As a child, my favorite series of books were The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In them, she details her life as a young girl and woman traveling by covered wagon with her family. She grew up in different parts of the USA, and worked as a schoolteacher when she was a teenager. She and her husband, Almanzo, eventually settled in Missouri. There she was at last able to garden, raise Leghorns, grow apples, and enjoy a grounded life. Although her husband still desired to go West, she refused to move. He built them a beautiful home there, and they lived a happy and peaceful life in the country. The house is now a popular museum.
I am currently reading a (new to me) book by her called Writings To Young Women From Laura Ingalls Wilder. This one is on wisdom and virtues. It is a series of articles that she wrote around 1920 for newspapers and periodicals, and was edited by Stephen W Hines. There are three books in the collection, and I have all of them. I gave them to my mother before she died. She kept them on display in my old bedroom. They fit in perfectly with her decor.
When I read Laura's words, it inspires me to live like they did in those old times. I am eager to observe and care for my pumpkins, artichokes, beets, and other vegetables. I gather fresh green leaves from the lettuce patch, and soak them in filtered water to make a daily salad. I season the meat for dinner and tuck a few potatoes in with it to make dual use of the gas for cooking. Nothing is wasted, including time. It's amazing how time consuming social networking can be. When I pretend that I'm living a hundred years ago, it helps me to stay in the moment and to not check my ipad constantly. I feel more focused and relaxed, and it's easier to get the things on my list accomplished.
I pick a fresh orange off of my Navel Orange tree and slice it into quarters. The juice is flavorful and delicious. The peels are either used to flavor white vinegar for a cleaning solution or they will be dried for a winter fruit tea.
Instead of getting caught up in technology and pressure to communicate, I sit out on the porch in the fresh air and sunshine, reading or knitting. This time of year I am having that third cup of coffee per day again.
Laura stresses the importance of being calm, practicing self control, and not reacting to those who are antagonistic. People had many of the same struggles in their relationships in those days as they do now. She came from a loving home, and had an excellent example of kind and patient behavior. I just love reading her books. Her spirit lives through them forever.
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Your post brought back fond memories from long ago. Mom and Dad would often catch me staying up way past my bedtime reading the books in my youth. I even now have the Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker. The lemonade recipe on page 189 has become a family favorite. I can well imagine Mrs. Oleson serving it.
ReplyDeleteHi The Liberty Belle, Welcome. Thank you for commenting. I will have to look into The Little House Cookbook. Thank you for the information. They are such wonderful books. I love going back into that space of being...
DeleteStephenie, I just now downloaded the volume 1 of Writings To Young Women.
ReplyDeleteAfter I finish my current book, now I have a nonfiction to read. From your description it sounds like a book I would enjoy. Thank you.
Oh, that's wonderful, Nil! I think you will love it. Have you read Laura Ingalls Wilder's other books? Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, was also a magnificent writer. Let me know what you think. They are some of my favorites.
DeleteI haven't read any of her books Stephenie. I've seen several episodes of Little House on the Prairie. That's all. :)
DeleteIt sounds a simple and satisfying life you have created at your own little house, Stephenie. I find there's quite a bit of wisdom in stories like these.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meg. Her writing is so comforting and relaxing. Their lifestyle was so healthy and productive.
DeleteGood morning Stephenie. I will have a look on Amazon and see if I can track down the books. They sound just the sort of thing I would enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Cherie, I agree. Let me know if you find them. They are such gems.
Deletei loved the tv series, have never read the books but i will keep an eye out for them, not sure if they will turn up out here often though; sounds like an awesome read too; how nice of them to keep her house as a museum
ReplyDeletethanx for sharing
Hi Selina, I wish I had gone to visit her home when I was a Rockette in Branson, Missouri. The photos of it are really special. I hope you can find the books. Maybe you can get the EBooks?
DeleteI watched the tv series Little House on the Prairie as a child and I absolutely loved it, this is such an inspiring post Stephenie, I have now put some Laura Ingalls Wilder books in my Amazon wish list, I know I shall enjoy reading them, and you are so right about technology it is good to step away from it, it is hard when you write a blog but some people are just letting it take over their lives and I really don't want to be one of those people, I just want calm peaceful simple living.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I want, too, Living Simply. Reading her words really gets me back on track. I'm glad that you found her books on Amazon.
DeleteI read the Little House series to my youngest daughter....the first time I've ever read them. I loved it! It is a good idea to not use the computer too much....we forget what life is like without it and I think it can be more relaxing (to not use it). Andrea
ReplyDeleteI loved those books, too, Andrea. My aunt bought the series for me. I wish I still had them.
DeleteTechnology has crept into are lives and it's hard to ignore. Not having broadband until the 8th November thanks to our supplier messing up!! Has brought home how the world is online. No one wants to talk anymore! I love the idea of stepping back to calmer times and make every effort to do things from scratch and stay away from processed goods as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Tania. That's so true. We are very dependent on technology now.
DeleteTwo other books you might enjoy are Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser and The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure. The first book is a detailed biography of not only Laura and Rose, but the Ingalls and Wilder families. Their family histories are put into the economic and social context of the times. The second book is a charming tale of a woman from Chicago who visits all of the Laura homesteads and museums, immersing herself in the lifestyle and in the process becoming a complete Laura junkie.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anita. I am going to look for those books right now. I would love to do what the woman from Chicago did. Your description of her made me chuckle. I also downloaded Discovery of Freedom, by Rose Wilder Lane. It was excellent. She was absolutely brilliant.
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