Raquel Margaret Carter: The Art Of Southern Quotidiens On The Celebrated Day Of Love {As Mermaid And Ship Captain}

Happy Valentine's my dear Mer~friends,

This is the only vintage mermaid valentine in my collection, so I thought that a fin'tastic idea would be to make some of my own. Do you favour the old Valentine's as much as I? I think they made them so lovely. Do you celebrate the day set aside for LOVE?

This isn't nearly all of the activities I do in a given day but, I thought I would share just a few of my many pursuits that are a southern ladies quotidiens, but firstly a Victorian Poem of love.

"Love is the golden key that unlocks all souls."~A.D. Mayo, 1872

I pick fresh citrus.

Freshly picked oranges from my trees in California.

Here's another little tip. It works for children especially, as well as, for our darling mates. While raising my four children, they wouldn't mind so much the gathering of the foods, such as pecans from our trees, to our fruit trees or strawberry picking, but they were whippersnappers when it came time for the preparing of foods.

For instance, they would pick a piece of dried fruit before thinking to cut up an apple or strip a grape from the stems. So my tip is to always pre~prep the food and leave it out. The children and hubbies will absolutely eat the foods if I do the work for them. To me, I think of it as a small act of LOVE. I immediately clean the fruit, dry it and place it on the counter. If it's grapes or a vined fruit, remove all the good fruit from the stem and throw the bruised or rotten to the chickens or put them in your compost pile.

I guarantee you'll have all of the fruits and veggies devoured in no time flat. I have always made the process of preparing or cleaning foods fun and exciting. Don't you find a day of canning or strawberry picking a beautiful pursuit? Oh my stars, I do. In my eyes, there is nothing as rewarding, of course, except for a hand smocking heirloom sewing task.

A few of the smocking gowns i hand made for my children when they were wee small.

If you make experiences with your children or grandchildren enjoyable, they will absolutely love doing it. It won't feel arduous to them, additionally, you will make wonderful memories. I would gather my children on the porch and we would shuck corn, snap peas, and hull pounds upon pounds of pecans. Alabama has the best-tasting pecans ever to touch your lips. Oh, how I love a homemade pecan pie.

I check my small garden, to make sure my bounties are doing well. I spray them with a natural essential oil garden aromatic insect deterrent that I make to ensure a beautiful garden of fruits and vegetables. I plan our meals depending upon the fruits or vegetables of the season and what I have on hand. This morning and for the next few days, citrus for dessert and fresh juice. My BG {Beloved Gardener} picked them for me. They take me back to my wonderful childhood of sitting in the citrus trees. I would stay in the trees for hours feeding the cows. They loved the citrus as much as I.

Each morning for breakfast {my favourite meal of the day} I have two eggs from my dear chicken ladies and a piece of Ezekiel toast with some of my homemade preserves.
I use my seasoned skillet that has been passed down to me from four generations. My mother gave it to me many years ago as she said it was too much work to use and maintain. My mother much prefers to use a non-stick skillet these days as it's just her and my father. The skillet had to be brought back to life with my seasoning and restorative process because when I first received the skillet it was rusted from the lack of use. If you are a southerner I am sure you know what seasoning is.

It honestly baffles me that someone wouldn't care to use an iron skillet. I would dare not ever think of using a new fangled device over my iron skillets. I have begun picking up pieces here and there to begin my new collection after my divorce. This one-skillet was the only thing that I swore to the ex I was taking no matter what.

It has been in my family for so very long. I believe lovely little things such as an old wooden spoon, a skillet, or a measuring scoop has such love in it. All those sweet and dear memories of making delectable foods for those we love is quite endearing to me. I am sentimental at heart, and it is a southern tradition. I believe too many people have put away such nostalgic traditions. They are passing away slowly. however, I intend to keep them strongly present.

How to restore a cast iron skillet if it's rusted. {here} This is such an informative video and the best I have ever found online.

How to strip a skillet using oven cleaner. I have used this method with all of my skillets that have been neglected, especially on the ones I have found at thrift charity shops. This method is more time consuming, but if you live a simple southern old~fashioned lifestyle such as I, these are the little pursuits that make life wonderful! {here}