Learning the Old Ways

Have you ever thought about

just spending a week in history?

Or even a day for that matter?

Over the past several years, I have had a garden,

canned , made soap and lotion,

learned to spin - well...sorta,

tanned hides, and used a loom.
Some of these things were "once 'round",
but I tried them out and learned something.

Growing up on a ranch and living out of town,

we did plenty of make do or do without

which is a saying that seems to have come back into fashion.

I've put up hay,

had my arm up the south end of various critters,

fed, fattened, and butchered others,

made feeders with nothing more than scrap wood,

a few previously used nails and a skill saw. 

(no trip to the hardware store, YouTube, or lumber yard)

However,

there was/is something missing.
And so I digress~

Growing up,

we always looked forward to Grammy's 

home-canned green olives.

(Good Italian family!)

Grammy is my only grandparent left - 95yrs. young.

In talking with her a while back,

I asked her how she made her olives.

Her reply...

"Well, I just do it how Grandma did it."

Meaning her mother, my great-gma.

Of course she did.

My aunt still has the giant crocks she used for curing them.

That knowledge wasn't passed down,

because along came a generation or two

of those who found it easier to buy a can of olives and such things.
As Grammy told me the process, I took notes.

I don't think I am alone

in wanting to restore and preserve the knowledge

not only of the 'how-to'

but also the why and to what end.

Grammy said when she picked olives,

she was very careful with them and

set them in the bucket or they would bruise.

If you just drop them in you would

end up with brown spots on your olives.

That's what I'm talking about.

Those little details of life

that had meaning and reason

that were passed from one generation

to the next seamlessly without even realizing it.

I have a tendency to love talking with

let's say 'well-aged' folks.

My mom says even when I was little 

and other kids shyed away from the old,

I was right there.

Maybe this is part of the reason.

There's something I connect to,

a wisdom I crave,

and a knowledge I may never realize.

I am in a continual state of learning.

Bless my dear husband.

He is so patient as I try out a garden idea,

bring home an antique tool of some sort,

and share tid-bits of facts like

"If you pick green beans with the dew still on,
 they will get rust spots."

We found that out the first year we planted them - 

now we know why.

It would have been so much easier to

learn that from someone

before

we picked them in the early morning dew.
Multiple generations of a family used to live together or
at least within close proximity to one another (generally speaking.)
We are so distant now - in so many ways.

I'm not certain if there is a real point to all this,

or if it's just the sharing of a feeling,

but if it keeps you from picking green beans in the morning, or

encourages you to call and visit your grandma or grandpa

well then,
that is enough.
If you are a g-ma or g-pa, please share.
We need you.

PS Thanks Grams:)

Depression Era Folks & Tools

For some reason old things just seem to find me.

It doesn't really matter if it's things or folks actually.

My friend Shirley used to say we were both born in the wrong century.
I told her we weren't, because if all those who said that
were born in whichever century they desired,
there would be nobody to appreciate that era today.
She just laughed and said she hadn't thought of that.
She passed away last March, and I still miss her dearly.

Though she, having lived through the depression,
appreciated even older and usually more decorative items (which I do as well,)
I appreciate the resourcefulness of those who lived, worked, 
and even found moments of joy during the depression.
Shown above: at top is a potato peeler, middle a pear corer, and at bottom a cherry pitter. 
I am particularly anxious to see if the cherry pitter works.
That chore is such a pain.
Weather it was farm implements or kitchen gadgets,
items seemed to be made to last from a construction standpoint,
they were user friendly, and served a valid purpose.

The other half of the Bob and Shirley duo was Bob.
He was born in 1920 and is the friend who shared some 
Depression Era Sustainable Ways with us which to date
is still my most popular post.
Bob passed away this month.
I feel like there is a huge hole within me and about me where they once were.
I don't mourn for them.
They each had a long and mostly happy life together~
married 72+ years!
I know he was ready to go join her in heaven. 
He said many times he thought God put him on this earth
 to take care of Shirley.
I do mourn my own selfish heart - wanting to keep them here with me.
Yes, I recognize my foolishness.
I know there was so much more knowledge they each had to share
if only I knew the questions to ask.
That's how it's supposed to be right?  
One generation passing their smarts on to the next in line.
I used to tell Shirley she was my wealth of knowledge and my most valuable resource.  She would tell me I was in trouble.
In so many ways they always will be with me, and my hope is
that someday I am able to be to someone else all that they have been to me.
(I am looking at some big shoes to fill.)
I have been pretty quiet in bloggerville as of late and
felt you all deserved to know why.
They had no living heirs so another long time friend and I
are trying to take care of things.
If you are new to this blog or if you just happened to miss them,
both of the links above share some wonderful wisdom you might enjoy.

I am beginning to sleep nights again, getting my feet back under me
and my head attached at top so hopefully I'll be back 
to posting a bit more regularly.
After all spring is almost upon us and
with it comes rebirth.
Let us see, appreciate, and make the most of it.