Aprons

This picture is a little old, but is a picture of one of the few aprons I have made. They are so simple to sew!

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,

but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears,

and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears .

When Grandma rocked us to sleep, she would cover us with her apron,

we felt so snug wrapped in it.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fuzzy chicks,

and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,

bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road,

it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch,

waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something

that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know, and love

the story about grandma's aprons.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw out.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out

how many germs was in that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an Apron.

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The above was an e-mail I received from my aunt. Boy I sure love it and I love my aprons too!

I don't wear one every day, but I wear one often when I cook.

Its also great for when I clean -

I used to do any deep cleaning before I took a shower for the day, in my grubby clothes.

But one too many times someone stopped by, and I was quite embarrassed by my appearance.

How much nicer it is to be dressed for the day, and just take my grubby apron off if needed.

This has inspired me to make wearing my apron more of a daily habit, yes it has.

I find it so romantic and feminine too!

Here are some pictures of my aprons:

I hang our (I have some for the kids too) aprons on my decorated baker's rack.

This is an apron I made for my daughter from fabric I received from free-cycle.
It was "sew" easy ;p (tongue in cheek)

This was my first apron, gifted to me from my parents one Christmas.

A free Home Depot apron that my oldest son received on one of their Saturday workshops.

A cute marker apron I bought for my sons at a craft fair - boys can wear aprons too :)

This is one of two aprons I saved from my Grandmother's things after she went to be with the Lord. My lack of photography skills show as I try to take a full picture of it. I just cannot show its beauty. The embroidery is the best part of the apron anyway, and at least this gives you some idea.
The other apron I saved is more of a "French maid" type. It only covers your lower waist. It is cream and lacy - this pictured apron and the lacy one are for decoration, that is for sure - too pretty and old to use I think!

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Before I head off to go about my day, I wanted to share one of the most beautiful quotes that I've heard in a long time! As you probably know, Paul Newman died this weekend. He was married to his wife for about 50 years! Over the years, when asked what kept his marriage going, he said:

"I have steak at home, why would I go out for hamburgers!"

I LOVE that, and that is such a challenge for me! Today and this week, I'm turning my focus to my husband and our marriage. Am I steak for my man, or do I often present myself as chopped meat. Hmmmmm. Something to ponder and challenge myself with.

One of the best marriage books I have read is Created to be His Helpmeet. A few weeks ago, I started reading it again, and being that I have two sick children, and today will be a lay-low kind of day for that reason, I plan on reading it when I have the opportunity. Great book if you haven't read it!

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Lastly, I keep meaning to take pregnancy photos, as I didn't with my daughter, and that makes me sad sometimes. So, here's one, blurry though it is, it will be something I can look back on! And since I've looked the same with every single one (boy or girl), I can just imagine what I looked like with my daughter :)

Have a wonderful God-glorifying day!