My husband and I went through the first five years of our married life with a "definitely not now, maybe later" approach to kids. We didn't make much when we first married, and wanted to buy a house, get some work experience behind us, and travel a bit before we gave serious thought to kids. Then, after 7-8 years of…

My husband's grandmother loved to crochet doilies. My mother-in-law has drawers full of them that she's long been nudging me to take. Grandma refused to make anything more substantial (she could have made gorgeous tablecloths) because she might die before she finished it. She instead make thousands and thousands of…

It wouldn't have been for her gown. Donating clothing coupons was illegal. Women all over Britain donated ration coupons to Elizabeth for her gown, but they had to be returned. Milkmen may have contributed other items for the wedding, however. Many, many groups donated food and materials and sent presents. The…

Even the future QEII and Prince Philip had to plan their 1947 wedding under mandatory rationing. Although the war had ended two years before, Britain was still under strict rationing as their supplies were helping to feed and restore the rest of Europe. The ingredients for the couple's cake was donated by the…

I have a very narrow, short afghan made by my grandma. It doesn't cover anything, but I can't bear to part with it. My son is even getting a bit too long for it. But on the back of my rocking chair it stays.

You might want to try the City of London Museum. It's been awhile since I've been there, but they had a great WWII exhibit last time I was there.

I know British women would use powdered gravy mix on their legs to look like stockings. This sweaty girl wonders how either would fare in a hot climate. Yikes.

A few years ago, Mr. eejm had to attend a work conference in Montreal. Little Mr. eejm and I went along as we were going to make a little vacation out of it. We stayed in Joliette, a town just north of Montreal (where the conference was held) during the first three days. We rented a car and little Mr. eejm and I…

Is this fully-coiffed look what passed for a lazy Saturday ensemble back in the 1940s?

Big E had to fight her father a bit to be able to play her part in the war effort. He finally relented to Elizabeth serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service as it would keep her fairly safe and close home. She trained as an ambulance driver and a mechanic, and took the same classes and tests as the other…

Even though Philip's younger years were fairly sketchy, he did have a truly kickass maternal who cared for him after his parents separated and his mother institutionalized. Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven had a life similar to her grandson in that it was alternately spectacular and horribly shitty at various…

You and my mom must share a cat. Her cat has left up to 3 critters a day in her deck and doorstep. The kitty prefers mice, but she's also offered rabbits, chipmunks, moles, and the rare sparrow.

My mom does! She still makes most of her own pants just because she knows exactly how to make them fit her correctly. She'll even buy other clothes she likes which are too big/wrong fit and remodel them. She made a lot of my clothes growing up, as well as my wedding dress.

Yep, same with the clothes and hats on the women.

It looks like some of the men in the video are wearing pork pie hats, which started to gain popularity just after the turn of the century. The blouse/combinations several of the more "proper" women are wearing were common around that time as well. I've noticed that the dates on British Pathe photos are sometimes a…

Oh, no kidding. Most of them didn't have windows or even skylights (because apparently it was even scandalous for birds to see you changing clothes or something), so the person in the bathing machine would essentially be changing in the dark while the thing was moving. Throw in the convoluted dresses women wore at…

These pictures would have been considered SERIOUSLY scandalous at the time. No one was supposed to see anyone in a swimming suit (or "bathing costume," as they were called then) at all. It was akin to being seen naked. People did not hang out on the beach at that time unless they were fully dressed.

Yeah, I think this advice to "stop feeling sorry for yourself" was applied to most women's health concerns in the earlier part of the 20th century. Breast/uterine cancer, childbirth, fibromyalgia, birth control...

I remember being told that it was considered bad in the early part of the century to wash your hair or shower during your period. See, that's a time when I absolutely cannot skip a shower under any circumstances because of 1) the obvious and 2) I get super sweaty and greasy. At the end of that 7-8 days, I would…

I looked at a couple of recipes online. They look like beauty in the form of yeast, cheese, and the meat of crustaceans.