wednesday 3 o'clock: Recent events...

dare i say, i have a lot of ongoing dreamy sequences in my mind. one of many that plays over and over is the possibility i may have lived in another time; one a long time ago. i fantasize that i was a cross country settler or lived in pioneer times. i suppose everyone has fantasies about different timeline challenges and successes. mine are not stupendously different. however, my thoughts during exploration of one are so silly by contemporary standards, that i have rarely told anyone about them.

this line of daydreams has been brought forth by our recent visitor "Irene". she is a testy wench who brought lots of tree damage and water and winds. it was just on the heels of taking my son to college 5 1/2 hours away from home. that will be the subject of a different rambling in case you were concerned.

and now back to my pioneer fantasies...

a few summers ago, there was a reality tv show that featured a group of folks that were dressed up in pioneer clothes, cooked the way that they used to, had social structures developed by the standards of the times as well as morals and values from those days.

since tv pickings are mighty slim during summer months and with the heinously ill timed financial sucking up that PBS does during august... i watched a couple of the show's episodes. they were not all that interesting except for watching how inane people of our time fail epically at simple tasks and basic skills.

i wonder exactly how bossy and opinionated i might be myself within these constraints... were i to visit them. i know i could bake stuff and cook food, since heaven knows i have some experience with that. i also see that the need to clean house would be a little less stringent... and more to my own slovenly style of housekeeping. as clever as americans were in those many years before this century, no literature i read has included tales of an electrolux vaccum and its ability to absolve housekeepers like me.

i think i could handle washing clothes at a stream or boiling some tub full of water for laundry in a more domestic setting. since these challenges are not in my current lifetime's vision, i can't verify this.

medication needs would be suspicious... the ones that many of us take daily for good balance of health, well they would really be missed a lot. i doubt it would be good for my family if we were without them. our previous health conditions may eliminate us from this kind of reality tv. just as pre-existing conditions can remove one from health/life insurance coverage.

then there is the form of entertainment. what could we possibly use? oh yeah, likely it would be more hard work. the teens that spend their times on the computers or with hand held devices, might have some sporty things to pursue. my tendencies would be directed toward a racquet sport with woven wood frames for some badminton or something similar. my daughter tess may like some hockey or lacrosse styled game with a stick and a ball. there might be some running, there might be some catching, who knows, they may even like baseball or football analogues. it is all possible when flipping around through time, the necessity of fighting some boredom and expending excess energy might capture some of our 21st century athletic hobbies. it seems hard to imagine without the support of driving the kids someplace to do something. their pursuits might be so simple that hanging around the house to play, might cause someone to explode.

honestly, i suspect my oldest would revert to her choice of reading,writing and drawing, that is if she were to find herself with some free time. those have always been standby entertainers for her. i might even join in her reindeer games.

i think though, that i would find myself ensconced in my love of needle crafts. i have ALWAYS wanted to shear sheep to gain their fluffy coats. this is what would entertain my interests in wooly treatments :carding, spinning, natural plant dyeing, knitting, weaving, felting, and embroidering their stolen woolen tresses. i figure i might trade some hanks of berry toned and soft muddy greens to someone for some cotton feed-sacks. ones that could be sewn into proper dresses , curtains, upholstered furniture( horse hair stuffed) and even some attention drawn to making quilts. can you tell how much i have thought about all of these skills i have? or would try to learn? onesthat are sort of easily dismissed in our current phase of living except by other fiber artists?

there might be some pressure to go to church. however i think i could dodge that. folks are very willing to go and sing off-key but en masse, and take a break from all the work essential to surviving,might enjoy church. i personally would be grateful for some biscuits and sunday dinner. of course i would be delighted to stay home to prepare that. i am ridiculously ill prepared for fire and brimstone or conversations that include it. always the uncomfortable non-conformist here.

anyways, i think with the every day needs of so many shelter and food harvesting tasks that were done for comfort and safety, nobody would have too much free time. i sure could enjoy some free time, but i am likely to fill it in with some more valuable and productive efforts.

i do think that there would be fewer folks including myself that adhere to night owl hours. the lack of light alone could curtail explorations into

productivity. seeing how to do stuff is a good part of how i get things done. i figure i might be tired or light challenged enough, to sleep more. and sleep more in conventional hours at that. so it boils down to a major life style change to get me to sleep more normal hours.

it just all seems that living in a revisited time rather than what i am comfortable with could be done. perhaps if only for a short span. i would truly hate it all after a while, but it sure would be interesting to try.

i am thinking about all of this of course. my trusty computer is able to record my thoughts as i spill them out in little tappings. i know i only have the 3 hrs and 17 minutes of juice remains in its charged state. it is not possible to add it to the internet, since our router for such tasks remains disconnected. these are the inconveniences created for those of us in this house without power. the one hit wonder, by dixie and the midnight raiders... " come on irene" is in play on my mental tape deck. Irene has dropped in uninvitedly to share her wildly uncontrolled and erratic winds, her mix of low air pressure, deluging rains and flying tree limbs for a visit.

happily, she does not pinch cheeks as she visits, but she does other irksome things. the main one is eliminate our power source. she reminds me quickly of my addiction to anything electrically supported. and my deep dependence upon it all.

so thanks for the visit Irene, now please, GET OUT. i like being electrically addicted and only thinking about how i might live in a different time. i am ultimately too lazy to pursue such a lifestyle for any length of time.

even if only a few hours.

******

not that i have been totally asleep this week,

but i have harvested a few blossoms for creative uses too.