Category: MR Domestic Life

Entertainment, Historical Fiction, House and Home, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Traditions & Leisure

Snow Cream

This diary¹ entry intrigued me:

1929 Thursday January 10

Nice day. Roads were drifted full again. LAS met here today. Not very large crowd but not so bad for the roads. Took in over $5. Snow started to blow about 4:30 and had another blizzard all night again. The wind blew just terrible. Francis, Ruth, and Oscar were here and spent the eve. We made ice cream and played cards. Jack Nolte died this noon. Mama is better.

The new year really wreaked havoc on the midwest in 1929. The diary entries for the first two weeks of the year consistently Continue reading “Snow Cream”

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Entertainment, Historical Fiction, Holidays, House and Home, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Traditions & Leisure

A Little Christmas Music

Only three more days until Christmas. Are you ready?

Rose is. She finished up Harold’s gift—embroidered hankerchiefs—yesterday, and, today, she and Harold chose and cut their modest pine. Of course, she’s done crafting her ornaments and is settling in, just now, to trim the tree.

Cue the Christmas music. Continue reading “A Little Christmas Music”

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Historical Fiction, Holidays, House and Home, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Traditions & Leisure

Deck the Halls

… with boughs of holly / fa la la la la / la la la la¹

My house has been decorated for Christmas since the day after Thanksgiving. I’m not sure who decided this was the time to be Christmas-ed, but it is always the day my daughter insists upon. One year, though, we were in the middle of a kitchen remodel. For the longest time, it looked like we would never decorate. But then, Christmas Eve Day, my cabinets were installed while my mother and daughter and I put up the tree and ornaments.

It was the best Christmas.

Rose isn’t in the middle of a renovation and yet Continue reading “Deck the Halls”

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Fashion, Historical Fiction, Holidays, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Snips, MR Traditions & Leisure, Snip

Finding just the right gift

Charlie let the silk float over his fingertips, trying not to imagine the contours of Rose’s leg as the stocking slid past calf and thigh. Damn! He was supposed to be helping Harold find a Christmas gift for Rose, not coveting the man’s wife.

Hanlon’s was a smallish store, but they offered a good variety of merchandise. Surely there was something less… personal…

“Did you find something, Charlie? What’s that?”

Charlie dropped the hosiery as if on fire. “Ahhh…” he stammered. “Just the perfect gift for a man to give his wife.” He pointed to the display, not daring to touch the elegant gossamer again lest Harold notice the wanton lust on his face.

Harold’s eyes, however, were riveted to the display ad. “‘Holeproof silk hose with Paris clox.’ A dollar ninety-five? Geez, Charlie, I can’t afford that.”

That didn’t stop him from exploring the silken heaven for himself, though, and Charlie watched as the look on Harold’s face changed from sensible farmer to starry-eyed husband.

If the man didn’t already have Rose, Charlie’d feel sorry for him.

Poor Harold. Continue reading “Finding just the right gift”

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Farming, Historical Fiction, Holidays, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Traditions & Leisure

December Fate

I started Christmas shopping.

It was a dismal affair. Mainly because my inner Grinch decided to come along with me. In fact, I had quite an entourage roaming the mall with me, once you figure in the fictional characters that are always lurking at the back of my consciousness.

As usual, I began wondering what Rose would be doing. But instead of her being knee-deep in gift-giving ideas, I found her in a much messier bog.

Believe it or not, Christmas is hardly an afterthought for Rose this time of year. There’s no tree yet. No decorated house. If she’s making presents, she has started them, but gifts are a task to be addressed when the other chores are finished.

No. Early December has Rose knee-deep in the gory, cold, slushy mess of hog butchering. And I think she’s a bit traumatized by it all. Continue reading “December Fate”

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Historical Fiction, House and Home, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life

You say tomato…

And Rose says “Pancakes.” Or is it Hotcakes? Seriously. I need to know. Rose was cooking Harold breakfast, which is a chore for her, given she’s a pretty bad cook, when she was stopped dead in her tracks by a very indecisive writer. Would Rose say pancakes or hotcakes? Which phrase reads rural Nebraska in 1930? That was several hours ago. Since then, I’ve been searching the … Continue reading You say tomato…

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Farming, General, Historical Fiction, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Snips, Snip

First Meetings (part 3)

If you’ve just joined us, Rose and I have been talking about how she and Harold first met, an exercise suggested by the editor to whom I pitched my story idea at the recent writers’ conference I attended. It’s turned out to be a rather long, drawn-out story. You can catch up with Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

ROSE: I’m afraid this is taking much longer than you had expected. Shall I go on?

TM: {nods} Please. You had just fainted when you saw the mess on your hands. Continue reading “First Meetings (part 3)”

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Farming, General, Historical Fiction, Moonlight & Roses, MR Domestic Life, MR Snips, Snip

First Meetings (part 2)

If you recall, Rose and I have been talking about how she and Harold first met—an exercise suggested to me by the editor that heard my story pitch. When we left Rose last time, she had stopped mid-story for a glass of lemonade.

I don’t know about you, but the wait has been excruciating.

Finally, I’ve pinned her down for more…

 

After some coffee—strong, because that’s what Rose thought I meant when I said something “stronger”—we settle on the porch swing. The sun is low on the horizon and I’m wishing I’d brought a sweater with me. Evenings get chilly in a hurry this time of year.

ROSE: Now, where were we?

TM: You had just found yourself face to face with—

ROSE: Oh, yes! Well, I wasn’t sure what I was face to face with. This… thing… covered in muck and blood stood outside a dilapidated shed. Continue reading “First Meetings (part 2)”

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