| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| catscharm74 |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 12:13:22 PM
well as close as I can get. In the spirit of being more frugal and more kind to the world around me, I decided to really think hard about what I do each day that could be done better, more frugal, without, homemade, slower...Here is what I am working on...
1. Hang out laundry.
2. Take shower at night, turning water off between soaping, rinsing, setting my hair at night (no blow dryer to run)
3. Turning a/c off at a certain temperature outside. Using box fans to keep things cool and comfy.
4. Redecorating the house with things I already have. Bought one can of spray paint and some thread and already can re-do 5 things.
5. Freeze, bulk buy and do simple meals as much as possible. No more fast food. Eating out will be special and in a real restaurant. No more processed foods.
6. Playing outside with Charlie and the dog. Finding delight in reading, coloring with chalk on the sidewalks, chasing a ball, tag, sipping sweet tea/lemonade.
7. Making sure I am neat and perty to start my day- clean face, mascara, lip gloss and small earrings, wedding band, painted toes...I feel lovely!!!
8. I just bought a big sun hat- I feel so Audrey!!! I also made my first apron so I am wearing that around.
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
FARMGIRL #90 |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 11 2008 : 12:25:02 PM
I just feel so happy knowing how many women out there still feel this way - that God, home and farm, and family are the most important thing and it is so reassuring......
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
Psalm 51: 10-13 |
| Alee |
Posted - Jul 11 2008 : 11:49:06 AM
Maybe instead of being born in the wrong era, we are meant to bring some of the peace and tranquility back to our families? I would love to think that perhaps my house can be the warm welcoming home on the block that the kids flock to to play, use there manners, and feel safe. Some days it is hard to keep that dream in focus, but other days like last night, when I can help a neighbor in need- I feel so great about my dream!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
| keeperofthehome |
Posted - Jul 11 2008 : 11:39:03 AM
Heather,
This is a great thing to do. I have felt for some time that I was supposed to be born in a different era, like God made a mistake or something. I am slowly finding others that feel the same way and it's so great. Simplicity is where you can find peace (and hopefully some money).
Blessings!
Southern Belle always. |
| Suzan |
Posted - Jul 11 2008 : 10:17:20 AM
HI, all, I'm new to the forum but have been reading it for awhile. Gosh, Cheryl, I loved your memories, they are so much like mine! Add picking violets in the orchard. Back then we would take off all day with our friends and show up again at dinnertime, parents didn't worry at all. I would die if my grandkids did that now! My youngest daughter is 25 and unmarried and she lets me know all the time where she is and what she is doing! Anyway, I really enjoy all the reading! |
| CountryBorn |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 8:04:05 PM
I love it that you want to have the down home experiences of the 50's. I was a kid in the 50's, those times did make you feel safer. Except for the air raid drills in school and talk of possible bombs dropping. Didn't care for that too much! You know my Grandma always said that the past always looks simpler. I think it does. Especially to the people who didn't live in it. But, I truly understand the desire to feel safer and more secure in our lives. To be more self reliant and able to care for ourselves. Also I believe that all the good things from the 50's or 60's or any bygone era can really be obtained by a state of mind. Heather, I can feel your passion for the simple life, without all the trappings of todays pressured society.I feel the same way and I try and live my life with simplicity and really enjoying the every day and the good things in this life. Teaching your child to play and use his imagination is so important. Alot of the games and things Frannie mentioned are so good,just play, have fun no matter what your age. It isn't that these new fashioned creature comforts are bad, some are wonderful, it is just that some people become so obsessed with all the technology, they forget how to live and be creative and find their own special talents. I feel our Frannie is a perfect example of truly enjoying the past and all the wonderful aspects of it while still enjoying the wonderful new inventions and opportunities that give us a lot more time to enjoy life instead of working from sun up to sundown.I do think that in the past that a lot of people did have a lot more respect and yes, more of a sense of decency and values than some people do now. But, I feel that will turn around again to and we will end up with a good balance. It will come because there are all of you wonderful women out there who are living the best lives for yourselves and families that is possible. You will help this next generation to live life more simply and fully and to so treasure and enjoy all the good things in life, not just going for the almighty buck. I am just so proud of all of you who are really working toward making all our lives better, by your examples. Ok, I think us Grandma's help quite a bit too!!
Hugs MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
| Carrie W |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 11:04:19 AM
Hey Cheryl-
Just loved your description of your growing up years. How truly wonderful and sweet to read of such pleasant times. Did you grow up in OK?? While life is quite different in NY, I can remember similar times which have all but abandoned us now. I was born in the 60's so the world was in a time of turmoil and change, but I remember as a teen sitting in my pastor's living room knitting with his wife and other girls/ladies from our church. We made blankets and items to donate for young unmarried moms. I remember living in the suburbs when I was under 10 and riding my bike all over with neighborhood kids and playing at the playground or in a patch of trees that weren't too far from home. In my teens we had moved to the "boonies" and I rode my bike all over there too, usually finding someone who wanted to play in the woods or go horseback riding. I've always been different from most people in that I love the pioneer way of life...cooking over a fire, knitting socks and sweaters, wearing long skirts or dresses. It used to make me feel odd but now I find that so many people are in love with "lost eras" and it's really "in" to go back and resurrect old styles and even mix them up a bit. I've attempted to raise my kids with old fashioned values and interests but it sure is a fight to keep modern temptation (tv, video games, internet stuff) out of our lives. I sometimes get treated like I'm being abusive because we don't watch tv or have a game console. We also go for natural foods and avoid all this nonsensical junk like fruit loops, twinkies, and most candy.
It's really hard to give our children what we had, what we value, what we desire for them.
Thanks again for your story. Makes me wish I could have been one of your cousins helpin' to crank that ice cream!!
Carrie
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:58:59 PM
This 1950's thing slays me. But I love it! I grew up then, and you know how it is when you are familiar with the times and so the thrill is not there? In my young adult years, I wanted to hark back to the turn of the last century. Campfires, oil lamps, oak farm furniture, home-canning food (in the 50's, factory canned goods were new and in and a blessing).....everyone wanted the newest thing. They had lived with the old through the depression and the world war, and they wanted new-fangled! To my mind's eye, the real ruralism and country times were in the 20's and 30's and earlier. Quilting, making do, small towns, church dinners on the grounds.....all before Cleaver time.....I guess it is all in our personal perspective, right?
But the goal - to live a simple life - that is timeless, and I am glad you are going for it, Heather!
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
Psalm 51: 10-13 |
| CherryPie |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:45:58 PM
I for one adore June Cleaver. I wouldn't want to be June, mind you, but there is much to admire in a woman that manages a lovely home, an adoring husband and is so comfortable in herself. The 1950s had some lousy ways of dealing with civil rights but on the homefront, there is much there that we can learn from.
My toenails are Russian Navy Blue right now...I'll be switching to amethyst soon.
Kimberly Ann
Farmgirl Sister #225
http://nostalgichomemaking.blogspot.com |
| Caron |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 10:38:40 AM
Heather, I love your list! I was reading everyones posts and I remember in the late 50's, early 60's my church would sell sets of greeting cards door-to-door and we had no fear of doing that. Also on Halloween we went way far from our own house, and never was afraid something would happen to us. I rode my bike about 5 blocks to the 5 and dime store for comic books and candy.
Today, I can't let the kids in my family who come for a visit even out to play without going out too so I can keep an eye on them (lots of drugs invading my neighborhood). How sad!
Caron
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow"
Farmgirl Sister #254 |
| simplyflowers |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 10:15:31 AM
Heather, I LOVE THIS!!! The 1950s eh...
I often wander back to the thoughts and lifestyles of a woman in that era...And do you know what it gets me? SIMPLICITY and ORGANICS Which both of these things have brought a healthier life to my family! We (society) complicate too much stuff! I'm not saying we have to be June Clever or anything as I still work outside of the home 50+ hours a week....but simple and organic is cool and easy to manage.
How about those indoor farmers!!! |
| Shi-anne |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 07:58:39 AM
I love all your ideas! And I would love to get the book ~ 1000 tips, but gotta add, I grew up in the 50"s (& 60's) ~ I know, I am older than dirt! It was a wonderful time, a time of innocense (sp ?), that we have lost today. But those women you describe, (as for my mom & aunts) they weren't quite so "downtrodden, walkon, etc." as you seem to suspect. They were quite good at making their husbands think they were the ones calling the shots. They were grand at smiling and honoring their husbands in public and gently changing their minds in private. Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, they were such charming ladies.
Yesterday, I had to go out of town, and had a lot of time while driving to "think." When my cousin who is a year older than me was about 13, he and I would change places for a couple of weeks during the summer. Our parents would let us take the bus (because of the experience and it was cheap) and we travelled alone, about a 110 mile trip. I was remembering and thinking, I wouldn't let one of mine travel by bus now, for nothing. But you know, we didn't worry back then.
We grew up watching Sky King and Fury on Saturday mornings. Had to clean house every Saturday, did the wash every Monday. Went to the show on Saturday evenings, ate with relatives on Sundays after church. There was always cousins around (my sister & I were the only girls on either side), so we went to football games on Friday nights in the fall and played football in the backyard after dinner on Sundays. We made homemade ice cream (crank method), which had to set. This involved covering it with old rugs and quilts and one of us kids sitting on it ~ maybe it was a timeout and we didn't know it! We ate watermelon in the backyard with the neighbors and got washed off with the water hose. I grew up in a small town and you respected everyone's parents (because they felt free to correct you and then get on the phone and call your mama!).
We would sit in a bed of clover for hours, looking for a four-leaf clover. We played kickball or would just try to throw the ball over the house to each other. We learned to cook early and when we were about 11 learned to build a crystal radios, which if you got the bed by the window, you could go to sleep listening to the local radio station.
There was a "quality" to the time spent together and there was a sense of communtiy, whether you were in town or out in the country. While I was in grade school, I only remember one child whose parents got divorced. When I went back to college, I did a paper comparing then and now. In my oldest daughter's class, there were only two students (my daughter being one) who's parents had not divorced. Three of those in her class of 42 students, were being raised by relatives other than their parents and two were in foster care. That's sad.
Anyway, thanks for the ideas and the memories! Keep those toenails shinning!
Farmgirls don't have hot flashes ~ They have power surges! |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 06:42:42 AM
oh .. p.s. i could hardly wait until i was old enough to BLEACH my hair .. and have never stopped! it's back to reddish now with yellow streaks .. but i see my own darker roots peeking through .. i think i might go get some dark brown 'frosting' .. i love COLOR in my hair for different seasons and holidays!
True Friends * Frannie
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 06:41:07 AM
curious as to how many of you gurlz actually lived through the 1950's?
what are your actual remembrances of those times?
all eras have their good thangs and their not-so-good thangs. i was a child in the 50's and as a child .. i felt SAFE compared to today's world. and i think it is soooooooooooooo important for children to grow up feeling SAFE!
i'm not so sure that things were really all that great for all women with a 'liberated soul' .. not sure i would have wanted to be an ADULT housewife living in the 50's .. although i'm sure that most families were not 'the Nelson Family' (as portrayed on TV .. have any of you seen Kristen Nelson's WONDERFUL folk art painting book and stories (OUT OF MY MIND) .. of her life with the NELSON FAMILY during the 1950's?) .. or LEAVE IT TO BEAVER? so much of TV was fictionalized lives .. i think that is why shows like ROSEANNE were so popular .. it showed the UPS and DOWNS of real family life .. people could relate and not feel 'inferior'.
i was raised by two very STRONG women .. one married .. she was the Vice President of a major publishing firm in Washington, D.C. and made it into the Who's Who of Women each year .. a tiny wisp of a little woman (my Auntie Em that i often write of) .. and my Nannie (Emma's older sister) who never married .. but worked from 5 p.m. to midnight at the telephone company all her life. i owe much of my 'strength as a woman' .. my love of family and people .. to them as '50's women'!
love your list miz heather .. especially the 'being pretty' one. i think most of us (well, me anyhoo) always feel 'better' .. when i am feeling like i look my best.
family and friends gatherings are a wonderful childhood memory i have that i have carried forward with me during my lifetime.
what are some other 50's things you gurlz have brought with you or adopted over the years?
even in the city .. my nannie always hung our laundry on the clothesline ... i hang certain things .. but LOVE my electric DRYER too!
don't do the turning on and off of the shower thingie though .. love the feel of cool water on my hot body in the summertime ... or warm water on my cold body in the wintertime.
i still even 'run under the sprinkler' .. that is a great childhood memory of mine! (i've been known to sit down and play in mud puddles too if there are children around .. they delight in joining me!)
OH .. i am NOT going back to sleeping in those 'torture device hair ROLLERS'!!
i remember discovering 'blue jeans' in the 50's .. and 'pedal pushers' .. i still love jeans and love that 'pedal pushers' (known today as CAPRI's) are back!!!
i miss a lot of things from the late 60's and early 70's too. that glorious HIPPIE era! .. what a fun topic! brings back so many warm memories! xo
heather .. some of the things on your list sound delightful to me .. and those are the things we can STILL do today .. doesn't have to be an 'era' ... i, too, ADORE AIR CONDITIONING .. i can remember many hot, sweaty nights .. but as a child .. i don't remember minding them as much as i would TODAY!
True Friends * Frannie
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| Ga Girl |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 05:27:49 AM
I'm on the same line you all are, I cut my hair and have not used hairspray or hairdryer in about a month. Yea! I'm also trying to get Dh to put my clothes line up I've gotten the materials just need a little help to get it up. I cut my a/c off in the am untill as late as I can stand it. I also want to make the laundry detg. and dishwashing soap. Oh! I've not used my dishwasher in about a month, I started hand washing everything. I was thinking yesterday about getting cloth napkins to use so I dont have to buy paper a green thing I guess. I feel like I've taken a small step anyway. Karen
Create in me a pure heart,O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:10 http://farmgirlingastyle.blogspot.com/ |
| Marcy |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 03:52:39 AM
Hi Rachel,
Me too! Love those shows. Jack Benny is my favorite show of all. They just don't make them wonderful like that any more.
Farmgirl #170
It's never too late to be what you might have been.
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. |
| RachelLeigh |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 03:39:02 AM
I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I love the 1940s-50s era as well. Perhaps its because I love simpler times and simpler things....I've become addicted to listening to the Radio Classics channel on Sirius...I love those old radio shows! I could listen to those forever and never turn my TV on again!
FARMGIRL SISTER #127
my business http://www.backwoodsjunction.com
The Catholic Wife: http://www.thecatholicwife.com
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| elphie0503 |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 8:57:09 PM
I made roughly the same pledge to myself...DH is welding a set of T-bars for my clothes line tomorrow. Right now our A/C unit is out of commission, but it has made me feel like a kid again--we never had full blowing A/C, only for 3-4 hours a day--enjoying the fresh air in the mornings. The afternoons get warm, but nothing that can't be handled. Simple life is nice, isn't it?
Samantha
www.elphie0503.blogspot.com
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort~~Albright
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| catscharm74 |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 3:42:05 PM
Audrey- I used to be a hairdresser when I first graduated from high school and let's just say I was the test subject from black to bleach...I do love reds but they fade so easily and now with my...ahem...whites...or angel kisses....it fades to a lovely lite pink...grrrrr.... HA!!
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
FARMGIRL #90 |
| Back Home Again |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 3:37:40 PM
Hey Heather...would never suggest you continue to dye your hair....just thought being you were feeling "So Audrey", ya might want to try my hair color too ... your natural color is ofcourse the very best!!!! Your List sounds great!
Until Later,
Audrey
~ Side by side or miles apart....dear friends are always close to the heart ~ |
| catscharm74 |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 3:35:39 PM
OH I agree- it wasn't the best of times for women but I am taking their essence and guts and taking that away with me. Just TRY and let my hubby tell me WHAT to do (within boundaries). Ha!!! He would be sleeping with the dog REAL quick... : )
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
FARMGIRL #90 |
| Alee |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 3:21:16 PM
That sounds great! I am going to have to buy that book and also the "Home Comforts" book as well! Doug and I both often reference the 1950's lifestyle- however- I do want to point one thing out. I am a product of the modern age and I can't ever see myself taking a backseat to ANYTHING as per my husband's opinion. We make decisions as a team and rarely will one of us put our foot down about something. :D But I'm all for taking the very best that previous eras had to offer and incorporating it into our life!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
| Mumof3 |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 3:20:19 PM
Sounds like the perfect solution to counter the rising cost of things.
Karin
Farmgirl Sister
# 18 :)
Wherever you go, there you are.
www.madrekarin.blogspot.com
www.madrekarin.etsy.com |
| msjocee |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 2:30:06 PM
That sounds wonderful Heather! But I gotta leave the A/C on here as we are 100+ all week :0. I live on a culdesac and when it cools down in the eveing the kids get out the bikes scooters ect and ride all around, I am gonna get some chalk today. I just cut off my hair and have not used the hairdryer in a week!!! My toes are a lovley shade of blue (from the 4th) with red stars I did myselef :)
Mom to wild boys: Miah(10), and Jakie(6)
"Everything is Possible for They who believe." |
| Annika |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 2:19:32 PM
Heather I wanna play tooo! it sounds lovely. I really gotta work on the cocktail waist part :P but simplicity is better, really can't help but be. Tire swings, playing ball, an old red wagon, side walk chalk and skipping rope. I love the look you describe, too fun!
Hugs! you are an inspiration
Annika
Farmgirl sister #13
Mud Hen Queen
http://innermountainmudhens.wordpress.com/
http://panzymoon.wordpress.com/
http://panzymoonsgarden.blogspot.com/ |
| Carrie W |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 1:54:45 PM
Heather-
Glad you added the part about being perty and all...so important when you live a simple lifestyle because you can begin to feel sloppy and not so pretty when you have your hands in the dirt, climb into the henhouse, haul laundry in and out.....it's nice to see yourself at the end of the day and realize, gee I don't look so bad!! It really boosts the spirits! And our husbands like to see us done up and feeling good about ourselves.
I also am in the process of going "natural" in the haircolor arena. I have found that I actually love my hair and the grays make me feel so mature! I don't mind them at all. Of course, it helps that I don't exactly look my age and no one can believe I have a son turning 21 this summer!
Love to all-
Carrie
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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