I cherish the memories of when I was a child. So much was different then and in a very good way. Many of my family members such as my Grandmother, my Aunts and Uncles homes, would have flowers growing all over their yards.
Much about their homes were different and each one was different. One reason is that many things were homemade. This photo above is one of my gladiolas, it grew against a small tree that is behind it in the photo. This gladiolas shown was last year for they have not yet bloomed this year and I am very excited because early this year I added many new gladiolas bulbs to our yard.
I am looking forward to the new colors and these flowers remind me of home long ago. I suggest keeping a tin for seed and bulb money and when you have some spare change toss it into your tin. It helps to have something to look forward to instead of instant gratification by using a credit card.
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In the forum last night I was asked if we still had Madge's cats and I said I would answer this in todays post. Yes we do, I took this picture of Blue for you this morning. That is not easy for she does not want me to take her picture because she would rather me pick her up or sit in a chair with her. They have adjusted very well here.
Lazy Boy Jess, is laid back at his look out window. He is so funny how he stretches out on his back when he gets tired of watching the gecko's, butterflies and birds out in the garden. Charles put frames with rabbit wire over the two windows in their room where they absolutely love to spend much time there. They are very secure frames and then over the frames with wire he put back the window screens.
Another question in the forum was about the black fencing in this photo above. We put up a fence around part of our front yard to keep our doggies safe.
Charles made this black framed fence. He used 2"x2" x8' wood and simply built frames and painted them black. He used 2&1/2 inch screws. Then he stapled wire onto the frames and then put the sections together. The staples are the thick fencing staples. He used four foot wire but actually cut it shorter to match the height of a store bought fence panels. He used metal posts for each paneled section.
He made another shorter fence for the onion patch. This keeps Elizabeth and Bernadette (our doggies) from trampling our onions. We also have a large frost cover we use to go over this area to protect the onions from storms. We clamp fencing over the top and then the frost cover and it saved our onions from a hail storm and another time from high winds. In todays world trying to protect our plants from storms and pests is a big deal if we want to have a harvest.
One lady commented that she still has her can money on her counter from the last time I started a 1930s study. That meant a lot to me to know that she was still doing this. They use it to count out change for what they need. When you are saving all you can down to the pennies, it is important to have the exact money. This is so important for a good tight budget. Charles and I often surprise cashiers by giving them exact change. We most often know what it is going to cost us before we get to the checkout counter. We shop where they take cash. Thank you for letting me know you are still using your can. :)
A very good reminder was in a comment in the forum where a lady commented on her memories from when she was a child. She learned sewing skills from her Granny that made a lot of her clothes when she was little and her Granny would include wide seam allowances and long hem allowances , so that garments would wear well and could be altered to fit if needed. We sewed like this in the past, especially with our children's clothing to let it out as they grow. Same with adult clothing if your weight shifts. It was a good reminder to me because I had forgotten this because I do not sew clothing as much anymore, some skirts and aprons. I mostly sew my own curtains, items for our home. Thank you for mentioning this in the forum as our reminder.
I could go on because I get inspired by our people in the forum, it is a good place to find people helping others with sharing what they do.
Here in the U.S. line drying laundry is not common anymore but we can bring it back. It makes sense, it is free, it sanitizes our laundry and makes it smell oh so good. Running a dryer inside our home spinning that electric meter adds up how much we are going to owe them at the end of the month.
A dryer also can cause our sheets, towels and clothing to not last as long. it also can misshape our clothing, especially with modern fabric.
Free sunshine outside makes more sense. Many of our younger generation has never even seen laundry hanging on the line. They cannot help what they do not know and they need examples. We are the examples.
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I have unintentionally become much like my grandmother while on my journey to what makes sense, only I feel that I could never fill her shoes.
By trying to make sense of this crazy world and living more like the past I have put in place many of the good parts of life. I can see the importance of remaining simple, only we had to undo most everything of wrong first. That wrong cost us a lot of money.
It comes down to what makes sense. Our generations before us lived without most of the modern things that we have now. Now we have lived long enough to find out that the many of the modern things have just complicated our life.
We are now more isolated, many things we use cost money to use them or has a monthly bill. We have many more bills than they ever had.
The main thing that comes to my mind is how happy my family was before all of this today, and what I see is that people are carrying heavy burdens today working longer hours, extra jobs to keep up.
Calm came to our home when we finally realize that we needed to go a different direction and stop following what others are doing. That was causing us debt. We started living a more simple life, got out of debt and worked harder to be more like our generations before us living a sensible life.
My grandmother often had something simmering on the stove, it was simple nourishing food. Even our food has changed too much.
Shown above, one of our simple meals we like to eat. The meat can be anything or no meat at all. We like to cut up hotdogs as Clara did with her great depression meals. Sometimes we will have chicken.
The mac and cheese that I make. Boil "half" of a 16 ounce box of macaroni, which would be 8 ounces.
For the sauce, melt two tablespoons butter in a pot, add two tablespoons four, stir, add one cup of milk, stir and add 4 ounces of grated cheese. We use (Colby, which is Monterey jack and cheddar, a white and yellow cheese). This is stirred to make a creamy sauce. Add the drained cooked macaroni, stir together and serve.
The best place I can think of to be is home. Meals do not have to be complicated.
My grandmother most always had something simmering on the stove and she would offer you a bowl, a spoon, and a slice of bread or biscuit, and guide you to the stove to whatever was in the pot. Most often it was something that include tomatoes and okra.
If there was nothing on the stove cooking there would be a pan of cold biscuits left over from morning breakfast and cold butter to put on the biscuit. This is a very special memory in my life. It was her way of always having something to eat if someone stopped by and was hungry. If there were any left by evening they would be eaten with the evening meal.
My Grandparents and Mother lived throughout the great depression. They are no longer here, but I am old enough to know that we need to resemble them more than ever during this unsettled time that we live.
I feel that today we are making life more difficult than it needs to be. Less is often a lot more. I hope by the end of this week that we will truly understand what more sensible and smaller life really feels like.
See you tomorrow,
Grandma Donna
