Skills and hobbies

[garnetsilver]

I think that in these times, more people are going to lose valuable skill sets that they may need someday. What if a meteor takes out satellite power and you have to rely on pencil and paper to write. We are already experiencing a return to canning produce. Or what if you have to sew your own clothing? The list is pretty extensive.

 

[Lynne]

I have faith in us humans. We will figure things out as needed. If there’s a deadly catastrophe it probably won’t matter.

 

[garnetsilver]

I have faith in us humans. We will figure things out as needed. If there’s a deadly catastrophe it probably won’t matter.

And I know you can bake bread, Lynne! You gave me a great bread recipe when I first joined PNF. Still have it.

 

[TexDanm]

There are a lot of people out there that are still working with the old tools and ways. It is sort of a hobby but where I live a lot of people throw in things like canning and all manner of crafts into their hobby list. If you garden on a large scale it is a waste if you don't can. If you live in a big city you may not know anyone that is involved in things like canning or smoking meat but in the rural places, it is still alive and doing well.

When I was a kid we canned a lot of what we ate. Even though we lived in the city we still had family living on the farm and we would all get together and can for the entire family. The BEST soup in the world is what we used to make. We cooked it on an open fire in a just huge old cast iron wash pot. When the garden things were running ripe we would make soup. Everything that went in it came off the plant or out of the ground that weekend. We might can 54 quarts of soup in one run. Make the soup in the big iron pots and then pressure can it into quarts of condensed soup. When you got ready to eat it you put a quart in a pot and then added a quart of water to it. We usually didn't make it with meat in it. We preferred to cook it and add it when we made the soup at home.

We did a lot of that sort of thing. We would raise 25 or 30 chickens and when they were the right size to fry we would butcher them and freeze them. We made and canned both gumbo and soup along with tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans and frozen shelled peas and corn. Along with making for some mighty fine eating both then and later and it was a lot of fun. It was hot work but we would have occasional water fights and everyone would get wet and cool off.

Good times and good memories. I miss it a lot. I am the last living member of my family in Texas. I am lucky though in having Me, my kids and my Granddaughter all living on the same 3 acres. So many people these days don't have the close-knit sort of family that I always had and have now. there are not as many of us as there were but we are together. It is good for everyone. I see my Granddaughter every day. She has never once been with a babysitter. When the parents want to go someplace Danni just stays with us. She just sort of wanders back and forth from their house to mine.

 

[Selectric]

I guess my 'skill' would be anything hands on. I generally take after my dad as he can/can't/will try to fix/build anything lol. I am ticked (at myself) for being far removed from metal working. I excelled at it and enjoyed thoroughly but life happened and here i am an electrician lol. Well, i have done well at that too...but it was not my first choice.

 

[DiggerDawg]

I am thinking about getting a couple of wall clocks. My 88 year old aunt, who moved in with me in January, is always asking what time it is, and sometimes she doesn't realize when it is dinner time and gets a snack while I am preparing dinner. When I tell her how late it is she is surprised and puts the snack away so she can eat dinner. I know most young people don't even know how to read a wall clock.

As for the hobbies, I hope there are always going to be kids like my grandsons who love to build things and make things. The middle one started looking up youtube videos on how to make puppets when he was six. He started with sock puppets, looking up how to sew on buttons, etc so he could use buttons for eyes on his puppets. They he made elaborate paper bag puppets and went on to marionettes. The youngest is learning to crochet because his mother loves to crochet. The oldest has been building things since he was 4 or 5, and is now getting a welder's certificate, planning on getting more certificates because he has ideas he wants to build.

LOL i went threw the same thing with my mother im retired and had the room she is 81 got two wall clocks but had to get digital as well she kept asking morning or night so you defiantly know what time it is in my house found white boards help as well for meds and just general things .

 

[Selectric]

Lol, is the same here. When my parents come up to stay at my house, my mom is always wondering what time it is. I tell her the time i on the tv or on my range etc. I came home one day while they were here and found clocks in every room lol.

 

[TexDanm]

I was self-employed and made a good living fixing things for people. That is a case where a sort of hobby became a profession. I have always liked to take things apart and see what makes them work. I was a terror when I was little taking things apart. My Dad freaked out when he came home one day and I had the TV spread all over the living room in pieces. I put it back together and the picture which had been a little fuzzy was crystal clear. I think I was about 9 or 10 at the time. That was back when TVs had tubes and were not solid state.

 

[garnetsilver]

I was self-employed and made a good living fixing things for people. That is a case where a sort of hobby became a profession. I have always liked to take things apart and see what makes them work. I was a terror when I was little taking things apart. My Dad freaked out when he came home one day and I had the TV spread all over the living room in pieces. I put it back together and the picture which had been a little fuzzy was crystal clear. I think I was about 9 or 10 at the time. That was back when TVs had tubes and were not solid state.

My father loved to take television sets or radios apart and fix them. For a while, he had an appliance store where he would fix things for people.

 

[RoseRed]

I don't answer numbers I don't know...lol Boy, did I learn MY lesson on that! I'm also very, very bad at turning it off and forgetting I did.

I also never answer the phone unless I know who's calling. I sometimes unplug the landline and switch the mobile to silent to ensure I get some peace and quiet!