Greetings on this gloriously sunny morning,
Please remember that this Tuesday being the fifth in the month, there will be no luncheon. However, we will be having an Open House from noon until 1:30 pm for anyone who would like to bring their brown bag lunch. Of course, we will have tea and coffee available for all. You could also see this as an opportunity to bring your spouse or best friend along for a free lunch! Tickets will be available to purchase for the Fisher home event. There are only sixty seats available so do not delay!
Beautiful on a Budget
Fashion Show and Tea
Thursday, April 28 2011, 2:30 p.m.
Munson Library
Also - please vote – how else can our town officials represent us?
This past week I have done two things that betray my old fashioned upbringing and seem to be rare in the younger generations. The first was to send a handwritten note. I chose the paper with care, to be sure that it was appropriate to the occasion. Then I wrote slowly and carefully so that it would be legible to someone who is unaccustomed to my handwriting, little improved since my days in Junior school when my teacher would mark my handwriting exercise with 'Could be neater' or 'Only fair'.
I have a box in which I keep old letters, cards and notes that have special significance to me.
Occasionally I take them out and read them, remembering the occasion and author, and noting how the choice of paper and the handwriting reflect both of these. I treasure this set of memories and would be sad if I were to lose them.
I have a box in which I keep old letters, cards and notes that have special significance to me.
Occasionally I take them out and read them, remembering the occasion and author, and noting how the choice of paper and the handwriting reflect both of these. I treasure this set of memories and would be sad if I were to lose them.
The younger generation may never know this experience in their culture of instant messaging and communication. Text messaging allows them to use a code of letters and numbers to type short phrases at amazing speeds for instant delivery – almost like having a conversation. But there is no lasting record of the exchange. Even email messages like this one, although grammatically correct and set out in neat paragraphs, have only their style of writing to illustrate the author's character and intent. A significant message can, of course, be kept on file, in a Folder called 'To be kept' or some such, or even printed out and retained in an old fashioned filing cabinet or box. But I would argue that for significant personal correspondence, there is nothing to compare to the centuries old paper-and-pen method.
My second project was to embroider a monogram on a linen bath towel. I recently discovered the joy of using old, handwoven linen towels and have passed all my modern fluffy toweling ones to Roger. I love the smooth texture of the linen and marvel at how much water it can absorb before becoming noticeably damp. I think of the hours spent weaving the thread and hand knotting the fine fringe at each end.
Some of my old towels already have the initials of their owner, carefully embroidered in the finest of thread, each towel displaying a different font. For myself, I chose an intricate but delicate set from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Needlework, published posthumously in 1870.
Why bother? I think the answer is threefold: continuing the custom pays homage to the anonymous weaver who put so many hours into creating it; it looks pretty; and I get great pleasure out of working such short, delicate projects. But perhaps there is also a deeper connection to the past. My great grandmother was a seamstress, making ladies' dresses in the late nineteenth century when each dress was a marvel of tucks and ruffles and endless yards of fabric, fitted like a second skin to the wearer. From her, my grandmother learned many of these skills.
My grandmother had left school at the age of twelve to go into service, cleaning, washing and mending in one of the large, prosperous homes near to the centre of Liverpool. She had taken these sewing skills with her, learnt at her mother's knee, and after she married and had children of her own she passed them on to her daughter, my mother. When I was a child, my mother and grandmother would look closely at beautiful children's clothing in the expensive stores, then return home and copy them for me to wear. Without realizing it, from some sort of osmosis, I myself gradually absorbed many of these skills. Some were taught to me. I can still remember, for instance, my grandmother teaching me the correct way to iron a handkerchief, folding it just so,
in order that the completed kerchief would be beautifully square, with the embroidered initial positioned exactly in the center of the square.
When doing embroidery the back of the fabric had to look as neat as the front – a skill I never quite mastered.
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| My grandmother, 1896 |
in order that the completed kerchief would be beautifully square, with the embroidered initial positioned exactly in the center of the square.
When doing embroidery the back of the fabric had to look as neat as the front – a skill I never quite mastered.
Do these old skills have any relevance in today's world? Certainly, modern technology has changed our lives in ways that are wonderful. There simply is not enough time to teach or learn all of the information that my generation was taught, and add on to that all the modern skills that are needed to live in our modern world. Today has to take precedence over yesterday, and no one would want to go back to the 'good old days'. However, I do believe that some skills can still be relevant and valuable and perhaps the task is best assigned to grandparents who often have more leisure time with children, when each generation can impart to the other the specialties of their individual worlds.
But now I have to go – the dishwasher is beeping at me that it has completed its cycle……
Vivienne.
