One of my most prized possessions is a journal I found at a yard sale, written by a farm woman in 1928. I first wrote about her on this blog almost a year and a half ago.

I keep this 80-year-old gem of a journal on the edge of my bookshelf, and from time to time, I like to open it to the day of the year that corresponds with whatever day I happen to be living. It's always interesting to see how my old friend's life compares with my own.  



July 27, 1928: Cloudy. Began to rain about 10-o'clock. Made pie this morning & worked out in the garden a while. Will cultivated the corn and asparagus bed. This afternoon I went to Mrs. Brieri's to see about weaving a rug.

July 27, 2008: 90-degree weather and scattered thunderstorms. Ate a few of the leftover petit fours I made yesterday (they were a hit at last night's dinner party!), while Pascal worked in his flower garden. We'll eat corn in our Nicoise salad for dinner tonight, but it probably came from an industrial farm fifteen hundred miles away, certainly not from our garden. This afternoon I took a nap after cleaning house, which included vacuuming the synthetic rug I paid too much for when I bought it at Lowe's.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder; I'd venture to say that progress is too...