Morning everyone,
I thought it might be fun today to combine a little bit of history on aprons with a game and a giveaway. Now, I know aprons have been featured before on Petticoats and Pistols, but I’m going to take a different approach.
When we think aprons, most of us picture Mom or Grandma in the kitchen wearing a traditional bib or half apron. Maybe an image of Dad grilling in the back yard or kids making crafts come to mind. People in restaurants and bakeries often wear aprons, everyone from the head chef to the servers to the dishwashers. It’s part of the uniform and often promotes the establishment’s brand.
Interestingly, aprons have been around for at least the last seven hundred years, if not longer. Their primary function was to keep clothes clean as an apron is much easier to wash than an entire outfit. This can in handy during the pre automatic washer and dryer days. Over the centuries, aprons progressed, becoming a useful tool that included pockets and fasteners to making a fashion statement — those with money had aprons constructed of luxury material while those without used flour sacks or even a hand towel tied at the waist. And just in case you were wondering, the word apron came from the French medieval word “naperon”, which was a small tablecloth placed over a larger one to protect it from spills.
You probably know aprons aren’t used solely by people in the kitchen or those working in the food preparation/serving industry, though that’s likely our first thought. My late mother, who painted and made pottery, used to wear an artist’s apron (sometimes called a smock). I can still see her sitting at an easel, paint brushes sticking out of her apron pockets. Many of the blacksmiths we’ve used wore a farrier’s apron when they came to shoe our horses. And who hasn’t been to the grocery store and seen the butcher behind the counter wearing an apron or sometimes a white jacket?
Well, here’s where the fun and giveaway come in. Who else wears an apron and why? I can think of a bunch more, but I want you to submit your answers in the comments. And it’s fine if there are duplicate answers. There are no hard and fast rules to this game. The winner will get this awesome and adorable cowboy apron – to be used however you want – two backlist print books and some author goodies.
Come on, play along. I’ll randomly draw a winner from everyone who comments and announce the winner tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll break out my writer’s apron and get back to writing.
Okay, that last part was a joke. I don’t have a writer’s apron. But it’s kind of a cool idea. Maybe I could…….
Good Morning, everyone. There are so many comments, and I love all of them, that I’m not going to respond individually. Know that I’m reading all of them and writing down names. Thanks for playing along, and let’s keep the fun going!
A few trends became apparent when I started my list. The first was that Jimmy Buffett features predominantly in summer songs. (I’d only noted five songs and he was part of three!) I hear you gasping. Yes, I know. I had that same reaction. Shocking that Jimmy Buffett and summer are linked. ? The other trend I spotted was various beverages being mentioned. Imagine, margaritas, beer, wine, and summer. Another huge shock.
I hope the rest of your summer is safe and filled with days that become warm memories, and I’ll leave with you a summer tip. Take some advice from the Zac Brown Band’s song “Knee Deep.”
To be entered in my random giveaway for an ebook of Aiming for His Heart, my book in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, leave a comment telling me about your favorite summer song.
The first was, of course, Bullseye Bride. That is my Pink Pistol Sisterhood book. I hope you all had a chance to read it and enjoyed Kitty and Thad’s turn with the pistol. It’s getting some wonderful reviews, so that is exciting. That story is an “across the tracks” romance where Thad is an influential member of the community but Kitty has struggled her entire life, buried under the weight of her father’s poor choices. But Kitty is no damsel in distress, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to pull her family out of poverty. Honestly, so many people emailed and told me that they want the brother’s stories, I’ve already planned those for sometime next year.
The if not now, then when question has been on my mind as I grow older and played into why I’m writing this while waiting for the remaining passengers to load on my flight to Los Angeles. More about how this unexpected trip came about later. Great teaser, huh? ?
Which brings me back to flying to LA. My youngest received a week’s notice he’d been selected as a contestant for a game show taping in LA. Even before we learned neither his boyfriend or best friend could attend, my hubby and I wanted to go. But it wasn’t a good time. Flights would be expensive. My bff, Lori, was to arrive two days before we’d leave for LA. After a long phone conversation, she decided not to go with us to LA, but insisted I go. Her exact words were, “This is a once in a lifetime thing. You are going.” (Thankfully, Southwest would issue a voucher to reschedule if she cancelled her flight.)
While Nathan was in college, Tony award winning actress Kristin Chenoweth sang at Rowan University and needed backup singers. When no baritone students auditioned, the professor charged of selecting the singers contacted Nathan . Between the super short notice—maybe two days—and it being December, tickets prices were insane. (More than double the LA tickets.) We didn’t go, and I’ve always regretted not being there.
