Prairie Sense

Book Review: Little House Cookbook

2010-02-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

The Little House Cookbook is so much more than a list of recipes. It is a history book, a kitchen manual, and a very interesting collection of old-time recipes. You won't just flip through it for recipe ideas; you'll want to sit down and read it from cover to cover!

It explains some of the most basic ingredients in the Little House kitchen, such as salt pork, cornmeal, molasses, and other stand-bys. There is a detailed explanation of the bread-making process the way Ma and Laura did it. There is a how-to for homemade butter, both in a churn and in a mason jar. There are even detailed instructions for making cheese as described in Little House in the Big Woods.

You will also find instructions for copying the scrumptious meals featured in Farmer Boy (Little House) , made by Almanzo's mother. Look for Fried Apples 'n Onions, Apple Turnovers, Chicken Pie, and even Roasted Pig!

If you remember The Long Winter (Little House), you can re-create the brown bread the Ingall's ate twice daily when the town ran out of food.

Make the same sourdough starter that Ma used in By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House) for her biscuits.

Try the Stewed Jack Rabbit and Dumplings that the family shared with Mr. Edwards in Little House on the Prairie (Little House, No 2).

And make Fried Salt Pork with Gravy as the Ingalls family did in nearly every book in the series.

What's more, most of the recipes can be made today with our basic kitchen ingredients!

For the self-sufficient type, this book is a must-have. The Ingalls family, like all Pioneers, were self-sufficient by necessity. The Wilders were, as well.

You can find out how to make baking powder, vinegar, soured milk, and more in your own home! Find out how they used up every last morsel to make their resources stretch.

For any Little House fan, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Order yours today!

Visit my Prairie Sense Book Store for a list of all things Little House!

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Please Put All Cell Phones on Silent

2010-02-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Prairie Sense! If you are new to this site, please view my WELCOME. Visit my BlogFrog Forum and join the fun!

Now that our society is totally addicted to instant communication, I pondered the idea of what life was like before cell phones and email. I remember that time. It wasn't that long ago. But you'd think, today, that we never knew how to leave our house without having immediate access to everyone we know!

It was a little over a decade ago that people began carrying a phone with them everywhere, and now many people have them attached to their head!

Back up a few years more: there was no call-waiting or answering machine. If someone was home, they answered the phone. If they weren't, you tried them again later. If they were already on the phone, you got a busy signal.

But imagine, not only running errands without a phone, but traveling west for a permanent move that might forever separate you from your family and friends, and quite possibly, from all you've ever known. Imagine being content with a letter from home every 6 months or so.

This, to me, is what made up the Pioneer Spirit. It wasn't just having the courage to go to an unknown, unsettled land. It was also saying good-bye to all the comforts of civilization. Wow. I don't think I can even fathom that.

At the end of Little House in the Big Woods, the Ingalls family decided to go west. They pulled up their roots, and traveled alone to the unknown dangers of the Indian Territory (Kansas).

At the end of Little House on the Prairie, they were forced to uproot again, so they went north and settled again, On the Banks of Plum Creek.

At the end of that book, they again relocated. Every time they moved, it was to a new, equally remote location. There were no quick visits back home to the 'folks.' There were no daily or weekly phone calls. Just occasional letters.

Even the letters were short and to the point. Ma would work on a letter for weeks and weeks, adding only what could fit on on sheet of paper (front and back) and writing in the margins. She wanted to fit only the most important details on to that one sheet of paper.

The Ingalls family didn't have the comfort of discussing joys and fears and sorrows with their immediate family. Because of this, they were a close-knit family, and had a strong faith in God.

I think we can all agree that instant communication is really convenient, but it has also changed our society. Does a cell phone take precedence over your family time? Over your work? Do you answer every call just because the phone is ringing?

If you long for the simple life, put your phone on silent, let them leave a message, and you can get back to them later. After all, that's what we did in 1990.

Medical Care

2010-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

If this is your first visit to Prairie Sense, view my Welcome and get acquainted!

My whole idea behind this blog stems from the constant thought, "What did they do about this in the old days?" Most everything in our lives is a modern convenience, a modern way of doing things, or a technological advance of some sort. Don't get me wrong: I'm not against modernization. I LOVE my air conditioner, my car, and the internet. I love my fridge, my phone, and indoor plumbing.

But what have we given up in exchange for the modern lifestyle? I think we've given up our independence. We've said good-bye to self-sufficiency. In so many ways, we can't do things without the help of outside sources.

Specifically, we can't take care of our health anymore without the 'advice of a physician.' So how did civilized people for thousands of years manage to live without the American Medical Association, a pediatrician, a general practitioner, and a pharmacy? How did they survive without medical insurance? What did they do without Tylenol, for goodness' sake?

Let's look at Laura's family. There are numerous instances illustrated in Little House where a medical problem arose. (By the way, they probably didn't even use the term "medical problem.") Knowing what to do was part of life. They knew how to take care of a physical ailment just like they knew how to make bread, build a cooking fire, and grow carrots.

In Little House in the Big Woods, Laura tells the story of a naughty boy who stomped up and down on a yellow-jacket nest. Needless to say, he was stung numerous times. So much so, that his entire body was swollen and his eyes were squeezed shut.

They lived in the 'wilderness' with no close neighbors, and of course, no emergency room. They didn't have Benadryl, or an epi-pen, or any injections. They had old-fashioned, everyday wisdom. They packed the boy with mud and wrapped him up tight with cloth. That's it. And he actually lived through it!

In Little House on the Prairie, Ma was helping Pa build their new log cabin when a very large log fell on Ma's ankle. Pa couldn't call 911. They were out in the middle of the Kansas prairie. Pa had picked the location because there were no neighbors close by. The nearest town was 40 miles away, and their only form of transportation was horses.

But Pa didn't waste a minute. He instantly examined Ma for broken bones. He determined that she had only sprained it. Then he had her soak her foot in the hottest water she could stand, and wrapped it tightly. She stayed off her feet for the day. That's it. And the next few days she hobbled around the campsite, continuing on with her work as usual, cooking outdoors, washing clothes, and caring for three little girls. Oh, and Pa sternly said, "You may not help me build the house anymore until your foot is better." : )

Now, I know the argument could be made that we don't live in the wilderness. We don't need to know how to set a broken bone, or treat excessive bee stings, or anything like that. But, is that really true? Have we become so accustomed to calling the doctor, or rushing to the ER, or asking our doctor's advice before starting an exercise program that we can't think for ourselves anymore? Do we really need a prescription for restless legs? Couldn't we just cut back on sugar or caffeine?

Why shouldn't a mother be able to treat minor (and some major) physical ailments? Why should we fear the label of 'bad mother' for not taking our children to the doctor for routine checkups? Why don't we use some common sense?

Since we do live in modern times, we live pretty comfortably. This message could easily fall on deaf ears. But, take a look at history. Civilizations come, and civilizations go, and before one disappears completely, it falls into chaos and then ruin. Are we so sure that America and her modern ways will last forever? I'm not. It could fall into ruin and become only a memory with just one catastrophe. Or it could come very close before it's rescue.

And where will the people be in the midst of the chaos? Where will we turn if the hospitals are overrun, the doctors can no longer practice, or over-the-counter pain relievers are not easily available? Just take a look at Haiti. All it takes is one disaster to plunge a nation into chaos.

But, armed with a bit of knowledge, independence, and self-determination, that same people could survive, and possibly even thrive, because of a little basic knowledge.

So what's my suggestion? Do your research. Learn what they knew in the old days, before major pharmaceutical companies existed. Google phrases like healing herbs, natural healing, nutritional healing. Educate yourself, and then educate your family. Add this information to the basic stuff you teach your kids, like making beds, mowing the lawn, and making pancakes.

Stay healthy. Eat right. Get fresh air and exercise. Turn off the TV. Grow some vegetables. Drink more water.

Sound simple? It is. Haven't you read Little House yet?

Easy Prairie Costumes

2010-01-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

This week I will begin teaching Little House Sewing to some homeschooled kids in our local Enrichment Class Program. We will be using some of the following patterns in our class:

If you'd like some cute Little House dresses, try McCall's Pattern 2337. I've used this one many times. The dress is extremely easy, and you can use a simple ribbon tie for the waist instead of the cincher. In fact, I've never made the cincher.

And the bonnet is a great one! I've made this pattern in many sizes, kids and adults.

The dress above is so basic, it could be made into many things. It would make a cute colonial girl's dress, or sewn in white it would make a cute old-fashioned nurse or maid dress. And what a cute old-fashioned nightgown, with eyelet trim! I even used brown fleece to make an Indian dress for my daughter:

In class, we will be attempting the bonnet. We will also be making this apron:

This is McCall's 4547. My class is a group of girls in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Everything will be sewn by hand.

I've also got a boy's class of 7th & 8th graders. That's right: BOYS! They voluntarily signed up for my class, and I don't think they want an apron or a sunbonnet.

So, I've come up with a different set of projects for them. I'm trying to find a pattern for this:

I've gotten brave enough to try moccasins with help from this site. And I think we'll also try a simple bean bag for playing toss.

If you don't sew, try this site for pre-made costumes.

Gracious Living

2009-12-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

I spent 4 hours listening to the Little House on the Prairie audiobook this week while doing some work, and I am just bursting with some great insights! This is the book where the Ingalls family moves from their Little House in the Big Woods (of Wisconsin) and head west to Kansas in a covered wagon.

One of the main points that stood out to me was the family's ability to maintain a very normal lifestyle while traveling. They were basically on an extended campout, and rarely passed through any towns or saw any people.

Each morning they woke with the sun (if not sooner) and began the chores. Water had to be carried from the nearest creek for coffee and for washing breakfast dishes. The horses must be taken to water as well. Ma would begin making breakfast while the girls made their beds in the wagon.

Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie washed their faces and combed their hair and dressed nicely each day. After breakfast, Ma and the girls would wash and wipe the dishes and clean up the campsite. They would gather up all the twigs and throw them in the fire.

If it was a wash day, Ma would heat water that Pa had carried from the creek to do her laundry in. She would wash all the clothing and bedding, and then lay it out on the clean grass to dry in the sun. And then . . . gasp! She would iron. Out in the middle of the prairie, with no people and no towns, Ma sill ironed the clothes!

When the family gathered around to eat, Ma and Pa sat on the wagon bench, and Laura and Mary sat on the wagon tongue. They held their tin plates in their laps. Mary and Laura shared their tin cup of water.

There were times when Ma would remind Laura not to talk with her mouth full, or not to sing 'at table.' Laura thought to herself, "there is no table" but the rule held fast!

Mary and Laura must wear their sunbonnet while playing, to avoid becoming 'brown as an Indian.'

So, in the middle of the wide, wide prairie the Ingalls family continued to live as if they were in polite society. I think Ma felt so strongly that the wild country they were traveling in would not make her girls into wild hoodlums, that she insisted on living exactly the way they had back in their little log home in Wisconsin.

Contrast that with today. Every time I go into the grocery store I see at least one person wearing pajama pants and house shoes to shop. Or worse.

It seems that many people don't care. Simple grooming has become too troublesome for some. Table manners in restaurants (or at home) don't exist anymore. Children have little or no standards to meet regarding their behavior.

I'm not preaching the need for makeup and salon-styled hair, or drinking tea with your pinky stuck out just so, or even the popular "children should be seen and not heard" (although some days I have contemplated enacting that one).

But if Ma and her girls could maintain a gracious standard of living from their covered wagon in the middle of nowhere, is it too much for us to accomplish in our modern society?

I don't think so!

Christmas on the Prairie

2009-12-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

We all know that years ago Christmas was very slim compared to today. So the following story is not surprising, yet it is very touching. I get a tear or two every time I read it:

Something was shining bright in Laura's stocking. She squealed and jumped out of bed. So did Mary, but Laura beat her to the fireplace. And the shining thing was a glittering new cup.

Mary had one exactly like it.

Those new tin cups were their very own. Now they each had a cup to drink out of. Laura jumped up and down and shouted and laughed, but Mary stood still and looked with shining eyes at her own tin cup.

What's the big deal about new cups? Up until this time, Mary and Laura would share a cup of water between them. Now they could EACH have a cup!

There was more in their stockings: a peppermint stick, a heart-shaped cake made by Ma, and a bright, shining new penny!

They had never even though of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for our very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.

There had never been such a Christmas.
Taken from Little House on the Prairie in the chapter entitled Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus.

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? I know we live in a different time, and a much different world. But I am determined to simplify Christmas for my kids with every year that goes by. Instead of raising our spending limit, I'm trying to spend little and make it meaningful.

When I was a child, my parents and aunt decided it would be fun to do something similar for myself, my sister, and our cousins. In our stockings that Christmas we received a tin cup, a penny, and a peppermint stick (along with a few modern goodies!). And you know, I still have that tin cup and I will remember that Christmas for the rest of my life.

This Christmas morning, when you and your family are enjoying new gifts, I hope you will pause for a minute and remember a Christmas long ago and two little girls who were happy with new tin cups.

Frontier Village

2009-10-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to visit Frontier Village in Denison, Texas this week.

"Frontier Village of Grayson County is a non-profit organization founded in 1966 to establish a frontier village at Loy Lake Park. In this replica of an early village, structures and artifacts historically significant to Grayson County preserve the rich background of the pioneers who settled here in the nineteenth century." - from their website

There was one cabin in particular that looked like it was lifted from the pages of Little House on the Prairie. It was set up almost identical to the description in Laura's writings of the home Pa and Ma built together in Indian Territory. The only exception was that this cabin had a loft where the children slept. The Ingalls cabin in Indian Territory was a one-story structure.

I took some photos at Frontier Village to share:

Here is the table and chairs where the family ate situated in front of the fireplace, used for both heating and cooking.

The dresses were hung on nails in the wall, next to the bed, which was just across from the table.

The bed's platform was nothing more than criss-crossed ropes. My daughter, Chloe (isn't she adorable?) shows what's under the thin mattress.

This spinning wheel was in a different cabin, but I show it because of the description in Farmer Boy. Almanzo's parents were almost completely self-sufficient. They raised sheep for wool, and Mother would spin the wool into yarn or thread, and then use a loom (also partly pictured below) to make cloth.

The cabin on the right is the one that most resembles Laura's Little House on the Prairie in Indian Territory. The one on the left is a stable.

Frontier Village is a great place to visit. They are open 7 days a week, year round, from 1-4 p.m. We had a private tour for our group. They are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable people! We had a great time, and will definitely go back.

If you're in North Texas, or anywhere close, I highly recommend visiting them.

Food Coloring

2009-10-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

There are many examples in Little House of the way people did things before "advancements" changed our lives. Take food coloring, for example.

After (Ma) had put the cream in the tall crockery churn and set it near the stove to warm, she washed and scraped a long orange-colored carrot. Then she grated it on the bottom of the old, leaky tin pan that Pa had punched full of nail-holes for Ma. Ma rubbed the carrot across the roughness until she had rubbed it through all the holes, and when she lifted up the pan, there was a soft, juicy mound of grated carrot.

She put this in a little pan of milk on the stove and when the milk was hot she poured milk and carrot into a cloth bag. Then she squeezed the bright yellow milk into the churn, where it colored all the cream. Now the butter would be yellow.

From Little House in the Big Woods in the chapter entitled Winter Days and Winter Nights

It seems so simple and nutritious to use a carrot for the yellow-colored butter! Today, we use artificial food colorings in nearly every food on the market. Yet, studies have shown that these colorings are detrimental to our health. This is just one of hundreds of examples of how our advancements have actually complicated our lives (and risked our health).

So, how can you color foods the natural way? Here are some suggestions:

Use beet juice for red or pink. I did this in some store-bought vanilla icing and it works beautifully without compromising taste. I wonder how it would be in a Red Velvet cake?
Blueberries make a nice dark juice.
Ma's carrot solution for yellow works!
Lots of berries would work for purple, like blackberries, mulberries, etc.

Not only do these methods substitute an all-natural ingredient for what could be a very dangerous chemical ingredient, but just think of the added nutrition that beets, carrots, and blueberries add to your diet!

There are many, many natural solutions to every day living that we have forgotten, or maybe we didn't even know. Little House in the Big Woods and Farmer Boy are two wonderful references for self-sufficiency and natural solutions. If you've never read them, or it's been too long, why not read them today?

Under Construction

2009-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

**WARNING**

This blog has been hijcacked!!

This is Tiffany & I will be giving Prairie Sense a little make over REALLY SOON!

. . . unless one of my kids gets sick, or my husband does something crazy & ends up in the ER, or I will the lotto (which I don't play) - in which you can find me somewhere tropical. Otherwise this blog will be UnDeR CoNsTrUcTiOn REALLY SOON!!

Breakfast on the Farm

2009-09-24T20:34:00.001-07:00
If you read Farmer Boy, you will see a vast difference in the way the Wilders grew up compared to the Ingalls'. The Wilders were prosperous farmers. The Ingalls' struggled to make a living constantly. Take breakfast, for instance.

Almanzo opened his eyes again, and the candle was sputtering on the bureau. Royal was dressing. His breath froze white in the air. The candlelight was dim, as though the darkness were trying to put it out.

Suddenly, Royal was gone, the candle was not there, and Mother was calling from the foot of the stairs.

"Almanzo! What's the matter? Be you sick? It's five o'clock!"

He crawled out, shivering. He pulled on his trousers and waist, and ran downstairs to button up by the kitchen stove. Father and Royal had gone to the barns. Almanzo took the milk-pails and hurried out. The night seemed very large and still, and the stars sparkled like frost in the black sky.

When the chores were done and he came back with Father and Royal to the warm kitchen, breakfast was almost ready. How good it smelled! Mother was frying pancakes, and the big blue platter, keeping hot on the stove's hearth, was full of plump brown sausage cakes in their brown gravy.

Almanzo washed as quickly as he could, and combed his hair. As soon as Mother finished straining the milk, they all sat down and Father asked the blessing for breakfast.

There was oatmeal with plenty of thick cream and maple sugar. There were fried potatoes, and the golden buckwheat cakes, as many as Almanzo wanted to eat, with sausages and gravy or with butter and maple syrup. There were preserves and jams and jellies and doughnuts. But best of all Almanzo liked the spicy apple pie, with its thick, rich juice and its crumbly crust. He ate two big wedges of the pie.
Taken from Farmer Boy in the chapter entitled Winter Night

What a meal! Can you imagine the nap you'd need after a breakfast like that? Why do you suppose they could eat so much at breakfast?

I think it had to do with the hard work they did. Earlier in the chapter, it's also mentioned that the temperature was 40 below zero. 40 below! They needed plenty of nutrition to keep them going with such cold temperatures and hard work. Father worked outdoors or in the barns much of the day, and Mother worked in the attic spinning wool, making candles, and doing other various chores. The children all walked to school. A breakfast like the one above would certainly sustain them!

I hope my children don't remember the part about apple pie at breakfast. I distinctly remember saying several times, "We don't have dessert at breakfast" after requests for candy, brownies, or ice cream in the morning. Almanzo was a lucky boy!

Threshing

2009-09-19T19:39:00.000-07:00
Farmer Boy is the one story in the Little House set that does not talk about Laura. It tells of her husband, Almanzo, as he grew up on a farm in upstate New York. There is so much interesting information in this book, historically and otherwise.

If you're interested in self-sufficiency, you'll find a wealth of information.

If you like little humor, there's plenty here!

If you want nuggets of wisdom, the Wilder family can share plenty.

Here's just one little thing that jumped out at me this week. Almanzo and Father were threshing the wheat in the barn during a winter storm.

Almanzo asked Father why he did not hire the machine that did threshing. Three men had brought it into the country last fall, and Father had gone to see it. It would thresh a man's whole grain crop in a few days.

"That's a lazy man's way to thresh," Father said. "Haste makes waste, but a lazy man'd rather get his work done fast than do it himself. That machine chews up the straw till it's not fit to feed stock, and it scatters grain around and wastes it.

"All it saves is time, son. And what good is time, with nothing to do? You want to sit and twiddle your thumbs, all these stormy winter days?"

"No!" said Almanzo. He had enough of that, on Sundays.
- Taken from Farmer Boy in the chapter entitled Threshing

That is a great example of how the Wilder family lived, and Almanzo carried this work ethic into his adulthood. When he moved out west to the Dakota Territory, he fibbed about his age so he could apply for a homestead. The requirement for free land was that you must be 18 years old and be willing to live on and work your land for 5 months out of each year for a number of years. Now, I don't condone lying. This just illustrates Almanzo's willingness to jump in and start farming.

When he and Laura were married and had moved to Missouri, they purchased a farm, where Laura and Almanzo worked it all by hand. Almanzo found and hauled large rocks and boulders from his farming site and used them to build a house.

Today, we have all manner of things to fill our 'time.' There's plenty of entertainment out there, and it's fun to be entertained. And if we can work hard and have fun, we will have a very rich life.

What Makes a Home

2009-09-08T14:03:00.000-07:00
Laura Ingalls began her first school teaching job at the age of 15. She was teaching in a school 12 miles from her home. This meant that she must be boarded at the home of the Brewster family near the school for the two-month duration of her term.

She wound up with a terrible family; today we would call them dysfunctional. The lady of the home was either yelling or silent, but never friendly. The toddler screamed constantly. The man of the house was either gone or brooding in a corner. It was nothing like the cheerfully family Laura had at home. She had to sleep on a narrow couch in the same room with the family.

She didn't know how she would ever survive two whole months of this. She secretly hoped Pa would come get her for the weekend, but she knew it was a long drive for Pa's horses.

What a wonderful surprise it was when, on Friday afternoon of the first week, Almanzo Wilder showed up with his fast team of horses and a small cutter, or sled. He had driven the twelve miles to take her home! She would have a short break from the dismal home she was staying in!

The next morning:

"Good morning!" Carrie said from her bed, and Grace bounced up and cried, "Good morning, Laura!" "Good morning." Ma smiled when Laura entered the kitchen, and Pa came in with the milk and said, "Good morning, flutterbudget!" Laura had never noticed before that saying, "Good morning," made the morning good. Anyway, she was learning something from that Mrs. Brewster, she thought.

Breakfast was so pleasant. Then briskly, and still talking, Laura and Carrie did the dishes, and went upstairs to make the beds. While they were tucking in a sheet, Laura said, "Carrie, do you ever think how lucky we are to have a home like this?"

Carrie looked around her, surprised. There was nothing to be seen but the two beds, the three boxes under the eaves where they kept their things, and the underside of the shingles overhead. There was also the stovepipe that came up through the floor and went out through the roof.
Taken from the book These Happy Golden Years in the chapter entitled Sleigh Bells

Laura knew then that it is the people that make a home. She didn't have a fancy home. She shared a bedroom with her 3 sisters in the attic of her father's store in town. There were no fancy window treatments, no pictures on the wall; just a stovepipe and three boxes.

Downstairs was the same. They had homemade wooden furniture, a cook stove, a braided rug, simple tin plates and cups, and plain curtains on the windows. But to Laura, it was the best place in the world.

After supper, when Laura and Carried had done the dishes, Pa said as Laura had been hoping he would, "If you'll bring me the fiddle, Laura, we'll have a little music."

He played the brave marching songs of Scotland and of the United States; he played the sweet old love songs and the gay dance tunes, and Laura was so happy that her throat ached.

Laura knew that home could be anywhere: in a covered wagon on the wide open prairie, a log cabin in the woods, a house made of dirt, a claim shanty in the Dakotas, or a store building in town.

It's not the house, or the furnishings, that make a home. It's the people, the smiles, the kind words, the hugs, the music, the laughter, and the time spent together.

Today, a fashionable home is a thing to be desired. We all want one. Most of us dream of a new sofa, or a nicer bedspread, or the perfect flower arrangement, or the latest window treatments. A beautiful home is a good thing. But let's not forget what makes it truly special. It's the people who live there, and the love they share.

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home

BOOK: Laura Ingalls Wilder Country

2009-08-20T10:23:00.000-07:00
If you've read the Little House books, this is a must-have!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Country takes you on a tour of Laura's life, book by book, with photos, maps, and other descriptions of the real places and people. It even goes beyond the books and shows photos of Laura and Almanzo in Mansfield, MO, and photos of Rose in childhood and adulthood.

My kids like to flip through this book occasionally to see "real" photos of Laura and her family. There is a photo of Pa's fiddle, Mary's organ, some of the quilts, the house in DeSmet (Little Town on the Prairie) where Ma and Pa lived until their deaths, and so much more. There is even a little background on some of the other families mentioned in the stories.

If you would like your own copy of this book, support my blog by ordering here:

You may also purchase many other Little House related items by visiting my Amazon Store. Come back soon for more book reviews!

Thankful for a house made of dirt

2009-08-18T22:51:00.000-07:00
When the Ingalls family moved from Wisconsin, Pa purchased some land in Minnesota from a man named Mr. Hanson. On that land was a dugout. A house dug into the side of a hill. Pa actually bought the place without telling Ma what kind of house she would be moving into!

That front wall was built of sod. Mr. Hanson had dug out his house, and then he had cut long strips of prairie sod and laid them on top of one another, to make the front wall. It was a good, thick wall with not one crack in it. No cold could get through that wall.

Ma was pleased. She said, "It's small, but it's clean and pleasant."
Taken from On the Banks of Plum Creek in the chapter entitled The House in the Ground

Ma was pleased! And do you know what she did right off? She swept the dirt walls and floors! And that was part of their new daily routine every day after that. Sweeping the dirt walls and floors. How could she be pleased, and then cheerfully sweep the dirt?

Cheerful acceptance was a way of life for the Ingalls family. In fact, pioneers couldn't be pioneers without it. In this same chapter, Laura is sad that Pa had to give their horses in trade for this property.

Pa took her hand and comforted it in his big one. He said, "We must do the best we can, Laura, and not grumble. What must be done is best done cheerfully. And some day we will have horses again."

This same attitude would get the family through a very tough year. They would go on to another home on the prairie and start over, as they had done several times already. They didn't suffer from depression, or self-pity. They cheerfully accepted what was handed them, and made the best of each opportunity.

"It's bedtime," Ma said. "And here is something new, anyway. We've never slept in a dugout before." She was laughing, and Pa laughed softly with her.

Fish for Every Meal!

2009-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00
Every day there was fish for breakfast and fish for dinner and fish for supper.
Taken from On the Banks of Plum Creek in the chapter entitled The Fish Trap

That is the last line in this particular chapter. I don't know about you, but I'd probably be complaining to High Heaven after about 1 and 1/2 days of that! But not the Ingalls family. Nope! You guessed it! They were grateful.

Let's back up:

The Ingalls family was living in a dugout near a creek (more on that in another post!) and, as always, living off of nature's bounty. Pa was always one step ahead of the needs of his family. So he set about building a fish trap.

"Now you see, Laura," said Pa. "The fish will come over the falls into the trap, and the little ones will go out through the cracks, but the big ones can't. They can't climb back up the falls. So they'll have to stay swimming in the box til I come and take them out."

At that very minute a big fish came slithering over the falls. Laura squealed and shouted, "Look Pa! Look!"

Pa's hands in the water grabbed the fish and lifted him out, flopping. Laura almost fell into the waterfall. They looked at the silvery fat fish and then Pa dropped him into the trap again.

He sat on his heels and Laura sat on hers and they waited. The creek poured and splashed, always the same and always changing. Glints of sunshine danced on it. Cool air came up from it and warm air lay on Laura's neck. The bushes held up thousands of little leaves against the sky. They smelled sweet in the sun.

Pa and Laura took the fish home to Ma, where Pa cleaned them and Ma fried them up for supper.

"You always think of something, Charles," said Ma. "Just when I'm wondering where our living is to come from, now it's spring." Pa could not hunt in the springtime, for then all the rabbits had little rabbits and the birds had little birds in their nests.

Every morning after that, before he went to work, Pa brought fish from the trap. He never took more than they needed to eat. The others he lifted out of the trap and let swim away.

He brought buffalo fish and pickerel, and catfish, and shiners, and bullheads with two black horns. He brought some whose names he did not know. Every day there was fish for breakfast and fish for dinner and fish for supper.

The End.

No complaint whatsoever of having the same ol' thing for every meal. This is a beautiful example of good old American ingenuity. It's truly pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps and making do with what you have. It's what made the Pioneers a great generation, and helped them to successfully settle the western frontier.

This same book covers many hardships, like a plague of grasshoppers, blizzards, wheels of fire, drought, and debt. But the Ingalls family didn't flinch, and they didn't despair. They still sang songs at bedtime while Pa played his fiddle, they worshipped with their local church and even contributed to the shiny new church bell. And when things just wouldn't turn around, they cut their losses and found a new place to start again. After all, this was America and anything was possible.

Learning to Read

2009-07-20T13:49:00.001-07:00
We get a glimpse into the early school habits of both Laura and her future husband, Almanzo, in the books On the Banks of Plum Creek and Farmer Boy. Several years ago I was surprised to learn that Laura didn't learn to read until she was 8 years old! I recently discovered that Almanzo didn't begin attending school until he was almost 9.

Laura was in a whole class by herself because she was the only pupil who could not read. Whenever Teacher had time, she called Laura to her desk and helped her read letters. Just before dinner-time that first day, Laura was able to read C A T, cat. Suddenly she remembered and said, "P A T, Pat!"

Teacher was surprised.

"R A T, rat!" said Teacher. "M A T, mat!" And Laura was reading! She could read the whole first row in the speller.
Taken from On the Banks of Plum Creek in the chapter entitled School

Seven years later . . .

"What is it, Laura?" he (Pa) asked. "You look as if you expect that paper to bite you."
"Pa," Laura said, "I am a schoolteacher."

"What!" said Pa. "Caroline, what is this?"

"Read it." Laura gave him the certificate and sat down. "And he didn't ask me how old I am."

When Pa had read the certificate and Ma had told him about the school, he said, "I'll be jiggered." He sat down and slowly read the certificate again.

"That's fine," he said. "That's pretty fine for a fifteen-year-old."
Taken from Little Town on the Prairie in the chapter entitled Unexpected in December

Did you read the part where she went from reading to teaching in just 7 short years? And lest you think that Laura was a barely-educated backwoods pioneer teacher, google her writings. She wrote for newspapers, magazines, and only late in her life did she write the Little House on the Prairie books.

Now comes the part where I share my opinion. In case you're new to me, let me introduce myself. My name is Nicki and I ALWAYS have an opinion. : )

In short, schools waste a lot of time. Our kids must go to school for 9 months out of the year for 6-7 hours a day. But what they do in that time can be easily accomplished in half the time if it weren't for several things: managing large groups of children, standing in line, disciplinary issues, and wasting time teaching about social issues that are best left to the parents.

How did Laura gain an education sufficient for teaching school in just 7 years? How do homeschool families accomplish the same amount of schoolwork or more and finish their day by lunchtime? And more importantly, when did it become necessary to have children spend the majority of their childhood in a classroom?

There are many issues that could be discussed at length in that one paragraph, but the basic issue here is that learning does not have to take place only in a classroom with state certified teachers. Learning does not take place only with textbooks and chalkboards and tests. Learning can always happen, with a few good books and parents who care.

On the prairie, kids went to school in the winter when their help was not needed at home. Some only went for a few years. In Little Town on the Prairie, Laura shows her determination to learn and succeed as she spends all of her free time studying. Notice she is not doing homework. She is studying. She works complicated math problems in her head, she can recite history, she diagrams sentences, and still has a very full social life for a girl on the wild prairie.

Whether you have children in public school, private school, or you homeschool them, keep in mind the desired end result. Focus on that and don't let school take on a life of it's own.

4th of July

2009-06-29T19:12:00.000-07:00
It was a beautiful 4th of July on the Dakota prairie. Laura, Carrie and Pa had gone into town for the 4th of July celebration. It wasn't anything fancy; the town was too new for that. But there were firecrackers, horse races and lemonade! Before the horse races began, the crowd gathered to hear the Declaration of Independence read.

Laura and Carrie knew the Declaration by heart, of course, but it gave them a solemn, glorious feeling to hear the words. They took hold of hands and stood listening in the solemn, listening crowd. The Stars and Stripes were fluttering bright against the thin, clear blue overhead, and their minds were saying the words before their ears heard them.
From Little Town on the Prairie in the chapter entitled Fourth of July

After the Declaration was read completely through...
No one cheered. It was more like a moment to say, "Amen." But no one knew quite what to do. Then Pa began to sing. All at once, everyone was singing,

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing...
Long may our land be bring,
With Freedom's holy light.
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

The crowd was scattering away then, but Laura stood stock still. Suddenly she had a completely new thought. The Declaration and the song came together in her mind and she thought: God is America's king.

She thought: Americans won't obey any king on earth. Americans are free. That means they have to obey their own conscienceses. No king bosses Pa; he has to boss himself. Why (she thought), when I am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and there isn't anyone else who has a right to give me orders. I will have to make myself be good.

Her whole mind seemed to be lighted up by that thought. This is what it means to be free. It means, you have to be good. "Our Father's God, author of Liberty-" The laws of Nature and Nature's God endow you with a right to life and liberty. Then you have to keep the laws of God, for God's law is the only thing that gives you a right to be free.
Taken from Little Town on the Prairie in the chapter entitled Fourth of July

This all took place just under 100 years after the Declaration of Independence was written. There was no argument at the time about whether America was a Christian nation. Of course it was! Even a teenage girl living on the wild prairie knew that. She knew the Declaration of Independence by heart, and she knew the Bible. She easily surmised that God is America's king, and that with the right to be free comes the responsibility to be good. It sounds so simple, but it is what generation after generation of Americans just knew.

There was a similar thought in 1773 among the Colonists:
"...most Crown-appointed governors remained submitted to their king, and one wrote to the Board of Trade in England: "If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ." Which may have given rise to the cry which soon passed up and down the length of America by the Committees of Correspondence: "No king but King Jesus!"
Taken from The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel in the chapter entitled No King But King

This is interesting on so many levels, but I will just add this: Americans are free. No one tells us what to do. We (meaning the Founding Fathers) decided that we needed laws to a certain extent to keep the peace and have structure. But beyond that, we are our own bosses.
Keep that in mind every time a bill goes through Congress that would threaten your freedom. Does it match up with the original intent of the Constitution? Does it guarantee your liberty? If not, then it is un-American.

2009-06-24T11:02:00.000-07:00
Laura had just taken a job in town sewing shirts. It was her first paying job. All of her wages were given to Ma (voluntarily) to help send her blind sister, Mary, to college.

All the week, she looked forward to the pleasures of bringing home her wages to Ma. Often she thought, too, that this was only the beginning.

In two more years she would be sixteen, old enough to teach school. If she studied hard and faithfully, and got a teacher's certificate, and then got a school to teach, she would be a real help to Pa and Ma. Then she could begin to pay them for all that it had cost to provide for her since she was a baby. Then, surely, they could send Mary to college.
From Little Town on the Prairie in the chapter entitled The Month of Roses

The sentence that jumped out at me was that Laura "could begin to repay (Ma and Pa) for all that it had cost to provide for her since she was a baby." That is a profound concept! This thought, as well as the desire to help send Mary to college, came from a truly generous spirit.

It is a real testament to the selfless and loving attitude that the Ingalls family lived out in their daily lives. As I mentioned in my welcome post, each family member worked for the good of the whole family. They all had interests and talents, but none of them pursued them selfishly. They were a very strong family unit, and the comfort and good of the other members of the family were important to everyone.

Imagine the peace in a home like that! It is true that "it is more blessed to give than receive." When you give from the kindness of your heart, it truly blesses you, too!

Sundays

2009-06-23T19:42:00.000-07:00
Every Sunday Mary and Laura were dressed from the skin out in their best clothes, with fresh ribbons in their hair. They were very clean, because they had their baths on Saturday night.

On Sundays Mary and Laura must not run or shout or be noisy in their play. Mary could not sew on her nine-patch quilt, and Laura could not knit on the tiny mittens she was making for Baby Carrie. They might look quietly at their paper dolls, but they must not make anything new for them. They were not allowed to sew on doll clothes, not even with pins.

They must sit quietly and listen while Ma read Bible stories to them, or stories about lions and tigers and white bears from Pa's big green book, The Wonders of the Animal World. They might look at pictures, and they might hold their rag dolls nicely and talk to them. But there was nothing else they could do. From Little House in the Big Woods in the chapter entitled Sundays

We all know the commandment in the Old Testament instructing us to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Today, that is rarely followed in America. We go to church, but do we really keep the Sabbath holy?

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work

but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

In it you shall do no work:

you, nor your son, nor your daughter..."

Exodus 20:8

To may of us today, the Ingalls family may seem somewhat legalistic. But aren't they really just obeying the commandments? I am 37 years old, and in my lifetime I've seen Sundays change in our culture. When I was young, stores were closed on Sundays. If you didn't have milk, too bad. You just had to wait. Today, most stores are open, some with token Sunday hours (12-6), some with normal hours.

Now, I realize the New Testament gives Christians freedom from this command. But Romans 14:5 says to "let each be fully convinced in his own mind." I believe the Ingalls (Ma and Pa specifically) continued to obey this command out of respect for the Lord's day and because their conscience demanded it of them.

The Ingalls family followed all 10 commandments. They lived them. It was second nature, so it was easily passed on their children.

Bonus: Laura was 5 years old at the time this story took place. She was knitting! Mary was 7 years old, and she was making a quilt! That quilt is on display at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri.

Delayed Gratification

2009-06-23T18:28:00.000-07:00
During The Long Winter, a Christmas barrel arrived from the Ingall's former church in Minnesota. In it was a bundle of Youth's Companion, periodicals for Laura and Mary to read.

"Come, girls, put the bundle of Youth's Companions away. We must get out the washing while the weather's clear so we can." All that day Laura and Carrie and Mary looked forward to the Youth's Companions and often they spoke of them. But the bright day was short. They stirred and punched the clothes boiling on the stove; they lifted them on the broom handle into the tub where Ma soaped them and rubbed them. Laura rinsed them, Carrie stirred the blueing bag in the second rinse-water until it was blue enough. Laura made the boiled starch. And when for the last time Ma went out into the cold to hang the freezing wash on the line, Pa had come for dinner.

Then they washed the dishes, they scrubbed the floor and blacked the stove, and washed the inside of the windowpanes. Ma brought in the frozen-dry clothes and they sorted them and sprinkled them and rolled them tightly, ready for ironing. Twilight had come. It was too late to read that day and after supper there was no lamplight because they must save the rest of the kerosene.

"Work comes before pleasure," Ma always said. She smiled her gentle smile for Laura and Carrie and said now, "My girls have helped me do a good day's work," and they were rewarded.

Next day...

" I'm afraid, girls, this will be a poor Christmas," Ma said. "What with these awful storms and trying to keep warm, we've had no time to plan for it."

"I have an idea. What do you think of saving my church papers and your bundle of Youth's Companions to open on Christmas day?"

After a moment Mary said, "I think it is a good idea. It will help us to learn self-denial."

"I don't want to," Laura said.

"Nobody does," said Mary. "But it's good for us." From The Long Winter in the chapter entitled Merry Christmas

Wow! It's interesting that Mary instantly knew that self-denial was a good thing, and she was willing to suffer. But where did Mary learn it? From Ma, of course. Ma, by example, taught several important things through this one incident:
Christmas does not have to be shiny, new, expensive surprises. They had no money, but they had a way to make Christmas fun. The stories in the Youth's Companions were unread, which made them new!
The winter was already dragging on and getting old, with 3 day blizzards with a one day break in between, no more school, no visiting friends, and few supplies. Ma could have indulged the girls and let them read stories all day and put off the work until another day. But she knew character training was important.
Ma always said "work comes before pleasure" and she added a gentle smile and a positive word. Notice she didn't yell. She smiled a gentle smile and told the girls how she appreciated their work. "...and they were rewarded." Today we call it positive reinforcement, and if you've used it, you know it works wonders.
On Christmas day, after they ate their dinner:
"Come, girls," Ma said. "We'll get these dishes out of the way, and then we'll open our papers and have a cosy afternoon."
Laura opened the bundle of Youth's Companions and she and Carrie looked eagerly at the wealth of stories printed on the smooth white paper.
"You girls choose a story," Ma said. "And I will read it out loud, so we can all enjoy it together."
So, close together between the stove and the bright table, they listened to Ma's reading the story in her soft, clear voice. The story took them all far away from the stormy cold and dark. When she had finished that one, Ma read a second and a third. That was enough for one day; they must save some for another time.
"Aren't you glad we saved those wonderful stories for Christmas day?" Mary sighed happily. And they were. The whole afternoon had gone so quickly.

Simple Living

2009-06-23T18:11:00.001-07:00
Welcome to Prairie Sense. If you are a fan of Little House on the Prairie, you've come to the right place. If you're looking for simple solutions for everyday life, you've come to the right place.

Let me introduce myself. I am a mother of 4 (ages 1, 3, 8, and 12) and a second generation homeschooler. I've been reading the Little House books since I was about 10 years old. I've read the entire series too many times to count. As a child, the stories were entertaining. As an adult, I've found they are full of wisdom. When I had children, I couldn't wait to read them aloud as a family. Now my daughters are old enough to read them on their own, and we also like to listen to them on unabridged CDs.

I'm a bit of a purist, so I don't watch the TV series at all. : ) I think the books are better. However, you are welcome to both! If you've only watch the TV series and have never read the books, put down that remote and rush to the nearest library! Start with Little House in the Big Woods and don't stop. You will thank me!

For years I've had ideas for this blog floating around in my head (even before there were such things as blogs). Finally, here it is! The articles will not be in any particular order, but I will reference the book I took the idea from.

Here, in a nutshell, is why I was inspired to do this:

Laura's family ate fresh, frozen, smoked or dried meat and fresh vegetables and wild fruits. They made their own clothes, curtains, quilts, pillows, hats, and baskets. They only wore shoes in the winter or at church. They only had school in the winter. They woke up with the sun, and went to bed when it set. Very little money was used. Meals were simple, fresh, and appreciated. The family ate together. They didn't need health insurance, and rarely saw a doctor. There was no welfare, only charity. They didn't have the "need and want" mindset we do today. School children didn't "test" except to move up to the next reader. They did without whatever they could not get. The Sabbath was holy. They whole family worked together in the house, the garden, the fields. They memorized Scripture. Children listened in church and were expected to repeat the sermon back to their parents. There was no youth group. There was no TV, radio, or anything electronic. Entertainment was music, singing, reading and reciting. The family unit was strong. Each member of the family worked for the good of the WHOLE family. They didn't feel entitled to anything. They knew that whatever they wanted must be worked for.

I would love to hear how Little House has influenced you and your family as well. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!