It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

kidcat

mardatha wrote: »

I just want some bl**dy SUN!

Its sunny here atm although we are due to get the BBQ out (promised the kids) so can guarantee it will rain - maybe you will get the sun then

westcoastscot

Mardatha did you blink and miss summer again??? :rotfl:

We had two days of summer but winter is here again - hope that isn't it for us!

WCS

mardatha

Oh yes I can mind those two days. Vaguely. Mid April was it not ? Silly me, I must have missed summer !

Primrose

I found an old sheet at the back of my airing cupboard a few days ago which had got rather grubby and needed washing. It must have been one I inherited from my parents when I was clearing out their home because it was a "Utility" one. Remember those wartime labels on everything? Make do and mend? I noticed that it had been carefully cut up and repaired with "Sides to middle" - and I suspect that my Mum had probably done this years ago during the war, trying to make things last when all clothing and household linens were rationed on coupons. I spotted a slight tear in the middle when the repair had started to pull away, so this morning sat down and carefully repaired the damage thinking, "This sheet must be probably be about 60 years old, and here's the second generation which is doing the same thing." I was never much of a needlewoman so I hope my Mum was looking down and smiling at me repairing her original handiwork. Interestingly, after washing, the sheet still looks as if it has some life in it but the feel of the material has a completely different texture to modern day easy care bed linens.

mardatha

I would love the feeling of history that would give you. I bet she was watching !

Chipps

I know what you mean about the different feel of old sheets. My grandma gave me some sheets she hadn't used for ages. One was a wonderful quality egyptian cotton sheet, and the other one was a Dorma sheet with a label on which said "wartime measures". Sure enough, it is really short - not much to tuck in - but the quality & feel of it is wonderful. Nothing like a modern sheet! I thought about giving it to the local museum... but then thought better of it! After all, it is a good sheet & ought to be used as such!

mardatha

That's very interesting- we seem to think that everything now is better, and old fashioned stuff is rough - maybe its the opposite!

Primrose

mardatha's comment about old fashioned linen feeling "rough" is interesting. My OH tells of one particular sheet in his childhood home which did the rounds around the childrens' beds which felt particularly rough, so much so that they all used to call it "The Shroud", Every time the sheets were changed there was an argument to get it moved to somebody else's bed, saying "Oh No Mum, it's not my turn for "The Shroud". I had it last time." I can just imagine that it probably did feel like a shroud if you had to climb into it in a cold unheated bedroom in the middle of post-war austerity Britain in houses which had only one coal fire and no central heating.

BitterAndTwisted

Perhaps that "Shroud" was made of linen. From memory vintage, well-laundered 100% cotton sheets used to get softer and softer the more they were boiled and scrubbed. It's a pity I don't have any of my Granny's old linens to put this theory to the test.

silvasava

This thread is just so inspiring & the courage of so many MSE'rs in the face of adversity is very humbling - some of the posts have made me quite emotional
I've had a sh*ty year but I'll get through it - reading the posts gives me so much encouragement. I read a couple of quotes in a book a few months ago & they really resonated with me

'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle' &
'Small victories - sometimes they are all you can hope for, but sometimes they are all you need'

I have both of these printed out by my PC & they really buck me up

Love n Hugs to all you brilliant people & hang in there!!