Sanibel-Captiva Daily

By Melinda of “Surroundings on Sanibel”

It is a new year once again. As we continue to make strides and progress…it seems to me that the past has less and less to do with our future. Don’t we need to remember how we got to the place where we are today? I know that I tend to find myself daydreaming of a simple life and romanticizing days of a bygone era…but is that so bad? At work I look for new trends and try to keep life fresh and new for clients. In my shop, I tend to revert to a place of quiet elegance and comfort.

I recently tucked away all the holiday décor in my shop and have made way for all the new goodies. As I got out the iron to press the linens, I came across a stash of vintage aprons. I know that I quite often wear an apron…but I do get looks from time to time. Why…? It’s practical and lovely. Some simple practices of the past just need to be recognized…maybe we could learn a bit about where we came from while embracing a future full of love and domestic tranquility!

Here is a little something that has been circulated in many forms and I would like to pass it along to you. I think it speaks volumes…

The History of the Apron

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect her dress. After all, she only had a few. It was also easier to wash an apron than a frilly frock. Upon closer look, the simple little humble bit of fabric known as the apron had so many more responsibilities!

It served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven and pots from the stove.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy 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 or coal burning stove.

Chips, twigs 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 back out.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. Many a pie would not have been baked if it weren’t for an apron.

When unexpected visitors 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 folk 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 precious old apron that served so very many purposes.

Food for thought…

By today’s standards, scientists would have a project determining just how many germs were trapped within the fibers of Grandma’s old apron. As far as I know the only thing anyone ever caught from an apron was love.

So my New Year’s wish for all of you is to rediscover something in your life that will reconnect you with your past. I promise it will make a positive impact on your future.

For more decorating ideas and inspiration visit…

www.surroundingsbymelinda.blogspot.com

Melinda first opened Surroundings on Sanibel as an Interior Design consulting firm in 1994 shortly after graduating from West Virginia University. The business quickly evolved into a retail shop featuring the “marketable version” of her every day life. The shop is filled with all of the lovely things that Melinda has cultivated into her own signature style…casual opulence.