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Feeling Nostalgic? The archives
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What have you had forever that still works? (Blanky/Blinkie)
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I think this fits in with the shift away from rampant consumerism these days due to the economic situation. I really like the idea of keeping things for as long as possible. I enjoy buying new things as much as anyone -- but I've tried very hard to temper that over the last few years.
I agree Larry, I kind of hope that the disposable consumerism that we had is mostly over.
I have a 1950's fridge in my basement that still runs like new. My pushmower is over 15 years old.On the other hand, the riding lawnmower I bought last year is flimsy as hell and probably won't last more than four years.
I've had a portable mini generator (minus the inflator - was only $30 when I bought it... walmart still carries them) - perfect for jumping a car battery without having to actually connect it to another car. It just needs to be plugged into a wall outlet for 36 hours and then it holds the charge forever. It is, hands down, THE best purchase I've ever made. It's gotten me out of a crunch on several occasions and I always love being able to help someone else. Most recently, I helped a girl who was stranded at the library. It had been sitting in my trunk for almost 6 months, and I was kind of concerned that the juice would've been drained from it. It wasn't, though.I've had my car (Toyota) for 10 years now. It's paid-in-full... and still runs like a champ. :)
95% of my furniture and appliances are hand-me-downs from my grandmothers and great-grandmother. I like old stuff. :)
well, i drive a 1995 truck and ride a 1967 motorcycle so i am all about making things last. as far as things that i have had forever and still use i would say some sports equipment like a Mitchell 308 fishing reel that is maybe 30 years old, several old hunting guns i got as a kid and still use, hand tools (always buy good ones - never cheap crap), an original style Coleman lantern that is maybe 20+ years old and stuff like that. i last year had to get my 4th ball glove ever. the last one i had lasted 20 years (Wilson A2000) and finally ripped right down the palm. it was re-laced numerous times, oil soaked and crusty but it was perfect.feeling you Dan - new lawn mowers are disposable junk
A couple of weeks ago I had to get my 7 year old refrig repaired and the old-timer who came to fix it said that I need to think about getting a new one. WTF says I, my previous one was from the 60s! He said they purposefully make appliances these days to last about 5 years. That's disgusting!My stove is also from the 60s. I keep wanting it to break so I can get a gas model, but aside from one burner, it's still working fine.
I also have a mixer from the early 60s that's just working fine. And my mower is 19 years old.
They just don't make em like they used to!
absolutely counts! i have a pair of Danner boots from like 15 years ago and i thought that was phenomenal. your Frye boots totally tops that
I'm pretty sure my refrigerator is older than I am, and the stove is pretty darn old, too. I really should replace it, though, as one of the burners will give you a shock if you touch the stove at the same time you're holding the metal handle of a pot on the burner. Half of my furniture is hand-me-downs from mom, and, again, older than I am. It's hard to wear out a dresser.
I have a pair of ski socks that I've had since I was 9 years old. :) Those suckers are WARM! And in excellent condition.
OH! I forgot to mention that my great grandmother willed me her formal dining set - I have all her bone china and it's gorgeous. :)
Oh, speaking of appliances, our furnace is a cast iron ancient piece of work. I swear, I think it's from the 50s...but everyone says it's fine, and we have the furnace guy clean/check it every year, and we've got three carbon monoxide detectors so...I want to keep that sucker going. Our heating bills are way lower than our neighbors, too.
Our dryer is 27 years old, we have a freezer that is 26 years old, and our push mower I have had 22 years, but I bought it used.
Just had to replace the water softener that was 25 years old.
Just had to replace the water softener that was 25 years old.
Yeah, with my first effort I figured I'd try to be short, funny, and gross. Much like my penis. (Don't mind me. I'm not well in the head.)
Chris wrote: "Yeah, with my first effort I figured I'd try to be short, funny, and gross. ...
Well then you succeeded
welcome to TC Chris.
Well then you succeeded
welcome to TC Chris.
No sweat, Chris. You'll be remembered for your first post. Or, um, at least part of you will be remembered:)
i raised my eyebrows at #18 and laughed softly at #21
Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "i raised my eyebrows at #18 and laughed softly at #21""Raised" and "softly" are a couple of descriptors, I guess.
I don't have much myself that is really old & had forever, but my Mom has a tin ice cream scoop from her grandma (it bends at the handle every time we use it) and a Braun breadmixer that she's had since I was little. It's finally giving in to motor deterioration, but up until now it tromped every mixer I've ever owned. We just traded our big behemoth Suburban for a 2004 VW Passat, which we have decided to keep unitl the wheels fall off. It's the first time I've really found that line of thought useful. I guess I'm a gen-X kid who loves new, shiny stuff... but I'm gettin old enough to appreciate something to hang on to it for a long time.
How strange! I was just thinking about this (randomly) while driving the other day. 1. Red-handled scissors. I brought these with me to college. I remember packing these proudly into a second-grade pencil pouch. There was a lot of satisfaction in having a complete set: gluestick, 3 pencils, a sharpener, eraser, ruler, scissors, 16-box of crayola. Happiness was so simple back then. : )
2. Backpack. I've had the same backpack now for eight years? Possibly a little more. Used it every day in high school, and still do. I've taken it with me everywhere I've gone: Mexico, Canada, Korea, New York, Berkeley. I can't believe there was a time I got a new one every year.
Nools - you are always a breath of life into this group. usually insightful and fresh thoughts and some really funny ones too. thanks!
My brain. It still works. Despite parental training, catholic school, high school, and college. My brain has survived it all and can still have its' very own thoughts!
Mod
BINKIES!!!! :)♥
Let the record show that my security blanket went into retirement once I left for college! Just. I still have it. And it still works. And stuff.
I have a box of crayons from when I was 4. We purchased it at a Gemco in San Mateo. Why do I still remember this? I have a hard time letting go of things... I tend to keep all sorts of childhood memorabilia. My View-Master still works!Edit: Do you see this, N.? You're loved.
I still have my Rubik's Cube from Jr. High. It still works, too. :D
Where are my manners: Thank you for your encouragement and kindness.
I really do appreciate it.
I just kind of suck at receiving such nice words sometimes....
"Aw, shucks"? ^^;;
<3
Much of my stuff is new-to-me vintage. The couch, four chairs, five lamps, a desk, and a coffee table are circa 1960s, as are most of my dishes and the blender. My everyday dishes are Franciscan Starburst, early to mid-60s. The bed (in need of replacement, though, as all the joints are loose and are joinery, not screws) is early deco, probably 1920. I've got a 1940-ish cookie jar that was my great-grandmother's, and a late-deco bookshelf from probably the same time frame.I have a houseplant that is a cutting from one my dad's baby brother gave my mom for Christmas the first year they were married, in 1971.
Things that were new when I acquired them: The 1999 Honda Civic hatchback (love it still!), the stereo that was a Christmas gift from mom and dad in 1989 (has a record player, a dual cassette deck, and an equalizer), the 200-disc CD jukebox from 2000, the curtains my mom and I made in 1999, and the coffee table/blanket chest my dad made for me in 1997. I bought the 13" TV used from my brother in 1999, and that was my only television until two months ago, when my boyfriend gave me his old one (I've never bought a new television).
I have a 1967 off-white acrylic sweater-knit minidress that was my mom's. My suede jacket is from approximately the same era, though it came from a thrift shop. I have four wide-collared button shirts from the 1970s, a handful of t-shirts from the 1980s, and a green cardigan sweater I bought in 1990.
The house is 1904, but I rent, sadly.
Edit: Oh! How could I forget the blankies? I have a rainbow-striped bed-sized afghan that my grandma made for my parents when I was just a baby, and a purple one that she made for me when I started college in 1992. The baby quilt from my crib is still in my blanket chest, but doesn't see much use.
My brother gave me a suitcase 6 or 8 years ago when I graduated from a backpack. I remember thinking 'whoever put wheels on luggage is a genius!' There's some confusion now as to which one is mine because when we were married my husband's identical black luggage intermingled with mine. As did his books, cds, dvds... but whichever one is actually mine has lasted through several years of serious travel.
@Matt: "I have a box of crayons from when I was 4." You're only 12, so that doesn't really count.@Jackie: I thought we'd agreed not to mention the Rubik's Cube again?
@Lylly: I still have two pieces of a seven-piece, wheel-less luggage set that I used to transport the remains of my life in South Africa to Holland more than 22 years ago. I recently wrote a short story about it. Will post it once it has been published. It begins as follows:
"Brother Niftistow was lost in the dead of night on the icy hairpin pass between Liberec and Rokytnice nad Yizerou in the high north of the Czech Republic. Tired and frozen, he must have slipped off the roof and tumbled down a steep embankment, spilling tools along the way until he struck a tree and sank slowly into the pristine snow."
i have a 1940's vintage Dubois baseball glove that is in great shape and could catch a ball right now if you threw me one. i would not play catch with Jason Verlander with it but i could def snag a pop-up using it
My wok is over 25 years. But I need a new one. Finally found a place that sells authentic Chinese ones.
Matt wrote: "Do you see this, N.? You're loved."Matt's right, Nools. Surely you know this! :) ♥
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Anyway, since we moved to Wisconsin twelve years ago, and moved in together, oh, sixteen years ago (eek, that sounds like a long time) a lot of what we own is, well, pretty old. But some things still work, day in and day out, to the point where I take them for granted, like...
1. The tea kettle that I've used pretty much every day for fifteen years.
2. The andirondack (sp?) chairs we put on our front porch about ten years ago.
3. The refrigerator we've had for twelve years and should probably replace before it implodes.
Oh, I think this topic emerged because of my car's breakdown after thirteen years. Anyway, this got me thinking about quality, purchases, etc...the idea that some things last a long time.
I don't know where the hell I'm headed with this.
But...
And...you?