Comments On Article: What I Do When Starting A New Study

Joan S wrote:

I have a question.  I haven't learned to knit yet, but some of the things I wanted to knit once I learn was dishcloths and washcloths.  I bought a knit dishcloth to see how I liked it, and it cleans well, but it takes forever to dry and sometimes sours.  I rinse it well in clean water between uses and hang it to dry.  I live in a humid climate, however.  Is this a problem for anyone else?

I've considered some of the older kitchen items (non-electric).  I have some - a box grater, sifter, slicer/cutter, can openers, bottle openers and grinder, the kind you clamp on a table edge and force meat or vegetables through as you turn the handle.  I've looked at rotary beaters but every one I've seen that is vintage is off-kilter or the gear is worn.  I've looked at an Oxo beater online - it has a lot of plastic parts, so I've hesitated.  

I am close now to retirement and I think this will make my experiment with living at least closer to living in the 40's style a lot easier.  It will be much easier to line dry clothes when I'm not confined to a weekend, and I swear, it only seems to rain on weekends around here.

I agree with home canning being a very satisfying activity.  I love to pull a jar of meat, fruit or vegetables out of the canned goods to use for a meal. 

Kimberly F wrote:

I grew up stringing popcorn and cranberries as a child and I hated it!  I was always poking my fingers with the needle.  My mom was a child in the 1940s and it’s something she used to make.  She would enlist all of us children to make the garlands and I was the only one who would stick with it.  At some point after I was an adult she bought fake plastic popcorn and cranberry garlands — she really liked the look.  Even if I wanted to make them now I wouldn’t, because my dogs would be sure to eat them — they love “pawpcorn”.

I’m a paper chain fan, lol!  This year I bought a sheet music book for 10¢ at the thrift store book clearance and plan to use it for paper chains.  I’ll use staples because they are cheap compared to glue dots or tape.

Part of my “timeless study” is using the ornaments and decor we already own.  I don’t want to do a study and start throwing things out and replacing them with period appropriate items, which is antithetical to what my ancestors would have done!  Even my mom would still be using her plastic garland if she were still alive.  But making ornaments and decor with things we already own is exactly in the spirit of the generations past!  I do have a Baby Boomer family member who threw away all of the Christmas ornaments after their spouse died, so they could start over with things they liked.  Turns out they weren’t a fan of ratty old handmade ornaments made by the children (who were now young adults) or even the classic glass balls.  To my eye, the new ornaments looked like a generic department store tree, and I gained a better appreciation for the decades of ornaments we have, some made by us with our children, some made by friends and family members, some gifted to us, some chosen by our children and yes, they are plastic characters like Blue from Blue’s Clues and Thomas the Tank Engine.  But they are so full of memories!