In Chapter Two the girls use their small funds to give Christmas gifts to Marmee. Louisa May Alcott writes "Not rich enough to afford any great outlay for private performances, the girls put their wits to work and - necessity being the mother of invention - made whatever they needed."
In the modern day, there doesn't seem to be much need for invention, we can buy so many comforts. Are there comforts you just take for granted? Do you have any story of a time when "necessity was the mother of invention" in your life?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Little Women: Discuss with Us #3
In Chapter Two the girls use their small funds to give Christmas gifts to Marmee. Louisa May Alcott writes "Not rich enough to afford any great outlay for private performances, the girls put their wits to work and - necessity being the mother of invention - made whatever they needed."
In the modern day, there doesn't seem to be much need for invention, we can buy so many comforts. Are there comforts you just take for granted? Do you have any story of a time when "necessity was the mother of invention" in your life?
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YES! I think there are lots of comforts we all take for granted.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in NY this past month, I had to use a wood stove to make heat. It was a single stove with no ventilation around the house... the warmest place was right in front of it. At night, I would add lots of fire which would make the cabin a billion degrees and by 3am I would wake up freezing. Then run out to the yard in my pajamas in the snow to get kindling and firewood and back inside to build a fire again.
Push button heating and air was something I definitely had taken for granted. :o)
Similarly, when I lived in Florida and we had Hurricane Charley come through, we lost power for nearly a month. No air conditioning. In Florida. In August. It was awful. Another thing taken for granted!
When I was a kid I would make my own doll houses out of shoeboxes and other trash. I think I enjoyed those homemade houses more than when I actually got a real one later in childhood. :o)
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you Kim!
ReplyDeleteMy first house was only heated with a wood stove. Downstairs. My bedroom was upstairs. Luckily, it wasn't like NY... but it was still plenty chilly in the mornings and I learned to make a fire really fast. Toilet paper rolls for kindling if I must!
We camped a lot growing up, so I learned early the value of a soft pillow, campfire, and fresh water.
People make fun of me for gardening. Yes, I could save myself a lot of effort and money if I just went to the store for my vegetables and fruit. But there is something about knowing your effort created that entire meal... It wasn't trucked in from some farm in California, picked by illegal immigrants, doused with pesticides and hormones, and fertilized with ecoli-laced manure. Hungry yet? :)
I also knit and LOVE finishing a project. Especially if it fits. For the cost of the yarn and the time it takes, I could have at least 10 sweaters from Old Navy. But mine will last longer and be made for my body and there won't ever be an identical one, even if they used the same pattern.
I also take raw wool from sheep and llamas (yes, I've sheared too) and process it and spin it into yarn. Again- way too much cost for it to be marketable, but I like to think about the back-to-basics skills it takes.
I know how to take care of most farm animals but I work in a high-rise building and live in a subdivision. I wasn't so bothered with all the shots I did to myself because I used to do innoculations for our dogs and llamas.
Kim- I used to make dollhouses by stacking books. I made walls by opening the books and using the hardbacks for the walls. I got to a 3-story one before my dad told me to put the books away. :)
My DH is the creative one when it comes to solving problems creatively. When he was in college, he drove a very old suburban. I still get to hear stories about this suburban every time we hang out with an old friend of his. Anyway, apparently, there is a small triangular window on the driver's side the was broken and would whistle so he stuck an empty plastic coke bottle in it and voila - no whistle. Can you imagine how ghetto this truck was?!! Since then, He can fix just about anything - usually the conventional way but he still is creative. We have a metal shed in the back that really needs replacing - the doors literally fell off. Last week he used old boards that he had replaced on the fence to repair the doors and it's back in action! I love that he's so "green"!
ReplyDeleteOh, and the best birthday present I ever gave was to my bff's little boy in his 10th birthday. He told me he wanted a big box so I bought him a refrigerator box from a storage place. I brought that thing into the party with all these fancy techy gifts and the kids went nuts for my giant piece of cardboard. The parents just stared at me in silence after the room emptied - it was awesome! Those kids played with that box for weeks until it was just destroyed. They had a carnival, a store, a stage, the list went on and on!
ReplyDeleteOh, comforts I will never take for granted: running water and heat. I can function but it's not pleasant. I'm not a camper either, Stephanie - my idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn/Navy Lodge :P
ReplyDeleteNancy---I love your story about the box. I remember when I was a kid we would do the same thing. A purchase of a big appliance brought us so much joy in the form of the box!
ReplyDeleteAs kids, our neighborhood used to put on tons of little shows. We were the Chipmunks & Snap, Crackle, and Pop. We used to act out the Silverstein poems. We used to also create the Goonies movie in the backyard pretending we were sliding down the water. I have to say we had so much fun with our imagination rather than toys.
The only invention thing that I can think of was this "rock shaker" to separate the rocks from the dirt. My mom wanted the rocks around the house cleaned and my dad made this sifter for us to use. I complained and complained but she had clean rocks. When we moved into our house what was one of the first things I said I needed. The rock sifter. We have one now that my DH made for me and my mom still has the one my dad made years ago. :) I know it is not really a necessity....just something fun.
Aww... I love the rock sifter idea. :o)
ReplyDeleteDon't you all just wish we could go back to being children where our thoughts were focused on how to catch fairies, clean rocks, and build a stage to prance around on?
I loved reading these!! When I was little we moved around a lot so we kept our toys and things to a minimum. This meant if I could be, I WAS outside. Even in the rain. I loved it. I would sit under bushes to shield off the rain and pretend I was an animal living in the forest.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite "invention" was making my bike a horse. I rode that 'horse' for all she was worth. We jumped stairs and boxes and raced and did dressage. We were quite a team!
Modern day: DH refuses to hire anyone to do a job he think he might be able to do. His latest endeavor, replacing our attic fan. Fortunately (for my sanity) the pitch of our roof is too steep and our ladder doesn't reach!!! Ah Yellow Pages, I will never take you for granted :)
Something else I will NEVER take for granted (and I regularly think about): indoor plumbing. Thank you for inventing the toilet, inventor of the toilet.
I am not sure how correct this is, but I heard that the man who invented the toilet was Thomas Crapper. I cannot confirm that validity though.
ReplyDeleteDarn... not true. :o(
ReplyDeletehttp://urbanlegends.about.com/od/factoid1/p/thomas_crapper.htm
Oh, here's another. What would any of us do without GOOGLE?
ReplyDeleteOh my... we'd all be lost on the highway because we can no longer read paper maps... and sorry Courtney, but I think I don't even own a Yellow Pages anymore! :o)
Eek.. if the internet goes down we're all going to DIE!
Kim- I'll come rescue you guys! I've got a compass and map (paper kind).
ReplyDeleteThinking about this post reminded me of my dad. He is a packrat and has 3 huge workshops/sheds packed full of old stuff that looks like trash. Thing is, he can fix anything. He's like a regular MacGyver!
ReplyDeleteI love it when my DH can engineer something to make it better! The hose kept falling out of my vacuum and he took it to his shop, made a few "modifications", and PERFECT!!! I was so happy!!! A much cheaper fix than a new vacuum!
ReplyDeleteKim, I also would fall apart without Google. However it is the indoor pluming I would miss most of all :)