Where/who do/did you get your old-fashioned streak from?

[Mrs-M]

Sort of a piggyback topic to MamaM's thread post, Who are the people (http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?7193-Who-are-the-people).

Parents (mother/father)? A friend? Neighbour? Extended family? Born with it?

[CathyA]

I think I got it from my age. haha There are alot of comforting things from growing up during a certain time, and I guess I still find comfort in them.
My Grandpap loved to garden, and I always loved that about him. My mom would go elderberry hunting. We'd go on trips to forests. Our lives weren't complicated (at least not in relation to how they are now).
My family would sometimes go to the drive-in, taking our own pop and popcorn.
We'd spend alot of time outside in the summer evenings. We went ice skating near our house on a marsh. Alot of simpler things, that I loved.

Also, I had a friend when I was about 25 who was really into gardening and food preservation, cooking from scratch, nature, etc., and I learned alot from her.

I do think I was born with it too! I'm sort of a hermit and can keep myself happy with my chickens, cooking, the garden, birdwatching, etc.

[IshbelRobertson]

My mother and both Grannies. Both were frugal housewives. One from the highlands, the other only one generation from that background. Both were great knitters, gardeners, cooks and bakers. Ditto my Mum.

My mum, as the wife of a British army officer, got used to packing up her home and family, and traipsing after my Dad. We lived in far flung places at a time when The British Raj was almost over. Much pomp and circumstance, but my mother spent time with our cooks, learning local dishes and frugality!

I travelled around the globe traipsing after my husband, putting my career on hold and bringing up my family.

All those skills passed down to me. In lots of ways I'm not frugal, but in the basics... i am!

[MamaM]

Well, as I mentioned my Nanna and Papa but a lot of it has been on my own. I am the only one in my immediate family or otherwise who loves to garden, hang out laundry, find ways to use up food and repurpose items that I can and can otherwise just piddle around all day. . I just live rather simple. Out of the all the people in my family and friends, I am the only one I know that is the way I am. This may harken back to when I was about 10 years old. I would make my fort underneath the forsythia bushes out front, get my cat, my book and some water in an old milk jug full of water. I remember packing to go camping and all I had went into a small duffle. My sister packed at least 4 bags. LOL. Any money I would get went straight to the bank and my mom was floored when she found out I had $1700 in savings by the time I was 16. Circumstances have made it hard sometimes but good ole' frugal and simple living get me through it, everytime...well that prayer and chocolate. :)

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by CathyA.
There are alot of comforting things from growing up during a certain time, and I guess I still find comfort in them.Yes! I'm 100% with you on that!

Ishbel. Your post reiterates to me, the importance of taking younger generation people (little ones/growing ones) under our wings.

MamaM. I'm always inspired by those (like yourself), who embraced simplicity/frugality from scratch. Without much direction.

P.S. Re: chocolate... I never had much of a hankering for anything sweet in my younger days, chocolate included, however, the older I get, the more intense my desire for sweets and chocolate, gets!

[pinkytoe]

Both of my parents (born in 1919) grew up in the mountains of Colorado. I spent many summers on family vacations visiting all the relatives who still lived in mountain towns or farms. As a child and teen, seeing first hand how they lived - raising their own cattle and food, being resourceful and living a very simple but seemingly contented life - left quite an impression. At my grandmothers, I still remember getting water from the well in an old metal bucket, shelling peas and "going to town" - a weekly event. One summer when I was about 13 or so, my mother took me to meet an old woman way up in the mountains who had been a neighbor of hers growing up. She was in her 80s, nearly blind and still getting around on an old horse. She lived in a tidy little log cabin. I admired her independence and wanted to live that way.

[razz]

Lack of money growing up and yet doing well is a great incentive to frugal living. I know that I can have most things if I wait and save carefully choosing between wants and needs and shopping thriftily.

[Gregg]

I don't have an old fashioned bone in my body, but I do a couple things that my family has done for a very long time. Gardening and canning come to mind. I do not in any way consider them to be old fashioned pursuits, however. The things we can are recipes my Grandma never imagined. Some of the plants we grow and the methods we use would shock my Dad (who was a master gardener in every sense of the word). I think both of them would be thrilled with how things have evolved because both were very diligent about staying up with advances and trends related to their favorite activities.

[herbgeek]

What little old fashioned I do have (and its quite little) comes from Mom. I will not have a guest to my house without offering them something to drink and eat. Usually but not always homemade. I love table linens. I like to can my produce. All stuff from Mom.

There's only one other thing that is "old fashioned" and its my fascination with herbs, in cooking as well as medicinally, for crafts, and for household use. No idea where that comes from, must be another life, as no one in my family ever had an interest or knowledge of herbs.

[MamaM]

I forgot to add, in my 20's and early 30's, I was able to travel overseas. It really opened my eyes as to how people live around the world. In Guam, I remember being invited to a tiny home, no electricity, laundry on the line, kids running around barefoot but happy, smiling. They still served me a glass of wine and had a spread that would rival any wedding. I was floored and humbled. I saw this over and over in all the countries I visited. They appreciated what they had, didn't have excess and were very kind.

[citrine]

I get the obsessive clean home thing from my Mother as well as always offering food/water to anyone who comes into the house, including contractors, girl scouts, or PSE&G people!
As for gardening and frugality and restoring/beautifying things...no idea where I get that from either.

[Rosemary]

My dad's mom. When I was fairly young I used to spend a month with his parents every summer and those times are some of my fondest memories. It makes me sad when I realize that my memories of those days and ways, their house with its various stashes of saved items ready to apply to new uses, and their lovely garden don't even go on to my brother, as he was too young. But when I think about it I can recall the particular aroma that was always in their garage, the scent of the roses that climbed around the porch that my dad helped my grandfather build, and the excitement of catching lightning bugs in their yard (we never called them fireflies) way past my bedtime.

When it comes to cooking, though, I learned the most from my mom - planning meals, using the freezer to save time and energy on busy days, not wasting food. I learned to bake from my mom, and I don't do much of that these days, but I learned to *cook* on my own. Entirely different things.

[catherine]

My biggest old-fashioned habit is my old-fashioned morality which I'm sure came from my mother and the nuns in the Catholic school I went to. It has served me well in some ways, and not so well in others.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm old-fashioned in the sense that I won't say the f-word in front of your grandmother unless she says it first. Also, I still do my taxes by hand, using a pencil.

[catherine]

I'm old-fashioned in the sense that I won't say the f-word in front of your grandmother unless she says it first.

Haha.. yes, I've also inherited a piece of my grandfather.. My aunt used to tell us that he wouldn't say s**t even if he had a mouthful of it. I've just started using the word a$$ only because it seems to be accepted on the public airways now. But I don't use it often--just for effect ;)

[domestic goddess]

According to my dd, I have a lot of old fashioned characteristics. I'm not big into profanity, either, though it does come out once in awhile, to the shock of my son in law, since it is often directed at him. When I text, I type out whole words and use capitalization and punctuation. Cooking and baking involve "real food items", not boxed mixes. Just recently, I made macaroni and cheese, and my oldest dgd told me it didn't taste "real"! Pardon me, but I grated that cheese myself, so I know it was real. I guess if it isn't from a box and neon orange, it no longer qualifies as "real" mac and cheese, but it sure was good. I don't buy what I can make myself, and having just found a recipe for oatmeal whoopie pies, I hope I can reduce the Little Debbie consumption around here. My grandfather was a great gardener, who always had grapes, strawberries, and just about anything you could mention, and I plan to start a garden this year. My grandmother on the other side (my Dad's mom) did not have much money in her adult life, and if I get this from anyone it is probably her. She was never one for the packaged food in the grocery, making everything from scratch. My mom was not a big "from scratch" cook, so I didn't get it from her. There are a lot of practical skills I don't have, like sewing and knitting, but I may get to them someday. Who knows, but I seem more willing to take the time as I get older.

[Tradd]

I'm old-fashioned in the sense that I won't say the f-word in front of your grandmother unless she says it first. Also, I still do my taxes by hand, using a pencil.

Yep! Jane, I just finished doing my taxes by hand. But then I typed all info into the online form and printed it out to mail off. The $25 I owe my state is getting paid with a check.

I still prefer getting my news via newspaper (or newspaper website) and radio. I write letters by hand. I recently restocked some good Crane paper. I prefer to read than watch something (with the exception for things like British drama on PBS I watch online or DVD). My favorites are the classics. I don't have a microwave.

I don't know where this comes from. I'm frugal in many areas, but I still splurge on things like my smart phone. Probably my dad's mother, although I haven't ever saved wrapping paper like she did to line drawers (I don't have drawers to line and I get few gifts at the holidays!).

Old-fashioned morality as well. Can't say as that's been a bad thing. It's kept me out of trouble. ;-)

I also have one heck of a work ethic, taking responsibility for what I do, and pride in my work. I see a real lack of that in some of my peers.

I love to cook and bake, when I have the urge. But I can turn out some awfully good stuff that's very simple. My mom was the 1960s and 70s queen of convenience foods. She's shocked I even do mashed potatoes from scratch, let alone soup!

[Wildflower]

I get mine from both of my Grandmothers. I spent alot of time with each in my childhood, and learned cooking, baking, canning, gardening, knitting, sewing, and manners from both of them - for which I am forever grateful....my home life with my alcoholic parents was not too great. My Grandmas gave me lots of love. I miss them.

[sweetana3]

Most wage earners with no itemized deductions can do their taxes by hand. However, even though I worked for the IRS for 31 years and could do them in my sleep, we use a program to do our taxes. It saved us over $1,000 one year. With all the free programs for simple returns, I would check them with a computer program that has all the latest "stupid" changes made by Congress.

In the 70s, I did all my calculations for tax returns in front of people with paper and pencil and a simple calculator. Now they need complex programs and still are often wrong. I wish it would be simplified again. I have watched the complexity come each and every years since 72.

[Tussiemussies]

Definitely got it from my maternal grandmother and my mother...:)

[cdttmm]

I get bits and pieces of my old-fashioned streak from a combination of people: my mom, my dad, my paternal grandparents, and my maternal great-grandmother. But mostly, I think I get my old-fashioned streak from myself. :D I can be intensely stubborn, I often enjoy doing things the "hard" way, and I generally want to be different than everyone else. Which means that mostly, like I said, I get my old-fashioned streak from myself.

But in the spirit of this thread... My mom cooked most meals from scratch when I was growing up, but she uses far more convenience foods now. We had a huge vegetable garden growing up and she preserved many things. She still gardens now, but it's far more ornamentals and very few vegetables. My dad became a vegetable gardener later in life, long after I had move 1500 miles away to go to college. But I do remember my dad riding his bicycle to work -- a distance of nearly 10 miles -- when I was in high school. Everybody (myself included) thought he was weird. Now I think that's pretty cool. :~) My paternal grandparents were the epitome of poor, dirt farmers. My grandmother cooked and baked from scratch, preserved food, sewed, knitted, crocheted, and gardened. My grandfather could fix most anything and saved every miscellaneous piece of everything on the off chance he might need it. He used to straighten bent nails with a hammer after pulling them out of whatever he was taking apart at the time. He would save those nails and later reuse them for another project. I have a few memories of visiting my maternal great-grandmother. One of them is that she let my older brother and me go downstairs into the basement to play with my great uncle's toys that she had kept. They were all very solidly made wooden or metal toys -- not a single plastic toy in the lot.

[Mrs-M]

What a great read this thread is.


Originally posted by Domestic Goddess.
When I text, I type out whole words and use capitalization and punctuation.Yes, if I was the texting type, I, too, would do what you do.

[JaneV2.0]

Most wage earners with no itemized deductions can do their taxes by hand. However, even though I worked for the IRS for 31 years and could do them in my sleep, we use a program to do our taxes. It saved us over $1,000 one year. With all the free programs for simple returns, I would check them with a computer program that has all the latest "stupid" changes made by Congress.

In the 70s, I did all my calculations for tax returns in front of people with paper and pencil and a simple calculator. Now they need complex programs and still are often wrong. I wish it would be simplified again. I have watched the complexity come each and every years since 72.

I've itemized deductions since I first bought a house and have had a couple of years of complicated returns. One year I decided to have my taxes done professionally, with the upshot that I had to re-do the whole thing myself anyway, since they failed to take appropriate deductions. My pencil and I, we get 'er done.

I had a microwave for about two years. It took up too much room, so I handed it off to the SO. I don't miss it.

[Gardenarian]

Again, I think books have had the greatest influence on me. I read mostly classic or fantasy literature, and have often felt that, intellectually, at least, my mind is in a differntnt world or century. I would love to live in a hobbit house!

I wish I had more old-fashioned skills, like being able to knit (I just can't seem to get it! though I do crochet) or make my own pottery.

My dd is learning a lot of these things in homeschooling, sometimes through me and dh (mental math, old fashioned cleaning, how to repair things, building with wood, gardening, composting, herbal medicine, making your own music, crafts) and some through camps and workshops (horseback riding, archery, fencing, fire by friction, tracking, native plant use, milking cows, etc.)

Homeschooling has been wonderful in teaching all of us the importance of neighbors, of sharing and caring and hospitality.

[domestic goddess]

Gardenarian, I glad to see that I'm not the only crocheter who can't knit, though I really want to. I don't seem to be very coordinated with 2 needles, and am so slow that I get too frustrated to continue. I may have to buy a lump of patience if I really want to do this!

[JaneV2.0]

I'm not sure I get the meaning of "old-fashioned" here. I take what I like from the past and leave what I don't. The best of "the good old days" usually persists in some form. I've made butter--but in a food processor, not a churn. I guess beating your clothes on rocks in the river to get them clean would be old-fashioned; maybe some would say hand-washing in the sink or still using a top-loader is. I disagree (and I'm not at all impressed by newer front-loaders). Growing up, I heard a lot about "older is better." I can't say it took. My approach is a synthesis of my experience and preferences. It doesn't really have a label.

[JaneV2.0]

Gardenarian, I glad to see that I'm not the only crocheter who can't knit, though I really want to. I don't seem to be very coordinated with 2 needles, and am so slow that I get too frustrated to continue. I may have to buy a lump of patience if I really want to do this!

I've experimented with--and like the looks of--both. I can't seem to knit without twisting the yarn and encountering other frustrations, and so prefer crochet.

[Gardenarian]

I may have to buy a lump of patience if I really want to do this!

:) I have never heard that saying! I think I need a trip to the old patience shop myself!

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by JaneV2.0.
I'm not sure I get the meaning of "old-fashioned" here.Always got to complicate things, don't you, Jane! LOL!

[Mrs-M]

Old-fashioned style living:


preparing from scratch, not store bought
line-drying, versus electric tumble-dryer drying
handwashing/drying dishes, instead of automatic/automated electric dishwasher
handwashing/scrubbing floors, rather than using a modern Swiffer, etc
recycling, reducing, reusing, instead of replacing
sewing, instead of buying off the rack
gardening

[Mrs-M]

Old-fashioned (streak) living: Being staunch in settling for the traditional ways of the past, in lieu of modernities of today.

[JaneV2.0]

Old-fashioned style living:


preparing from scratch, not store bought
line-drying, versus electric tumble-dryer drying
handwashing/drying dishes, instead of automatic/automated electric dishwasher
handwashing/scrubbing floors, rather than using a modern Swiffer, etc
recycling, reducing, reusing, instead of replacing
sewing, instead of buying off the rack
gardening


There was no recycling when I was growing up. We just blithely threw stuff in the bin. I'm often nostalgic for those days. :devil:

I do a lot of the other stuff (I absolutely draw the line at crawling around on the floor with a rag. Why would I? I bet some bright housekeeper tied a towel to a stick hundreds of years ago and saved her/his joints with their clever invention.), and I think others do too, without feeling like they've taken a step back in time. Line-drying is easier on clothing, sewing is mostly a creative pursuit these days, whole-foods cooking is at least as popular now as it ever was when I was young--at least among people I know--and I bet I'm not the only one who hand washes dishes before hiding them in the dishwasher. I don't consider myself old-fashioned by inclination, but I don't text or tweet, so others might disagree.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by JaneV2.0.
There was no recycling when I was growing up. We just blithely threw stuff in the bin. I'm often nostalgic for those days.Shame on you, Jane!http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/pfft2-smiley.gif?1292867652

http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10172/teehee.gif