This day, 200 years ago … Please, sir, I want some more.

Posted on April 27, 2013 by

Did you, like me, gain your impressions about workhouses from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, especially when it comes to food? How accurate do you think he was?

In The Times, 27 April 1813, there was an advertisement for a workhouse contract that give some clues to  diet.  The Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Lambeth called for tenders for the following articles:

The front page of the London Times for December 4, 1788.

The front page of the London Times for December 4, 1788.

Butcher’s Meat, consisting of clods, thick flanks, briskets and leg of mutton pieces, of the best ox beef, cut in a workmanlike manner, only that all the bones shall be cut out, and not weighed in, as near as can be equal quantities of each, with every stone of beef one pound of neck or breast of mutton, if required, and three stone of beef kidney suet every week, and in every week 32lb. of any sort of meat as shall be ordered for the master’s table, altogether at per stone, and as many legs and shins of beef as shall be ordered, at per stone for them; the best single Gloucester Cheese, best Irish Butler, best Carolina-Rice, and moist Sugar, at per ewt.; household and second Flour, Scotch Barley and Oatmeal … 

It appears the diet of the poor in the Lambeth Workhouse consisted of the cheapest cuts of mutton and ox beef (clod is the shoulder—I had to look it up), beef kidney suet, cheese, beer, rice, barley, oatmeal and flour and, surprisingly, sugar.   This diet would have been supplemented with fresh items such as vegetables and milk.

The Telegraph has an article (17 Dec 2008) on Oliver Twist’s diet as described by Charles Dickens with researchers and nutritionists discussing its accuracy and nutritional value.  The verdict was that Oliver’s diet would have been inadequate for a 9-year-old boy but that his diet was not typical of that time based on published diets.  There were regulations that dictated people’s daily allowance and this would depend on their gender, age, health and whether they were working or not. I do wonder, though, who checked to make sure the regulations were followed?

Mealtime at St Pancras Workhouse, London

Mealtime at St Pancras Workhouse, London. Author: The King’s Empire, circa 1911 (viia Wikipedia)

Bread, eaten at every meal, made up a large part of the diet. They had breakfast (eg, tea, bread and gruel or porridge), dinner (eg, soup or meat and potatoes or pudding; bread and cheese) and supper (eg, bread and cheese, broth). They drank tea, milk and beer rather than water—in those days water could be very bad for you!

Generally gruel and porridge were made with oatmeal; the pudding at dinner was savory as it was made with suet and meat; broth was the water used to boil the meat with vegetables added; the soup was similar to the broth but thickened with rice or oatmeal. Do you think it sounds tasty?  I think it would very much depend on the quality of the cook!

You will note that in The Times advertisement it says ‘and in every week 32lb. of any sort of meat as shall be ordered for the master’s table’.  According to Wikipedia the master and matron received six times the amount of food given to a pauper. No surprises there! 

And, finally, some more from Oliver Twist (chapter 2, paragraph 1) about baby Oliver:

… the parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved, that Oliver should be … despatched to a branch-workhouse some three miles off, where twenty or thirty other juvenile offenders against the poor-laws rolled about the floor all day, without the inconvenience of too much food …

Posted in Food, The Times | Tagged ,

This day, two hundred years ago …

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

The London Times, 4 February 1813 

I must say that on this day there was not much happening food wise consequently I’ve stretched things a bit and gone with a theme of taverns.

Page 1, The London Times, December 4, 1788

Page 1, The London Times, December 4, 1788 (via Wikipedia)

The very first item on the front page was advertising a meeting of the Hampden Club at a tavern.

HAMPDEN-CLUB. The next meeting of the CLUB will be held at the Thatched House Tavern, St. James’s-street, on Saturday, February, the 6th, 1813.  Thomas Northmore, Esq. President. The Earl of Oxford, Vice-President. The Chair will be taken for business at five o’clock precisely. Dinner on table at Six. John Davies, Secretary.

An hour-long meeting, at a tavern, followed by dinner.  Hmmm – I wonder how much business they discussed, and what that business was?

Ah, according to Wikipedia it was political discussion and debate.  The Hampden Club was formed in London in 1812 either by Thomas Northmore (who, as you can see above, was president) or John Cartwright (who dominated the movement from 1813 onwards).  It was a forum for political debate among ordinary people. Clubs were formed outside of London from 1816 but were forced underground and eventually disbanded due to legislation and pressure from authorities.  To bring it back to taverns—publicans were pressured not to permit club meetings on their premises.

Back to The Times – also on the first page there were two taverns for sale and one was open for business after having been renovated.

SPUR INN, Borough.—JAMES. FOOT (from the Half Moon Inn, Borough) begs leave respectfully to inform his Friends and the Public in General, that he has taken the above Inn, which has undergone a thorough repair, and is now open for their accommodation. He also begs to assure those Gentlemen who honoured him with their favours at the Half Moon Inn, that no exertion will be wanting to secure a continuance of their patronage. Superior beds, old wines, a good larder, and excellent stabling.

Don’t you just love the language—so, so very polite.

This notice on page two has a loose link to taverns as the notice is addressed to tavern keepers (very loose!), but regardless I think it’s fascinating.

TWENTY POUNDS REWARD. To Tavern keepers, Inn-keepers, Waiters and others. –ELOPED on Wednesday last, two BROTHERS, the one just 18, the other a little under 17, the eldest six feet two inches in height, his face oval and sound, his nose aquiline, eyes blue, hair light-brown … the youngest in height about six feet, a singularly handsome graceful youth, his face round and small, his nose aquiline, eyes dark blue and bright, hair light brown and curling, complexion ruddy and teeth regular; both youths are very robust and manly for their age; they had on blue lapelled coats, white waistcoats, and grey cover-alls. They have two trunks with them, and the youngest youth always walks with a thick club stick, with a gold top. Any person giving information to the officers in pursuit of them, so that these youths may be secured, and restored to their parents shall receive Twenty Pounds. Two country girls named … and Swift, have been seen, and are supposed to be in their company. Apply at Mr. Taite’s, tailor, 228 Oxford-street. It is hoped that should these young Gentlemen be seen in any Hackney-coach, the number will be taken down and sent by the two-penny post as above.   

Now wouldn’t you like to know what that was about!  And what happened in the end …

Posted in The Times | Tagged

Petticoat Tails

Posted on January 27, 2013 by

With that title are you expecting a blog about sewing?  Don’t worry (if you aren’t into sewing), it’s definitely about food. The only reference I will be making to sewing (most likely the first and only time on this blog!) is to say that what I’m baking today was thought to look like Elizabethan petticoats.   So, what popular food item comes in rounds, fingers and petticoat tails?  Shortbread!

With the petticoat tails the shortbread is baked in a circle, often in a mold. The round is cut into triangular pieces that resemble the shape of fabric used to make petticoats in Queen Elizabeth’s reign (though Wikipedia suggests they are named after the French word for little cakes or a type of French biscuit eaten with wine). It’s possible Mary, Queen of Scotts, gave them their name.  She popularised them but they were expensive and most people only had them on special occasions.

IMG_1539

A thoughtful present I was given last year – A pretty shortbread mold

Shortbread dates back to the twelfth century (perhaps earlier). Researching its history I’ve found that it is believed to have stemmed from the Scottish recipe for rusks. Rusks came about when our thrifty ancestors wanted to use left over bread dough, so they enriched it with sugar and spices and baked it slowly. Over time yeast was replaced with butter.  Then, when shortbread migrated to England, they replaced oat flour with wheat flour.

Modern recipes often have rice flour (makes it more crumbly) or cornstarch (denser), they may use a mix of types of sugar (eg, castor and icing sugar) and have a wide variety of flavourings.  However, the traditional recipe is:

1 part sugar
2 parts butter
3 parts flour

In an attempt to create something Mary Queen of Scots might recognise, I used those proportions, specifically:

225g castor sugar
450g butter
675g plain flour
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (used in the Elizabethan period)

I dusted the mold with icing sugar then popped it in the fridge.

I creamed the room temperature butter and sugar by hand (great exercise), added in twice-sieved flour and mixed it by hand to a soft dough, trying to handle it as little as possible.   Well, ahem, I tried to!

There was just no way that mix was going to become a ball of dough, not doing it by hand anyway.  So I gave up trying, picked up the crumbs and pressed them into the mold.  At this point I was already renaming this blog ‘A tale of two shortbreads’ as I had no expectation it would work and thought I’d have to try again.

IMG_1549The quantities I used made much more than would fit into the mold and I had planned on making shortbread fingers too but given that I had crumbs rather than dough I pressed them into another baking dish (another lovely present).

I baked them both at 190C (375F). The small traditional mold took 30 minutes and the larger dish about 35.

So how did the biscuits turn out?  Well, knock me over with a tea towel – it worked!  Here they are:

Petticoat Tails

So pretty. And they taste fine too. Plain but every so often I’d bite into a caraway seed, the aniseed like flavour giving them a welcome added dimension.

Shortbread Petticoat Tails

In texture they were similar but not identical to our modern versions.  They were drier and reminded me of biscotti. Nice if you are into dunking biscuits into tea. I am tempted to try them with a little ice cream.

Would I make them again?  No (but I definitely want to use the mold again).  If I wanted to keep to a traditional shortbread recipe, I would try this one from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1859-61):

Mrs Beeton's shortbread recipe

Posted in Biscuits and cakes, Recipe

This day two hundred years ago…

Posted on January 19, 2013 by

The Times, London, Tuesday, January 19, 1813.

Dyeing wool cloth, 1482, British Library (via Wikipedia)

Perusing The Times today I found content similar to what you can find most days: the first item on page one advertised an exhibition and sale of the works of British artists at the British Gallery; then there were notices. Lots of notices. For example, there were a number of notices to creditors and Gosport and Forton Water-works were having a special general assembly of the proprietors.

On the front page there was also the usual assortment of advertisements for houses, lodgings, governesses, annuities, garments, dye balls (Every Lady Her Own Dyer) etc.

The Duke of York, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the robes of the Order of the Garter, 1788 (via Wikipedia)

The Duke of York, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1788 (via Wikipedia)

The newspaper also advised that:

  • The Refuge for the Destitute was having an anniversary dinner to which you could buy tickets for 14s. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, was the chair and vice-presidents included two bishops and three earls.
  • Lock Hospital were offering contracts to be supplied with ‘butchers’ meat, at per stone, best wheaten bread, per quarter, yellow soap, per hundred, mould and store candles, per doz’.

When it comes to food two themes on page one appear to be preserving food so that it keeps in various climates and ready-made food.

The latter I found fascinating – even two hundred years ago they were selling convenience foods! If you don’t want to make your own jelly cakes (from calves’ feet) or sauces then you could visit T Cooper or Jasper Taylor and Son. With the jelly cakes a bonus is that you could read small print through jelly four inches thick – though why you’d want to is a good question.

BRITISH SOLID SALT. – Persons interested in this very important discovery, as to curing of provisions for ship stores, may see a specimen of the effect on some beef, packed in February, 1811, by Mr Meliish, and which has been on shipboard upwards of twenty months, in various climates. May be seen by a ticket, to be had of Smith, Marten, and Smith, agents to the patentees, No. 9, America-square.

JELLY CAKES made from CALVES’ FEET, by which an excellent jelly of a fine flavour may be made in one hour, and from the peculiar care required in their formation, they are calculated to produce a more clear and transparent jelly, than can be obtained by any other means; two eggs is sufficient to clear a quart, and which is of such transparency, that small print may be legibly discerned through jelly four inches thick, and they are warranted to preserve their virtues for years in any climate. Sold by the maker, T. Cooper … 3s. 6d. each, with directions for use. Jelly made of the cakes may be seen every day.

SAUCE EPICURIENNE-The very high esteem in which this invaluable Sauce is held by the Nobility and Gentry, as well for its exquisite flavor, as for its general application to all the purposes of cookery, calls forth the grateful acknowledgement of JASPER TAYLOR and SON, the inventor, for the liberal patronage afforded them, and induces them to take this public method of appraising such of their friends, and the public in general, as have not yet had an opportunity of trying its unrivalled excellence, that it is the best sauce for stocks and soups, fish, hashes, ragouts, soups, hot and cold meats, ever invented, and is generally approved of in almost every preparation of The culinary art, and they have the gratification to add, that it will keep good in any climate, and for any length of time. Sold in bottles, …at their Family Oil and Sauce Warehouse…. They also recommend their improved Tomato ketchup, their portable soups and gravies, and every article in the oil trade of the first quality.

And if you want you can still buy a gallon of Genuine Rum for 17s – there is another advertisement for that this week.

I’m off now to read the remaining three pages to find out what is happening in the war with France and what books have been published—I believe The Countess and Gertrude (or Modes of Discipline) by Letitia Matilda Hawkins was published on this day along with the Loves of Eudorus and Cymodoce, a Moral Tale, from the French of Chateaubriand.

Posted in The Times | Tagged

Wonderful Lucky Office

Following up my post last week, it appears that customers of W. Martin will be very happy indeed.  Not only did they get Twelfth Cake but some had shares in the winning ticket!   This advertisement was in The Times, 19 January 1813:

Twenty Thousand Pounds! – The Ticket, No. 7731, drawn on Friday night, a Prize of Twenty Thousand Pounds, was sold by Wm. Martin, at his Wonderful Lucky Office, No. 8, Cornhill, in one quarter, one eighth, and ten sixteenth shares. Likewise No. 512, a Prize of One Thousand Pounds, on one quarter, two eights, and eight sixteenths; and where the fortunate holders of the above shares may receive the money as usual on demand, or exchange their prizes for tickets or shares in the present Lottery, to be drawn the 17th and 18th of next month. 

Aside | Posted on January 19, 2013 by

Christmas, cake and revelry

Posted on January 13, 2013 by

During the Christmas/New Year period I try to ignore the calendar but I still know when the break is drawing to an end—the Christmas ham and cake are both my equivalent of a calendar, or perhaps more appropriately an hourglass.

It appears that, even in 1813, I would have been able to have Christmas as I know it and not lose track of time.  I would have had to buy the ham but if I purchased lottery tickets I could have had free Twelfth Cake.

Twelfth Cake was the predecessor to our Christmas cake. It was distributed at the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival (5 January, the eve of the Twelfth Day). The cake contained a bean and a pea.  Whichever gentleman found the bean would be King of the Revels and rule the feast until midnight, and whichever lady found the pea would be his Queen.

Jacob Jordaens, The Bean King. Oil on canvas, ca. 1640-1645, via Wikipedia

W. Martin, a seller of state lottery tickets, was so eager for sales that  besides selling discounted tickets, he gave away Twelfth cake until the lottery was drawn.  No wonder though as in The Times newspaper on the 13th of January 1813 there were seven other lottery ticket advertisements besides Martin’s, as well as one for his cake.

TWELFTH CAKE, GRATIS. – The Public are respectfully informed, that MARTIN, at his old established office, No. 8, Cornhill, continues to distribute Twelfth Cake, gratis, to his purchasers, until the day of Drawing, on which day he has to divide one of the richest and largest in London, got up in the first style, under the immediate directions of Hedges and Allmutt, Ludgate-Hill.

The same edition told me where I could purchase my ham (and stilton, tongues and pigs-cheeks).

YORKSHIRE AND WESTMORELAND HAMS, the former from 6 to 12 pounds weight, admirably calculated for side-dishes or small families; these are selected expressly for them in the country of York, and arrive regularly every week, Prime ripe Stilton Cheese, pickled and dried Tongues, Pigs-cheeks, &c. at Pressey and Barclay’s, 371, Oxford-street, corner of Berwick-street.

If you wanted some spirits to wash down the ham and cake, The Times also let you know you could buy ‘at 13 Fenchurch-street … from the 1st day of Feb, next, GENUINE RUM … Jamaicn at 17s, per gallon…’.

Sadly for me the ham was finished yesterday but the break is not quite yet over as I still have Christmas cake to enjoy, with a cup of Earl Grey tea rather than rum.

Posted in Biscuits and cakes, Christmas, Potpourri | Tagged ,

Hail Caesar, or maybe not …

Posted on January 5, 2013 by

Have you ever wondered who invented Caesar Salad, Eggs Benedict or Pavlova?  You probably won’t be surprised to know that I have.  And obviously at least one of my friends knows this as she gave me a thoughtful birthday present that tells me. And the answers aren’t always what I’d thought.

Take Caesar Salad (originally whole Romaine lettuce leaves, eggy garlic dressing, parmesan and croutons). It was named after Julius Caesar, right?  Well, not according to a book by James Winter called ‘Who put the Beef in Wellington’.  Winter says it was named after its inventor, Caesar Cardini, who invented it in the early 1920s. He had an Italian restaurant in San Diego and, because prohibition was in full force, opened another restaurant in Tijuana. There he first invented and served Caesar Salad—according to his daughter the fourth of July rush in 1924 left little in the kitchen so he grabbed what was there and added substance to it by preparing it at the diners tables.

Clark Gable (via Wikipedia)

Julia Child (via Wikipedia)

Film stars (such as Clark Gable) and other celebrities (Wallis Simpson) were patrons of the new restaurant and spread the popularity of the salad. Julia Child, who went to Caesar’s as a child in 1925 or 1926, further added to its popularity.  Julia said Caesar left the lettuce whole as the shape of Romaine leaves formed a scoop with a handle, ideal for eating with fingers (legend has it that Wallis Simpson took it to Europe but had the lettuce cut into more dainty bite sized pieces).

There are, though, others who claim to have invented it, including a chef who said he did so in 1903 (and named it after Julius Caesar). According to Wikipedia the earliest documentation of Caesar Salad was in a 1946 Los Angeles restaurant menu.

By the way, some of you will be happy to know (like me) that apparently Caesar Cardini’s original recipe didn’t contain anchovies (Worcestershire sauce gives it the slight fishy flavor)—these were added by Caesar’s brother Alex in his version called Aviator Salad.

Posted in Vegetables | Tagged ,

The steep price of coffee

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

Latte (via Wikipedia)

For the last few weeks I’ve been working from a different office.  The building it’s in is a self-contained world. There is a bank outside my door and across the atrium a café.  Which is good in some ways, particularly with all the rain we’ve been having, but unfortunately I’m working with a coffee addict!  The bank’s ATM machines have been very handy as my budget has well and truly been blown.  Spending $NZ4.50 to $5 a day can definitely add up. Now I totally understand what is meant by the ‘latte factor’ when it comes to saving!

The high price we pay for our daily fix lead me to think about days past.  When I was reading The Times dated 4 March 1812 (as you do) I spotted this advertisement:

TEA, COFFEE, and SPICE WAREHOUSE, No. 83, Newgate-street – The too frequent complaint in most families of the essential article of Tea, has induced E. EAGLETON and Co. to take this mode of introducing their name to the Public, fully convinced that by selling good articles, they will continue to receive that support they now gratefully beg to acknowledge. E. E. And Co take this opportunity of informing families etc, that in consequence of the exclusion of colonial produce from the Continent, they have obtained a commission from the West India Coffee Merchants for the disposal of their commodities, and are authorised by them to sell at the following low prices – Best Coffee, 1s. 4d per pound raw, and roasted 1s. 10d; Very Good Coffee, 1s. 3d. raw, and roasted 1s. 8d.; Good Coffee, 1s. 2d. raw, and roasted 1s. 6d. … E. Eagleton and Co. beg to observe, their only house in London is No. 83, Newgate-street, and request their friends will take notice all Teas, Coffees, etc sold by them are wrapped up in their bills.

So how much is that?  According to the The National Archive’s  currency converter if you wanted to purchase one pound of the best coffee, roasted, in 1810 and paid 1s 10d that would have the same spending worth of 2005′s £UK 3.11, very good coffee would be £2.83 and good coffee £2.55.

Roasted coffee beans (via Wikipedia)

How much does a pound of coffee beans cost today?  I found three UK supermarket home brand varieties for £1.45/100g, £1.32/100g and £1.10/100g  respectively. Converting that from grams I get £6.58, £5.99 and £4.99 for a pound.  So it is now roughly double the price!

Thankfully I only have one more week to go in this office and then I will be going through withdrawal.  But better me than my bank account!

Posted in Coffee | Tagged ,

Are you able to sleep, perchance to dream?

Posted on March 18, 2012 by

So are you able, as Shakespeare would say, to sleep-perchance to dream?  You may already suspect that this post isn’t about food.  But it is related to history and is on a topic of personal importance. Sleep.

Two women ironing by Edgar Degas (via Wikipedia)

Recently I’ve been going to bed earlier which is changing my sleep pattern. I’m sleeping for about four hours and then waking for an hour or two before going back to sleep. During the time I’m awake I often make myself a hot drink, occasionally I watch TV.

I was concerned about this as it goes against everything you normally hear. I certainly aren’t getting 8 hours continuous sleep and, in fact, can’t remember when I ever have since reaching adulthood. It turns out my pattern is perfectly normal.

 

According to an article from the BBC news magazine (22 February 2012) titled ‘The myth of the eight-hour sleep‘  our ancestors had two periods of sleep of about four hours each separated by one or two hours of wakefulness.  References to first and second sleep in literature started to disappear about the late 1600s and had entirely gone from our social consciousness by the 1920s.  It looks like the reasons are better lighting and more evening activities.

Just knowing this makes me feel so much better and, I think, will help me sleep better.  I hope it helps you too.

Sweet dreams everyone.

Posted in Potpourri | Tagged , | 2 Comments

No fridge? Perish the thought!

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

Do you ever think about what it would be like without a fridge?

I do.  On Boxing Day for example, I opened the fridge and looked at all the leftovers and  wondered how my ancestors coped without one.  Just imagine it for a moment. Scary isn’t it!

So what did they have instead?

They had iceboxes. Though according to Wikipedia that was only from the mid 1800s or so.  Iceboxes could be quite fancy with a separate compartment or drawer for the ice at the top, and a drip-tray or holding tank with a tap to empty the water. They would be made of wood and had hollow walls lined with tin or zinc and filled with an insulating material such as cork, sawdust, straw or seaweed.

A) Norwegian icebox B) Victorian icebox C) Oak cabinet icebox (via Wikipedia)

Remember the days when you had a milk man?  Well there used to be ice men too. They’d make regular deliveries to your home of ice. The ice was harvested in winter from frozen lakes and areas with a large amount of snow, stored in ice houses and then delivered to cities and homes.

Once refrigeration was invented mechanical industrial plants produced ice for home delivery. According to Wikipedia, home refrigerators begun to take hold about the 1930s. But this may only relate to the United States.

Iceman, Berlin, 1957 (via Wikipedia)

I asked older members of my New Zealand family about iceboxes and when they got their fridges.  One person I spoke to said she got her first fridge in the 1950s (and only because she won it) and never had an icebox. She wasn’t unusual. Another member of my family had trouble remembering anyone who did have an icebox.

Those that did may have purchased their icebox or entered into a contract to buy ice from a specific company (eg, Walkers) and then they’d get the icebox for free. Ice would be delivered once a week. The ice man would pull the large block of ice from his truck with long tongs, lift it onto his sacking covered shoulder and carry it inside to your icebox. He’d even empty the drip-tray for you.

 

But what if you didn’t have an icebox?

Well you could have had a hole in the ground. Yes, I’m serious! For some reason cellars aren’t that common in New Zealand.  So we had holes. The hole would be situated somewhere cool – perhaps under a tree. These could be quite fancy—lined with bricks or timber—or have bare dirt walls.  Inside would be a lidded insulated box in which you’d put your food and then the hole itself had a wooden lid. You’d just kneel on the ground, remove the lids and pull out whatever you wanted.

Milk or butter could be in with everything else or they might have their own separate hole that had a tray of water in it.  In the tray would be bricks and then the milk and butter would be on them—the water was absorbed by the bricks and kept them cold.

Don’t like the idea of a hole?

Another alternative is a ‘safe’.  Safes were essentially cupboards with fine mesh to allow air to circulate.  The mesh might be on the bottom if they were free-standing. These free-standing models would be outside the house somewhere cool. Safes could also be hung from a tree.  Or built into the house.  The house I lived in as a child had one of these. It was in the kitchen, near the sink, on the cool side of the house. At the back of the cupboard was fine mesh. When you looked at it from outside the house there were louvres covering the mesh. And just in case you are wondering—yes we had a fridge! Though we did hang a safe in a tree when we went camping as it was before the days where you had powered sites and took a trailer load of mod cons with you.

Wealthier people would of course have something much grander than these options – perhaps a pantry, larder, their own dairy, maybe even an ice-house!

But right now I’m feeling very grateful for my fridge. So grateful I’m being extra nice to it at the moment. I’ve had a clear out and even gave it an extra special clean the other day. I think I might give it a treat and get new seals put on.  I really do like my fridge.

Posted in Potpourri | Tagged , , ,