[Parallax]

My grandmother born in the 1890s on a farm in rural Maine kept me informed, and made sure I ate every last pea on my plate.

And I bet you're a better person for it. I'm not kidding.

She made you aware of food waste, the expense of living, good values.

One of my Grandmother's favorite sayings (this works better verbally than in text) "You should eat every bean and pea on your plate."

[normhead]

One of my Grandmother's favorite sayings (this works better verbally than in text) "You should eat every bean and pea on your plate."

In her time, they depended on canning for veggies for the winter, nothing fresh, to the point where it could be difficult to get her to eat fresh of frozen veggies in the winter. To her it wasn't natural.

[lesmore49]

I still find it hard to watch people waste food and make a conscious effort to make sure all leftovers are eaten.

Those restaurants that serve oversized portions? I don't go there. It's too painful.

My grandmother stayed with us for 6 months when she was 93. My kids were 4 and two, she read to them every day. We had cats who loved to sit on her lap. I was living in a log cabin about the same size as the one she was born in. She was happier and more alive than I'd ever seen her. She went to visit my uncle and he put her in a home. I don't think I'll ever got over it. I know she didn't.

My grandmother on my maternal side, lived with us. She was like a second mother to me. I learned a lot of good life lessons from her, that formed my character. She lived a long, generally healthy life, till 93, when she passed away. She was a prairie girl, born here in the 1890's and was very significant in my life.

[JimJohnson]

I've been focused on getting mom back on track, and ensuring my kid brother never takes another dime from her.

Friday I took mom to a visit with her primary care doctor, and got the FMLA paperwork filled out and submitted so I don't get fired for taking all these days off without pay.

Mom got some blood drawn for the usual testing, and the doctor is referring her to a neurologist for evaluation of her signs of dementia. After the doctor visit I took mom out for lunch, her first time ever for sushi. Mom was born and raised in Nebraska, and never developed a taste for fish, and even turned her nose up at "raw" fish. I explained that not all of it is raw, some is steamed or seared before serving.

We started with miso soup, and I ordered a small carafe of heated sake. She really liked the pickled ginger, the wasabi, not so much, but the soy sauce she had plenty (mom adds lots of salt to nearly everything she eats).

She actually had more than I thought she would, cold smoked salmon, hamachi (a Pacific yellowtail jack with a delicious and buttery flavor, melts in your mouth), seared ahi tuna, sunomono (a cucumber salad), chūtoro (a delicious fatty tuna), and raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

Yesterday I was at her place all day trying to get her motorhome running so I can move it to my place for a few weeks, until I get the court papers filed and a restraining order preventing baby brother from contacting her again. After spending the day repairing some vandalism that was done to the motorhome I still couldn't get it started, and am suspecting the fuel pump has failed (a common problem with newer GM vehicles). Today I will return with stuff to test if the pump is bad, if so I will install a temporary fuel pump inline, and bring the motorhome to my place to pull the fuel tank and replace the fuel pump.

Fingers crossed.

Fingers crossed - thumbs up.

[JimJohnson]

Imagine an 85 year old woman, raised in the American midwest, in a sod house, who never developed a taste for seafood, having her first go.

She actually enjoyed it.

A nice day with my mom, to be sure.

The sod house she lived in as a girl:












Mom checking phone messages.



The windmill, barns and other buildings are long gone. At some point the faceless conglomerate that farms the prairie will see the remains of the sod house as a nuisance and remove it for more room to plant corn.



Mom posing in the kitchen doorway of the soddy.




When they lived there, there was no electricity, it was added later after they moved into town. Mom had two brothers, and three sisters, but the youngest sister wasn't born when they lived there, she came along after they moved to town. Some years later a man who lived there (no relation to mom) was shot and killed there in a dispute. It has been many years since anyone has lived there.


The one room schoolhouse she and her siblings attended has been moved to a nearby farm and repurposed as a shed. The blackboards are still hanging on the walls.




Nebraska No High (hemp, a cousin of marijuana) grows wild everywhere. Hemp was once cultivated for the fiber to make fabric and rope, the seeds used in bird food.

My wife has family that branched a few generations back and farmed the Minnesota prairie lands. Fascinating listening to the family stories - especially during the depression.

I've read the tall ships couldn't have been built without hemp rope. The fly loft at the local historic theatre is filled with hemp rope to raise and lower all kinds of things above the stage. The rope has been carefully tended because it was irreplaceable. While there are synthetics, I would not be at all surprised to see a return to hemp.

Hemp derived CBD Oil is how our now deceased golden retriever got through his arthritis his last two years.

[MarkJerling]

I still find it hard to watch people waste food and make a conscious effort to make sure all leftovers are eaten.

Those restaurants that serve oversized portions? I don't go there. It's too painful.

So it's not just me then? Having leftovers for lunch, as I do most days.

[MarkJerling]

A family member just sent me this. A photo of my grand parents' grave, my mother's parents. Their surname was Theart.
I last stood on that bit of dirt when I was about 6 years old.

Ladismith, Cape. About 350km east of Cape Town.

Attached Images

 

[RoxnDox]

Interesting— is that boxing in of each plot a common thing over in SA?

Racer, where in Nebraska did your mom grow up? Not many of the old sod houses left…

[tim60]

I've been focused on getting mom back on track, and ensuring my kid brother never takes another dime from her.

Friday I took mom to a visit with her primary care doctor, and got the FMLA paperwork filled out and submitted so I don't get fired for taking all these days off without pay.

Mom got some blood drawn for the usual testing, and the doctor is referring her to a neurologist for evaluation of her signs of dementia. After the doctor visit I took mom out for lunch, her first time ever for sushi. Mom was born and raised in Nebraska, and never developed a taste for fish, and even turned her nose up at "raw" fish. I explained that not all of it is raw, some is steamed or seared before serving.

We started with miso soup, and I ordered a small carafe of heated sake. She really liked the pickled ginger, the wasabi, not so much, but the soy sauce she had plenty (mom adds lots of salt to nearly everything she eats).

She actually had more than I thought she would, cold smoked salmon, hamachi (a Pacific yellowtail jack with a delicious and buttery flavor, melts in your mouth), seared ahi tuna, sunomono (a cucumber salad), chūtoro (a delicious fatty tuna), and raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

Yesterday I was at her place all day trying to get her motorhome running so I can move it to my place for a few weeks, until I get the court papers filed and a restraining order preventing baby brother from contacting her again. After spending the day repairing some vandalism that was done to the motorhome I still couldn't get it started, and am suspecting the fuel pump has failed (a common problem with newer GM vehicles). Today I will return with stuff to test if the pump is bad, if so I will install a temporary fuel pump inline, and bring the motorhome to my place to pull the fuel tank and replace the fuel pump.

Fingers crossed.

If it is so much bother to take leave without pay you should have taken it with pay.

[tim60]

I still find it hard to watch people waste food and make a conscious effort to make sure all leftovers are eaten.

Those restaurants that serve oversized portions? I don't go there. It's too painful.

My grandmother stayed with us for 6 months when she was 93. My kids were 4 and two, she read to them every day. We had cats who loved to sit on her lap. I was living in a log cabin about the same size as the one she was born in. She was happier and more alive than I'd ever seen her. She went to visit my uncle and he put her in a home. I don't think I'll ever got over it. I know she didn't.

---------- Post added 11-21-21 at 01:05 PM ----------



The only reason marijuana was illegal was because Dupont couldn't get farmers to stop using hemp rope and buy plastic rope. THC and CBD were like secret ingredients subsidizing their competitor. So, like any good corporation, they mobilized people to get the government to take action and give their business a non-competitive advantage.

The whole detriment of marijuana was absolute fabricated nonsense meant to inspire the temperance movement to get involved in being anti-hemp. As now with many issues, hemp opponents were sure they were right. And as with many issues, now that marijuana is legal and society hasn't fallen apart, they are noticeably silent in defending their dire predictions.

I too feel offended when people waste food.

On my first trip to America I noticed how generous people in restaurants were to the rubbish bin, which could not show any appreciation of their generosity.

The restaurants could have made sensible size serves and used the money saved to increase the server’s pay so they would not need to beg from the customers. Tips are very difficult for people traveling on reimbursed expenses because the tip does not produce a receipt.

[tim60]

One of my Grandmother's favorite sayings (this works better verbally than in text) "You should eat every bean and pea on your plate."

Might work for the soup but not so good for the steak and veggies.

[tim60]

My wife has family that branched a few generations back and farmed the Minnesota prairie lands. Fascinating listening to the family stories - especially during the depression.

I've read the tall ships couldn't have been built without hemp rope. The fly loft at the local historic theatre is filled with hemp rope to raise and lower all kinds of things above the stage. The rope has been carefully tended because it was irreplaceable. While there are synthetics, I would not be at all surprised to see a return to hemp.

Hemp derived CBD Oil is how our now deceased golden retriever got through his arthritis his last two years.

Synthetic ropes have very different properties re knots and stretching and so cannot be used as drop in replacement.

[StiffLegged]

Synthetic ropes have very different properties re knots and stretching and so cannot be used as drop in replacement.

I’d be interested to know which knots are unsuitable for synthetic ropes? Or is it just the differences in characteristics as a whole? Synthetic ropes certainly weren’t available in the days of working sail ships but I’m not aware of the surviving historic ships avoiding them.

[MarkJerling]

Interesting— is that boxing in of each plot a common thing over in SA?

Now that you mention it, yes, quite common. Often, there's a complete granite slab over the whole grave too. It's more unusual to see a headstone only, in lawn, as that would mean people would walk over the graves or mow lawn on the graves which is not a done thing. The older graves often have little wrought iron fences around each individual grave. In the older graveyards there are often above ground mausoleums, not ornate ones, but simple brick built plastered and painted white.

On farms there are often family graveyards, but usually quite a long way from the farm house. Not like the Cook Islands where families have their family members graves in the middle of the front lawn, in town!

[MarkJerling]

Synthetic ropes have very different properties re knots and stretching and so cannot be used as drop in replacement.

Quite a pain when restringing a weighted double-hung sash. The new ropes stretch and break quickly while the old ones can be 90+ years old and still serviceable.