tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post7859092984412346605..comments2024-03-08T21:26:51.950+08:00Comments on A geriatric grandmother: NO MOD CONS BACK IN THOSE DAYS!!Mimsiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-30143948666314125772013-09-14T19:17:50.995+08:002013-09-14T19:17:50.995+08:00My hubby put his hand through the mangle when he w...My hubby put his hand through the mangle when he was a child and I bet that hurt.<br />Some modern appliances are much better than the old ones and yet at times I wonder why they don't make them to last as they once did. I get a little tired of this throw-away society.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-19484172586050800382013-09-14T19:16:31.098+08:002013-09-14T19:16:31.098+08:00Memories come flooding back don't they River? ...Memories come flooding back don't they River? Yes we had a large icebox. In fact my mother-in-law gave us hers when I married my first husband but we had to wait until her new fridge arrived. We didn't get a fridge ourselves until we had been married two years as I felt we should have one when our daughter arrived.<br />I remember the man carrying the large block of ice on a chaff bag on his shoulder. I also remember those coolers with a tank on top that dripped onto a metal frame covered with hessian. They were very good for keeping food quite cold.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-27286495800628401572013-09-14T19:16:30.178+08:002013-09-14T19:16:30.178+08:00Memories come flooding back don't they River? ...Memories come flooding back don't they River? Yes we had a large icebox. In fact my mother-in-law gave us hers when I married my first husband but we had to wait until her new fridge arrived. We didn't get a fridge ourselves until we had been married two years as I felt we should have one when our daughter arrived.<br />I remember the man carrying the large block of ice on a chaff bag on his shoulder. I also remember those coolers with a tank on top that dripped onto a metal frame covered with hessian. They were very good for keeping food quite cold.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-78053988317088234332013-09-14T19:16:01.891+08:002013-09-14T19:16:01.891+08:00Memories come flooding back don't they River? ...Memories come flooding back don't they River? Yes we had a large icebox. In fact my mother-in-law gave us hers when I married my first husband but we had to wait until her new fridge arrived. We didn't get a fridge ourselves until we had been married two years as I felt we should have one when our daughter arrived.<br />I remember the man carrying the large block of ice on a chaff bag on his shoulder. I also remember those coolers with a tank on top that dripped onto a metal frame covered with hessian. They were very good for keeping food quite cold.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-82778458829156320572013-09-14T14:48:36.136+08:002013-09-14T14:48:36.136+08:00I have many similar memories! The big wash tub bro...I have many similar memories! The big wash tub brought in by the fire in winter so we could have our weekly bath, then the same tub was placed on a stand out in the yard in summer and on the back porch in winter and Mum used it along with a rippled washboard to wash our clothes. There was great excitement when mum got a Simpson washing machine with wringer attachment. When I was about six dad built a bathroom into a section of the back porch with a chip heater, but we never had a shower until the day we got a housing trust home when I was fourteen. Did you also have an icebox with the big open top section to hold a giant block of ice? Pre-fridge days. They worked well enough in the winter, but in summers the ice would melt too fast and foods in them didn't keep too well. Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794655013673748992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-69232222724850658532013-09-14T14:02:19.307+08:002013-09-14T14:02:19.307+08:00In the early '50s we had an electric washer wi...In the early '50s we had an electric washer with a ringer in the back porch (beside the cold-water bathtub). I still have a scar on my right index finger where I reached up under the agitator belt and it made a snatch at me. I look at appliances now and think they sure don't make them like they used to. Good thing too! Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16221314320558128986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-33515112178242051822013-09-14T13:03:19.272+08:002013-09-14T13:03:19.272+08:00All of the above but I was fortunate in not having...All of the above but I was fortunate in not having to starch anything (as far as I can remember). I do remember my dad had detachable collars for his business shirts and mum had to cold starch them so they were really stiff.<br />Back in 1953 I knew a polish gentleman who when ironing took a mouthful of water and sprayed the clothes he was ironing from his mouth. Quite fascinating to watch but not sure how hygienic it would be.<br />They were the good old days in many ways but other ways were just darned hard work.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-70626093161714599562013-09-14T13:00:27.901+08:002013-09-14T13:00:27.901+08:00It is sometimes good to be reminded of how fortuna...It is sometimes good to be reminded of how fortunate we are these days and yet it never does any harm looking back which makes us realise we were pretty tough back then.<br />Cloth nappies (diapers) were the only ones available when I was young and at least they didn't pollute the earth as the current ones must do when taken to garbage disposal sites. They talk about being 'green' these days but back then we just were.Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-36942982346016553942013-09-14T12:57:40.287+08:002013-09-14T12:57:40.287+08:00Those were the days where we learned to cope but g...Those were the days where we learned to cope but glad they are now behind us.<br />A bottle of cognac for a washing machine. Wow! Much rather the machine too although if you didn't like the cognac it would have lasted quite a while too!!<br />I still find something sort of comforting though thinking back on all the above. We were perhaps made of sterner stuff then?Mimsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249766510078357225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-72936292734632024882013-09-14T10:04:05.185+08:002013-09-14T10:04:05.185+08:00I remember heating water in the copper and carryin...I remember heating water in the copper and carrying it through the house to the bathroom. And chip heaters too.<br />I also remember swapping a bottle of cognac (which neither of us like) for our first automatic washing machine. Which lasted longer than the cognac - and I think we got a whole lot more pleasure out of it too.Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-89559618658084372282013-09-14T00:48:10.084+08:002013-09-14T00:48:10.084+08:00Oh Mimsie this brought back so many memories.I rem...Oh Mimsie this brought back so many memories.I remember a wash tub parked near a roaring wood stove in a cold old house where nine children had bathed before me a downfall of being the oldest. My Mom would pull the kettle off the stove and for the hot water in to warm it up. I also remember helping Mom wash with a scrub board cloth diapers:-) from two sets of twins. Oh yes I LOvE our modern conveniences now. Thank you for reminding me why. Hug BButtons Thoughtshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05029439906543077861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704657209559170713.post-42425690719528154732013-09-14T00:11:32.997+08:002013-09-14T00:11:32.997+08:00I remember using a washboard and wringer washer. I...I remember using a washboard and wringer washer. In fact, my mother-in-law used a wringer machine until the mid-'70s or so. And I remember making a starch mixture (loved the smell!) and rolling up the clothes and tucking them into the fridge until it was time to iron them. And the soda bottle stoppered with the holed piece to sprinkle the clothes while ironing.<br /><br />Yes, I remember all those things, but I sure don't miss 'em! (Except for maybe the smell of the starch. The spray stuff just doesn't compare.)Susan Flett Swiderskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09425315552148200073noreply@blogger.com