"A Head of Crisp Lettuce"
"Quietly she went about planning some kind of lunch for whoever would eat lunch in that disorganized household. Investigation of the store closet showed several rows of cans, canned vegetables and soups. A large porous earthenware covered tureen wrapped in a wet cloth, standing on a shelf in the open window, revealed a head of crisp lettuce, a few stalks of celery, a couple of ripe tomatoes, three green peppers and a little nest of raspberries in a lettuce leaf. They were all fresh and crisp. . .
Mary Elizabeth went on with hunting her condiments for the salad, her thoughts deeply occupied.
When the salad was finished she put it in a covered dish from the closet, wet a napkin and tucked it about and set it in the window."
--Grace Livingston Hill, The Strange Proposal
4 comments:
Last weekend, my mother-in-law and I had a yardsale. Her daughter has almost all of the books GLH wrote and sold them for 10 cents apeice. I bought a few but most of them I had already read and I couldn't justify the space on our already overcrowded bookshelves. But what a steal! I just finished Found Treasure for the 2nd time and Marigold for the 2nd time. This week I am hosting a Mothers Day luncheon at my house and couldn't resist using this little excerpt as my theme... "He came bearing a large silver tray containing cups and a pot of hot chocolate, a bowl of whipped cream with a little silver ladle, plates of tiny chicken and lettuce sandwiches, cinnamon toast and little frosted cakes. Such a lovely little spread out!" (Marigold)
Since it's still a little chilly, I thought hot chocolate and hot tea would still be in order! Thanks for the inspiration from this website!
And that open window worked just as good as any refrigerator, no doubt! ;-)
I just finished 'The Street of the City', 'Out of the Storm' and 'Mary Arden' - I am so enjoying getting re-aquainted with books I read so long ago. I marvel at the sweet celebration of the domestic arts and long to bring some of that ideal to reality in our home.
I just found this blog and love it - GLH is one of my absolute favorite authors and I have read her books many times. I look forward to reading your blog!
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