Old maids, bachelorettes and spinsters

[Lanolin]

haha sorry Bachelors, ladies are having their own thread here, if you want one you could make your own.

I have decided not to call it 'career woman' thread because it sounds like your job is driving an ambulance off a cliff. (Thelma and Louise? )

sorry I didnt create the english language here.

anyway, ladies what are the old maid tasks that you are especially good at and what ones not so much.

I think I am good at looking after other peoples children and keeping them somewhat entertained but I am terrible at sewing.
I dont know what a bachelorette really is but I figure its someone who gets to go on lots of dates like the tv show. I dont really have the wardrobe and accessories for that sort of thing lol. If I worked in a clothing boutique maybe? I guess thats why I ought to learn to sew. My sewing pile consists of stitching up emoji cushions that have been overhugged.

 

[Lynx]

Lanolin can't see what I say, so could somebody ask her if widows are included?

I kinda get where Lanolin is going with this - single women are free to do a lot of stuff, and people know this, so they often ask single women to do these things. But I really think widows should be included in this group. They get asked to do a lot too, because they are single.

I'm thinking of one in particular, a nice elderly lady who runs the fellowship hall, makes sure people clean it after they use it for something, cadges requests when a stock ingredient runs low or a broom needs replacing, etc. She also coordinates the food distribution for the Feed America First charity supply our church receives.

 

[Heart_Melody]

Hello there

I get that - I keep offering to do those kinds of things for my young mother friends. Like make them meals and such to give them more time to chill.
They have yet to take me up on it though. (Just wait until they realize I was a head chef once lol)

Anyways - I do agree that widows should be included in this as well. When one of my favorite Granpa's of ministry suddenly died - his wife who is incredible was left a widow. Shortly after I got to sit with her and she shared with me her plight. Something I couldn't have related to or guessed unless I had experienced it myself.
She told me her neighbor now came every now and then to check her car out. Ed used to do that for her every time before she went anywhere. Checked the tire pressure, the oil, that there was enough gas. I mean how sweet is that?
But Rema never knew how to do that on her own car - because she never had to.

So I get that... It must be such a readjustment and I think I will say special prayers for widows and widowers everywhere today...

 

[Lanolin]

sorry I didnt add widows to the title but yes widows do need some help in certain areas.
Although Ive noticed its widowers (and bachelors) that often get more sympathy because many people assume widowers and bachelors dont know how to cook.

my uncle who is a bachelor, has never worked his oven its still got the manual in it. He goes out to Dennys every night for his dinner meal.

I am fine with cooking for one in fact I prefer it as I can experiment a bit more and nobody else can complain about it lol

 

[Kim82]

Sewing and taking care of the elderly

 

[Lanolin]

I find caring for children in general way easier than caring for elderly.
I know we are meant to be saints, but some elderly really do try your patience. Somehow rudeness is more forgiveable in children.

 

[Kim82]

With children you have to run behind them. The elderly will sit in one place. I like to listen to stories from the past, and their sense of humour.

But yes some of them can be difficult, especially when they have mental issues.

 

[Manna2]

I'm good at cleaning the bathroom. Is that an old maid task? My service dog entertains kids from a distance. She's an old maid too.
I'm not overly good at sewing either, though I am a crochet artist.

 

[Lanolin]

my sewing looks more like Michelle Pfeiffers catwoman costume.
I couldnt make curtains into good clothing like Maria did in the Sound of Music or Scarlett (or her Mammy) did in Gone with the Wind.

Knitting takes too long with me.
I can crochet but havent done it in ages, the last thing I crocheted was a rug out of old t-shirts but it was a bit of a failure.

althought the popular holey jeans look means I can disguise my sewing as deliberately shabby. Its apparently cool these days to look like Frankensteins daughter.

 

[Lanolin]

one of my spinster friends wants to come over to use my mums sewing machine.
I am just a bit slightly annoyed that seems be her reason for calling me and assumed that I would just let her use it, when my mum isnt at home. (cos shes at work sewing for someone else)

I let her use it just once before without telling my mum but I learned to my dismay shes the kind of person who hops right over boundaries and when she comes over to my house just makes herself at home like she wont leave, exhausting me in the process.

I wish I was more assertive and could just say use your own sewing machine or sew it by hand. Instead I just said I wont be home because Im out house sitting, which is true. and then she seemed to get miffed cos I wasnt just going to be a doormat for her and be waiting around for her when she decides she wants to do something.

Anyway. The only thing more annoying was that she thought she could get me to ask my mum to do her sewing for her.

The thing with spinsterhood is people just assume you have all the time in the world to do sewing. But modern spinsterhood isnt like that, we're off doing so many other things not just staying at home gossiping over our knitting.

 

[Lanolin]

sorry for my rant I just have a difficult friend who is hard to shake off at times.

I need to work out ways of dealing with a certain person, and I dont like feeling used, which is probably a whole nother thread.

Anyway just on the topic of spinsters, last year mum was given some sheeps fleece offcuts by a friend who had some sheep, and she wanted to use it for something, so I said why not try to spin it, to make yarn. I asked this friend if she had a spinning wheel, she did but she had never used it, so we borrowed it but it turned out couldnt make it work cos it was missing some bobbin or other.

Then I found out on you tube that you could just use a spindle to make yarn. its just a dowel with a hook on the end and you drop it and the spindle spins the fleece into yarn.
well I havent got round to making a spindle yet.

If I do manage to work it out, then I would be a REAL spinster.
Apparently spinsters are in a whole class different from mere seamstresses.