When your homesick for a more simple time

Have you ever wished that you could just go back to when life was more simple?  

I think of the many decisions that I have made in my lifetime, the many years of changing with the time only to get to a point where I wish I had never changed.

I know that I would not have had the many life experiences that I have had, and I realize that many of my decisions have been made by relentless and intended advertising and brainwashing so that I would buy their products, or that car, or change my style because everyone else was and I did not want to look odd. Then again that is what they wanted from us all along because this is what makes others money and we live in a capitalist economy, market driven.   

I just wish that I would have turned around and gone back to a simple life much earlier than I did.  I wish that others could feel the calmness in the home when you let go of all the modern noise that comes from so many things.

Most of our furnishing are thrifted, homemade, restored. We have rescued pieces no longer wanted and sanded them down and given them a new purpose. 

We have replaced most of our modern items in our home for things that makes sense, brings comfort to our home, or reminds us of something in our past. This takes time to do but brings much pleasure to save an item from the land field. 

The photo shown above is of a large framed picture that belonged to a family member but was being thrown out because it was old and very faded. I rescued it from the curb and brought it home.  I carefully pulled the back off and removed the picture from the glass and frame and repainted the entire scene and brought it back to life. 

It is a calming and happy picture and most importantly brings us good memories of a loved one that we called Old Blue.  I am sure I have shown it in other posts but there are many posts that were written long ago that people do not see.

Parts of our yard we use for gardening, other parts we leave for wildlife and some parts of our yard we use for exercise such as our walking paths.  We try to do what makes sense to us, not what others do.

The trees that lose their leaves during winter are almost bare now, but the Japanese maple is just beautiful with it's vibrant color.  It brings happiness to our yard. 

I have been trying to get back to knitting and sewing useful items for our home.  Our 1941 /1942 history includes knitting, crochet and sewing as they did during ww2.  They did the same during ww1 and during both wars it was very needed for ladies to knit for the war.  They would knit bandages, wash cloths, socks, stump wraps, warm caps, sweaters and more. 

During the study we can knit, crochet and sew for our home, or for gifts, or make them for those that need personal items and would very much appreciate homemade items. 

In one of my recent posts I showed a folded 1920s laundry rack and said that I would take pictures next time I used it.

These dowels pull out and rest in a center holder..

They all pull out and the top will turn on a windy day.

This particular day I was hanging some old cloths that I use to keep from spending money on paper towels. I do not hem the edges and have worked well for many years. 

Some of the things that we have learned this week of our ww2 history study.  

We read in the 1941 local newspaper micro films, that here in our town, we had our first war casualty. A young man serving in the navy and in the war zone had been killed in action. 

We learned that anyone under 21 had to get permission from their parents to join the military.  

We learned that anything made from rubber was going to be rationed.  Also that tin was going to be rationed starting in January.

Other things we learned that happened in December of 1941.  The Japanese consulate in Honolulu had a perfect view of Pearl Harbor before the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his speech to congress said, "Yesterday December 7th 1941 a date which will live in Infamy". His speech was written for him to say, History but he changed the word to Infamy. 

Women of all ages swarmed into the American women's voluntary service headquarters ready to help with the war effort.

The Navy asked women to come forward to knit socks, turtle necks, and watch caps. 

Just for added information, during ww2, over 3.5 million women volunteered for the American Red Cross. 

For our victory gardens, remember to study when to plant seeds.  Learn how many days your seeds take from planting the seed to harvest.  Study when your last and first frost date is.  

Some seed need to be planted much earlier than you may realize.  If you cannot grow a garden then try planting something in a pot and treat it like a baby :)  

We had a enjoyable visit with family that came to see us and we caught up with family information.

We have managed to stay under budget with our grocery, electric, water, gasoline, and household expenses. It takes a lot of work to stay under budget but it feels right.  

Since we started the 1930s studies and now the 1941/1942 studies, Charles and I feel a calm, something much needed today. We feel we are not rushed and we are not rushing the history study. 

We are researching each day, today that I am writing this post is 12/19/2025 and we studied what happened 12/19/1941. 

We got up this morning and we ate a simple breakfast as one would have eaten in 1941. I washed the breakfast dishes by hand as it would have been in 1941. I cleaned and dusted, Charles helped me with the floors and he pushed the push vacuum and then went outside to do some work around the house while I worked inside. I knitted for a little while. Then there was lunch work. 

Later, we did some history research, I read todays entry in a old diary and Charles read one of his history books. We both read the newspaper for this day in 1941. I washed my hair today and let it dry naturally until it was only slightly damp and then curled it with curlers. 

We are living the day we are actually in but learning what happened on that same day in 1941. Soon we will be in 1942/2026 since we are so close to a New Year.  We know that as we move into 1942 we will be doing more things with the study as more was required of people as the war continued. 

I would love to know in the forum if the studies are helping you in some way with your home life. 

Grandma Donna