Mail Order Millie by Katie Crabapple

Author:Katie Crabapple [Crabapple, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Katie Crabapple
Published: 2012-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Millie made eggs and toast with jam for breakfast the next morning, smiling as her new family ate with gusto. “You’re a fine cook, Millie,” George told her.

She flushed under his praise, handing the baby another piece of toast. “Thank you.”

“What do you have planned for the day,” he asked.

“I’m going to churn some butter, and mend the church clothes. I also hope to get the rest of the house cleaned. I only have the girls’ room and the loft to finish.”

He nodded. “My room looks good. I meant to tell you that first thing this morning. I appreciate how hard you worked to get it clean.”

She smiled at him. He may be a little too rigid in his faith for her tastes, but he was certainly appreciative of any work she did around the house. She was thankful she’d married a man who was willing to praise her when she deserved it.

“It’s going to take me a few more days to catch up on the household chores, but then I’m hoping to put in a vegetable garden. Do you have a specific place I need to put it?” she asked hesitantly.

He nodded. “I’ll plow the area where we had our kitchen garden last year. Patience and the boys will help you with it.”

Since he seemed so agreeable, she took a deep breath and asked the other question burning on her mind. “I’d also like to make some new dresses for the girls. They’ve both outgrown the ones they have. Would it be okay for me to spend a little money on some calico?”

He shook his head. “They’ll have to make do. Maybe once the harvest is in, I’ll be able to spare the money, but for now, we just can’t do it.”

She bit her lip. She didn’t want to have to go into town with the girls in their too small dresses. She needed to be proud of her children. Why couldn’t he see that?

“All right,” she said with a sigh.

After breakfast, she and Patience set up the butter churn. They added the cream, and carefully started to churn the butter. George had left Michael and Jacob at home, because they could take their turns churning as well. Making butter was a hard chore, and one she’d never done, but had watched often.

After a little while, she got the hang of it, having the children take turns when her arms grew tired. Soon, it started to get too hard to move the stick and she took it out and looked. She couldn’t believe it. She’d actually made butter! After straining it and putting it in a dish, she had Michael take all but a small piece of it to the cellar to stay cool.

For dinner that night, she planned to make a big pot of beans and some cornbread. She’d started soaking the pinto beans right after breakfast and had decided to add a bit of bacon to them. Now that the butter was done, she put the

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