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Regional,
Monthly All-Breed Horse Magazine • Since 1993 |
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Copyright 2011 Rocky Mountain Rider. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any editorial material, artwork and photos is strictly forbidden without express written permission of the publisher. For information about reprint rights, please contact the editor; editor@rockymountainrider.com.
December 2011 Issue
I’ll
be the first to admit I’m not a “Home Economics” kind of girl. I was the
kid that had to be pried away from my horse. I would rather have spent my time
in the corral brushing a sorrel coat or galloping around the pasture than in the
house baking cookies. Don’t
think, though, that my mom didn’t give me vacuuming, laundry folding, bathroom
cleaning and dusting duty! There
were, however, a number of things that I learned in Home Ec that I was glad to
learn and still use today. For years, I would mend my jeans with a sewing
machine, and I’ll bet I could still thread a sewing machine (since I own one
and it’s “somewhere” in my garage!) I
still use the pink sewing basket that I got when I was twelve. It holds 20 small
spools of different colored threads, elastic, buttons, hooks & eyes, a seam
ripper and needles. Many women branch out with extensive sewing interests and
now use an entire “sewing room”; those would be the women who came into the
fabric & quilt shop which had been adjacent to my office for several years. I
have to admit I’m limited to a mere needle and thread to sew on buttons and to
mend — over and over — my cuddly warm winter barn gloves whose fingertips
are basically, now, just thread. When
I was in school, girls had to wear skirts or dresses. No slacks allowed. So one
of my eighth grade Home Ec projects was, yes, sewing a skirt. My friend Amy and
I decided to make matching mini-skirts from a green floral pattern. The
“mini” part, as I recall, had to be a respectable two inches above the knee.
My
Home Ec cooking experience memories are a little dimmer. I know I made French
bread with a crispy crust and, if you can believe it, was assigned a cold cherry
soup to make in class. I
have a sense of order in the kitchen which, no doubt, came from some of those
Home Ec planning lessons. Cooking utensils near the stove, plates near the sink.
Is it common sense? Or was it the Home Ec classes? I do know that once I’ve
established cupboards in a kitchen, and I get used to pots and pans and dishes
being in a certain place, it’s almost impossible to change the location of
anything! Meal
planning? Not so much. Every year, I chart out a month and try to fill it in
with dinner ideas. Sometimes I keep a diary, for at least three or four days, of
meals we have made so we can make them again. Then I forget about the list. I
have recently re-discovered a baking stone that my brother and his wife gave me
back in 1978. I have never used it much. I got it out to warm up some leftover
pizza, and now feel fired up to create Christmas cookies. I think I have a moose
cookie cutter in a drawer… I think I do… However,
the most important skill I learned in High School was not in a Home Ec class. It
was typing. I have made a living for most of my adult life using typing as a
basis for a job. And I still have several beloved typewriters — an electric
IBM-C; my dad’s old Royal; and my mom’s portable Smith-Corona from the late
‘40s. And
where are these nobel tools today? Yes, out there somewhere with the sewing
machine!
We’d
like to thank our readers for the fantastic group of photos they sent this year
for the “Kids & Horses” Photo Album. As always, it is difficult for our
staff to make choices for the print edition — however, all of the photos
received will be available online at rockymountainrider.com. We
wish you all Happy Holidays and an energetic New Year!
Copyright 2011 Rocky Mountain Rider. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any editorial material, artwork and photos is strictly forbidden without express written permission of the publisher. For information about reprint rights, please contact the editor; editor@rockymountainrider.com.
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Rocky
Mountain Rider Magazine • Montana Owned & Operated |
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