~Remnants of a Bygone Era~

 Hello dear friends~

I recognize there has been a pause here.

It has been wild and crazy as of late.

It is harvest season if you weren't aware :-)

Here that means kitchen work after work,

piles of produce staring at me from every direction,

hissing canners, humming dehydrators, and endless dishes.

I evidently went a little overboard this year planting

so now we have a bounty 

of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and beans.

Actually, I only planted 1 (that's singular) cucumber plant

and have received over 100 cucumbers, and it's still producing!

Needless to say by the time I sit in the evening,

I am whooped.

Last weekend, I had to go pick up something from my folks

who live about 1/2 hour away.

I decided to take a back road 

and ended up stopping at an estate sale.

I found treasures.

William & Cassie 

There were a few shelves of books 

which always draw me to flip through the pages.

Well, I found a few gems from the later part of the 1800's.

They have seen better days, but were family books.

It makes me sad that such things are sold out of the family 

to which they belonged for the past 100-150 years.

Cassie shown above was the grandmother

of the woman who's estate was being sold.

Here, let me share~

Some of the books belonged to this baby's younger brother

who was the father of the woman who passed.

Cassie's book from when she was 10 years old.

This book was from Cassie's father, the great grandfather of the woman who passed.  I can't believe her children didn't want it!

I love that this one has a coarsely handmade fabric cover.

Through the address and the correlating obituary,

I was able to find a short lineage of the family

which I have printed off and will keep with the books.

At least if they are sold off at my estate,

there will be some account of where they came from.

Also among the wares for sale

were these beautiful whites.

(I have not washed or pressed them yet 

as I want to take my time and be careful with them.)

It probably sounds silly to some of you,

but I love the tattered apron.

I imagine it began as the "good" apron

then got demoted with age but perhaps

had sentimental value since it was kept and handed down.

I don't mean for this to be a sorrowful post,

but if you have family mementos,

I would like to suggest that perhaps you go through them now

while you have options.

Talk with family members and find out who might be interested

in protecting the family heirlooms.

Also valuable would be to add a little hand written note

as to the memory of it and its origin.

I sure do appreciate the quality of olden items

and the stories of the hands that held them,

but I can't be a museum for them all.

This might seem a little odd for a blog,

but I would love to hear (read) if you have a special

family item and the memory that accompanies it.

I think those who ponder through this post

might also enjoy reading it.

~Blessings~

And if you are interested in my latest YouTube posts:

This is the Utilities: Easy to Extreme series.

Cut Electric Costs

Save on Water, Sewer, and Garbage

Save on Electronics & Services

The Path to Yesterday

I've read that Tasha Tudor

had found the path to yesterday.

I love the imagery of that.

Just image if we could go wandering down a path

and end up in another time.

Sounds a bit fantastic, I know.

Rather like Alice in the Looking Glass and a rabbit hole.

But there's something more to it really.

Source

It's not that far of a stretch once we are ready to see it.

And once we see it,

it's like opening a magic Wardrobe

and stepping inside to another world.

I'm not really throwing books at you:-)

I'm guessing with the mention of each of those tales,

a little spark of excitement and youth

fired up somewhere deep inside you.

As children, the thought of "roller skating" with scrub brushes

on your feet like Pippy scrubbing the floor/deck
 sounded like a brilliant alternative 

to the way we knew of hands and knees scrubbing.

Living in a tree-house or on a ship was a real possibility.

These stories strike a chord with us for a reason.

These adventures are taught to us as children,

but then somewhere along the way

we are told we shouldn't give them any thought.

((( Wham! )))

The door to that Secret Garden slammed closed

and no key to be found.

What is that and how do we not see it coming?

I am as clueless as you on that one.

I can't tell you when it happened,

but I grew up to 'want' certain things that were touted as 

cool or necessary or whatever.

And after school and work and career and dragging on 

and wanting and achieving and wanting more and. . . .

hang on a minute.

What is that?

I don't even like that.

I don't like how I feel.

That's not what I want.

What?  What's wrong with you?

Everybody wants the latest whatever.

It's progress, and progress is good.

What do you mean you don't even like it?

It's sooo cool!

Source

And that's when it clicks - right then.

Nooo. . . not cool.

How did I get here?

How do I go back?

And so we begin looking.

Quietly at first,

until we find a little deer trail,

then a partially overgrown foot path,

then a real way.

And that's it.

The way.

It's the path to yesterday.

And that little bit of excitement that sparked above. . . 

when you remembered~

it comes alive and flares up.

And when you finally see the way,

you want to run like a happy 8 year old

back to where/when you know it was right

or at least better.

At first it's almost like fleeing from something.

But around every turn of the path

is magic and excitement

that feels good and healthy and alive.

And gradually that fleeing sensation subsides

and falls away to a seeking of a different something.

Just like each new page of the storybook,

each day is met with anticipation of possibilities.

It is a wellness.

And then, over time,

there is a peace,

a knowing.

The anxiety of being pulled along in the channel

with all the others is a dull ember

easily squelched.

That's what Tasha had,

the peace and knowing.

Only she didn't let herself be pulled into the channel

in the first place like most of us.

I think that's part of what was so admirable about her.

She was a flawed human like the rest of us,

but she knew the way.

She had found the path to yesterday.

I have a feeling she had also been down a rabbit hole,

beyond a wardrobe and up a tree.

So when that excitement sparks,

maybe don't try to squelch it.

Go ahead and let it flare up and see where it leads.

You just might end up in a fantastic place and time.

Just watch out crossing that channel.

It has a powerful undercurrent.