The Martha years
Martha is Laura Ingalls’s great grandmother
I’ve enjoyed this series so far “The Martha Years” by Melissa Wiley. What is it like to live in Scotland in the late 1700’s? You get a real dose of it through these books. I like those wooden beds with side boards and a wooden roof- those were the kid’s beds.
The parent’s bed was high enough to need a little step stool to climb into it; that is if your father was a laird or of some other status. The peace and quiet of no electronics was a different way of life, as well as the good family relationships; but mostly different was the absence of modern American culture you find. It’s neat to read something other than our current decade.
My daughter read them when she was younger, but didn’t feel like talking about certain specifics about the books like I wanted to today. You know how it is when you read a book and it feels like you’ve lived there too, or at least visited the place?
The fairies and superstitions must have been a way of life, even though they sound far fetched and dumb; like this one, baby is carried in a basket by an un-wed young lady of the village to the christening to bring the baby good luck or something, and there’s a bunch more of these things going on in the books- wee fairies in the houses, outdoors, all over . Can’t stand all those fairy tales.
I like the scene when they are going to the ferry boat and the bagpipes are playing by the lairds right hand man. Melissa Wiley writes well I think, and makes it seem like you are right there with them in each chapter. I love all the real history of every day life in the books!
Fish pudding. I know what it is! ( from the 2nd book in the series- Far side of the Loch). It’s the salmon loaf I make in a Pyrex dish! can red salmon, egg, cream of mushroom soup, bread crumbs, lemon juice, bay seasonings, celery, paprika and garlic.
red carnations
pansey wreath 1995
Elizabethian Tea 