Good ol' fashioned things you still do...

[freebird5825]

We are all modern creatures, digitally connected and right on top of the ever-burgeoning information culture.
Making that apple pie today, completely from scratch with a wooden rolling pin, made me think...

What do people still do that are old fashioned analog (i.e. non digital) arts, crafts, trades, or activities ?
Rules? Electricity is allowed, but no 1s and 0s (computer technology).

My list...

Reading printed books (even post-Kindle )
Vegetable gardening
Fledgling viticulturist (go grapes go grapes)
Home cooking from scratch
Repairing broken items with glue and duct tape or nails
Small engine mechanics
Painting with rollers and brushes
Sewing by hand (mending clothes) with needle and thread

How about you?

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 We are all modern creatures, digitally connected and right on top of the ever-burgeoning information culture. Making that apple pie today, completely from scratch with a wooden rolling pin, made me think... What do people still do that are old fashioned analog (i.e. non digital) arts, crafts, trades, or activities ? Rules? Electricity is allowed, but no 1s and 0s (computer technology). My list... Reading printed books (even post-Kindle ) Vegetable gardening Fledgling viticulturist (go grapes go grapes) Home cooking from scratch Repairing broken items with glue and duct tape or nails Small engine mechanics Painting with rollers and brushes Sewing by hand (mending clothes) with needle and thread How about you?

Vegetable gardening
Home cooking from scratch (most of the time)
Clothesline
Water plants with laundry rinse water
The tao of compost
Can't sew/knit/crochet by hand anymore

[crazy connie]

Clean with old fashioned products like bleach, vinegar, baking soda
Cook from scratch about 95% of the time including fresh bread
Small pea patch of veggies
Avoid like the plague places like Starbucks
Invite friends for coffee and home made cinnamon rolls coffee clatches
Fix things when at all possible vs buying new
Pack a picnic and head to the park or the mountains for fresh air and exercise
Read magazines and periodicals at the library and check out books
Road trip vacations vs fancy destination amusement park hotel
Patronize local produce stands and farmers markets
Freeze in season fruits and veggies

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy connie Clean with old fashioned products like bleach, vinegar, baking soda Cook from scratch about 95% of the time including fresh bread Small pea patch of veggies Avoid like the plague places like Starbucks Invite friends for coffee and home made cinnamon rolls coffee clatches Fix things when at all possible vs buying new Pack a picnic and head to the park or the mountains for fresh air and exercise Read magazines and periodicals at the library and check out books Road trip vacations vs fancy destination amusement park hotel Patronize local produce stands and farmers markets Freeze in season fruits and veggies

Those too.

[WhoDaresWins]

I cook from scratch about half the time but unlike Freebird I use already-ready pie crusts for pies and quiches
I write thank you notes and birthday cards and post them in the U.S. mail
I grow vegetables, too, but the last couple of years have been container gardens
I track my finances in a ledger book (minus the green eye shade!)
Like Khan I hang out some linens in the summer, mainly sheets
I prefer natural fiber materials like cottons, linens, light wools vs. synthetics although my gym wear and polartec fleece is an exception
Like Connie I shop as much as I can at farm markets and support local businesses as much as possible; avoid chain stores if I can
I enjoy going to theaters to see movies as opposed to renting DVDs
I read paperbooks like FB, no Kindle yet
I buy fresh flowers and live indoor plants, hate plastic and silk

[Orchidflower]

Heres what I do that is old fashioned and works well for your plants indoors and out, including flowering trees: I use the leftover plain coffee when it cools to water plants with, also, Starbucks will give you their old coffee grounds that I use to throw on plants.
Also, throw eggshells all over my garden to cut the grubs in two.
And I use epsom salts on all my outdoor plants--except any cactus forms--to make them grow. These are my grandma's old tricks for plants from long ago, and they really work better than Miraclegro.
Other than that, I do just about everything everyone else mentioned--especially cooking from scratch in a cast iron skillet, which is the best way ever still.
By the way, I have my grandma's coffee pot from the '30's, which is electric and still perks. Very cool in an art deco design. Sometimes I use it, too, despite having the super-duper shiny new Mr. Coffee here that does everything but whistle Dixie.

[RonBoyd]

I, too, cook from scratch (no Cream of Mushroom around here) but I am unsure that "old-fashioned" is the appropriate term. I have more gadgets than listed in a King Arthur Flour catalog. (We rarely go out to eat.)

I bake bread every other morning -- okay, I use a Bread Machine but I do take it out prior to the last rise to shape it properly.

I use a non-powered Rotary Lawn Mower.

I read dead trees but the Kindle has my attention (If it can be read in bed... )

I have never been in a stand-alone Starbucks. (The absolutely worst cup of coffee I ever had was at the Starbucks in LAX when I would have killed for any stimulate to wake up. That was my sole experience with that company)

I throw the Coffee Grounds on the lawn for the earth worms to munch on. (Use a metal filter not paper.)

and many other things but... I take full advantage of modern life also.

[NW-Bound]

Stain the house exterior using a brush and not a sprayer (also using a long and scary ladder )

Trim dead branches and cut down dead trees - Admit to using a chain saw here.

Collect rocks to build terrace steps and walkways.

Dig trenches with pick and shovel to lay down pipe and tubing for irrigation.

Read printed books. May never buy a Kindle.

Still have a box of vacuum tubes up in attic.

Can't bear to throw away a circa-1971 Tektronix analog oscilloscope, Model RM543B. There are others, but too many to list here.

[Orchidflower]

Wow, RonBoyd makes bread every other day? I'm impressed! Even if you use a machine, I'm impressed!

[Goonie]

We do most all of the above mentioned...cooking and baking from scratch (sometimes with a recipe, sometimes from memory, sometimes just throwing things together & hoping for the best!). I only read 'online' if necessary, much prefer books and magazines in 'paper' format. Also much prefer listening to radio, over watching TV!!!

I do almost ALL of my gardening organically, and with 'old family secrets'.....VERY RARELY use ANY chemicals, poisons, etc.

I cookout quite often, and only over charcoal or wood....NO propane for me!!! I prefer to buy meat at my local butcher shop a few blocks away....they're open from 8 to 5 Monday thru Friday and 8 to 3 on Saturdays, but you can go in and get whatever you want from about 6:30am 'til about 7:30pm during the week or by 4:30 on Saturday. We buy most of our 'non-homegrown' veggies and fruit at a local grocery store....the produce guy only stocks the best he can find! I also buy fruits and veggies for a little family owned 'organic' store in the next town over.

We also prefer to do the 'road trip' vacations, stopping whenever and wherever WE want to! We did a LOT of 'group' travel, and have cut back drastically in the last year and a half, and probably won't do ANY 'group' travel from here on out....it's way too regimented!

I like to cut grass with a push mower, even though I own a rider....only use the rider to mulch up and collect the leaves in the fall to put on the compost pile. I'd rather pull weeds than spray them. I prefer to shovel snow, rather than fire-up the snow-blower. I prefer manual, hand tolls over power tools....it might take longer to do a project, but I feel like I've really accomplished something if I did it 'by hand'. I'd much rather be outdoors enjoying the fresh air, than sitting cooped up in the house...doesn't matter the season either!

I'd rather fish with a night crawler or minnow on a hook, than to use some fancy-schmancy gizmo....of course I only fish for fun, and not trying to catch some 'trophy' to mount above the fireplace mantle (that we don't have anyway!).

I like love the simple life, and the good ol' ways!!!

[Goonie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound ....Dig trenches with pick and shovel to lay down pipe and tubing for irrigation.

Been there, done that...a lot! Have to do it again next year to run a gas line out to my workshop...only about 50-60 feet, so it shouldn't take too long.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Still have a box of vacuum tubes up in attic.

We gave away 2 fair sized boxes of them a couple of years ago to a friend of ours that tinkers with old radios as a hobby....he's a radio repairman by trade. We also gave him most of my Dad's 'Ham' gear as well, since my Mom (also a 'Ham') decided she didn't want to get on the air anymore....all of her and my Dad's 'Ham' friends have passed away....except for 2 or 3 younger guys, one of which is the fellow we gave the stuff to, since he and my Dad were kind of close.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goonie I like love the simple life, and the good ol' ways!!!

But not too simple!

I have gone to Pennsylvania to see the way of life of the Amish, and though I respect their choices, it is not for me.

Hmm... An electronic engineer amongst the Amish?

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower Wow, RonBoyd makes bread every other day? I'm impressed! Even if you use a machine, I'm impressed!

I read a cookbook a few months ago called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I haven't tried the method yet, because I live alone and am a relatively low-carb eater, so if I did bake a fresh loaf of bread every day, it would just get stale. However anyone who enjoys fresh, home-baked bread might find that book a worthwhile purchase.

[FIREd]

As many people here, I:

cook/bake from scratch
make bread by hand every 2-3 days (I tried the recipe in that book, kyounge, and I thought that the taste and texture of the bread were off).
grow organic vegetables in containers: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, swiss chard, herbs, salad, strawberries, green beans.
paint house by hand (indoors and outdoors)
make wooden furniture mostly by hand, although a few electric tools come in handy depending on the project.

One thing I almost entirely gave up on: longhand writing.

[kyounge1956]

read books and magazines in hard copy (but I also play audiobooks on CD in the computer or my car)
cook from scratch (usually--but I have sometimes gotten recipes online)
knit and sew by hand (but I sometimes get patterns online)
garden with hand tools
no cell phone

does it count as old-fashioned that I have dial-up internet (on a land line) and no home wireless network?

[Notmuchlonger]

Still use toilet paper. No 3 sea shells for me.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer One thing I almost entirely gave up on: longhand writing.

For a long time now, I write like a doctor does , but I guess most of us do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 does it count as old-fashioned that I have dial-up internet (on a land line) and no home wireless network?

That's surely old-fashioned! You won this contest.

[Disappointed]

Still wear mechanical wristwatches and wind my writstwatches every morning.

Still carry a handkerchief in my pocket everyday.

mP

[Moemg]

I also cook from scratch (is there another way ), bake , mend clothes , do cross stitch and occasionally knit .

[CuppaJoe]

On my to-do list for tomorrow: defrost the refrigerator; wash dishes by hand; water plants, several of which were grown from seeds or leaves; plant kitty grass; wash out a few things by hand, soak white kitchen towels in bleach solution, hang over bathtub.

I like to grind my own flour for waffles; make fruit juices and sorbets from fresh fruit and coconut milk.