“Run down and get the cinnamon, will you, Joey?” said Polly.
“It’s in the ‘Provision Room.’”
The “Provision Room” was a little shed that was tacked onto the main house,
and reached by a short flight of rickety steps; so called, because Polly said,
“It’s a good place to keep provisions, even if we haven’t any; and besides,”
she always finished, “it sounds nice!”
-Five Little Peppers
With this year’s canning, it seemed time to organize the canning room, which was indeed, a scary mess of a “room” in our over 100-year-old ‘basement’. I did not mind the dirt floors (indeed, they are ideal for a basement in many cases) but the shelving and set up was quite an eyesore. The entire room was just not lovely. A bee flew into my bonnet and I began to dream of a room on the other side of the basement – a fresh start -with the jars lined up according to category (fruits, meats, vegetables, and so forth).
With much hesitation and a bit of protest, Mr. Gauthier lovingly put together all the shelves (found here – a steal of a deal). Once the shelves were established, I organized the jars and food items, carrying over hundreds of jars of pickles, preserves, beans, soups, stews and fruits from one side of the basement to the other. It took me a long time in between naps, homeschooling and life in general.
Mr. Gauthier also insulated this little “room” we have (really, it is a stairwell under our porch that opens into the basement) to be a cold room. We shall see how it works. I still do not have a thermometer so I am unsure of the temperature. It has a dirt floor and insulated walls. Sadly, while doing this room, Abby was sprayed by a skunk that was (again!) hiding out in this room ….. the house still stinks when you walk in from the outside! The poor thing – he also accidentally spray foamed his hands, coat and pants as the bottle exploded all over him! Let me tell you – if you have ever seen or used that stuff, it is nasty. And impossible to get off your skin. We tried everything but nothing worked in removing it. He was rendedered helpless for a day as he spent hours trying to remove and pick and scrape and cut off the spray foam from his hands. It was not a fun day for him, that is to be certain.
But in the end, the room was finished – or rather, what is to be done, was done. I would like to clear out one side that has my photography business boxes and supplies in totes but they are still there for now.
We call it the Provision Room – we have just finished reading the book, Five Little Peppers, and the idea of calling such a room accordingly fit perfectly. Plus, you do indeed need to go down a flight of very rickety stairs to enter the basement!
Please forgive the quality of the photos. These are taken in a completely dark basement with absolutely no natural light. All I had was one tiny, ridiculous light bulb that did not give off much light.
The girls helped by hanging up the onions in netting so as to keep air circulating around them and to help avoid rot.
Everything is stored in a category – jams and fruit preserves, pie fillings and such along one wall. On top, other supplies for baking or such.
On the other wall, tomatoes, tomato sauces, etc. and soups and stews of all kinds. Also, some pickles and relish. At the very end, some squash and pumpkins.
On the third wall, vegetables and such.
We wrapped up four bushels of apples and pears for storing – last year, we had them outside and they froze so this year, we are trying inside in the cooler basement.
Here is the scary room-under-the-deck that opens into the house. This is where we have met many a skunk or two. It looks very scary, doesn’t it? There is no light – but the top opens (or rather, it used to open before it was spray foamed) to the side porch. Here I have potatoes, some cabbages {I want to see how well they keep whole}, turnips, sweet potatoes and lots more potatoes stored.
The bins in the middle of the room hold wheat berries and oatmeal, which is bought in huge bulk bags.
There is bulk noodles and rice on top of the shelves, as well. I buy in bulk from a local Mennonite store, as well as a group bulk order.
I will update how storing the whole vegetables go, perhaps, in the spring. We are hoping the room is cold enough – with the new insulation, it should not drop cold enough to freeze the vegetables.
There is a scene at the beginning of the Walton’s Christmas movie that I have always loved – it is right when the mother goes to the Provision Room to collect apples to make her applesauce cake for Christmas. She is humming and full of joy, even though they are awaiting the arrival of their father and husband who is late due to a snow storm – there is also a depression across the country and yet, there she was, humming happily collecting a few apples for her children to enjoy.
This scene always struck me as a picture of motherhood – it inspired me to have such a room and such joy and satisfaction in the basic tasks of homemaking.
{Linked up with Strangers & Pilgrims}
P.S. Having a billy goat around the house certainly has given our family lots of fun and interesting stories and memories.
It is always more fun to have your little helpers join you in the kitchen. It actually did speed up my work as I just kept on chopping while she gathered the pieces and placed them in the jars. Thank you, Lovelyn, for your help!
Process your jars in your pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure (for my altitude, this is what is required – check your altitude for the required weights for your area). Every pressure canner is different so make sure to read the directions for your own particular machine.
“The cellar began to have its winter smell of apples and preserves.
by Gigi
9 comments