Follow
Share
Read More
Or even those clips for potato chip bags, or a clothes pin
(1)
Report

Don't know for sure, because I can't argue with hubby to take a covid test, but I'm pretty sure he has it. This soooo so sucks!! 😞
(1)
Report

I'm so sorry, nacy. He's been ill a bit recently. I know you have to be careful around your mom. Take care of you too.
(1)
Report

I will , yeah hasn't been a fun month. He is to sick to argue with to test him. All I know is he started Monday night, today is the worst. I got mom pretty much set yesterday, because I new that he was sick and I wasn't sick at all yet. So I got her everything she would need , just incase, and got my Xmas stuff done this morning.

All he is doing is sleeping and snotting, I got him some soup, he ate some, I asked him how it was, he said , no clue I couldn't taste it.

Yeah I'm taking care of myself, getting tired of Hallmark xmass. 😂
(1)
Report

Nacy, you have your hands full with Christmas, mom and an ill husband; I hope you’re getting enough rest yourself. Didn’t hubs just get the newest vax? My BIL has had Covid twice and sis didn’t get it either time so it is possible that you will escape. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you and am sending healing vibes for DH.
(1)
Report

Golden, sometimes I’m embarrassed to admit how much I love home economics! It’s been very out-of-fashion for most of my lifetime but it really does make me happy to figure out how to make a home function well.
We have a lack of closet space here, too. It doesn’t help that I commandeered the coat closet right off the kitchen and turned it into a pantry, since we also had a lack of kitchen space.
I’ve been feeding a jacket fetish for years. I think it’s time to cut back.
(3)
Report

Yeah he did, it was probably a week and a half before he started the cold, and in between sick from the vaccine, he had a tooth infection, he is on antibiotics now for that.

We went out Sunday , to a couple really busy gift like stores in Vermont. I suspect he contracted what ever he has then, because he got sick Tuesday morning.

He has never done well with vaccines or viruses.

I've been sleeping, not even overly stressed just a bit frustrated today
(3)
Report

Psue - Tell me about your Home Ec experiences!
I am from the days when we had Home Ec class in high school. The boys had shop and ne'er the twain did meet. Cooking, sewing, setting a table type of thing. I did them all already, but it was a relaxed class. I remember making coffee with egg shells (may try that again) and sewing a pair of flowered green flannel pyjamas which lasted me for years. French seams!

I never minded housework. I used to do the ironing in the basement on hot days. It was so nice and cool down there. I've put sides to the middle (more French seams) to get more mileage out of sheets. Hand sewed seams sometimes. A well organized linen closet gives me satisfaction. I have to have another go at the one here.

One of my fantasies is having all my clothes hangers identical lol. Doubt it will ever happen. All that being said, I have a "lived in" house. Mother was a bit of a fanatic and I'm certainly not that!

Jackets - I'm into non tailored "jackets". Have been for a long time. They take up less room and, for me, are more comfortable. I used to love a tailored suit for work, but no more.

nacy - hope your hub feels better soon. It's worrying I know, but you may not get it.. DD didn't when her hub had it.

Antiwhine - R started treatment with the concussion PTs and very quickly a bad headache got better. They know what they are doing. What a blessing!
(2)
Report

Golden, I’ve never made coffee with egg shells but I have read about it. If you try it again, let me know what you think.
We had home ec in middle school but one week a year the shop class, the sewing class and the cooking class would rotate so the boys could learn how to sew a straight line on binder paper and how to keep blueberry muffins from ‘peaking’. The girls made wooden boxes with a bandsaw and learned how internal combustion engines work. I loved every minute of it.

I’ve been sewing since I was a tot but that backfired on me in middle school home ec. While the other girls were making draw-string bags and a-line shifts I made a bikini and cover-up. No one told me there was going to be a fashion show at the end of the semester for all the students and their parents. Oh my lord, the mortification! I am scarred for life.
(4)
Report

Golden, hubby is awake, 😊, he has pretty much been sleeping for 2 days. He has been awake for a whole 2 hours!

I handle flus and stuff pretty good, I never worry much about me getting things. It's not fun, but I'll manage. Rather it not be Christmas, but it is what it is. It's hubby I worry about, and mom.

I had homemaker classes, and I actually had shop class. Lol 😆 I learned stuff from them both.

I'm pretty much a bi-poler cleaner. I go through spells , where its very clean and other times it's more of a lived in mod. Right now, more lived In
(2)
Report

Peasuep, that is the funniest story I ever heard. 🤣🤣

A girl my kids went to school with, had to do a presentation on a state. She picked Hawaii, right after eating pineapple, she had to do a report, she was speaking and suddenly found out she was very allergic to pineapple.
(3)
Report

Nacy, oh no! That poor little girl! Those experiences stick with us forever.

I’m so glad your husband is feeling a little better and I hope you dodge the virus bullet.
(1)
Report

Home Economics is now called Family Studies here. My youngest took it a few years ago in high school.

And she’d have forfeited the credit before she’d model a bikini. If I looked like her, I’d be strutting about in one!
(5)
Report

Ana, I like the re-branding. Family Studies sounds cozier somehow.

Why is it that pre-teen and teenaged girls can’t see how beautiful they are, if only by virtue of the fact that they are young? It seems like a design flaw.
(3)
Report

When my kids took Home Ec class it was called Family and Consumer Science .
My daughter still complains that is was a waste of time having her use a sewing machine and not teaching her how to hand sew ( repair ) or sew a button on that falls off .

She says she will never use a sewing machine again . And I have tried to teach her to hand sew . She’s awful at it . I’m pretty good at it . I can do different stitches for different fabric types , for hems etc . Mom taught two of us to hand sew . Mom and one sister were better at it than me . That sister was good at the sewing machine too . The other sibs were not interested .
(2)
Report

It's interesting about hand sewing. I always called small, hand-sewn work "darning," though Google tells me that's not quite the definition of darning.

My mom taught me to hand sew when I was very young. She showed me the basics when I was around 5yo; I've been decent at it since then. Minor hand repairs seem like nothing compared to putting things through a machine to construct a hem or put together a pattern, to me. I'll hand sew anything to make it functional or look better. Machines are a different world, to me, and more difficult. I took home ec in high school... but can't say I learned anything useful from that class.

I want to share a story that meant something to me during caregiving: My grandmother had a 1960s "flip over" type sewing machine desk in the corner of her bedroom. The machine was solid but hadn't been used in a few decades. I oiled it and got it running, and she had all the supplies, such as new needles and bobbins. I took fabrics from around her home (there were decades' worth of compilations of different sheets, blankets, towels, etc.) or bought curtains from cheap outlets (thrift stores, discount stores) to alter for her home. I made all kinds of new furnishings for her home. I made curtains and covers for chairs and altered anything and everything to put a "pretty" finish on the old house. It's the ONLY time I've ever done any sewing like that, when I got some cleaner and prettier fabrics together for grandma's house in 2011. Two of her hired caregivers wanted to learn machine sewing, and I showed them what I knew about how to put seams together -- simple stuff. Good memories. This was all in a short time, a few months when I was "renovating" her home for her.

During the summer and fall of 2011, I rehabbed my previously always hard-working, dignified, generous, 103yo, 10+ years into dementia, grandmother's house entirely by myself in only a few months. It was far more than a few new fabric covers. I removed cabinet doors, stained them, and removed decades of old carpet from all the rooms that covered the lovely old wood floors. The changes amazed anyone who visited, and I was proud of my accomplishments. 😊 GREAT memories... before the bad stuff set in and forces beyond my control caused a downward spiral in grandma's quality of care and her health. She loved the changes, and even though she didn't know who I was, she said she wouldn't ever want to live without me. 😂💛 It was a sweet bonding time between us at that stage in her life. Her sweet love paid me for any work I did during that time, and I'm so thankful I got that wonderful experience before she declined.

*Since it's the "whine" thread, I'll just say that my only whine when remembering this time when I was machine sewing daily is that I didn't get more time believing that if I just gave my grandma a "new" house, that her life would continue with greater dignity--which is what I wanted to give her. That's not how it played out, and it's unfortunate because it was a beautiful time when I still had so much naive confidence in myself and believed that good deeds were always rewarded... or at least not severely punished.

I have lovely memories of my only time doing machine sewing, and I'm happy to have a place to recount them with a smile on my face. 💜
(3)
Report

Ali, what a sweet, bittersweet, story! Thanks for sharing! There’s something really special and enduring about making something for someone you love with your own hands. Rare these days.

By the way, my grandma used to darn socks over a goose egg. My mom used a lightbulb. I threw them away and bought new ones. Sigh.
(3)
Report

Way, your daughter has a point. Who makes their own clothes anymore? I quit sewing clothes when a vogue dress pattern topped $20. And the price of quality fabric if you can even find it - outrageous.

It is sad when someone can’t sew a button on though.

EXCEPT when it’s your soon to be ex-husband and you use a seam ripper to cut all but one thread holding all the buttons onto all his shirts. Then it’s karma.
(3)
Report

I compromise. I buy OpShop clothes to beat the over-consumption that makes fashion a serious waste problem, but I hand-sew to make them shorter, fit better, look smarter by ‘upcycling’ etc. In fact more “me”. But I don’t mend socks!
(5)
Report

My mom kept a burnt out light bulb for darning too, dad's wool work socks worn in rubber boots often needed repairs. I have my grandmother's darning egg and will sometimes repair my favourite warm socks, acrylic socks are warm but not very durable.
I did not take home ec in high school but I was a 4-H member for many years and learned all about cooking, sewing and gardening there. My grandmother taught me how to crochet, braid and do embroidery but it was my mom who showed me the basics of knitting. And now I'm just not interested in any of it.
(3)
Report

psue - that's hilarious!!! At least you had a cover. Re teenage girls - I think it's more the age than the beauty. Things change very fast and it takes a while to get used to them. Vogue really were the best patterns. Re your ex you didn't, did you??? There's a tiger underneath that sweet exterior.

nacy - sounds like hubby is getting better Yay! I wish I had had shop. I would have loved it. Awful for that poor girl.

ana - lol I hear you! When you get to my age you can strut again no matter how you look!!!

way - I guess your dd is just not a sewer. It's probably becoming a lost art. Obviously she is managing her life without having to sew on buttons. Nowadays stuff is thrown out rather than repaired. Handing down skills was the old way.

ali - What a story. That was lovely! I am sure your grandmother's place looked great. You have lots of talents! But you went in with your dreams and hit a major obstacle. I remember you posting about that business here years ago. Sad. My understanding is that darning is what you do to socks, I kind of enjoyed the weaving in and out. Otherwise it is mending. I doubt many do it these days. The most important reconstruction and weaving you did then was in your relationship with your grandmother. No one can take those memories from you,

Good for you. Margaret! You certainly have some sewing talent.

Yes cw - I'm awake again! You could get lovely darning eggs in those days but anything round and firm worked. 4H was a great group. I've wondered about crocheting again. Mother knitted several Norwegian sweater in her late 80s, then went on to scarves. But it hasn't happened for me yet either.

R has a few drawers full of sox on which I commented the other day. He said "I don't darn them any more. When they get holes, I throw them away. I figure he's good for a few decades. In case you wonder, he does his own laundry so I am not aware of the state of his sox. He sews reasonable well too and mends occasionally.

I have been somewhat shameless this season buying a few new outfits. It's over now I hope - but maybe just one more piece. it will go so well with that other set.
(2)
Report

Whine on behalf of R and request for prayers to anyone who does. His headaches, at times, nearly blind him. The concussion PT did a manipulation which brought him some instant relief, but, of course the headaches returned. Yesterday was really bad, and the sun on the snow makes it worse. Glad at least he has some hope that the PT will help eventually.
(3)
Report

Well I got some reading to do later, just wanted to say, hubby is definitely on the other side now. He couldn't of gotten any sicker than yesterday, or it would of been hospital for him. Wow he was sick.
(3)
Report

Golden, I will pray for R - I already did pray for R, and for you because you are worried and worry hurts. I don’t want either of you to hurt.

Nacy, what a relief for your DH. I’d much rather be sick myself than have a sick husband. How about you? Any symptoms?
(2)
Report

Golden, oh yes indeed I did do that. Not only that, I took a hammer to all of his pants zippers. I figured, why does he need them to close? They apparently weren’t closed all that often anyway……
(2)
Report

nacy - so glad your hub is starting to recover and that you are ok.

psue - Sounds appropriate and I hope it helped. Like I said, there's a tiger in you!🐯 Thx for the prayers. I hate seeing him in such pain, He has a very high tolerance for pain but it still shows

Humidity going up. Why didn't I do this sooner?
(1)
Report

Peasuep, yup I'm still feeling good, just got home, had to get out for a while and away from germs. 😆

Golden, I'm so sorry, that's gotta be so hard for him and you. I actually get very few headaches, but I've seen people with migraines, I always feel so bad for them , because it's so obvious they are in much pain.
(1)
Report

Sis is blowing up my phone with messages , on a continuous loop .

“ I don’t need to be here , I hate it . How would you like to be put away too young?
I have rights , I refuse to be drugged .”

She refuses her Seroquel . 😫😫😫
(2)
Report

Way, I'm going to speak from pure novice anecdotal experience here: Seroquel can be far too sedating. Can her psych Rx something else, another calming anti-psychotic like Abilify? Or, there are many, many other meds to choose from.

Seroquel makes one very sleepy and groggy. Again, I have very limited experience with myself and hearing this from others, but I get why someone would refuse it if they're cognizant enough to do so.

Idk who her advocate is. In my opinion, a lot of folks refuse Seroquel. And psychiatrists get lazy and fall back on rx'ing the med that calms folks down so they are compliant. I hope her psychiatrist tries something else; something she agrees to take as prescribed.
(1)
Report

Way, Risperdol? That’s what DH was prescribed in the ER but I admit, I did not give it to him since he has maintained his calm since that fateful day and I read it can cause dizziness.

Golden, the tiger within me has tamed a lot since husband #1. We were both young and stupid. You can add ‘petty’ to my list but vandalism was better than what I wanted to do (and what he deserved IMHO) - he got off easy.
(1)
Report

Start a Discussion
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter