A blast from the past

My Fitbit is going to die from lack of use! In the last three days, I've walked less than I would in ONE day. I know -- it's not a big deal, and it might be good to take a break. But I can see that being inactive isn't good for me. And it's not even the walking -- I NEED something to do, and I can only visit for so long before I feel like I'm going crazy. And I feel tired from lack of doing anything! 

Oh well -- it too shall pass, and before I know it, I'll be heading home. Which is good because I have a ton of things to do, and then I'm on the road again. Yikes! 

We are making significant progress on our estate planning journey. Not sure what else to call it, but all five people are on the same path, and we're one step closer from A to B, so all is good as I imagined some heated discussions about the options, and that isn't happening at all. More investigations and information gathering need to happen, but nothing that I can help with. Fingers crossed that all goes well. 

I spent the afternoon visiting with my Aunt Norma, who lives just down the street from my parents. I met up with a cousin whom I hadn't seen in years -- make that 30 years, so we had a great visit. 

But here are a couple of blasts from the past, and YES -- it involves cooking and sewing. 

For those of you who lived in larger centers, I don't know if the Eaton's Catalogue was important, but to us, that Eaton's Catalogue was GOLDEN. 

The LAST Eaton's Catalogue

I remember scouring the darn thing from cover to cover to see what was there. Dreams about how cool and stylish I would look in the clothes and all the "new" and "modern" furniture we didn't have in our house. Yep -- there's history about that catalog. By the way, that catalog above was the LAST one that Eaton's put out in 1976. And yes -- my Mom had TWO of the darn things, and I saw them listed on eBay for $76. Here's another take on the history of Eaton's Catalogue. 

And let's not forget the Wish Book with all the toys. That was the BEST catalog, and we scoured that thing from cover to cover MANY times. I believe Sears also had a toy catalog, and both were coveted at our house. Here's an article about toy catalogs. 

But as I was flipping through -- LOOK -- here's the fabric section. What? No colored pictures? 

The yard goods in the 1976 Eaton's Catalogue

Times have changed, and while people are still buying through mail orders, paper catalogs have been replaced by digital ones. Let's be thankful that Mom did NOT move to the digital world. We would never get through everything she could buy! I found piles and piles and piles of old catalogs from many mail-order companies, and she KEPT them all, including lists of what she purchased. She was a good customer! 

Here's another blast from the past: our old cookstove. I think I was about 10 when we got an electric stove, but before that, all our cooking and baking was done on this stove, which was also used to help heat the house. Yep -- I'm that old! 

Wood burning cookstove

My two brothers rescued it from the old, old house on the property, and one of them will restore it. It shouldn't take much more than a good cleaning. 

Guess where the stove was made? 

Wood stove made in Guelph, Ontario

The Guelph Stove Company in Guelph, Ontario. 

And where did they buy it? 

T. Eaton label

From the T. Eaton Co., of course! I have furniture at my house that was bought from the catalog. We live in a different world today, and having these memories is great. 

And what about this oven? Mom could and did bake MANY loaves of bread in that oven. I was never good at baking bread, but I got to punch it down after it rose (or proofed as I now know it to be called). 

The oven in the wood stove

Well, that's enough excitement for me. Today should be quiet, and that's good. It was extremely smokey outside yesterday and smelled of smoke, but there was rain in the afternoon, so hopefully, that clears it up. I see the sun is shining this morning. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!