Do you notice gas with other food? You might want to try a low FodMap diet. (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, And Polyols). It avoids any food that ferments in your body. You first do an elimination diet of avoiding all high fodmap foods, then gradually add food back into your diet, one food at a time to see what causes you distress. If your gas is very smelly...avoid onions at all costs. I try to avoid all high fodmap foods but can't always. Even apples, pears, and stone fruit are high fodmap. We all know things like broccoli and cabbage cause gas, but seriously who doesn't love broccoli? I take a generic beano, a dairy aid (generic Lactaid), and a gluten aid, as well as maximum strength gas x (again, generic) Because I cheat and eat some high fodmap food including beans, I still get gas, but, by avoiding onions they aren't smelly for the most part. Yes, I could clear a room before this!
We also have to be aware that we have some endangered New England Cottontail Rabbits on our property. I haven't seen anything but hares, but a neighbor said that there is a particular stand of something in my back forest that is home to many of them. He wants to make sure the area is protected. We have 13 acres, mostly forest, and don't plan on doing anything out there. It was nice of him to let me know. He owns and lives just over the border to our town, but just bought the 17 acres that go from his land into my town and up to my property line.
I wonder if the blinking red lights I used to keep bears out of the chicken coop would work against rabbits? The brand I bought was from Nite Guard, but I see that there are other companies selling them now as well. They are solar-powered and blink red lights to look like there is already a predator there. They were $20 for two when bought them, but that was years ago. You'd have to mount them to a stake. Perhaps place a few around your gardens. They won't blink during the day so they're not intrusive.
I agree that it would be most helpful if you knew what kind of pine it is. If it's a classic White Pine let me know. I live in a white pine and balsam fir forest and have thousands of pines and firs. I could probably find a way to send you a sapling (although it's probably illegal to mail plants out of state). I live in the White Mountains of NH. I also have a lot of Tamarack trees. I think they are also called American larch. They are unusual because they lose their needles in the winter. They make ideal trees to plant on your south side as they will provide shade in the Summer, but as they drop their needles in the winter they allow the Winter sun to warm your home. All of these trees self sow at an amazing rate. Grey Birch is also a fast grower.
I've also read that the various designs in Irish knit sweaters were used to identify families. This was so if a fisherman's body was found at sea or washed up on shore they could identify the family the person belonged to.
Bruce, that was certainly a traumatic event. If you feel you need more help, can I recommend EMDR trauma therapy, Eye movement desensitization response? I truly help me in dealing with trauma that had me paralyzed from fear and unable to work for 6 years. I spent 6 years barely getting off the couch, not getting dressed, leaving the house much at all. This therapy was a huge game-changer for me. Please seek professional help if you think you need it. You were very brave to try to save the other driver, not take care of yourself. I hope that the driver that hit that car has been charged.
I have severe insomnia. I need to use a CPAP even though mine has been recalled so I'm waiting for a new one. I take Trazadone, I sometimes take Xanax (it's for my anxiety panic attacks, but it helps if I really can't sleep), Even with the CPAP I wake up several times during the night. I also have nightmares, but they have lessened since I had EMDR therapy for trauma. I also can not have a clock on my side of the bed. I am what I call a clock checker. I wake up thinking I must have slept for hours, no maybe 20 minutes. I fall back to sleep thinking again for hours, nope only 3 minutes. The trazodone is a big help. I also take a muscle relaxer a night now too. I also just got a pacemaker because not only do I have AFib, but my heart was pausing, so it's like a bunch of mini heart attacks. It's no wonder I have trouble sleeping. Please have her see a medical doctor. Sometimes western meds are the only thing that will help.
Shannon, we currently use one of our back bedrooms as our "pantry." I did buy a huge shed from a closed garden center that I will probably use for the canning supplies. It came full of her unsold garden supplies which I have been selling off. Even with selling almost $5,000 worth of goods, it is still over 1/2 full! I need to empty it before I can move it off the trailer it came on and lower it down to ground level. It's 13 x 32 so truly huge. Because her husband is an electrician it is wired with lights, plugs, and an exhaust fan. I just have to plug it in with a strong extension cord. I'm going to put right next to an electrical plug I had installed on my power post.
I love the root cellars shown here. A couple not far from us built an earthbag spring house that they also use for cold storage. That was practice for building their earthbag dome home. Our water table is also very high here, sometimes above ground eek! We are on flat land at the base of the mountains so we would need to build it above ground and then berm over it. A lot of work that I'm not strong enough to do. I would love to have somewhere out of the house to store canned goods and all the canning supplies that you really don't need every day. Shannon, I love the inside of your root cellar and noted that you store your pressure canner there. That makes so much sense to me. All those empty canning jars are also a pain to store.
I work in a shoe store (Crocs, comfortable, clean off with a hose, and they float), Anyway, we have a system of rolling shelves so we can store the maximum amount of shoes in an orderly fashion in a limited backroom. They are hung off the metal shelving by style, color, and size. They are on rails so they can be moved easily. Even after I returned from getting a pacemaker (I took a week off) I could move them just using my right arm as I had restrictive use of my left arm for a bit. Bonus that Crocs weigh pretty much nothing so even this old lady can handle them with ease. Plus they give you free shoes regularly. This is my retirement job so I only work part-time.
Yes, I agree with being close to medical air flights. Our tiny, 25-bed hospital in NH has merged with a major hospital in Portland ME. It's a two-hour drive each way. Our tiny hospital has a helipad near the ER. I've known a few people saved by this. One man had cut off several fingers using a table saw. They flew him to Boston for reconstructive surgery. Luckily his neighbors ran in and put his fingers in a bag of ice so a couple of them could be replaced.
I'm working on an article for a survivalist website. It talks about some crates of unused Korean War MASH supplies. The crates are marked 1953, which is when the war ended the crates were just never shipped. Ther are white enameled steel bedpans, urinals, etc along with packages of sterile gauze and some awesome surgical drapes.
Korean War M.A.S.H. Supplies
Treasures from the shed
Josephine Howland
Moose Hollow Farm, NH
As preppers, we like to be prepared for the worse. What happens when going to the doctor's office or hospital isn’t impossible? If the recent Covid 19 pandemic has shown us anything, the hospitals can and did get overburdened and you may not have wanted to risk exposure to a deadly disease. Most of us remember the Movie and TV show M.A.S.H. (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) which was about a mobile hospital in Korea during the Korean war. Well, I found a treasure trove of never used medical supplies from that period. During the late fall of 2018, I purchased a large shed from a closed garden center that was just down the road from me. It came full of her unsold stock. Among the gardening supplies were some unexpected finds. As the treasures were unveiled. some of the most unusual finds were crates of medical supplies.
The crates were marked with the date 1953. As you may know, the Korean War began in 1950 and ended in 1953, which explains why there were crates of surplus medical supplies left crated. From the markings, they appear to have been put in crates in Connecticut but with the war ended, never shipped. There were White enameled tin bedpans, urinals, water pitchers, irrigation fonts, and large covered waste buckets. There were also packaged surgical drapes that have a hole made in them to drape a surgical patient and large packages of sterile gauze bandages. The hole in the surgical drape would have gone over the surgical area yet cover the rest of the body. They are made of heavy canvas and would have been washed between uses unlike the disposable ones in modern times. There are also packages of sterile bandages and some large steel ventilated pots.
Many of the items were still in their original cardboard and paper wrappings. The surgical drapes are wrapped in a sealed paper wrapping and the sterile gauze is sealed in a plastic bag to keep them sterile. Many of the white enameled pieces still have their original stickers from Jones Manufacturing.
The bedpans and urinals would have been emptied into the large white-covered pots to be disposed of. The large steel ventilated pots would hold used bandages and such. The irrigation fonts were hung and then with a rubber tube connected to the spout, it would have been filled with water to irrigate and clean the wound during surgery. They also were used as enemas. Most of the items can still be used as they were meant to be, creating your own M.A.S.H unit for emergencies. But there are also reuse possibilities for the items.
The pitchers sold quickly as they are the perfect farmhouse flower vase. I’ve had medical workers buy the bedpans to plant in for their offices. The urinals also make great vases. The irrigation fonts, have a hole on the back to hang from but there is a place for the tube to be connected so the water could be used to irrigate a would or to give an enema. You could plug the hole and still use it to plant in. or hold non-porous items. Imagine in the bathroom to hold your hairbrushes, etc. I was thinking it would also be useful to water a plant,
As several of you know, I bought a huge shed from a closed garden center which came crammed full of her unsold stock. Amongst the other treasures, were cases of glass cloches, in three different sizes. I've been selling off as much of the goods as I can but so far no one has been interested in these. They are often used inside as displays.
Josephine Howland wrote:Cecile, I have the same type of "lawn" mother nature planted. We love our dandelions, as well as our orange and yellow Indian paintbrush, and lots of clovers, both red and white. The bees and butterflies enjoy them also.
Oh, yes, Josephine, I do have a little white clover and red clover that I planted in the orchard years ago. They do OK for 2 to 3 years, then they start fading. We also have the tall varieties of white clover and yellow clover [melilotus officinalis]. They flower at slightly different times, so you can extend the season by scattering the seeds together.
Those volunteer along the roads, and it is always a struggle to keep the phone company from spraying them and the County crew from mowing them when they are in bloom! Two years ago, I harvested a little of it from a few plants and planted these seeds in a border. I'll be harvesting them again and again and tuck them in where I don't mow. We also have a few butterfly weeds and the regular asclepias [common milkweeds] that I want to plant under my fruit trees: As long as I can't keep that area free of weeds, I might as well select the weeds I want to colonize around the trees, right?
Also from the ditch, I harvested a few liatris. It was quite easy in the Fall to go around and grab the spikes and pull the seeds off. On some, the bulb came with it! [A small bulb, the size of a hazelnut] I took half a dozen and planted them in one of my borders. Bees and butterflies come on them. It is a real joy. I love that they start flowering from the top and can make a real showing in the border. With a little improvement in the soil, they will be quite something to marvel at. I put the link for the search page so you can see the variety. Do you have some too?
https://www.google.com/search?q=liatris+bulbs&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiV7YXZvZTvAhXigU4HHcHiD9MQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=liatris+bulbs+&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgCMgQIIxAnMgIIADIECAAQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYOgQIABBDUK7MBljl3AZgvYwHaABwAHgAgAFfiAGLCJIBAjEymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=CbE_YNXEJ-KDuuoPwcW_mA0&bih=543&biw=1089&hl=en
I do not have any Liatris, they look beautiful! I so have a large about of iris that needs dividing, but it is very hard to do. I also have common daylilies that I dug when I was a child and planted near my childhood home. When my father died and we sold the home, I dug some up and now have them here.
Cecile, I have the same type of "lawn" mother nature planted. We love our dandelions, as well as our orange and yellow Indian paintbrush, and lots of clovers, both red and white. The bees and butterflies enjoy them also.
Susan, I live in NH, and building codes and setbacks are determined by each town. In our town, I worked on the Agriculture section of our town's master plan. We finally decided to be short and sweet "Agriculture is allowed in all parts of town. Period. Building codes can differ, but recently, a couple in Conway NH built a dome home with earthbags. You need proper building permits, snow loads are the biggest issue.
We have had several health setbacks with both my husband and me. Many of the plans we have had to be put off, and now seem so impossible. My husband, who had been a strong mountain man, has been on oxygen for 6 years now. His back is bad, has already had one hip replaced, and now needs the other hip replaced as well as both knees. I've had various injuries over the years, but just a week ago, I had a pacemaker put in. I have both A-fib, and pauses (mini cardiac arrests). The medication they can give me for my A-fib, causes my pulse to go to slow and pause. So the pacemaker will keep my heart from pausing while they use medication to control the A-fib. During the two-week monitoring session I just did, my heart was over 100bpm 70% of the time. The highest was 222bpm. After the A-fib events, my heart pauses. So, as expected, I am sore right now, and won't be doing much in the way of raking or other fall prep chores. Between the two of us, we are a sad crew. Now we know why homesteaders and farmers in the past had so many children. A crew of offspring to tackle the chores right now would be great.
It seems to me, that what we need to do is find a place and funding to hold a patternmaking, muslin making weeklong seminar. Post pandemic of course. Pearl Sutton, do you think so? We could also have knitting and crochet sessions. Or several shorter, smaller ones
more locally?
r.ranson, I agree finding natural fiber is very hard. There is a web store that sells natural linen in various weights. What I really miss is finding good wool fabric. I used to make myself wool skirts all the time in the 80s, now it seems to have disapeared.
I can do that. At least I could do that. I do have a degree in Fashion Design which includes pattern drafting, as well as being a third-generation dressmaker so my grandmother and mother taught me drafting. Of course, nowadays everything is done by CAD which is after my time. When I was a teen, my mother was a representative for a company called Dot patterns, There were sample shapes with numbers on them. You then took your measurement did some math and followed the lines out and made a dot. Connect the dots and you have a custom pattern to fit you. I still have a different version from the 70s. I'm planning on using it to make new slopers for myself as I have gained weight with age. I did see a Swedish company that still made something like it a few years back. Hold on while I do a google search. yes, I'm aware that you will not really be waiting. This would have been the set that my mom sold.https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/323062973269892283/ Ok on further searches, I found a copy of the book that you can download. You have to join the library, but they have a 14-day free trial. The key things that you could use though are the proper measuring ruler, I'll try the one that came with my other set. If it works I can try to replicate it for those interested. You should have a set of french curves as well. https://www.scribd.com/document/230841075/Dot-Pattern-System These are all great 70s styles, but you can make some basic slopers from them and then adjust. As for all our physical issues, they would need to be custom adjusted having a friend would help. Meanwhile, if you're in New England we could make a plan. I do have a separate building for my sewing room, it's just rather a mess, due to deaths in the family leaving me with endless "stuff." Once that as cleaned up, I am thinking of offering sewing lessons there.
I really like the pulaski hoe/ax. We picked up two at a thrift shop a few years ago. One is even marked with WPA and the worker's name. They were used by the WPA workers during the depression doing trail work here in the White Mountains of NH. I also find many uses for my winged weeder. Not just for weeding, it also makes a fine shallow furrow for seed planting. We use it in our raised vegetable beds. We first use the handle to make where we want the row, then the tip and wings to make the furrows after the seeds are dropped, we can use the wings to cover the seeds.
Years ago I lived in Boston in a 130-year old Mansard roof house that had been split into two apartments. I first lived in the smaller 1st-floor apartment and rented out the larger apartment until I reached the financial point that I could switch out. The kitchens were huge! When I was getting ready to move upstairs, I began planning how I wanted the kitchen to work. I took a pad of graph paper, pencil, ruler, and eraser, and took an inventory of what I had in my current kitchen and what I wanted in the new kitchen. Having flunked housekeeping 101, I have learned that the key to having a clean house is to have a place for everything, then at least trying to keep everything in its place. I also had a catalog of cabinet sizes and their actual measurements. Keeping mind my inventory, I planned the kitchen so there was a place for everything close to where it would be used. Lots of drawers and pull out shelving. The ceilings were 11 feet tall so lots of room for extra tall cabinets and room for a step-stool. An extra tall pantry cabinet with pull-out drawers to reach into the back. By shortening the height of one window, I was able to add 5 feet of cabinet and counter space. I had just a few inches next to the stove, just enough to add a 9" undercabinet to hold baking trays upright. A corner cabinet that had an appliance garage under it. I added a plug inside the garage so that I could have my blender, toaster, etc. there, then just pull them out when needed, put back with the Tambor door shut they are hidden from view. I also made room for a stacking washer and dryer in a corner. By removing the original cabinets I was able to find a window (I could see from outside, but couldn't find from inside. Uncovering that window not only add light and air but a view of downtown Boston and the Prudential and John Hancock buildings. When finished, I had a wonderful, easy to work in kitchen. I really miss that house, but it was on a tiny postage stamp lot, and whereas now I have 13 acres in the forest. Tradeoffs
There is a wonderful castle build near Phoenix AZ Called the Mystery Castle. It was made of all recycled materials. and has a great story behind it. I was lucky to visit it when the builder's daughter was still alive. She was a lovely feisty woman. When she saw that I was using a cane at that time, she laughed and used her cane to try to have a bit of a sword fight with me. If you get the chance visit it. It is truly a work of art. http://www.mymysterycastle.com/
My dream has been to build a dome home. I mean since high school, and I'm 62 now. The issue has always been money and physical strength. Maybe one day I will build a dome greenhouse. I have devoted many years to studying plans, but due to divorce, change in income, illness, etc. it just never happened. Now at 62, I find myself feeling like none of my dreams have or will come true. Sorry to sound depressed, but it is depressing. I do what I can. I can what I grow.
Catie George wrote:Thanks for the sewing resources. My mom took professional pattern making and sewing classes, so at one time I planned to sew a lot of my clothes, as she did when she was my age. If working part time, or no longer working, i could see it making sense, but not, personally, now.
My biggest issue is time! Sewing is not hard, but it is fiddly, and quite time consuming to do well (especially when taught by a perfectionist who does everything the '9right' way). It's also not a hobby I really love.
From my experience:
Buying fabric, pattern, notions, driving, etc =1.5 hrs.
Cutting out pattern = 1 hr (read instructions, mark cutting lines, cut, iron pattern pieces).
alter pattern =0.5-2 hrs.
prewash + iron fabric = 1.5 hrs.
layout and cut pattern, transfer pattern markings, etc = 1-2 hrs.
Sew long seams and iron flat=1.5 hr.
Sew fiddly bits (plackets, waistband, press and sew darts, pleats, etc)=2 -4hrs.
Install notions, buttons, clasps, zippers, etc, = 1-2 hrs.
So about 10 hrs to 15.5 hrs, plus more time for my screw ups, etc. About 5+ hrs of screwups on my last project- (button holer not working and 1 way directional fabric that you can only see in strong light, and a lot of seam ripping..)
My last project took about 5 days of my Christmas break. Project before that 10 hrs and never finished. One before that (easy circle skirt) 2 weekends + 5 evenings. Yes, you can save time by reusing patterns and buying the fabric and notions for multiple at once, but it's still a lot! I don't have 15 extra hours in a month to use for sewing at this point in my life.
As for elastic... tried it. Looks awful added post construction, works great when integrated into the waistband.
As for purses... my mom's briefcase which she uses now as a massive purse is 30+ years old. Dragged everywhere, thick full grain leather. It has been repaired/reinforced professionally twice at the handles to reinforce it (gotta be 30 lbs, she carries another purse, 2 waterbottles, lunch, sunglasses, notebooks, keys, makeup, OTC meds, etc inside of her purse), and still has years of life left. Our firewood carrier is leather, 25+ years old, and looks nearly brand new.
I am a 3rd generation dressmaker. My grandmother helped me draft my first pattern when I was 8 years old. I don't do as much sewing as I did when I was younger. Your example is a reason why. It also highlights the issue my mother ( she passed away a little over a year ago at age 91) and I have dealt with for many years. People expect to pay less for something custom made for them. I just don't get it. I have two pairs of jeans from Walmart that have lasted me probably 5 years. I am disabled and wasn't able to work for the last 6 years. I just started working part-time again. I work just 10-15 hours a week at a Tommy Hilfiger outlet store in NH, so we get a lot of Canadian shoppers. Their prices look high, but everything is always on sale, never full price. They also give us a generous 50% off any clothing we can wear to work. I've got jeans there for less than what I paid in Walmart. While the clothes are not made in the USA, they do care for their employees, such as making accommodations for those of us with disabilities. They also care about the employees of their suppliers. Their clothes are not made in horrible sweatshops (I'm sure they are still in large cheap factories, but at least not the horrible ones). As a dressmaker, I can tell you the quality of the stitching is much higher than many of the other stores I've shopped in.
Hi, I live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, so a bit north of where your friend lives. I agree with Debs suggestions. We grow a lot of tomatoes and can them to use during our 7-months-long winters. I suggest that she adds Epsom salt when she plants them tp prevent blossom end rot. We've had fairly good results with carrots, lots of greens, Zucchini, etc. Lots of people grow winter squashes here, but I don't eat them, so we just don't. There are huge commercial cornfields here, but bears are a huge problem here with home gardens. Beans, peas, cucumbers grow very well. Just across the border in Maine is one of the largest commercial potato farms around. Truthfully, they sell a 50 lb bag of potatoes for around $13, so growing potatoes is not a big desire here, but it is fun to grow a variety of potatoes.
Donanne Dean wrote:I live in north western maine near the NH boarder near N Conway. I have 129 acres of woods and my permaculture farm is much like Sepp Holtzer style farming. We have CEBE. Center ecology based economy in Norway about a half hour drive from me and Lakes region permaculture group
Donanne, I live just south of Conway, in Albany NH on 13 acres mostly forest.
Living in the Mountain of NH we are lucky to find all sorts of wild edibles. The most abundant are wild blueberries, both low and high bush varieties. We even have some wild blackberries and raspberries growing right on our property. We go to low areas that get flooded by the rivers in the spring to gather fiddlehead ferns, and to bogs to gather wild cranberries in the fall. Mother earth is generous.
We live in a single wide mobile home, so the house is only 14' wide. I dislike this house intensely, but it was what I could afford to put on our 13-acre property. The main traffic from the living room to the bathroom, master bedroom, laundry area, and back door all passes right through the kitchen. The best addition to date has been a small rolling island that my brother gave me for free, my favorite price. With mobile home the cabinets are not real boxes, they are really just cabinet fronts so there is no separation between spaces. This means that things fall between and under drawers and cabinets, which makes for lost lids etc. The dishwasher had a leak which the previous owner did not disclose so the flooring under the dishwasher, sink and surround area has been damaged and there is mold damage, which makes tearing out the cabinets and subfloor a priority. Since the upright supports of the cabinets have now rotted from the water damage, the cabinets will need to be replaced. I had been keeping an eye out on craigslist and marketplace for a vintage double drainboard sink. Prices run from $20-$2000 depending on condition and simple greed. I found a sink that was perfect that came with the cabinet base and other cabinets. The phots make than look rather pink. My nickname is Pinky, for those that don't know. Sure enough, they are pink. When I asked for more photos the seller noticed that there was more rust than she remembered, so she offered them to me for $300. They are Montgomery ward metal cabinets from the 50s, and they are pink! I rented a u-haul van and picked them up that weekend. Right now they are stored in a dry outbuilding. I need to give them a bit of sanding and refresh the paint. Then when the floor is redone we can install them. The dishwasher needs to be replaced anyway, The door keeps falling off and has already landed on my toe, ouch! With the new cabinets, we will need to downsize to an 18" dishwasher, which is fine. There are 3 base cabinets, the 54" sink base, a 24" and 18", but there are a lot of upper cabinets, several more than I have now. I still will use the original peninsula cabinets until I can afford to replace them, and will eventually add a tall pantry as storage is sadly lacking in this house.
Living in the granite state, you'd think I'd have plenty of rocks. But, since I live over a large aquifer with a high water table, all the rocks that may have been on my property have sunk to the bottom of the aquifer. Even dirt movers who have worked on the property have said that I have the weirdest ground they've ever seen. To put in our driveway, The contractor had to dig down to the hardpan, then add increasing larger boulders and rock filling it in and finishing it with what we call bank run here. Where our parking area is my neighbor and I put in six inches of 1.5"-2" stone, then later we covered it with what is called "rotten rock" which is decomposed granite. Luckily, there is one of the largest quarries in the state, just about 4 miles up the road from so getting some stone delivered isn't a problem, they also own a tool and machine rental outfit, so you can rent things live weighted rollers, staging, and various sizes of backhoes, etc. They even have a man lift if needed. For bigger rocks, I was lucky that my father-in-law had to do some digging and offered to dump off a couple of loads of nice rocks. Again, this is the granite state, so you can sort of take a Sunday drive on the back roads and pick up a rock here and there, just don't steal from stone walls. I've also seen offers for free rocks on FB Marketplace, from fieldstone to pretty large boulders. Good luck with your rock hunting.
Great thread Pearl! I agree about need different sized tool for each individual user. I think I probably use my 18volt drill driver the most often. Some companies make a smaller battery which is much easier for small hands to maneuver off and on .as well as making the tool lighter.
Judith, I wonder if using a band saw might be better for making your pickets? Check to see if any of your friends have one to try out. You might be able to rent one from a tool rental place if there is one nearby.
Dale, I've mentioned before that I bought a shed from a closed garden center that came full of her unsold stock. There are quite a few of those shorter handled pruner/lopers in there. They seem to work great with my smaller hands, at least for close cuts. The ones in my shed are from Ames tools. They used to be right in the next town over from where I grew up, in Easton, MA. I'm sure their tools are now made in China, as most things are now. Nice comfy grips also.
My husband and I are now both disabled, with a variety of illnesses. Part of mine is Major Depressive Disorder, but I have recently been re-evaluated and been diagnosed with bi-polar, and now have new meds, that are helping tremendously, enough that I have taken an outside part-time job to help with finances. I also have some physical ailments, including heart problems that make heavy lifting impossible. I have never been a physically strong person. My husband, on the other hand, had always been a strong Mountain man. He now has a terminal lung illness. His diaphragm is paralyzed up so that his lung cannot expand or collapse. Which causes gunk to collect. Constant coughing has now caused his airway to collapse. He has been on oxygen for over 5 years, and gets weaker by the day, spending most of his days in bed. Because of his illness, we can no longer have livestock especially birds of any kind. We still have a small raised garden, and I think raising it up will help. With the help of family, we have planted a few fruit trees around the front of our house. There are also lots of general repairs to the house that have gone far too long, but with little strength and little income, things are just falling behind. I find that I have to adjust my dreams to work within both my physical and financial decline. It is sad, but we all must do what we have to do. Here at permies, I learn things, and we are much more of a caring family than ever expected. I am grateful to everyone here.
I agree with others that an older machine that is still working will keep on working. I'm a third-generation dressmaker, with a degree in Fashion Design. I have used several brands and I was given some from y mom when she finally retired from professional sewing. My favorite machine is and always will be the Kenmore machine that my mom bought me when I graduated from college, 1977. It is metal, not plastic and it has never needed to be serviced! That's right 47 years with no service. My best friend from elementary school has gone through at least 4 machines during that time. Whatever machine you get, please listen to this one piece of advice that will save you frustration as you sew, as well as save you repair money. Never, and never I mean never, touch your tension knob unless your pressure foot is down. That is the biggest mistake that is made and has cost people so much money. Truthfully, I rarely if ever touch my tension. There really isn't any reason too, unless of course, someone messed with it while the pressure foot was up. Unfornealy it will be hard to find a metal machine these days, but keep your eyes out at yard sales, on FaceBook Marketplace I've seen several. I know a lot of people use Brother machines, but they will never give you the service of older machines.
As I read this discussion, my right elbow is screaming at me. My neighbor, whose property mine surrounds on 3 sides, just had some trees removed from an area between his cabin and an outbuilding on my property, both built before the town had zoning and setback requirements. Two of the trees were fairly large. The logger took what wood he could mill into lumber, left my neighbor with smaller logs to cut into fire wood, and a left us with a nice sized pile of wood chips. All summer before this my neighbor had been using his nifty wood chipper to deal with some of the smaller trees around his yard. He has been sharing those woodchips with me as well. This has allowed me to mulch around plants and trees, as well as mulch areas that I simply want to not have mow, We all know those areas that result for poor planning or growth that create spaces that are too tight to get a mower into, so the grass is neglected and then starts self-seeding in your garden beds. Hence, my elbow and my knees are screaming, moving two large wheel barrows full of woodchips may be a bit more than my old body could handle, especially over rough terrain and uphill. I love having a neighbor that you can work with instead of against. Especially, since he has made me the executor of his estate, and I am the primary beneficiary. It just seems silly for his 1/2 acre to have cut out of my property (long before our time). So someday, the two properties will join again.
Travis Johnson wrote:What about Softwood Flooring?
The floor in my other house is White Pine, Ship-Lapped, 10 inches wide.
I made mine myself from cutting the logs, to sawing the boards, to forming the ship lapped edges, to screwing them down with screws; so it was very cheap. But a person could also buy the boards and do the same thing for a very reasonable price. White Pine is very stable so it does not shrink much as it dries, but other wood species works just as well.
In the old days in New England, hardwood flooring was used in the Kitchen and Living Room areas of a home, but the other rooms of the house was typically Eastern Hemlock.
I also live in a Manufactured home which had carpet in it. We've removed the carpet in all by one room. Not only was it nasty, but with my husband on oxygen, carpet is deadly. So far we've only replaced the floor in our bedroom for him. My mother and I put down some temporary vinyl stick floor tile 10 years ago, but they are all peeling up now, and vinyl is also very bad for people with breathing problems. We're still pondering on the replacement issue as well.
As to Travis comment on using the softwood. I've lived in several old New England buildings, and one unique thing I have found is that they would put the hardwood around the perimeter of the room, then use softwood to infill. They would then have carpet to cover the softwood. A cost effective idea.
when I was about eight, I dug up some day lilies from the woods near our house. I planted then near out back door. Over the years, my father always referred to them as my daylilies and would keep a piece of cardboard on the back door to track how many blossoms I had. after collage, when I live in NYC for 7 years, he would periodically call me to keep me up to date on my daylilies. In 2005 after he passed away and my mother sold the family home, I dug some up and brought them home with me to NH I still have them growing here (although they need to be divided) and they will always remind me of our childhood home. I also dug up some of my father's forsythia, which I have planted near the daylilies. This year we did some pruning, especially with the winter storm damaged limbs, and our rooting them. So we should have forsythia growing along our driveway soon. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
