Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

StatisticalOutlier · October 28

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

I wonder if people below a certain age just have no clue what the world was like before vaccines.

Well, I'm almost 70 and have no clue about what the world was like before vaccines, so you're talking about a big group of people.

I do remember the polio vaccine, on the sugar cube. We eagerly waited in line to get that one. So maybe it's just a marketing fail.

Dimity · October 28

6 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

So maybe it's just a marketing fail.

There are parents out there right now refusing to get basic childhood vaccines for their children, not because they are not being "marketed" properly but because the anti-vaxxers have scared them based on pseudo-science and outright lies.

EtheltoTillie · October 28

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Well, I'm almost 70 and have no clue about what the world was like before vaccines, so you're talking about a big group of people.

I do remember the polio vaccine, on the sugar cube. We eagerly waited in line to get that one. So maybe it's just a marketing fail.

I am the same age. I remember the first polio vaccine. My father in law was a polio survivor who always wore a leg brace. I also remember we did not have vaccines for measles, mumps, and chicken pox, and I had all three.

Edited October 28 by EtheltoTillie

StatisticalOutlier · October 28

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

There are parents out there right now refusing to get basic childhood vaccines for their children, not because they are not being "marketed" properly

Yeah, I know. I was kidding.

My doctor put my smallpox vaccination on my upper back, like on my shoulder blade, instead of on my arm because that way nobody would ever be able to see it. I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding.

fairffaxx · October 28

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I also remember we did not have vaccines for measles, mumps, and chicken pox, and I had all three.

My sisters & I also caught measles & chicken pox, but couldn't catch mumps no matter how hard my mom tried to expose us. She had it as a teenager & said it was so bad at that age, she really wanted us to get through it early. So she dragged us all over the neighborhood to sit by the bedsides of various suffering children, but none of us ever caught it -- I'm still waiting at almost 80......

Browncoat · October 29

I had measles (or maybe rubella -- I'm not sure, since I used to get confused which was rubella and which was rubeola, and rubella was also called German measles), mumps, and chicken pox. I got chicken pox at a chicken pox party. All the kids of a certain age in the neighborhood went to that party.

oliviabenson · October 29

On 10/26/2024 at 12:23 AM, Yeah No said:

Ah, thanks for that, I somehow missed that. I guess I don't have that problem because I wash a few of them at the same time.

I have an old Maytag washer that's a workhorse and I'm actually afraid to get a new one because I've heard mixed reviews on the newer washers. One of these days I'm going to have to get over that and take the advice of Consumer Reports or something like that.

My neighbors new washer lasted 3 years.

oliviabenson · October 29

I had chicken pox. It was terrible. My mom had mumps, measles, chicken pox and so did her brother. I'm glad I got all the vaccines. I rather be safe than sorry.

PRgal · October 29

45 here. Had chickenpox when I was 11 and boys made fun of me and said I had a zit issue and wasn’t really sick. My husband got chickenpox after we married, when he was 33. Son is vaxxed.

annzeepark914 · October 29

Anyone who has had chicken pox, remember to get a vaccine for shingles. I wasn't going to bother until a friend got shingles on her face, eye, and scalp several years ago. She still has issues from it. Got my two shots after watching what she went through!

Dimity · October 29

52 minutes ago, PRgal said:

My husband got chickenpox after we married, when he was 33.

I got it when I was in university. It may be mild most of the time for children but it certainly isn't in adults. I was miserable and missed so many classes I had to drop two of my courses and pick them up in the summer.

Calvada · October 29

The only one of those diseases I got was chickenpox, so I've had the shingles vaccination. I know several people who have had terrible bouts of shingles and I don't want to go through that.

Bastet · October 29

Taking the chickenpox discussion to Health & Wellness ...

Ancaster · October 29

On 10/27/2024 at 1:51 PM, fairffaxx said:

My mother taught us to iron with pillowcases, followed by sheets. This was before polyester & we didn't have a dryer, so they did get wrinkled in the wash & even hanging on the line in the wind didn't make them completely smooth. But of course we all asked why it was necessary to iron something that no one else would see & would inevitably become wrinkled with use -- kids are basically logical & mothers always end up retorting "Because I said so!".

For me, there's nothing like getting into and sleeping in a bed made up with freshly laundered, outside-dried, and ironed sheets.

13 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I still remember the "squeak" sound the pulleys made when the lines were being tugged by my mother and other tenants. And I remember being given wooden clothespins to play with, which I loved. My husband and I joke about how back then we were given all sorts of non-toy stuff to play with - wooden boards with hammers and nails, empty cardboard boxes, you name it. The rest was our imagination. And somehow I never hurt myself with the hammers and nails. Although My mother didn't give me that to play with, it was my grandma who did that, LOL.

Did you made clothes peg dollies?

Apparently you can now buy kits (of course), but mine looked like these, made with scraps from my mum's reluctant sewing projects. (She loathed sewing, but had to make a couple of things every year, including my school summer dress.)

Oh, and mine didn't have the fancy hemline, and I seem to remember fastening them on by tying thread around the neck. There certainly wouldn't have been any sewing involved. 😄

Edited October 29 by Ancaster

annzeepark914 · October 29

Re: wooden clothespins? I remember a birthday game in which we dropped them into empty milk bottles. Geez, talk about clever moms thinking up silly games that didn't require any $$ to create!

Browncoat · October 29

28 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Re: wooden clothespins? I remember a birthday game in which we dropped them into empty milk bottles. Geez, talk about clever moms thinking up silly games that didn't require any $$ to create!

I remember playing that! We stood on a chair, then bent at the waist over the milk bottle, holding the end of the clothespin against our foreheads before letting it drop.

shapeshifter · October 29

7 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Re: wooden clothespins? I remember a birthday game in which we dropped them into empty milk bottles. Geez, talk about clever moms thinking up silly games that didn't require any $$ to create!

I guess it helped that we had milk bottles to play Drop The Clothespin In The Bottle at birthday parties.😉
I remember the metal box with the hinged lid for the bottles on the porch.
Wikipedia says milk deliveries were no longer common after 1975.

1 minute ago, Browncoat said:

I remember playing that! We stood on a chair, then bent at the waist over the milk bottle, holding the end of the clothespin against our foreheads before letting it drop.

Cool. I didn't remember those details.
I'm not sure if we did that?
But those "rules" seem like they are designed to be helpful to the players.

Drop The Clothespin In The Bottle was such a nice, simple game.
Musical Chairs always stressed me out. It reflects an aspect of life in which there is a game designed to eliminate someone. Like job interviews. And our currently unmentionable (in this thread) headline news.

Browncoat · October 29

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

But those "rules" seem like they are designed to be helpful to the players.

Standing on the chair, and holding the clothespin against your forehead actually made it harder, I think.

Anduin · October 29

15 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I remember playing that! We stood on a chair, then bent at the waist over the milk bottle, holding the end of the clothespin against our foreheads before letting it drop.

What people did for fun before video games. Sounds like a horrific dystopia.

Browncoat · October 29

6 minutes ago, Anduin said:

What people did for fun before video games. Sounds like a horrific dystopia.

Oh, but even better was pin the tail on the donkey! Small children being blindfolded and given sharp thumbtacks before being spun in circles and turned loose to stick the thumbtack (hopefully) somewhere on a paper cutout of a donkey! As opposed to perhaps on another kid...

shapeshifter · October 29

13 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Oh, but even better was pin the tail on the donkey! Small children being blindfolded and given sharp thumbtacks before being spun in circles and turned loose to stick the thumbtack (hopefully) somewhere on a paper cutout of a donkey! As opposed to perhaps on another kid...

Moms always pointed each kid in the right direction.
But I'm sure there were some kids who didn't have that kind of help.

Browncoat · October 29

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Moms always pointed each kid in the right direction.

They did, but after the spinning, you never knew which way the kid would wobble! Or if another kid would try to get in the way.

Anduin · October 29

21 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Oh, but even better was pin the tail on the donkey! Small children being blindfolded and given sharp thumbtacks before being spun in circles and turned loose to stick the thumbtack (hopefully) somewhere on a paper cutout of a donkey! As opposed to perhaps on another kid...

Yes, I've heard of that. Back in the dark ages...

PRgal · October 29

Speaking of birthday parties, kids today often have such crazy, wild, OTT parties. We just had a dinosaur themed one complete with a volcano experiment. And even indoor playgrounds are crazier. In the 80s, it was basically Chuck E. Cheese. These days, it's trampoline parks, slide parks/arcades (okay, these arcades are basically Chuck E. Cheese but cooler) and mini-golf. McDonald's and Pizza Hut can't keep up and I don't think they even HAVE party packages anymore.

ABay · October 29

2 hours ago, Anduin said:

What people did for fun before video games. Sounds like a horrific dystopia.

It was.

annzeepark914 · October 29

Ugh...musical chairs. I loathed that "game". I was always one of the petite girls and got shoved off chairs by the bigger girls. Not fun. And Pin The Tail? Another not so fun game where one is blindfolded. Kinda creepy, IMO.

PRgal · October 29

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Ugh...musical chairs. I loathed that "game". I was always one of the petite girls and got shoved off chairs by the bigger girls. Not fun. And Pin The Tail? Another not so fun game where one is blindfolded. Kinda creepy, IMO.

My son's party last year had a piñata. The venue was a small indoor playground/coworking space/daycare that originated in Mexico. Luckily, no one got hurt!!

shapeshifter · October 29

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

Speaking of birthday parties…
These days, it's trampoline parks, slide parks/arcades…and mini-golf.

I'm glad mini-golf is still a thing. My first date in high school was a double-date to play mini-golf.

My birthday was a good time for outdoor activities, so we had croquet, which is similar to mini-golf. I enjoyed the coordinated colored mallets and balls.
It doesn't work well on steep slopes, so my kids didn't have that.
My grandkids house has a steep slope too.

Do any of you know if croquet is still popular?

meep.meep · October 29

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I guess it helped that we had milk bottles to play Drop The Clothespin In The Bottle at birthday parties.😉
I remember the metal box with the hinged lid for the bottles on the porch.
Wikipedia says milk deliveries were no longer common after 1975.

....
Musical Chairs always stressed me out. It reflects an aspect of life in which there is a game designed to eliminate someone. Like job interviews. And our currently unmentionable (in this thread) headline news.

I don't remember milk deliveries after 1965. And my parents would never get it.

At one of my first jobs, at parties (which were pretty rare) we would have a few drinks and then play birthday party games. Think of playing Musical Chairs around a giant conference table that seats 25 people. It was hilarious. The gaps between the chairs get bigger and bigger. We did Musical Chairs and Simon Says and another one where you tie a balloon to one foot and attempt to pop other people's balloons with your other foot.

Ancaster · October 29

45 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I don't remember milk deliveries after 1965. And my parents would never get it.

We had home milk delivery until at least the 80s.

My dad made a wooden board with numbers like a clock and a spinner to indicate the number of bottles required. The milkman would put it on top of the bottles he left to stop the blue tits pecking through the silver foil tops to get at the "top of the milk" (cream that had risen to the top).

I know (in retrospect) that life wasn't all sunshine and roses (my parents worked very hard and there was a lot of "make do and mend" and little money for extras), but I had a pretty easy, carefree childhood, and didn't lack for anything I truly needed.

Edited October 29 by Ancaster

BooksRule · October 29

I'm late to this conversation, but just to get my two cents in:

I vaguely remember the 'drop the clothespin into the bottle' game, but I never remembered us getting milk deliveries (earliest memories were of milk in waxed cardboard cartons, not glass), so I don't know where the bottles came from. I do remember as a pre-teen and early teen that most of us would have 'roller skating parties' at the local rink. We didn't have the whole rink to ourselves, but the invited kids would have their entrance fee/skate rentals paid for and I think some snacks from the concession stand. Not too expensive for the parents and it was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of Saturdays going round and round at the skating rink to early '70s tunes! (I had to go back and add the word 'roller', just to make it clear. I grew up in the deep south and have never put on a pair of ice skates.

I was reminded a few minutes ago why I would never have had the patience to have and rear children. I was out in the front yard pulling weeds from a flower bed and listened to a conversation between the neighbor kids (boys about 7 or 8 and maybe a friend) playing basketball and arguing loudly about the one hogging the ball. The after-school sitter came out to tell them to share and after they whined a little and grumbled (and didn't share the ball), she gave them the ultimatum of no basketball for a week during any time she was staying with them and apparently after one of them mumbled something she took away the video games as well. When they needed to leave and two of them hadn't gotten into the car, she pulled out of the driveway and slowly started driving down the street, making them walk to the car (no danger, we live on a very quiet street and she was watching them). They are generally good kids (they even run to bring my trash can up from the curb for me almost every week), but have a lot of energy. I'm happy I raised cats instead.

shapeshifter · October 30

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

At one of my first jobs, at parties (which were pretty rare) we would have a few drinks and then play birthday party games. Think of playing Musical Chairs around a giant conference table that seats 25 people. It was hilarious. The gaps between the chairs get bigger and bigger.

Huh. Did that make it easier/more competitive?
(not factoring in the drinking, which would affect some more than others)

Bastet · October 30

1 hour ago, BooksRule said:

I do remember as a pre-teen and early teen that most of us would have 'roller skating parties' at the local rink. We didn't have the whole rink to ourselves, but the invited kids would have their entrance fee/skate rentals paid for and I think some snacks from the concession stand. Not too expensive for the parents and it was a lot of fun.

Yeah, the roller rink was a popular choice for birthday party locations when I was that age, too. Chuck E. Cheese when I was younger. But at least half the parties were just in the birthday kid's backyard.

luv2lurk · October 30

I just came in from taking out the garbage bins and noticed the neighbour across the street has a goulish man something parked on the front porch for Halloween.

The thing is, the previous owner of the house died by suicide so it is very creepy for me.

Maybe the new owners know, or not.

Anyway someone walked by and I said excuse me for venting, but.

She was very sympathetic and even commented on my moccasins which even though several years old, do have nice beading work, grins

I am happy to have supported a Canadian Indigenous company

Edited October 30 by luv2lurk

Anela · October 30

4 hours ago, Ancaster said:

We had home milk delivery until at least the 80s.

My dad made a wooden board with numbers like a clock and a spinner to indicate the number of bottles required. The milkman would put it on top of the bottles he left to stop the blue tits pecking through the silver foil tops to get at the "top of the milk" (cream that had risen to the top).

I know (in retrospect) that life wasn't all sunshine and roses (my parents worked very hard and there was a lot of "make do and mend" and little money for extras), but I had a pretty easy, carefree childhood, and didn't lack for anything I truly needed.

My grandma in England, had milk, eggs, and maybe butter delivered, for as long as I can remember. She died in the 80s, so I don't know if they ever stopped.

roseha · October 30

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Do any of you know if croquet is still popular?

I don't know about now but we did play croquet in the back yard when I was growing up. I enjoyed it also. I was not very athletic but we did enjoy playing outside in those old days!

My great-nephews and great-neice seem to be more into organized sports like soccer as far as I can tell.

PRgal · October 30

23 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Do any of you know if croquet is still popular?

I haven't seen it played at kids' parties. Most we've been to have been at trampoline parks/arcades or art studios.

SoMuchTV · October 30

On 10/29/2024 at 1:36 PM, shapeshifter said:

Do any of you know if croquet is still popular?

We got a set when the kids were young (they're in their 30s now). Also bocce ball. Both got played a bit but the bocce ball was more popular (easier to set up, easier to learn the rules).

Both sets ended up at middle child's - she has the most kids and the most young guests. I can verify that I've seen the croquet set used at least once.

Dimity · October 30

15 hours ago, Anela said:

My grandma in England, had milk, eggs, and maybe butter delivered, for as long as I can remember.

I lived in England until 2006 and we had milk delivery in the town we were in. I can't remember if he also delivered eggs but I know we could get butter, yogurt, juice and cheese. At Christmas we could also order all sorts of Christmas goodies. As a non-driver I found this very convenient and when we moved back to Canada I really missed it!

PRgal · October 30

The only "milk delivery" you can get these days is via a grocery delivery service like Instacart! I DO use an independent grocery store (truly independent, not a franchisee) for about 60% of my groceries every week. I still need to go to other stores though, especially AFTER a merger they had with a rival. I thought they'd have MORE selection, but NOPE...for months it was LESS. Only now are they coming back with some of the stuff they had before, including game meats (I don't eat them, but it was always offered in the past).

StatisticalOutlier · October 31

In the Denver area, there are several dairies that deliver milk. I started noticing these boxes on people's porches and wondered what they were.

When I was a kid, we had a milkman and he brought the milk into the house and put it in the refrigerator, twice a week. Didn't knock or anything. There were five kids in the family and we drank milk with every meal, so we went through a lot of it. In the summer, he'd also deliver lemonade.

(I say "he" but for all I know, it was a series of them over the years. But one guy or several--the milkman had a memorable presence.)

I loved his truck. My favorite part was up in the front where he had his order sheets on those tall metal rings that are shaped like an upside-down U that you flip pages on. He'd use a dull pencil to put a mark indicating what all he delivered to each house. My ardor for clerical work manifested itself early.

Kind of high up on the back right outside corner of his truck was a small freezer compartment, where the ice cream was. It had a big thick door with a big handle and went WHOOMP when he'd close it. It was high enough that we couldn't see inside, but we knew the gloriousness it held, making it even more tantalizing.

The guy even let us all ride in his truck to the end of the street once. Wheeeee! (Even though he didn't go fast enough for any of us to fall out of the doorless opening.)

fairffaxx · October 31

There are lots of Halloween lawn decorations this time of year -- most gruesome, none original. The best I've ever seen was years ago, during an early morning walk just before sunrise: a clothesline stretched across the front lawn of a modest tract bungalow, dangling a black gown, pairs of long black stockings & gloves, a black shawl, a pair of high-button black shoes, & a big broad-brimmed black hat with a tall peak. So subtle & impressive, especially in the early morning gloom, I've never forgotten it. 🎃

GHScorpiosRule · October 31

Today starts Diwali celebration-actual holiday is on Friday, but tonight-first night of lighting the Diyas (🪔 🪔🪔🪔🪔) in each room. Also referred to as Dhanteras.

Tomorrow I’ll be making the one sweet I know how-Besan Ladoo (made from chickpea flour). I went a bit crazy with the candles and candle holders when shopping for the other sweets, and vegetables I’ll be making for dinner on Friday.

shapeshifter · October 31

52 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

In the Denver area, there are several dairies that deliver milk. I started noticing these boxes on people's porches and wondered what they were.

When I was a kid, we had a milkman and he brought the milk into the house and put it in the refrigerator, twice a week. Didn't knock or anything. There were five kids in the family and we drank milk with every meal, so we went through a lot of it. In the summer, he'd also deliver lemonade.

(I say "he" but for all I know, it was a series of them over the years. But one guy or several--the milkman had a memorable presence.)

I loved his truck. My favorite part was up in the front where he had his order sheets on those tall metal rings that are shaped like an upside-down U that you flip pages on. He'd use a dull pencil to put a mark indicating what all he delivered to each house. My ardor for clerical work manifested itself early.

Kind of high up on the back right outside corner of his truck was a small freezer compartment, where the ice cream was. It had a big thick door with a big handle and went WHOOMP when he'd close it. It was high enough that we couldn't see inside, but we knew the gloriousness it held, making it even more tantalizing.

The guy even let us all ride in his truck to the end of the street once. Wheeeee! (Even though he didn't go fast enough for any of us to fall out of the doorless opening.)

Such a beautiful written memory!
Be sure to upload it and print it, @StatisticalOutlier!

34 minutes ago, fairffaxx said:

There are lots of Halloween lawn decorations this time of year -- most gruesome, none original. The best I've ever seen was years ago, during an early morning walk just before sunrise: a clothesline stretched across the front lawn of a modest tract bungalow, dangling a black gown, pairs of long black stockings & gloves, a black shawl, a pair of high-button black shoes, & a big broad-brimmed black hat with a tall peak. So subtle & impressive, especially in the early morning gloom, I've never forgotten it. 🎃

This is lovely too, @fairffaxx. Perhaps you were inspired by reading @StatisticalOutlier's post?

Anduin · October 31

So, Halloween. To my observation, it wasn't a thing in Oz when I was a kid. It only seemed to appear sometime in the 2000s. For the most part, I thought it came about due to people growing up influenced by American pop culture. Just today, I felt it might be the retail aspect. Junk food and costume makers and sellers. Pumpkins, other decorations, that side. One must have encouraged the other, but I'm not sure which group was first.

Anyone else got a hypothesis about its rise here?

fairffaxx · October 31

Shapeshifter, I never woke up early enough to meet our milkmen, but it sounds as if StatisticalOutlier had happily memorable experiences with hers (& he with the kids on his route). My current neighborhood in Calif includes several houses built 100+ years ago with a small cupboard set in the kitchen wall for the milkman to put deliveries in through a little door in the outside wall. We didn't have those in the Midwest where I lived as a child, & the deliveries were just left on the front porch (where the cream on top of the milk froze in the winters).

shapeshifter · October 31

6 minutes ago, fairffaxx said:

My current neighborhood in Calif includes several houses built 100+ years ago with a small cupboard set in the kitchen wall for the milkman to put deliveries in through a little door in the outside wall.

I’ve never heard of those doors before. That’s so cool! 😎 How did you learn about the door’s purpose?
Now I’m imagining it being used by teenagers for other purposes.😉

10 minutes ago, fairffaxx said:

in the Midwest where I lived as a child, & the deliveries were just left on the front porch (where the cream on top of the milk froze in the winters).

The last milk deliveries I recall were likewise on our porch in an insulated metal box in the Midwest: 30 miles north of Chicago in a subdivision of new homes in the 1960s (and possibly the 70s?).
I remember Mom being sure to get milk inside first thing in the morning. I don’t recall any freezing, but I’ll ask my sister when we next talk — although memories are not perfect.😉

fairffaxx · October 31

Shapeshifter, a neighbor lives in a house that was built in 1923 & he showed the little kitchen cupboard to us. He did say something about his sons & their friends passing notes through it when they were young -- I don't recall what the family uses it for now. Exceedingly cool, I've always thought. 🐧

EtheltoTillie · October 31

4 hours ago, Anduin said:

So, Halloween. To my observation, it wasn't a thing in Oz when I was a kid. It only seemed to appear sometime in the 2000s. For the most part, I thought it came about due to people growing up influenced by American pop culture. Just today, I felt it might be the retail aspect. Junk food and costume makers and sellers. Pumpkins, other decorations, that side. One must have encouraged the other, but I'm not sure which group was first.

Anyone else got a hypothesis about its rise here?

The Wall Street Journal ran a story about this last week.
I will try to share a gifted link n

EtheltoTillie · October 31

https://www.wsj.com/articles/halloween-costumes-pumpkin-australia-haunted-house-5605249f?st=5tAoks&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Here is the link. I can't say that this article has a coherent theory. More an excuse to run funny anecdotes about anti-Halloween complainers.

Here in the US Halloween wasn't a thing for adults when we (boomers) were kids, and people didn't spend so much on decorations. I think that changed in the 80s.

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