The Lost Arts

I was reading A Penny Closer finding the change to get there, and saw this post about The Lost Arts.

I did take Home Economics in Jr High School and it really was a serious waste of my time. It was sad, really. I think that I knew a lot more than my teacher, but bless her for her patients with so many around me that were utterly cooking and sewing challenged or clueless.

I just didn't find it useful to learn how to boil water (they called it making hot cocoa.) I also was way beyond making french toast at that young age.

I remember a boy in our neighborhood, named Gary, who later become my first boyfriend and well, that's another blog post.. LOL Anyway, Gary used to knock on my grandma's back door on Saturday mornings asking me to make him a quesadilla. Quesadilla, for those that live under rocks *kidding*, is the Southern Cali equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich, made with much yummier, IMHO, ingredients.

Queso is cheese in Spanish and we all know what a tortilla is, I hope. Grilled cheese a la Northern Mexico, aka San Diego. *giggle*

I'll have to make one later today and post a photo, if I can get it to come out well enough to view. I'm having some photo challenges this week.

From home, most of our quesadilla's are made with Colby Jack shredded cheese and fire roasted mild green chili's. The secret, again IMHO, is butter in the pan. Yummy crunchy goodness..

When I was in elementary school, I ate "free breakfast" at school. Even the simple boring rolled quesadilla's made with mystery cheese, and toasted in the oven were much more appreciated than any other breakfast entree that was served. Cheese.. something about it just makes my heart sing.

Of course, top the quesadilla with salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream, and shredded or chopped lettuce is a must. I firmly believe that if you do not have some variation of these mentioned toppings, you must just skip over the thought to make Mexican food for dinner.

Anyway, I digressed.. where was I?

Oh Yes, the post about The Lost Arts..

Sadly, I wonder how couples and family survive without some of these skills. I'm saddened when I witness a bride and groom exclaim that neither cooks. Ummm.. I just can't eat out every meal. I rarely eat out anymore, as it is.. because there are some scary things that are better left unknown in the "eating out environment".

The Boy and I were discussing "crap in food" the other morning, in the grocery store. He wondered and asked if I really felt that food today is worse than years past. Well.. umm "yes and no" was my reply. I'm a serious label reader. I would rather make it myself if its laden in crap..

My biggest offenders include:

• "Hydrogenated"
  
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• "Hyrdolyzed"

and there are many more.. but anyway, I digressed again. This is what happens at 5am. *giggle*

When I consider "sewing & repairing clothing" I think that buying fabric and notions new is a scary budget cruncher. I'm more into reconditioning, changing, transforming, or upcycling used clothing. This week, at the Goodwill, I found a brand new skirt that I'm going to make into a tote bag. This is me coming a long way from the horrible wrap around skirt that I fashioned miserably in Home Economics class, back in the day.

I really am a self-taught sewer. I've had affairs with other people's sewing machines before I ever owned my own. I really need to take a class specifically geared towards my new computerized genius machine.

I'm convinced it might be able to make dinner, too, now.

Of all my sewing abilities, I must confess that I don't darn socks. I just don't. Girlie learned how to do it in a church midweek activity and has actually scrounged the laundry basket for socks to darn. More power to ya Girlie!

Thinking about "Cooking from Scratch"... I used to do all my cooking from scratch. I'm not really sure how I used to do all that I did when my babies were very young, and their cousins and every one else's baby's flocked to my house for child care needs... but I did it. And, sadly, I really miss it!

I used to gather with neighbors and friends, in military housing, and make seasoning packets. Now, I just dump stuff into pans from jars.. I guess my cooking has matured. Maybe it was the gatherings that I enjoyed?

"Balancing a Checkbook" well.. I do it but not like I used to. I usually call the bank, every few days or once a week and update everything. I never read statements anymore. I know.. shshsh! I'm back to writing things down in a register, so its a start.

I so miss being better organized.

"Gardening" *sigh* I was just marveling at the wonders of nature, yesterday morning. There are some jalapeno peppers growing on their own out back, as I type. I don't know what keeps them going. OF the herbs that are left after the terrible drought and heat wave while I was in the hospital, it appears that there is basil coming back. The chives look great. One rosemary plant survived.

Peeking out from the overgrown mess called flower pots on my patio, there are some lily's, a gerber daisy, moss roses, mums from last Fall, and some purple things that don't have a name in my brain database, right now. I think I also saw some vinca/periwinkle still managing to hang on. Its a shame that I've let it all go.. but nature has its way of tending to itself sometimes, too.

So, yes, I agree, that these are lost arts. But they are so important and I teach them every day, because someone needs to be keeping up with passing down what they can. I don't know how today's generations will survive, financially, without some of these important skills.

"The Boy" won a game, one time, when he was challenged boys against girls to iron a shirt. He can iron. Now we own a wonderful clothes steamer and they know how to throw their wrinkled clothes into the dryer with a wet towel, now, too.. so do we need to iron, anymore? I really hate to iron anything, and I'm blessed by Joy Mangano's treasure. Mine is white and was only $20! What a bargain.

Of the additional things noted in that blog post, we do can jam. Its been years since I've canned fruit and I don't own my canning bathing equipment anymore. I so miss that, though. My canning jars mostly sit with leftovers in my refrigerator, staples on the baker's rack, and blueberries, in the freezer, today. I do glass over plastic everyday.

Do you have any talents in the area of these Lost Arts? Did you learn these things, at home, or with your family? Are you passing along these talents to the future generations?

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