Covid19 Spare time

[diyer2]

Just spare time due to being retired. Been going through the garage. Got rid of things not used for years. Our local trash transfer station has a table you can put things on so people can have them instead of going in the dump.

Some I have given to people we know.

 

[txab]

I need to do this at some point. Have stuff I no longer need, doubt if I'll use it again. Just got to get my mind right. Doubt kids will want much of it. Too many things requiring you to use your hands and muscle (tools). They don't get their hands dirty much.

[Donstar]

Covid and retirement spare time afforded me plenty of time to use my collection of hand and power tools.  However,  most of the tools I've used over the past five years could fit in a shoebox!    I am tying different strategies to downsize my tool collection but it's tough.  Now I know why my father was so generous and eager to give me all of his much loved tools!  Unfortunately,  my kids aren't so gullible!  

[KARNUT]

47 minutes ago, Donstar said:

Covid and retirement spare time afforded me plenty of time to use my collection of hand and power tools.  However,  most of the tools I've used over the past five years could fit in a shoebox!    I am tying different strategies to downsize my tool collection but it's tough.  Now I know why my father was so generous and eager to give me all of his much loved tools!  Unfortunately,  my kids aren't so gullible!  

My mother in law will not throw anything away. You really have to check expiration dates one every food item. Up until recently on heavy garbage pickup day she would drag things to her garage that’s now full. Here spare bedrooms are full of clothes and cast aways. After her husband died she had me take some tools only to request them back later. Same with clothes she hands to my wife. She once dragged a gas grill home cleaning it and insisting I take it. Good as new she said. Of course I had to replace almost everything to make it work. She would check to make sure I had it when she visited. These are people who were brought up by parents that lived through the Great Depression and wars. So I give her a little leeway. As comical it seems at times. Her somewhat frugalness and hoarding reminds me how different things could be. Especially during these times.

[garagerog]

Both of my parents were depression era children. They lived on farms so they never went hungry but clothing was another story. They grew up with the never throw anything way mentality, my Dad was finally able to see the futility in this in his later years and did his best to shed unneeded items, but Mom never got over it and it only got worse with the onset of dementia.  I remember my Dad telling me how embarrassing it was to go to school with holes in the knees of his jeans or overalls, I guess mine was only half as bad with the advent of iron on patches. The thing I hated the worst was my Mom would darn my holey socks, they weren't embarrassing as they didn't show, but they sure were uncomfortable. My younger brother was the recipient of my hand me downs if they weren't total rags and this was in the late 50's when times were much better and my parents could have afforded to do a little better, but the save for a rainy day mentality was there in a big way, something I'm grateful that I learned from them. My Dad and I would often get a good chuckle when we would see the fad of holey jeans on display. By the time my Dad was in his 40's he was comfortably upper middle class and became somewhat of a clothes horse, I guess making up for the embarrassment of his youth. In the matter of 4 decades or so we've gone from a never throw anything out to almost a total throwaway society. Says a lot for merica's economic system. I guess recycling could be considered the answer to what we have now between the two extremes. I've always bought clothes for comfort rather than style, and probably hold onto them to long unless there's a hint of a hole developing. I'm guilty of holding onto stuff to long and need to get with the program, but at least I'm not buying any new dust collectors. Maybe someone will come up with a 12 step program, ha!

[Grumpy Bear]

My parents were depression kids as well. Frugal? Yes! Cheap? No.  Hoarders? No, but if there was a use for the thing it stayed. Gardens were huge, Hunting and fishing for need and don't waste bullets or bait. Split steers and hogs with family. We never had enough money to have allot of anything but what we needed. No one went hungry, No one went naked. Everyone was clean and groomed. Patched, sometimes but clean and pressed always. Mom could iron burlap and make it look sharp. Dad could wax shoes to a mirror. Never once was I embarrassed to wear what was provided. Okay mom made some stuff that was, well.... her best try and she got better as we got older.  Fact is, she got really good. Anyway. Wife and I fall somewhere in the middle. I tend to hang on to things I don't have a use for or are broken and think I'll get around to fixing it and don't. Transportation I do hoard. I don't like not being able to GO. Doesn't bother me for a second to wear jeans with holes or shirts missing buttons. Except Sunday go to meeting stuff, weddings and funerals. I can when I have to and I'm as comfortable in a three-piece suit as jeans, boots and a cowboy hat. 

[garagerog]

Oh boy Grumpy, you've gotten me started on cowboy boots.  Growing up on a farm/ranch that's all I used to wear until I couldn't. I was probably in my 40's when they just got to uncomfortable for me to wear anymore. In my opinion cowboy boots take the most care in the purchase category of any shoe type, or you're going to be very unhappy.  Starting with the uppers, they have to be soft enough not to chafe your calf's unless your wearing very tall socks. The heel was very important also, as were the toes, didn't want them to pointy unless you were using them for kicking someone once you had them down,. Cowboy boots don't make for the best of cold weather footwear unless it's sloppy or snowy out and you're also wearing rubber overshoes that will trap that layer of insulating air in between. Best pair of cowboy boots I ever owned I ordered out of a Sears and Roebuck catalog with my birthday money when I was in HS. They had kangaroo uppers which were the softest uppers I ever had in a pair of cowboy boots. It was shorty after this that Australia outlawed the taking of roos, so I made these last. If memory serves I had them resoled 2 or 3 times and new heels once, basically wore them until they crumbled away. Now that I'm old and somewhat crippled up with arthritis, it's Skechers for me.

Edited November 24, 2023 by garagerog

[diyer2]

I tried cowboy boots 2 times, not cheap boots and from stores specializing in western wear. Not for me.

Merrell, Clarks, Salomon first choices. Skechers and other similar brands next.

[KARNUT]

23 minutes ago, garagerog said:

Oh boy Grumpy, you've gotten me started on cowboy boots.  Growing up on a farm/ranch that's all I used to wear until I couldn't. I was probably in my 40's when they just got too uncomfortable for me to wear anymore. In my opinion cowboy boots take the most care in the purchase category of any shoe type, or you're going to be very unhappy.  Starting with the uppers, they have to be soft enough not to chafe your calf's unless you’re wearing very tall socks. The heel was very important also, as were the toes, didn't want them to pointy unless you were using them for kicking someone once you had them down,. Cowboy boots don't make for the best of cold weather footwear unless it's sloppy or snowy out and you're also wearing rubber overshoes that will trap that layer of insulating air in between. Best pair of cowboy boots I ever owned I ordered out of a Sears and Roebuck catalog with my birthday money when I was in HS. They had kangaroo uppers which were the softest uppers I ever had in a pair of cowboy boots. It was shorty after this that Australia outlawed the taking of roos, so I made these last. If memory serves I had them resoled 2 or 3 times and new heels once, basically wore them until they crumbled away. Now that I'm old and somewhat crippled up with arthritis, it's Skechers for me.

Cowboy boots. My favorite footwear for my first few years working in Texas. That was until I got stuck on a pipeline ROW at the same time my father got our truck stuck. After 6 hours of walking before we reached the first house to use the phone my feet were a mess. Two things came from that experience. Redwing work boots. And always have a little playmate lunchbox cooler that you can carry while walking. Oh yeah my father finally agreed to installing winches.

[Grumpy Bear]

I wore cowboy boots from HS until a few years ago. Just got too hard-to-find good ones after the dance hall fade phase faded away. Stewart was my go-to. R toe riding boot with spur heal in black. Crosscut horse hide. A bit shorter pipe than these. Pricey these days. Off the shelf is $475. Custom fit and I had a few are $675 and up. Only boot I ever wore felt broke in the second I slid them on. These used to be $250 boots. Felt like wearing socks they were so comfortable. 

 

 

Last half dozen pairs were from Farm and Fleet and $100 Lerado R toe leather soles, and they are now hard to find. Yep, tall socks.

 

That Ariat square toe is the ugliest thing I've ever seen anyone put on their feet. 

 

Slip on now days for knock around. Tie up sport trainer for mowing and my 35-year-old Stacey Adams Wingtip for dress. Red Wings for snow and such. Now ya know all there is to know about Bear Feet.  

Edited October 23, 2023 by Grumpy Bear

[Donstar]

My feet hurt just thinking about cowboy boot or any type of boot!  Both of my big toes protest vehemently when disturbed due to severe Osteoarthritis.   Merrell leather slip on shoes or New Balance extra wide runners keep me mobile.  I bought some expensive zippered soft leather boots for riding my bike (trike) but they are useless for walking any distance.  It's comical getting ready to go for a ride now with my feet issues,  lost feeling in my right hand and a bad left shoulder!  However, once the wind is in my face,  all the struggles are forgotten!  Yesterday, I got to go for an extended trip on my trike.  I had more free time and another struggle to deal with.  My wife and I were getting ready in the morning to go for coffee with an old friend when we got a phone call from her daughter.  Her mom had just been taken to the hospital by ambulance.  She will be ok this time but we know she was very lucky.  On my way home from my trike ride yesterday I was stopped at a light looking around enjoying the sights.  To my right, I saw two people waiting for the bus with their heads down fixated on tiny screens in the palm of their hands.  To my left, there was a young couple in their car with the driver waiting for the light to change and his passenger glued to her screen.  These couples are together but giving their attention to someone not there.  Maybe they ran out of things to say to each other.  My wife and also enjoy our phones but we focus our conversation with each other when we're out together.  Somehow after close to 50 years together, we haven't run out of things to say!

[Donstar]

Most of us do not live in fear of covid but we all should make an effort to avoid passing it around.  I visited a relative and after I received my obligatory hug she informed me that Covid has once again has hit her household.  She claimed she doesn't have it yet!  I didn't stay as my wife is on a waitlist for surgery and they won't admit her if she has covid. (Her surgery is necessary but not life threatening.)  This shortened visit, and a subsequent cancelled appointment as a result of this covid exposure, gave me some free time!

[KARNUT]

It seems the flu, Covid and even the common cold are met with fear. Back in the day it was expected sometime during winter you would get the cold. The only time there was any concern was if there was a fever present. Otherwise business as usual. Even in school. Recently a famous younger Olympic star got a lung condition that almost took her life. Stuff happens. Staying healthy living life has risks. Through this event COVID made its rounds most everyone got it. Whether the vaccine helps is debatable, same with flu shots. One thing we should have learned. Living in fear didn’t help. My mother in law didn’t get Covid. The only one I know who didn’t. She still wouldn’t leave her house much. She just consented to seeing some grandchildren outside. She quit driving, going to church, living mostly in isolation. Through fear she lost herself. She has no life. What a scam. 

[Donstar]

I learned very early in life the widely accepted behaviors to reduce the spread of the cold and flu.  Sometimes we wanted to wake up with a cold because mom would not allow us to go to school and "spread germs".    Needless to say, I have an entrenched bias in favor of the basic health protocols to deal with cold, flu and covid.  This may reduce my social interactions at times but just like when I was a kid, I enjoy my home days!   

[Grumpy Bear]

To the best of my knowledge, we lost no one in the family to a cold, RSV or to pneumonia but we lost several to COVID-19. One of the youngest to get it, my baby brother, was saying his goodbyes under doctor's advisement and had an eleventh-hour recovery into Long COVID. 

 

My maternal grandfather was among the many stacked like cordwood in Arkansas during the Spanish Flu. No refrigerator trucks then. That repeated during COVID in several US cities. Don't believe we could find such an example during an outbreak of the common cold, pneumonia or RSV anywhere in the world, ever. 

 

Neither the wife nor I suffered so much as a cold from 2019 to this date. We isolated as much as possible. Masked up when we could not. Kept our distance always, Wore the skin of our hands with sanitizer, hot water and soap. Refused visits past the front porch and so on. Did it help? No interest in having that argument. But it did change our lives forever in how we interacted with others. 

 

Personally, I put COVID right there with Smallpox, Plague, Anthrax and Ebola and like the cliff, we stay as far away as possible.