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caroline94535

Tin cup, computer, ...prairie niece continued

caroline94535
11 years ago

I've read the entire "Little House" series of books at least 30 times. As I was getting Belle ready for her pioneering day I kept thinking "What am I forgetting?"

If I'd had a couple month's notice I could have found a slate, and slate pencil, like the one that cost Mary and Laura a penny. I could have found an 1875-era school book, or at least a reprinted copy, and a tin pail for her to carry her lunch in. I could have made her outfit, too.

There are several references to a "tin cup" in the earlier books. Mr. Edwards brings Laura and Mary each a tin cup from Santa for Christmas. They no longer have to share the one cup. Laura drinks from a collapsable tin cup on a train when she, Ma, Mary, and baby Carrie travel to the Dakotas.

I could not find an affordable vintage, authentic tin cup. Aluminum is not tin. SIL said, "We have a granite ware cup in the camping gear." We decided that would work. There was only one glitch.

The size!

The cup was huge. Tiny Belle just makes it look even bigger. My brother uses it to boil water when they go camping.

Still, Belle loved her cup, even if it is as big as her basket purse. I love this photo. You can see part of the cup in the other post in the photo taken while she's eating chicken.

Her mom took extra time off for lunch and helped serve the kids' dinner. They had water, from an old ironstone pitcher, to drink. SIL went from child to child filling their various cups (they were told to bring anything except paper) with water. She served Belle last. Belle said she wanted her cup filled to the brim, too. SIL laughed at her and said "You wouldn't be able to drink it all and there would be nothing left for the rest of the children."

Want a sip of water?

These photos were taken with a cell phone, sorry, the evening Belle received her packages in the mail. After modeling the dress, she didn't want to take it off. She had her computer time...prairie style.

Here's "Laura Ingalls meets the Computer Age."

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