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]

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]

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]

....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.

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]

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]

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]

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.

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.

 

[ksr]

What a great topic! I think much of what I do has already been mentioned, but here goes:

• Read books and magazines borrowed from the library.
• Bake from scratch, mostly cook from scratch
• Clean with vinegar, baking soda, soap, etc.
• Knit, sew, mend
• Mow our own grass (we are one of only very few homes in this middle-class suburban neighborhood that does not pay a service. This still amazes me)
• Similarly, take care of our own yard maintenance (fertilizer, edging, mulching, raking, pruning, etc.)
• Fix as much as we can ourselves. Only call a for service when it's something we can't do or it is highly impractical
• Organic vegetable gardening
• Color/highlight my own hair (still trying to figure out a way I can cut it myself, too )

On my "to do" list - I'd like to learn to can/preserve. I have a water-bath canner and a book but just haven't tried yet.

 

[Nords]

The heck with the good ol' fashioned stuff. Give me modern technology every time. If it's not doing the job at least as well as the good ol' fashioned way then it just needs better engineering for v2.0.

In mid-2000 our kid (then seven years old) was involved in a halau. This halau regularly competes in the Merrie Monarch annual worldwide hula festival and has been known to haul home more than its share of awards, so they took it pretty seriously.

One event was the weekend retreat to make the instruments that would be used in the following year's competition. The dancers spent most of the day making their small hand drums by cutting up coconuts, hollowing them out, sanding them down, and covering them with tapa cloth or hide. Others were making drum sticks or other implements. Everyone tried it the hard way with flat lava rocks and sharp sticks but then reverted to hand tools & sandpaper.

While our kid was arising with the sun to do the morning chant, we grownups mustered around the imu. After cleaning out the 20'x20'x4' hole, we filled it with pohaku & kiawe and then set it on fire. (We used lighters.) While that was burning down we stripped a few dozen banana trees of their leaves and started prepping the food-- whole turkeys, pork butts, whole taro roots, and a dozen other delicacies. Once the wood had burned down and the pohaku were hot, we covered them with the banana leaves and added a layer of food. More banana leaves, more food, and so on until the imu was full. Then we added canvas tarps & plastic sheeting (another concession to modern convenience) and shoveled dirt over the entire thing to keep the heat/steam in.

You hustled to get it all done because (1) you needed 7-10 hours of cooking time and (2) after 9 AM it got pretty darn hot to be shoveling dirt over an oven.

The result was a multi-course buffet for about 200, including hula chants with musical accompaniment.

If the ancient Hawaiians had traveled forward in time to join us at the luau, it wouldn't have seemed to be anything special to their way of life. But eventually they would have learned about all the modern technology we had available and yet chose not to use. And their assessment would have been "Eh, what brah, you lolo?!?"

 

[bbbamI]

I do some things already mentioned, like cooking, mending and lawn maintenance. The only thing I can add that is a bit different is I make greeting cards and write my own lyrics. 'Course I guess it's half ol' since I print them on the computer.

I suppose I could do the cards by hand, but I would have to start in January to get the Christmas cards done on time.

 

[Moscyn]

Mend my own clothes and DH's.
Write letters and post them.
Send the occasional card.
Borrow old magazines from clubs.
Exchange books with friends.
Pack my breakfast before I go to work.
Read printed books and magazines.
Keep a scrapbook.
Still keep coins in piggy banks.
Mince garlic and onions - no electric grinder for me.
Boil all sorts of herbal soups which even my mum (nearing 80) does not know.

Isn't life just interesting?

 

[RonBoyd]

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.

Actually, I bake a small 1-pound loaf and eat only three slices a day --the neighborhood squirell get fed well. My breakfast consists of a slice of toast with (natural) Peanut Butter, a small banana, and three (8oz) cups of coffee. My lunch is a sandwich of some kind and a cup of herbal (non-caffeinated) tea.

The bread I bake is of my own invention (Well, you know) and is, imho, more "healthy" than store-bought -- and much more flavorful. Understand that bread is made from a Formula (exact measurement) rather than from a Recipe (a guideline). It well, also, have a slight bitterness to most people because of the high whole wheat content and very low amount of sugar.

2 1/2 cups flour (50/50 mix of unbleached bread flour and white whole wheat.)

1 TBLS each of Wheat Germ, ground Flax Seed, and Gluten.

1 tsp each of sugar and salt (this is required as nutrician for the Yeast and can't be reduced any further) Honey or Agave Nectar can be substituted but is way too messy for me.

2/3 cups plus 1 7/8 TBLS warm (110º-115º) water

1 1/4 tsp Yeast (any kind works) This is altitude specific so YMMV.

1 1/2 TBLS unsalted Butter. I have found no substitute for this vital ingrediant.

Start Breadmachine (I use a BreadmanPro) -- pot of coffee should be just finishing -- and set a timer for 1:34:00 so you are alerted to the final "punch down."

At final "punch down," take dough out of bread machine, remove paddle, and shape the dough by pulling the top around to the bottom. Return dough to bread machine. Set timer for 1:49:00 to be alerted to finish.

Remove from bread machine and set on a rack of some kind (to keep it off the counter) for fifteen minutes. Then put loaf in bread box (again elevated) uncovered for one hour. Put in plastic bag (I use grocery bag) and it will stay fresh for a couple days. (never refrigerate bread)

This makes a loaf that is 4-5 inches tall so the slices are about 3/4 of a "normal" 1 1/2 or 2 pound loaf.