Tea at Trianon: 12 Housekeeping Secrets from Grandma

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, July 6, 2026

12 Housekeeping Secrets from Grandma

From Country Living:

1. Keep up, don't catch up.
Grandma kept after messes every day, and you should, too. "It's easier than saving all your chores for one big cleaning session," says Donna Smallin Kuper, certified housecleaning technician and author of Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness. Get into a daily routine and your house will always look neat as a pin: Make the bed, do the dishes after every meal, and sweep the kitchen floor daily.
2. Stockpile tea towels.
Instead of using paper towels, invest in flour-sack tea towels. "They're 100 percent cotton so you can dry glasses lint-free, wipe down the stove, or let dishes drip-dry on them," says Becky Rapinchuk, blogger at Cleanmama.net and author of The Organically Clean Home. "They launder well and dry fast." Grandma-approved bonus: They come in pretty patterns, colors, and embroidered motifs to add vintage charm to your kitchen.
3. Use DIY window cleaner.
Your grandma didn't have fancy window and mirror cleaning sprays, and you don't need them either. Mix up this streak-free recipe, courtesy of Rapinchuk:
•1 ½ c. water
•1 ½ T. white vinegar
•1 ½ T. rubbing alcohol
•3 drops peppermint essential oil
Mix in a spray bottle, spray liberally on windows and mirrors and wipe with a lint-free cloth.
(Read more.)