Yesterday I had a few extra minutes to slip into one of my favorite haunts: a conveniently located furniture and household goods consignment shop. I've gotten some beauties there before, both of the "ready to use" and "needs serious help" (See Marie-Louise ) varieties, so it's always fun to have a browse around. One of the first things that I spotted upon entering the shop was an old fashioned ice box, which looked very much like Letter B pictured above. It got me thinking about living life in a much simpler time. What would it have been like to have no refrigeration, and how would that have affected how one went about preparing meals, grocery shopping, caring for a family's nutrition?
A few weeks ago, during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, my family and I, as well as many others in this neck of the woods, got to experience what it's like in 21st century America to go without the comforts and benefits of electricity. The power was out for only 26 hours, yet it was sorely obvious how much we all relied on it, especially for food preparation: although we were able to cook on the propane grill (since the weather had turned for the favorable), the food needed to prepped and served by candlelight since the dwindling cloud cover made things very dark in the kitchen. It made me wonder how folks managed it back in the day, and still do to this day in other parts of the world. I've always had a fascination with social history (loved The 1900 House) and learning about the way ordinary people lived their daily lives. Did I buy the ice box? Not yet...
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