Lady Lydia wants a booth at career day

[Jucifer]

I've never been to a county fair. The state fairs around here are a fun day out, though.

I just realized that LL said "Our talents at home were often seen at the County Fairs, where women vied for prizes in cooking, sewing. knitting, photography, art and a myriad of other things."

Aren't these competitions open to men too?

Abraham Lincoln liked to bake cookies. It's true. Just sayin'.

[nastyhobbitses]

14 hours ago, Black Aliss said:

Years ago the Rhodes scholar and PhD candidate daughter of some family friends, attempted to explain to my mother her course of study in microbiology with research in genetic engineering. What my mother heard was that she was planning to become a nurse. (Which is not to say that nursing isn't a wonderful career, just that in my mother's mind a career woman could only be a teacher, a nurse, or a librarian)

I'm currently a little pissed off that my grandma, per my mother, is upset that I haven't hopped to it and started birthing her great-grandchildren...because I'm a tad tied up at the moment getting a Master's in linguistics, working for a start-up think tank, and applying to become a diplomat. Being a mother is a wonderful thing, but sometimes I just want to say to my grandma, "think about the fact that you'd be more proud of me for forgetting my birth control and letting some dude raw-dog me, than you are of me for working my ass off on a long-term research project, studying for a very difficult entrance exam to my dream field, and working on a very big multinational program on international affairs."

I know all of that comes off as very braggy, but I'm kind of super excited about the trajectory of my professional life right now and I just had to let it all out.

[Loveday]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

ITA.

It's an awful pity LL couldn't just join a WI.  Jam, Jerusalem, and Calendar Girls.

I'm sure she doesn't know what I mean and would be shocked to know how hard WI women worked during both world wars - often taking on WI voluntary work as well as filling jobs for men in the forces.  Their efforts were of real importance to a nation.  They still do a lot of good work.

Here's a link for her:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Institutes

 

I wish the WI existed here in the US. I'd join in a heartbeat. I've even recently learned to make jam, so I'm a natural fit. 

Not sure about posing for a calendar, though...

[PennySycamore]

2 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

ITA.

It's an awful pity LL couldn't just join a WI.  Jam, Jerusalem, and Calendar Girls.

I'm sure she doesn't know what I mean and would be shocked to know how hard WI women worked during both world wars - often taking on WI voluntary work as well as filling jobs for men in the forces.  Their efforts were of real importance to a nation.  They still do a lot of good work.

Here's a link for her:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Institutes

 

I can't wait until the second series of Home Fires about the WI and their work during WWII starts here in the US.

[Loveday]

4 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

I can't wait until the second series of Home Fires about the WI and their work during WWII starts here in the US.

I can't, either. Loved that show. Have you seen the documentary done by Lucy Worsley (she's chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces and author of some good books on British history as well as presenter of many excellent documentaries) about the WI? It's called '100 Years of the WI' and it's a really good overview of the WI's history (albeit a little tongue-in-cheek here and there, but that's just Worsley's style):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8apfyYgVRmw

 

[formergothardite]

Lady Lydia is so caught up in living in her fantasy of the past that she has forgotten to live in the present. Her life is just sad. She has missed out on so much joy in life. 

[PennySycamore]

@Loveday,  I'll watch that after my shower.  It looks interesting though.

[CTRLZero]

3 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I'm currently a little pissed off that my grandma, per my mother, is upset that I haven't hopped to it and started birthing her great-grandchildren

This is very much my mother-in-law's attitude regarding my daughter; she's proud to call her "doctor" but really wants her to start producing children.  My daughter eventually wants children, but is taking a breather after working so hard for so many years on her career path.  Our attitude is, "whatever makes you happy."  @nastyhobbitses - best wishes for success in your career. 

As to Lady Lydia, there are many options in life, we chose to be financially secure and have a happy family life.  It's nice to have these choices.  I hope yours worked out for you, but don't fool yourself (and others) that being able to support yourself (if you happen to be a female) isn't prudent.  If you have influenced women to stay home, and they end up sad and broke and having to post "Please Donate" buttons to put food on the table, shame on you.  We are currently financially helping out two elderly widows whose social security doesn't quite stretch far enough; you are fortunate if you will never be in this situation. 

[sparkles]

A friend of a friend—and a non-fundie—bought into the whole "traditional" wife and mother thing. She got a 2-year associates degree way back in the late 70s but married soon after and devoted herself to running a home (directing the housekeeper), entertaining and being very involved in her children's lives. It was all she was interested in and even as her friends pursued careers and encouraged her to do the same, she was convinced she'd always be taken care of. Then her husband up and died about 10 years ago, and she found out that things weren't quite as hunky-dory financially as she was lead to believe—in fact, she was left with next to nothing. She's had to sell almost everything of value, she lives in a studio apartment and the only job she could get (retail) barely covers her expenses. She's struggling with crippling depression, has physical health issues that are causing her problems now that she has to be on her feet all day, but without any skills and almost no work experience, she can't find another job (she even had trouble finding her low-level retail job) and she's basically being kept afloat by her kids and her elderly parents. Without that help, she'd be below the poverty line. She's a walking, talking cautionary tale. Any woman today who refuses to understand why having (and keeping up) a marketable skill—and being informed about financial matters—is just asking for trouble.

[Palimpsest]

3 hours ago, Loveday said:

I can't, either. Loved that show. Have you seen the documentary done by Lucy Worsley (she's chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces and author of some good books on British history as well as presenter of many excellent documentaries) about the WI? It's called '100 Years of the WI' and it's a really good overview of the WI's history (albeit a little tongue-in-cheek here and there, but that's just Worsley's style):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8apfyYgVRmw

 

It is a good documentary - and I'm very much a Lucy fan.

Home Fires is based on the book by Julie Summers, Jambusters.  I recommend it.

[samira_catlover]

On 6/21/2016 at 9:53 AM, TeddyBonkers said:

One of my daughters wants to be the first woman on Mars. She reads books about space nonstop and is currently writing a "top secret project" that she wants me to send to NASA. 

Let Lydia come up to her and tell her that she can't go into space because she's a girl and meant for so much less. I would film it and put it up on the YouTube. 

@TeddyBonkers: if you don't already have it, can I suggest you get Mary Roach's book on space? (Packing For Mars)

[samira_catlover]

4 hours ago, Loveday said:

I wish the WI existed here in the US. I'd join in a heartbeat. I've even recently learned to make jam, so I'm a natural fit. 

Not sure about posing for a calendar, though...

Any stray history nerds: go read Home Fires: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War (Julie Summers).

Those British babes were completely amazing! Between knitting, conserving fruit like maniacs, growing veggies on land that looked like it belonged in a war zone, gathering anything and everything for scrap drives, making camo nets, and harvesting rosehips for vitamin-C-rich syrup and local medicinals----wow.

[TeddyBonkers]

48 minutes ago, samira_catlover said:

@TeddyBonkers: if you don't already have it, can I suggest you get Mary Roach's book on space? (Packing For Mars)

I will check it out! Thank you @samira_catlover for the suggestion. (And also now I want to go make some rosehip jelly.) 

[Palimpsest]

48 minutes ago, samira_catlover said:

Any stray history nerds: go read Home Fires: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War (Julie Summers).

Those British babes were completely amazing! Between knitting, conserving fruit like maniacs, growing veggies on land that looked like it belonged in a war zone, gathering anything and everything for scrap drives, making camo nets, and harvesting rosehips for vitamin-C-rich syrup and local medicinals----wow.

I recommended that book 2 posts up.  Except my UK version was called Jambusters.  So folks, don't buy the same book twice. 

[Black Aliss]

Quote

Our talents at home were often seen at the County Fairs, where women vied for prizes in cooking, sewing. knitting, photography, art and a myriad of other things. We eagerly anticipated these events because it gave us a strong sense of our importance to the family and to the nation. Not all of it was competitition, though, since some women just liked showing things they had done.

Well, that's my family! The daughters were (and remain) intensely competitive and were winning prizes at county and state fairs for their baking and preserves from age 5. They are still avid preservers/bakers/fermenters when they aren't working in their science fields.

I rarely got better than second place in the same competitions but it was always fun learning about the criteria for judging. (My jelly was deemed "over processed" because I wasn't sure what the current recommended processing time was so I wrote down 20 minutes.  I had always followed my mother's practice of a paraffin seal, no processing.)

[samira_catlover]

Uhhh. Comes any kinds of awful worldly holocaust: it is OK if I kidnap two dozen or three of you? (asks politely) 

*have already targeted some local Amish farmers who know how to handle Big Farm Horses and who know farming and who can probably jury-rig/engineer techie stuff to work well on a very basic level*

If the Rubber Met The Road, we'd probably be tolerated and kept alive ONLY because of our collections of Dead-Tree-Stuff. (Twenty-something-years of printouts from Mother Earth News?--a fieldbook from the US military on Living off the Land, with foraging tips?--ok, you have data we need. Bring on lots more!)

[Georgiana]

Just want to jump in to say that my dad's cousin's wife, who works a full time job, has won the top prize for cookies at the State fair multiple years in a row now.  With her sister in law (another of my dad's cousins) she also made and handed out over 500 cookies for Halloween.  

My mother and her friends (all of which work, some very high powered) have been included in the quilt display multiple times.  

You can have these skills AND work a full time job.  Honestly, it's not 1890 anymore.  These things can be done as HOBBIES now thanks to modern conveniences.  

And, for all her doily-crafting, I have YET to see Lydia display mastery of any one of those skills she mentioned.  But somehow, all the working women I know have gained recognized proficiency.  Maybe you don't need to stay home all day...

Maybe you just need decent time management skills.  

[Palimpsest]

54 minutes ago, Georgiana said:

Maybe you just need decent time management skills.  

 Time management skills are not truly Feminine.

The essence of True Femininity means dawdling, with frequent breaks to brew a cup of tea and contemplate the superiority of yourself, your home and your belongings.  You must do your housework with Heart or you won't enjoy it.

This is obviously my problem.  I do housework with efficiency, not heart.  It doesn't take long if you do a little each day.  Then you have time for other more pleasant things.

As @Lydia says, while doing the breakfast dishes you must pause to contemplate your coffee cup.  Was it a wedding gift? Did you buy it at the Dollar Store?  Who used it last?  

Now this might make sense if she then prayed for the donor, store clerk, or person who used it last - but apparently that's not necessary.  One must just remember.

Presumably, as you clean the toilet you must also contemplate who used it last, whether the seat  could be painted pink, if glitter might improve its looks,  or whether it would look better with a lace doily and figurine on top of the tank.

I wonder whether LL actually has a bit of a hoarding issue.  Perhaps she's been driven to hanging curtains on the shrubbery and decorating rusty truck beds with cushions because she has so many knickknacks in the house there isn't anywhere to sit and contemplate her navel.

She wastes so much time, and it strikes me that her husband has also asked what the heck she does all day.

[Lisa]

On June 20, 2016 at 6:57 AM, Lydia said:

It is really cool you have me as a headline here!  And, I see you are all still reading my blog!

Annie,  so sorry you wasted money on buying that book, and also costing you money for postage.

 

The real Lady Lydia would no more use the expression "really cool" than she would leave the house in an outfit of tasteful neutrals.

[Palimpsest]

13 minutes ago, Lisa said:

The real Lady Lydia would no more use the expression "really cool" than she would leave the house in an outfit of tasteful neutrals.

She was verified as the real Lady Lydia - or someone using her email.

I checked.

[klynn]

I wish she'd come back and answer questions.  I mean, how in the hell am I supposed to know the proper way to fold laundry while contemplating back of the toilet decor?  THIS IS SERIOUS!

[TeddyBonkers]

Apropos of a side topic, I cracked open a half pint of pickled onions that I put up about 6 weeks ago. (The book specified to let them sit for at least 3 weeks so...)

MARVELOUS.

[Peas n carrots]

Telling women to develop their homemaking skills; coming from the woman who made berry tea by putting 2 raspberries in a cup and pouring boiling water on it.

[Denim Jumper]

On 6/21/2016 at 8:25 PM, bjr70 said:

Women have always worked. Unless your family was wealthy, you worked. On the farm, taking in laundry, working as a maid, etc. This whole "stay at home" thing only works for those with money. I don't understand the obsession.

And even then, unless they were 1 percenter wealthy and employed someone to run the home, they still worked! Managing "the help" was a job in itself, not to mention the social expectations of running charities, doing volunteer work, throwing dinner parties, etc. It may not have been formal employment, but few women had much the time to sit around making crafts everyday.

[Loveday]

34 minutes ago, Peas n carrots said:

Telling women to develop their homemaking skills; coming from the woman who made berry tea by putting 2 raspberries in a cup and pouring boiling water on it.

This made me laugh for a minute, and then I stopped, because it's just so darned sad.