12.04.07
A Blast from the Past
If you had spent any time with me over this past weekend, you may have sworn that I had just stepped out of a time machine that transported me here from at least a century ago (disregarding my cell phone and occasional TV use of course).
I spent the majority of my weekend creating things the old-fashioned way. I began Saturday morning with a knitting session while sitting in front of the radio listening to two of my favorite programs. Then I did a little reading by the afternoon sunlight, and the rest of the afternoon was spent baking bread from scratch! It was a tedious and time-consuming task and I did it for no other reason than I wanted to try it. You can judge the product for yourself…
When all was said and done, I questioned whether the process was worth it, not to mention that I had no one with which to share my product. Then this morning, some colleagues and I were looking over the holiday potluck sign-up sheet determining what was missing for our feast, when someone mentioned bread/rolls. Since I just happened to have 2 homemade loaves of bread sitting on my kitchen table, I volunteered to bring one in for the party. Everyone was so impressed with my hidden talent (I didn’t know that bread-making for the heck of it was a talent, but I’ll take it)!
Suddenly, I began to appreciate the time and effort it takes to make something by hand. It is truly becoming a lost art. I know that making my own bread for my weekly sandwiches is an impractical task to set for myself, but occasionally taking a weekend or an afternoon to enjoy the hard work and time it takes to create something by hand – that’s a goal I intend to keep.
~DC
LA said,
December 10, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I think your weekend activities touch on a feeling I have all too often: a longing for the cultural customs and practices of a different time. I’d call it nostalgia, but I don’t think the term qualifies since I wasn’t alive in the time period I long for.
Every time I watch a film from the 1940’s or 50’s, I wonder why we’ve let our dress become so casual. Next time you watch one of these films, pay attention– men never leave the house without a hat and people dress up every time they go out to dinner. Women wore gloves in every season. On the other hand, I suppose this must have been exhausting to always be so polished and made-up, but how nice everyone looked!
This may be a very superficial marker of the real elements I’m longing for. I realize that not everything about life back then would be welcomed– I probably wouldn’t have gone to college or have such loftly career aspirations. Still, I’d like to suggest that life would be more pleasant if we’d all cling a little tighter to the principles that inspired the trivial things I long for: high standards of decency and regard for our neighbors; the politeness of Jimmy Stewart and the urbane manners of Cary Grant; the grace of Grace Kelly with the demure of Myrna Loy. Ah, the good ol’ days…