the Gardener was a grad student!

    You certainly had amazing experiences in the kitchen, and I'm certain lots of memories! Keep sharing them, if you don't mind! It's fascinating!

    Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  2. What beautiful memories! That stove is a dream stove of mine! Loved reading this.
    xo Kris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fun post to look back on those college aged young married years. I think we made the same ornaments ;) I know I did stuffed candy canes. Wonder what ever happened to them. Interesting story of and interesting time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love all that you have to remember.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:31 AM

    That pic. of you by the Christmas tree is some kind of groovy! --Jane

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm enjoying your "downstairs" posts. I always order sweetbreads when they are on a menu and I've prepared tongue--once in Washington D.C.. It was interesting.

    Best,
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's a good thing you had presence of mind to record your surroundings with a camera from that era. The house is grand but the food....you were a kind caregiver to cook those animal parts.
    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a treat to enjoy walking down memory lane with you this morning, Dotsie. Your life is like a good book... you don't want to put it down.

    I smiled at your photo sitting beside the tree... I remember how we always wore those little kerchiefs with our long hair. We sewed ours in the triangles with little strings for tying. Funny how one little thing can flash back such strong memories for us, too.

    Have a wonderful day. blessings ~ tanna

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE to read about "downstairs"!!
    And what a special relationship you had with your employer. He seemed more then an employer and more of a relative.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These posts of those days are so charming to read. The Lord really worked it out for all of you! The gardener is your husband? You look so quizzical waiting for your photo beneath the tree. I wore bandanas in 1975, but not much later. I also remember two brutal winters in the early 80s with temps you describe...-30F...so many elderly died that I can remember the pastors and deacons meeting for prayer services to ask God to stop those days. He did and I haven't seen them again until this winter and, even so, the temps are not as brutal those years. As I recall the period lasted about three weeks and over Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh and I'd love to know how to pound anything with china!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I enjoyed your post very much! The house looks so rich and like a gem from the past and another lifetime. You were a brave woman to learn to cook tongue & so on and to do it up well. I loved reading about the tux 'bib' and how Mr. H was carried downstairs in his wheelchair. He found just the right people when he got you and your hubby! What a blessing you must have been to him. (and how many people get to play a grand piano?!!)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Loving your vintage posts and photos. Good reading! :) Your life has certainly been full of variety.

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a brilliant and heartwarming post! such grand memories!!! Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Podso,
    Great memories make grand stories!!!
    Thank you for sharing this with us!!! I loved the part of your playing the piano for him...and the pounding using a plate!!!
    Fondly,
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  16. I LOVED reading this post. It was like watching a movie or reading a novel. The stove is dreamy - I'd love to have it here at The Old Parsonage.

    The photos are wonderful - so full of cool memories I'm sure.

    Have a great week!

    Leann

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such fun memories! I've eaten tongue and tripe but never sweetbreads --I don't think I'd like them as they sound mushy..lol

    ReplyDelete
  18. These memories are fascinating to read. Such a unique and wonderful experience you had. It's an opportunity you grabbed and where you learned so much.

    I remember my mother pounding meat with the edge of a sauce, although she used kitchen dishes, not Spode.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I really enjoyed this post of your memories of your life in 'the big house'. It's wonderful that you had such memorable times and also have some great photos. I laughed out loud at the birthday dinner of tongue. That was a meat we had often while growing up. I don't know if it was cheap or why we had it but we ate it. The thought makes me gag today!! Great post Dotsie!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dotsie, I am thinking that your stories would make a delightful book! Your recounting the snow and bone-chilling cold is making me shiver. And the tales of the foods cooked and served are making me...well...not hungry! :)

    Love these pictures too...especially the one of you in front of the Christmas tree.

    ReplyDelete
  21. You are a natural story teller Dotsi!
    This is great reading - I would love to hear more.
    It seems like Mr H was a lovely old gentleman - I hope that was the case.
    You did well to cook some of those meals.
    We had tripe when I was growing up and my mother made a delicious dish of it with plenty of sauteed onions and a rich buttery parsley sauce!
    When I was first married I bought some from the butcher but I couldn't even cut it up - it turned my stomach...
    I left it as a lovley childhood memory!
    A beautiful photo by the Christmas tree!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dotsie, I am fascinated with this story!! Your pictures of the kitchen and dining room in this house remind me of the pictures of Skeldale House in "All Creatures Great and Small" that I posted last year. I think it's amazing that you and The Gardner lived and worked there!!

    I bet it was neat to cook on that stove. Which drawer was the warming drawer? I love the homey kitchen and I also love the elegant dining room. The picture of you with the Christmas tree is priceless. :) I would love to have those tall windows in our home -- lots of natural light!

    This is a perfect time to share your story along with Season Four of DA. All that cold weather and snow -- Brrrr!! It's just a bit chilly here today, huh? We went out yesterday evening and the wind took my breath away when we stepped out of our car.

    Thanks for sharing this story with us from a remarkable time in your life; I hope we'll get to hear more about those years. Have a great day and stay warm! :)

    Hugs,

    Denise

    ReplyDelete
  23. what tender memories

    ReplyDelete
  24. Happy New Year Podso ~ you're wonderful memories read like a novel. What an adventure! Thank you for your prayers for my son and DIL , and I hope you're able to stay safe and warm during the extreme cold. Blessings xo Susy

    ReplyDelete
  25. That is such a cool story!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a wonderful time in your lives! I went back and read the other post about it too. Such a rich experience for you. That could have been me in the picture by the Christmas tree: long hair, blue shirt, blue jeans and scarf on the head. The only difference is I had blond hair :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm so glad to discover the MORE I was hoping for about the big house!

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy the conversations that come with comments!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...