Maybe you would look at this quaint little crafty item and think, "Hmmm...how creative!"
I mean that is what I thought when I looked at it. I guess if you have the old pair of boots and you no longer have use for them it would be a great craft to try your hand at. It would work as a cute bird house as long as there is no lingering foot stink to chase the birds away from nesting in it.
After a bit of contemplating I started thinking of our ancestors and what they would do with that old pair of boots. I am not a betting woman, but I bet my grandparents would have found a way to re-tool that leather and re-sole those boots to get quite a bit more use out of them.
It seems to me that we have become such a wasteful society, so much so that we think nothing of throwing away a perfectly good pair of boots for the birds.
Yesterday as I was fondly hang my grandma's handkerchiefs on the line, I recalled a comment my older daughter had once remarked years ago. After watching me wipe my nose with my lilac and pink hankie she exclaimed... "YUK! Mom! Gross! Why do you use those for your snot? Get some Kleenex! "
Am I that old-fashioned and frugal? Why do I like to use "hankies" of all pretty sorts and save the $2.00 on buying a few boxes of Kleenex? Do we not use and re-use our underwear everyday? Isn't that just as gross?
What ever happened to "Make Do and Mend"? My grandparents certainly subscribed to this philosophy.
During WWII German U-boats were threatening importation of goods. Rationing and recycling was put into place to ensure the citizens of Britain were adequately enabled to survive such a plight. From June 1941 clothes were also rationed; this meant that people had to make their clothes, shoes, undergarments, and so forth last longer. The government started a Make Do and Mend campaign to encourage people to recycle and reuse the old clothes, fabrics, and other resources.
So if I am using "hankies" am I just making do, old fashioned, or am I hip and trendy as I re-purpose? Sheesh.
I guess I must be all of the above. I can tell you that if I find a good old pair of cowgirl boots for a cheap enough price I am certainly not going to re-purpose them into a bird house. You can be well assured I would clean them up and put them on my feet to go riding on my horse!
I mean that is what I thought when I looked at it. I guess if you have the old pair of boots and you no longer have use for them it would be a great craft to try your hand at. It would work as a cute bird house as long as there is no lingering foot stink to chase the birds away from nesting in it.
After a bit of contemplating I started thinking of our ancestors and what they would do with that old pair of boots. I am not a betting woman, but I bet my grandparents would have found a way to re-tool that leather and re-sole those boots to get quite a bit more use out of them.
It seems to me that we have become such a wasteful society, so much so that we think nothing of throwing away a perfectly good pair of boots for the birds.
Yesterday as I was fondly hang my grandma's handkerchiefs on the line, I recalled a comment my older daughter had once remarked years ago. After watching me wipe my nose with my lilac and pink hankie she exclaimed... "YUK! Mom! Gross! Why do you use those for your snot? Get some Kleenex! "
Am I that old-fashioned and frugal? Why do I like to use "hankies" of all pretty sorts and save the $2.00 on buying a few boxes of Kleenex? Do we not use and re-use our underwear everyday? Isn't that just as gross?
What ever happened to "Make Do and Mend"? My grandparents certainly subscribed to this philosophy.
During WWII German U-boats were threatening importation of goods. Rationing and recycling was put into place to ensure the citizens of Britain were adequately enabled to survive such a plight. From June 1941 clothes were also rationed; this meant that people had to make their clothes, shoes, undergarments, and so forth last longer. The government started a Make Do and Mend campaign to encourage people to recycle and reuse the old clothes, fabrics, and other resources.
So if I am using "hankies" am I just making do, old fashioned, or am I hip and trendy as I re-purpose? Sheesh.
I guess I must be all of the above. I can tell you that if I find a good old pair of cowgirl boots for a cheap enough price I am certainly not going to re-purpose them into a bird house. You can be well assured I would clean them up and put them on my feet to go riding on my horse!
Now I suppose most of you would look at the photo to the right and know exactly what you are looking at. Then there will be some of you that will think it is some sort of a fancy dish to hold soup. To those of you that think it is a pot for soup...ummm...well...sorry. It is not. This is a photo of a chamber pot. NOT just any chamber pot. This is our chamber pot. I was totally enthralled to find this chamber pot in a small "off the beaten path" thrift store for only $12.00. This to me was a good buy as most of the time you are not able to find one complete with its lid! For those of us that like antiques the price was perfect. I also had in mind that perhaps when we present to school groups we could show the kids the 'chamber pot' and tell of its use for a sort of a shock effect. "Ewwww! Gross! Yuk!" are the comments I imagined those students proclaiming as they learned of the use of this bone china beauty.
LITTLE DID I KNOW that Mr. Flanagan decided to "re-purpose" this gem for use at night! GROSS! Yes dear readers, you are reading my words correctly. Those of you who know our Mr. Flanagan will not be surprised at this tid-bit of news. You see, our only bathroom is located downstairs and our bedrooms are all upstairs. Mr. Flanagan got annoyed with having to go downstairs each time he "had to go" in the night, so on a whim he decided to use the chamber pot! Well...is that so bad? Our ancestors had to go outside to use the outhouse; at night they used a bucket or a chamber pot. Why not use the item for what it was created for in the name of convenience? I should add no matter how good of wife I try to be, I refuse to empty and wash out that chamber pot each morning. I am pretty sure we won't be using this item for our presentations now. I cannot stomach the thought of "passing around" the historic antique knowing it is currently being used. BUT..didn't I purchase the item and tote it home with excitement? Did I not place it on the hard wood floor of our farmhouse bedroom? Did I not ponder how often this purchased antique held umm...well...waste? Yikes.
I guess that just shows how we change as a society.
I have to tell you living on this little hobby farm has its experiences that is for sure. How can it not with Flanagan for a husband! I also have to say the environment kind of lends itself to the re-purpose-recycle-homemade movement. Once considered "old-fashioned" now considered "cool".
Now I am looking forward to learning how to use and re-use everything! Heck, in this economy it will be one of the smartest things I can do for our little household!
LITTLE DID I KNOW that Mr. Flanagan decided to "re-purpose" this gem for use at night! GROSS! Yes dear readers, you are reading my words correctly. Those of you who know our Mr. Flanagan will not be surprised at this tid-bit of news. You see, our only bathroom is located downstairs and our bedrooms are all upstairs. Mr. Flanagan got annoyed with having to go downstairs each time he "had to go" in the night, so on a whim he decided to use the chamber pot! Well...is that so bad? Our ancestors had to go outside to use the outhouse; at night they used a bucket or a chamber pot. Why not use the item for what it was created for in the name of convenience? I should add no matter how good of wife I try to be, I refuse to empty and wash out that chamber pot each morning. I am pretty sure we won't be using this item for our presentations now. I cannot stomach the thought of "passing around" the historic antique knowing it is currently being used. BUT..didn't I purchase the item and tote it home with excitement? Did I not place it on the hard wood floor of our farmhouse bedroom? Did I not ponder how often this purchased antique held umm...well...waste? Yikes.
I guess that just shows how we change as a society.
I have to tell you living on this little hobby farm has its experiences that is for sure. How can it not with Flanagan for a husband! I also have to say the environment kind of lends itself to the re-purpose-recycle-homemade movement. Once considered "old-fashioned" now considered "cool".
Now I am looking forward to learning how to use and re-use everything! Heck, in this economy it will be one of the smartest things I can do for our little household!
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