Thursday, February 27, 2014

When rug beaters, butter churns and butter molds were all in a day's work; living old-fashioned part 2

I can beat rugs to get the dirt out and don't mind the extra effort. I can churn butter and imprint beautiful designs in it using old wooden butter molds. Why not just get with the twenty-first century, already? A little hard work never hurt anybody and I like to have fresh butter without the additives and junk they put in it nowadays. As far as a rug beater goes-- that was before they had vacuum cleaners. Sure, it's a lot of work to hang the rug on a clothes line and beat the dirt out of it, but eh, to each his own, I guess. Butter churning is something, that when I learned how to do this, I never wanted to go back to store bought butter again. In fact, before I started churning butter with a butter churn, I seldom, if ever used butter for cooking, or even consumed it on toast, unless it was already in the food to begin with. There's something healthier about home-churned butter. Not to say that it's any better for you, but tastes more like butter used to eons ago.

When incandescents lights and kerosene lamps once ruled the world; living old-fashioned, part 1

It was bound to happen. We heard of it coming for years. It was signed back when George W. Bush, Jr. was still in office. It was an end of something that's been a mainstay for generations for millions. What we took for granted, was a marvel back in the early 19th century-- electric lights. Incandescent light bulbs once shown no brighter than twenty candles lit at one time. The inventor of the incandescent light bulb was Thomas Edison. However, in rural areas, folks still lit their homes with kerosene lamps and that lighting is still used today in the twenty-first century. Beginning in 2014 it's considered illegal to sell or import incandescent light bulbs: 25 watt, 40 watt, 60 watt, etc. At one time they used to sell 75, 90 and 100 watt before the newer "curly q" light bulbs were shoved on people. "I don't care if they're supposed to be 'energy efficient!' I'm not going to light my home with mercury-laden, made in china light bulbs that look like a hazard waiting to happen." I harped when I first saw them emerging on store shelves. I know that nothing lasts forever, and neither could incandescent light bulbs. I was determined to come up with alternative lighting at night. Sure, kerosene lamps are extremely old as the hills and a potential fire hazard when using lamp oil and wicks. However, I wanted to circumvent this and decided to go with LED candles. They don't produce much light, if enough to safely see unless there's a lot of them turned on in same room. But-- when the power goes out, the LED's do make the home feel cozy with less worry about any flammable liquid or open flame. And they also give off the appropriate lighting that would have been commonplace way back when.
Why live in the past? Why not? I realize that I won't be able to evade these new light bulbs that look curly q like to me and just an eye sore that doesn't produce enough light to see clearly by. No, my eyesight isn't that bad. I've compared the incandescent light bulbs to the newer light bulbs and the difference is noticeable. Everything is darker with those newer bulbs and makes a home and/ or business seem less pleasant atmosphere-wise. And I've keenly noticed they emit a small "hiss" and sizzle-like sound whenever they're ready to bite the dust. That should tell anybody how bad these new light bulbs are, especially since they do contain mercury. Incandescent bulbs do get hot to the touch and always have, but let the bulb cool off before changing it out. I'd be more afraid of one of those newer bulbs just shattering because they're made with inferior components and are cheaply mass-produced in China. I'm not here to complain, just make an observation, which is why when the ban went into effect, I high-tailed it to my nearest antique store. That's not to say kerosene lamps are selling like day old hot cakes, but they're an alternative lighting source for those who don't want all the new light bulbs in their homes.