Yesterday as the washing machine and the dishwasher were running, with the oven self-cleaning, and me heading up to my studio to have some fun, I thought, "How lucky am I!". As a young girl, my mom used a wringer washing machine, and hung out the wash to dry on a clothesline.
Dishes were washed by hand, and soon enough my Sis and I were assigned duty. I recall looking out the window above our sink, at our first little home in
Capitola. Gals, the reason you have that window above your sink is because
in the olden days, when women spent many hours in front of their kitchen sink, that view was a way to day-dream during the drudgery.
Sewing was done on a machine like this; Mom had one similar, with a foot pedal used to power it. Mom made clothing for us and for our dolls, plus mending. All the women of her generation and previous ones sewed. I learned to hem a skirt by hand from my
Gramma, a skill I rarely use but will never forget. Now, I'm thinking about purchasing a bare-bones model to use for crafting projects, inspired by
Mary Ann Moss "Remains of the Day Journal". I could have the power of many stitches at my finger tips, for a modest sum. Today, after hand-stitching vintage crepe paper for 3 long ruffles and 3 rosettes, it is appealing to contemplate an electric helper.
As for self-cleaning ovens...ladies, don't we take these for granted? Remember a decade ago the noxious chemical cleaners that were labor saving, but oh-so-dangerous to breath? So, for all of the daily conveniences that we enjoy...let's take a moment to say "THANK YOU".
ps all photos from flickr
Yesterday as the washing machine and the dishwasher were running, with the oven self-cleaning, and me heading up to my studio to have some fun, I thought, "How lucky am I!". As a young girl, my mom used a wringer washing machine, and hung out the wash to dry on a clothesline.
Dishes were washed by hand, and soon enough my Sis and I were assigned duty. I recall looking out the window above our sink, at our first little home in Capitola. Gals, the reason you have that window above your sink is because in the olden days, when women spent many hours in front of their kitchen sink, that view was a way to day-dream during the drudgery.
Sewing was done on a machine like this; Mom had one similar, with a foot pedal used to power it. Mom made clothing for us and for our dolls, plus mending. All the women of her generation and previous ones sewed. I learned to hem a skirt by hand from my Gramma, a skill I rarely use but will never forget. Now, I'm thinking about purchasing a bare-bones model to use for crafting projects, inspired by Mary Ann Moss "Remains of the Day Journal". I could have the power of many stitches at my finger tips, for a modest sum. Today, after hand-stitching vintage crepe paper for 3 long ruffles and 3 rosettes, it is appealing to contemplate an electric helper.
As for self-cleaning ovens...ladies, don't we take these for granted? Remember a decade ago the noxious chemical cleaners that were labor saving, but oh-so-dangerous to breath? So, for all of the daily conveniences that we enjoy...let's take a moment to say "THANK YOU".
ps all photos from flickr 
2 comments:
I say a hearty Thank You for sure!! Love all my "conveniences". I remember standing over the sink and washing those dishes. Yuk!! And my aunt had a wringer washer; it was fun to watch! LOL!!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Hugs
SueAnn
Hey! I remember those suckers, too. I think it's because my family was pretty poor and we're all Southern. Still, I never had a dishwasher until 5 years ago. I felt so spoiled! It seemed like such a fancy 'modern' convenience---isn't that silly?
I've used those heavy old sewing machines, too. They were so SOLID. I always felt like a child laborer in a factory.
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