Written by Antai Liu 2022 Cohort<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today is my first day on the job as a housemaid for the Roedde family. They live at 1415 Barclay Street, a \u201cQueen Anne revival\u201d style house designed by Francis Rattenbury. The head of the family is Mr. Gustav Roedde; he was from Germany and owned a bookbinding business in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monday, <\/strong>June 24, 1901<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, I helped Mrs. Matilda Roedde do the laundry. It\u2019s hard because not only are many children in this family, which means lots of dirty clothes, but the kitchen is shallow, just the right height for Mrs. Roedde. Anyway, I boiled some water in a copper kettle, then pure it into two tin tubs, one for the whites and one for the colours. Soak clothes for a moment; then I used the washboard to clean the dirt off the clothes. After that, I used the mangler, put clothes through the rolls, and turned the handle; the rolls squeezed the water out of the clothes. Finally, hang the clothes on the laundry rack above the stove, heat from the furnace will dry the clothes very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wednesday, November 27, 1901<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The weather is getting colder. However, the news gives me a shiver. Bogus bread and Murderous Milk are on the market. Manufacturers maximize profit by switching ingredients for cheaper substitutes that add weight and bulk. The bread was mixed with plaster of Paris, bean flour, chalk, or alum. These substances can make bread look whiter and heavier but will cause bowel problems, constipation, or chronic diarrhea, often fatal for children. Like milk, people add boracic acid to \u201cpurify\u201d it, removing the sour taste and smallness, but boracic acid will cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunday, <\/strong>December 8, 1901<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winter in Vancouver is colder than I thought. And the kitchen becomes the most popular room for the whole family; it\u2019s warm and with pleasant aromas of Matilda\u2019s baking. Today, she made a strawberry shortcake for the kids and mulled wine with eggs for Mr. Roedde. She is good at cooking, and also she has many cooking books. She learned mulled wine with eggs from Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks, and strawberry shortcake is from The Boston Cooking School Cook Book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Antai Liu 2022 Cohort Today is my first day on the job as a housemaid for the Roedde<\/p>\n