Friday 21 March 2008

Time and tide wait for no man

Time, what a precious comodity.

I was having a clear out, and as I am a compulsive hoarder it needs real commitment to see it through. I do not know why I feel the need to keep so many things that I feel are important to me, I just do. Some people believe if you have not used something in a year then it is time to get rid of it. I can understand why, I really can. It is the actual doing it that I find hard.

There is something warming about finding something precious that you have kept for a long time and the memories that it re-awakens. Today I found some old magazines that I had bought, but not had the time to read fully, one of the articles was about time and how all the so called gadgets that have been invented in the past 50 or so years have actually made us busier. If you stop to think about it it is really true. How many of us are glued to mobile phones, laptops or could not live without tv, if I am honest I do enjoy spending time on my pc, but what other things am I not doing with my time that would be more worthwhile? It really made me think about how precious time is and how my own children will be grown and gone in the blink of an eye. I do struggle as a parent, and I honestly would not want to be a teen today, but helping each other through this turbulent time needs commitment and understanding.

The other thing I found today when clearing out my sideboard was 3 of my grans old cookery books. My beloved Granny died almost 2 years ago when she was 96. She was an inspiration and I cherish all the time I was lucky enough to spend with her. My Grandad had worked for the Scottish Gas Board and 2 of the books are from 2 different kinds of Gas cooker. The recipes are from the 50's onwards and make interesting reading, there were gems hidden in each one as Granny had cut out articles of interest and recipes from papers and magzines. The 3rd book is Aunt Kates Household Book, it is old and battered with no binding, I can only imagine that this was my Grans as a young woman as the book dates from 1933. There is all the information a young woman would have needed to run an efficient house at that time, first aid, laundry, table setting, recipes, what is in season each month and a diary section with a saying for every day. Todays one from 1933 was:
Do everything at the proper time. Put everything to its proper use. Keep everything in its proper place.
I can't believe how relevant to my writing that was as I had written my post and added this later - Granny I get the message!
Imagine if my Gran had had a clear out and thrown this away! I would not have had the pleasure of imagining what she had cooked from these books. Some things are important to pass on to your family, so that is a good enough excuse for me to keep some of the things my OH thinks should be thrown away :-)

4 comments:

Sylvie said...

Hey Angela, I'm a hoarder too, but very now and the my ruthless side comes out and I have a good clear out. Most of the time I don't miss the things, but on one ocassion I went back to the charity shop I took a load of stuff to to buy back my own jacket. ;-)
Happy Easter!

Sylvie said...

I forgot to say, I love old cook- and home management books!

Angela said...

Thanks for your comments Sylvie. I am planning on trying a ruthless clear out when I am off work, whether I succeed or not is a different matter.
Happy Easter.

Marie Rayner said...

Angela, I am just like you when it comes to having a clear out, although I probably never get the job finished. I always end up finding treasures long lost and getting sidetracked with memories and thoughts. How lovely that you have these things of your grans. I would give anything to have something like this. I do have my gran's old school reader, which is a treasure to me, but would dearly love to have her recipes. I doubt she had a cookery book. All her recipes were handwritten on scraps of paper or held in her mind.