Old Time Traditional Skills - Page 5

fourpaws56 · ‎03-04-2015

hi Noel, I can do all those except spinning...I was pretty self sufficient at age 16...I taught myself how to be a good cook,sew, maintain my vehicle to an extent lol..it was sink or swim,I swam

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@q-girl wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
@q-girl wrote:
I had to really think about this one. I am so impressed by all the skills you all have. I'm not sure any of these will count as skills, but here are mine:

I can manage, without a recipe, to make a tasty dinner with whatever I happen to find in the fridge and/or cabinet.

I have the ability to remain calm and focused in an emergency or high stress situation.

I possess an innate ability to teach information to others.

I can, and have, tracked a dead deer by it's blood trail.

Hugs. . .

Love your responses, @q-girl :-)

It is not easy to come up with a tasty dish based on leftovers & the pantry. My mom always made it look easy. When I started out doing it, I came to the unhappy conclusion that such cooking wasn't for amateurs ;-)

Your #2 and #3 is me as well.

Thankfully, I've never had to do #4. We get deer in our yard in the early am hours. I once saw a dead fawn at the side of the road near our house and just the thought of it, even after they'd taken it away, made me sad.
@Moonchilde. . . . I always enjoy reading your posts. What amazes me is so often when I read them I feel as if you are speaking from MY heart and soul, but so much more eloquently and knowledgeably than I ever could. Even when your POV differs from mine, I find your post is well thought out, well written and comes from a place of knowledge, strength and passion for the subject.

I think if we didn't live on opposite coasts I would enjoy getting together for coffee or lunch and a good conversation with you. As it is, I continue to look forward to your posts.

Hugs. . . Beth

@q-girl What a lovely compliment - thank you so much ❤️

Kindred spirits are always special :-) Coffee sounds fun!

I probably seem to some as if I have a split personality, and others are sure I'm one to avoid. I just say what I feel, and I don't feel, or react, the same to everything.

Speaking of kindred spirits - I got a Blu-Ray player for my birthday, and have just been watching a present to myself - the Kevin Sullivan Anne of Green Gables PBS series and the sequel. I love it like I love "the" definitive (for me) 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. I should buy that too, but as long as I have Amazon Prime I can watch it for free :-)

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

Something I could do, and every year I think about doing it, is make fruit or other flavor-infused vodka or gin, or a liqueur. There are lots of recipes out there and it isn't difficult. Does anyone here do this?

I used to make mulled wine every holiday season. That's easy too, but also messy (red wine, white kitchen counters). Maybe I could make a few bottles, for me and the couple of people I know who would enjoy it. My immediate, share-the-home family aren't wine drinkers.

LOL I could make Marilla's raspberry cordial.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

@millieshops wrote:
@Noel7 I'm impressed! Not sure it's a traditional skill but when I need to or just want to, I know how to make good use of my money. My friends used to tease me that if I had a carton of cottage cheese and a chicken, I could probably eat okay for a week. Credit my mother. Nothing went to waste in my mother's kitchen.

I don't have your survival skills - but I'm quite certain I could sew my QVC gold into my hems, and that might help me survive a governmental collapse. Once upon a time I could have done that on the old Singer treadle machine that had been in my grandfather's tailor shop.

By the by - I could probably get someone to pay me NOT to sing - I just listen well.

Most of the survival skills you can do I can't; however, finance has always fascinated me. I grew up with a father who was a child of the depression and thriftiness and the "value of money" were drilled into us (4 kids) for as long as I can remember.

My mother died at 46 and dad remained single and raised his 4 children alone. At the point mom died, dad pulled all us kids together and told us we all had to band together and learn how to do things around the home and that there were no "girl things" or "boy things". My brothers had to help cook and clean, my sister and I had to take turns doing yardwork. When I went to work, my father sat me down and taught me how to do income taxes and again, stressed about doing my due diligence for getting a good deal when buying large purchases. This upbringing taught me very well bc once I retired I've been able to do things I never thought I'd be able to afford and to this day I STILL cook a bunch of meals on weekends and freeze in individual portions. When money gets tight, I can pull food out of the freezer and still eat well while having little left till the next direct deposit into my checking account.

stuyvesant · ‎05-15-2010

My old time traditional skill is that I carry my groceries home by hand. I remember my mother and my aunts wore stockings and heels to do this mundane chore; I wear sneakers or sandals. At any rate, it really cuts down on the impulse buying, and it's probably a healthy thing to do.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@Noel7 I believe I've done everything on your list except clean a fish. I refused to learn because once you do you're stuck with the job. I've seen it done often enough that I could do it in a pinch.

I am amazed at the number of people who don't have simple, basic sewing skills. My son could use a sewing machine and do simple repairs on his own clothing. So many women go into a panic if sleeves are too long or pants need heming. I learned to sew on a treadle machine, have owned horses, learned to card and spin wool from a family friend in Appalachia who was an expert on vegetable dying. I have an "expert" marksman certification from the USAF. Had one major canning experience when DH showed up with bushels and bushels of tomatoes.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Moonchilde wrote:
Something I could do, and every year I think about doing it, is make fruit or other flavor-infused vodka or gin, or a liqueur. There are lots of recipes out there and it isn't difficult. Does anyone here do this?

I used to make mulled wine every holiday season. That's easy too, but also messy (red wine, white kitchen counters). Maybe I could make a few bottles, for me and the couple of people I know who would enjoy it. My immediate, share-the-home family aren't wine drinkers.

LOL I could make Marilla's raspberry cordial.

@Moonchilde

I have done it. When we were first married we made our Christmas gifts, and one year we made flavored vodka. I saw the recipe and instructions in Sunset magazine and I've kept the recipe all these years.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Financialgrl wrote:
@millieshops wrote:
@Noel7 I'm impressed! Not sure it's a traditional skill but when I need to or just want to, I know how to make good use of my money. My friends used to tease me that if I had a carton of cottage cheese and a chicken, I could probably eat okay for a week. Credit my mother. Nothing went to waste in my mother's kitchen.

I don't have your survival skills - but I'm quite certain I could sew my QVC gold into my hems, and that might help me survive a governmental collapse. Once upon a time I could have done that on the old Singer treadle machine that had been in my grandfather's tailor shop.

By the by - I could probably get someone to pay me NOT to sing - I just listen well.

Most of the survival skills you can do I can't; however, finance has always fascinated me. I grew up with a father who was a child of the depression and thriftiness and the "value of money" were drilled into us (4 kids) for as long as I can remember.

My mother died at 46 and dad remained single and raised his 4 children alone. At the point mom died, dad pulled all us kids together and told us we all had to band together and learn how to do things around the home and that there were no "girl things" or "boy things". My brothers had to help cook and clean, my sister and I had to take turns doing yardwork. When I went to work, my father sat me down and taught me how to do income taxes and again, stressed about doing my due diligence for getting a good deal when buying large purchases. This upbringing taught me very well bc once I retired I've been able to do things I never thought I'd be able to afford and to this day I STILL cook a bunch of meals on weekends and freeze in individual portions. When money gets tight, I can pull food out of the freezer and still eat well while having little left till the next direct deposit into my checking account.

@Financialgrl

Financial skills are very important!

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

This Is an interesting thread....much of our skills may be reflected by our age...if you were raised by parents who grew up during the depression, you were taught frugality...we never threw away a sliver of soap or a slice of bread or a shirt with a hole in it.... we were taught to mend the hole in the shirt, out the soap in a cup of water to make liquid soap, use the slice of bread to ripen the apples, then feed the birds...fast forward to today, when so many look at almost any everything as disposable....self-reliance is a skill that needs to be taught more than ever.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

I should probably explain the thread. Earlier, a few people were thinking people today didn't know traditional skills. It seemed to me I was familiar with a lot of traditional skills and that must be true for others, also.

I love hearing about things others learned and thank you all for sharing.