Old School or Just Old


I am finally beginning to feel old.  Not old in that decrepit, old crone way -- just old enough to start comparing life today with the life of my youth.  It has come to my attention lately that, without much thought given to it, I have reverted back to doing things the way I used to when I was a young bride (no, we didn't have a pet dinosaur) or even back to the way my mother did things.

I noticed this the other day when I told my husband that if he wants to do any changing of things in the kitchen, he could do away with the microwave and have a double oven put in.  I find the microwave to be the most useless appliance around.  However, I could use two ovens.  I had two ovens in my old house and loved them but I barely had room for a microwave. 

I no longer have an electric can opener, haven't for years, nor do I have an electric skillet.  I cook on the stove and in the oven -- I have even taken to making toast in the oven like my mother used to -- you can make much more at a time.  When the pop-up kicks it, I am not sure I will replace it.

I don't care for commercial bread.  I just don't like the taste of it and Hubs rarely eats it when I buy it so we toss copious amounts of the stuff in the trash.  I don't even feed it to the birds because I am afraid they would just keel over from ingesting it.  So, I make bread, in a bread machine.  A noisy, big, clunky bread machine that is hard to store.  So, I was reading some blogs the other day and realized that making the bread like I used to when my children were little (I was a real Earth Mother back then) was just as easy and not nearly so noisy.  So, I sat about doing just that and it was wonderful.  The bread lasted longer than the bread machine bread and it looked normal.  So, this morning I quickly mixed up another batch and am enjoying the smell of the rising bread as I type this. 

I also have a real dislike of emptying the dishwasher.  So, I have taken to washing the dishes by hand.  There are only two of us so how long does it take to wash a couple of bowls in the morning?  It seems like I get jobs finished completely when doing things "old school" rather than with all the labor saving appliances we have now. 

I sweep the floors with a broom and use an old fashioned dust mop that I bought online -- I only vacuum occasionally.  I dust with a lambswool duster -- I don't use swiffers or anything of that manner.  My husband prefers to dust with the vacuum cleaner but I find that to be exhausting -- too much arm work.

I have discussed here in the past that I tend to line dry more of my clothes than I tumble dry.  I just prefer not to be a slave to the dryer.

I have tried all sorts of exercise equipment over the years to get myself in better shape but they have all been an epic fail.  Our latest acquisition of about seven years ago is a Tony Little Gazelle.  The concept is great -- low impact on knees that are aging quicker than the rest of me.  Uh, not so much.  It completely wrecks my knees and back so I decided that walking, on my feet, on the ground is the best exercise with a few pilates thrown in.  Pilates is fantastic -- did it in college in a dance class I took and it completely changed my body.  I finished the semester, quit doing the pilates and the old body snapped back just like a rubber band.  Note to self - don't quit doing the pilates.  Anyway, I digress.  So, I decided that a fitbit would be a great thing to have -- linked right up to the computer to download your activity through the day.  Again -- not so much.  It wouldn't sync to my computer since we don't use windows and back to the store it went. 

What I ended up with is this

and this

oh, and a pencil but I didn't think I needed to show you that.  So, I am counting my steps with the pedometer and writing down the information daily.  It is working just fine.  I am keeping track of my water intake, my steps, my calories expended, etc and it doesn't involve a computer.  I was surprised that yesterday I walked almost 9000 steps, about 2.63 miles -- just in my house doing my daily chores.  So....

So, anyway, am I just getting old or could it be possible that doing things "old school" is really easier?  I am thinking it is.