Hetty Morrison’s Very Bad Day…

It took me all day (minus time for a doctor appointment and travel to and from) to rewrite two chapters. These chapters are set in the kitchen (circa 1891) so I am doing round two of research making sure the flavor of the 19th century is evident in each scene. victorian kitchen-hettie quoteAs my kids started coming home from school and I realized the main portion of my writing day was over, I felt as though I didn’t get enough done. But then I considered Hettie Morrison’s lot in life. I don’t know the exact day or days or years that prompted her to say this, but I sure am glad I don’t live in 1878:

“Not of my own free will did I enter upon a career of broiling, roasting, and baking… I wish to say that I think two-thirds of cook book makers should be hanged without benefit of clergy.” –Hetty Morrison–referenced in America’s Kitchens by Nancy Carlisle and Melinda Talbot Nasardinov.

For many people there is an air of romance about old-fashioned kitchens and life in the “good old days.” I see the allure of the “look” of something old, but quotes like Hetty’s and the list of “things to do” associated with making a hot cup of coffee  each morning tamp down any notion that it was simpler “back then.” Bring on the Keurig or plop me down at Curbside Coffeehouse to write. Yes, that will do.