What Do YOU Define As "Luxury?" And What Would YOU Consider to Be "Luxurious"?

[Lynx]

For literally multiple decades....
My cookware at my home has been termed "pathetic" or bargain hunter basement finds. Or stuff they stash in the basement of the discount store because they have much nicer stuff to sell for deep discount cheap prices....

That's been what I've used for too many decades to count. Cast offs, used, hand-me-downs. But I've used it and not thought too much about it. My Mother-in-law has nicer stuff than me....much nicer.

Until Christmas....
DuBuyer is a NICE pot set....stainless steel, 5 layer sandwich metals....
Beyond SWEET luxury for me....

I've raced against scorching sauces and etc for so long....I don't know how to do otherwise. To not burn a pot every time I cook is a completely new experience....

And I just want to cry at times at how NICE it is to cook with such luxurious pots....I got two. One smaller and one bigger. The lids fit right on end where the handle meets the pot....it's nuts....never had stuff like this. Kinda unused to the luxury....but my family loves me. Then there's my custom, hand forged chef's knife makes cutting stuff up pretty easy too....

So I guess that entitles them to walk out with a pound of chicken salad I made for lunch last weekend....

If i have to. (Insert drama queen emoji here)
After all I have an image to uphold here....ROFL

Yeah, Towncraft is the same. Grandma's cooking game improved a LOT when she got a set of Towncraft pots and pans. I still have the big soup pot, big skillet and two smaller pans.

I also have some lesser quality pans, and the difference in cooking is night-and-day. No comparison at all.

 

[Lanolin]

I just bought a lasagne dish, well actually two the other day, because I didn't have anything in the kitchen except tin foil or baking tins, or roasting trays, And I wasn't about to bake lasagne in a pot or a pie dish

So even though I had many containers in the kitchen there was none just the right size for lasagne which I was making for the first time, and I didn't want to make it in a plastic tray or buy a frozen one to hear up in the microwave.

I think it is a luxury really, to be able to go and buy all the ingredients and put together a lasagna and bake it in your own oven for 40 minutes than buy one of those frozen plastic wrapped ones you heat up in the microwave for 2 minutes

?! Microwaved convenience, frozen food to me is not luxury....its what you would eat if its the end of the world and you were starving and surviving in a bunker. Or on your lap watching TV (TV dinners? total slop)

Homemade with love food is. I lived a very pampered life when my mum cooked everything so good that she'd thought I was wasting money if I ever went out to eat. It could never be as good as her cooking and that was no idle boast. If only I could have gone home for lunch!

A hot lunch at school to me was a luxury, usually we just every day brought our own cut/cold lunches. Sandwich usually and a piece of fruit. Water was from a tap.
There was never a cafeteria at the primary school when I was growing up. But on Fridays we could order HOT food, like pies and chips and they'd be delivered to each classroom. It was the highlight of my week Fridays hot lunch. They weren't just microwaved pies or chips. They were freshly made and hot from the bakery/fish and chips takeaways down the road.

I don't remember if we just had 15 minutes to eat our lunch like when I worked in school, I could never have lunch. I had to eat at morning tea time, and the prescribed break was only meant to be 10-15 minutes (enough to have a cup of tea, go to the bathroom) because the library was open at lunch time and I had to get things ready, plus no food was allowed in there. Having a lunch break at school with actual real hot food was a luxury not afforded to librarians. But I found a way to get around this with Thursdays Pizza day. (read 7 books for free pizza) Because at that school, there was not even a canteen, so even if children had money they could not buy any food. Some children were starving until the free lunch scheme kicked in. They seemed to be only survivng on snacks they could pick up from the dairy on the way to school, or slices of bread and margarine, with barely any protein.

 

[seoulsearch]

In 2019 (I just looked it up,) I wrote a poll asking how much people planned to spend on gifts for Christmas.

The poll started with "$0-$100" and went as high as "$901 and up."

One poster laughed at this, scoffing, "Who spends so little ($100) on Christmas?" He'd made several posts around the forum indicating that he was a very successful, wealthy businessman.

It makes me terribly sad when others seem to forget how much others around them might be struggling.

I started with "$0-$100" in the poll because at that time, many people were writing about their financial struggles, and I'm pretty sure that to a lot of people in the audience, $100 was an awful lot of money.

I grew up with parents who had nothing but my Dad eventually became, and worked around, several successful business men. I babysat for people whose homes were straight out of Better Homes and Gardens -- Super Deluxe Edition -- so I'm not a stranger to people who have done well.

But I was raised with what I thought was a fairly simple, frugal lifestyle -- and I hope I never forget those lessons. To this day, my Mom never goes to the grocery store without a specific list in hand, with estimated cost, and if the bill goes over what she budgeted, she will start putting things back on the shelf.

If the story is true (I don't know if it was the truth or made up by social workers at the time,) my life started out by being found in a cardboard box in front of a theater, and then taken to the police, and then an orphanage. As an adult, I went back to that very same orphanage and seeing other kids waiting for families, when I was practically placed before I was even born, absolutely wrecked me.

I hope I never forget where I came from, and how far God has brought me.

I have often told God, I hope He has that same cardboard box waiting for me in heaven, because I've always wanted to see it -- and I hope to always remember my roots.

This is one reason why I'm finding this conversation so fascinating -- it's incredibly interesting to see what one person views as luxury vs. someone else -- and why.

 

[Lanolin]

Don't underestimate the value of a cardboard box

I've just started packing for the annual Christmas shoebox appeal. I didn't do it last year but I will this year and already have 3 shoeboxes (I bought some new shoes this year) filled with goodies for children to open on Christmas day. They are extra things I bought or were given brand new that a child might like. Ssh don't tell them, there might even be a baby giraffe plushie in there!

If you can do it, its fun but you will need to pay delivery cost (aside from what you choose to spend on goodies, but you can give them things you get free from hotels, like combs and hairbrushes and toothbrushes that you haven't used) just simple things children appreciate like pens, paper, coloured pencils, balls, little toy cars..new pairs of socks (matching) etc.

Some parents couldn't afford to buy stationery for their children at the start of the school year. The cost of having children starting school (here its late January/february) when you've done with Christmas, paying off your bills and needing to buy new clothes or uniforms is sometimes just too much. Esp if you've got more than 2 children. I've always had hand me downs as a child. Brand new clothes was a luxury too, when I think about it. I still wear clothes I get given or buy from the op shop, if they are in good condition.

 

[JohnDB]

This was a cool story to read, thank you for sharing!

I love stories of when people find a way to make, do with what they have or are given and turn the results into a masterpiece!

I have some friends who try their best to use almost all hand-me-downs or recycled things in their projects.

But it's also delightful to hear about people upgrading their equipment, and finding out just how much of a difference it can make.

I started learning to sew on an old Kenmore that was built into the cabinet and an absolute pain to pull out and set up.

The first time I got to sew on a machine that you didn't have to worry about pinching your fingers between all the springs and didn't feel like resurrecting a lead weight, I was in heaven! True luxury at its finest!

Thanks again for sharing -- and even more for upholding your diva reputation, lol!

I know ALL about old sewing machines.....
Ones where the head is warped in such a manner that instead of straight (when cleaning up the dust and grime) that you have to put it together crooked to go with the warp built into the head now from decades of heavy use....
You know the type....where it requires a 42 page manual on how to load the 14 point tensioner and an even longer manual on how to use the bobbin winder.
(Mom could do it from muscle memory....I never figured it out as my now EX-wife (thank God she's gone) pulled the thread out of the machine because it annoyed her it was there. (Put away and out of sight)

I did get a couple of things sewn but it wasn't easy and the tension? about had to be done by hand. Not quite but I kept it from becoming a mess. Broke too many needles too. Now I got a modern one. It's thirsty because it's sat too long but it will run like a champ.

 

[seoulsearch]

I know ALL about old sewing machines.....
Ones where the head is warped in such a manner that instead of straight (when cleaning up the dust and grime) that you have to put it together crooked to go with the warp built into the head now from decades of heavy use....
You know the type....where it requires a 42 page manual on how to load the 14 point tensioner and an even longer manual on how to use the bobbin winder.
(Mom could do it from muscle memory....I never figured it out as my now EX-wife (thank God she's gone) pulled the thread out of the machine because it annoyed her it was there. (Put away and out of sight)

I did get a couple of things sewn but it wasn't easy and the tension? about had to be done by hand. Not quite but I kept it from becoming a mess. Broke too many needles too. Now I got a modern one. It's thirsty because it's sat too long but it will run like a champ.

LOL!!

Wow, you just brought up a lot of old memories, like struggling with the side-entry bobbin casing with a lever that HAD to be held JUST SO or the bobbin would fall out... (usually 3 or 4 times, every time.)

All while trying to hold a lead-weight machine just high enough out of the cabinet, and with enough time that you didn't accidentally crush your hand or get a finger stuck in a spring when it started to fall!

Mom's cabinet was older than this with the dark wood, but I'm sure you know the pain.




The first time I got to sew on my teacher's free-standing Bernina, with a DROP-IN bobbin, I felt like a high-fallutin' high roller!!




And your mention of the 42-page instruction manual made me laugh out loud!!

(As you well know,) this was back in the days when, GASP, the entire instruction manual was written in ENGLISH, and it had tons of pages that actually covered the ENTIRE machine.

It wasn't like today, where the first 2 pages are in English are all you get for a machine, and the other pages are separate 2-page guides written in 10 different miscellaneous languages!!

Great post, @JohnDB -- thanks again for sharing!

 

[Ceph]

Cars made out of pure crystal for bodies instead of painted-over metal. The type of crystal is for the color.
All the weels, suspension parts and ball bearings, driveshafts and internal drivetrain parts, all made out of pure crystal; with types of crystal varying for colors and durabibity.

The ability to moonjump over obstacles, and noclip through walls.
More furniture and kitchen appliances made out of pure crystals, coushins of the most comfortable materials of all creation, every electronic device having a completely clear glass housing, an aquarium running throughout the walls of the house, so it looks like your house has 'veins' of coral reefs and fishes swimming around, ceilings which perfectly emulate the glory of the night sky, robotic servants which will perform a whole restaging of the place at an instant by the grunt of a mouth, A hovercraft limousine overlaid with pure gold, coming to take you into a city completely made out of all precious metals, stones, and materials, glimmering in the light yet never glaring to look at,
and in the mddle of all of it is just a guy in his underwear going about his day.

 

[seoulsearch]

Cars made out of pure crystal for bodies instead of painted-over metal. The type of crystal is for the color.
All the weels, suspension parts and ball bearings, driveshafts and internal drivetrain parts, all made out of pure crystal; with types of crystal varying for colors and durabibity.

The ability to moonjump over obstacles, and noclip through walls.
More furniture and kitchen appliances made out of pure crystals, coushins of the most comfortable materials of all creation, every electronic device having a completely clear glass housing, an aquarium running throughout the walls of the house, so it looks like your house has 'veins' of coral reefs and fishes swimming around, ceilings which perfectly emulate the glory of the night sky, robotic servants which will perform a whole restaging of the place at an instant by the grunt of a mouth, A hovercraft limousine overlaid with pure gold, coming to take you into a city completely made out of all precious metals, stones, and materials, glimmering in the light yet never glaring to look at,
and in the mddle of all of it is just a guy in his underwear going about his day.

I miss the good sci-fi movies of the 80's and 90's, showing us things that were being predicted about what life would be like in the future.

You description definitely sounds like the ideal setting for a great sci-fi story, even if it's just in everyday life.

 

[JohnDB]

LOL!!

Wow, you just brought up a lot of old memories, like struggling with the side-entry bobbin casing with a lever that HAD to be held JUST SO or the bobbin would fall out... (usually 3 or 4 times, every time.)

All while trying to hold a lead-weight machine just high enough out of the cabinet, and with enough time that you didn't accidentally crush your hand or get a finger stuck in a spring when it started to fall!

Mom's cabinet was older than this with the dark wood, but I'm sure you know the pain.

View attachment 294274


The first time I got to sew on my teacher's free-standing Bernina, with a DROP-IN bobbin, I felt like a high-fallutin' high roller!!

View attachment 294275


And your mention of the 42-page instruction manual made me laugh out loud!!

(As you well know,) this was back in the days when, GASP, the entire instruction manual was written in ENGLISH, and it had tons of pages that actually covered the ENTIRE machine.

It wasn't like today, where the first 2 pages are in English are all you get for a machine, and the other pages are separate 2-page guides written in 10 different miscellaneous languages!!

Great post, @JohnDB -- thanks again for sharing!

See? Those are newer sewing machines....maybe a 3 point tension system for the thread....very easy to load.

The old singers....one step past having to use your foot to make it run....those are the ones that are a bit difficult to use.

However....I got mom's new old one. What makes a machine rock is how capable it is of various stitching. Where this one is not an embroidery machine that can do whole tablecloths....mom was diligent in purchasing every accessory for it from button hole to stitch pattern it can do. Various different feet and etc. Cartridges to boot. (So it's not that new....the really new ones have a computer touch panel screen that do all sorts of things including make your cuppacino latte while you wait)

I had to learn to sew when I commercially rented tuxedos for weddings and prom. (Luxury items for rent)

Yes, I can operate a blind stitch machine for putting in a hem. Or if it's too much trouble I can do it by hand.
I also have a surging machine for those difficult fabrics that like to come apart when cut....(satins, silks, and knits) but I dont have the thread loaded on it for anything at the moment(takes a LOT of spools)
Wife wants those textured velour....velvet....its fuzzy stuff on heavy fabric.... curtains and sheers.....seven foot tall windows and 14 foot tall parlour....(old Victorian house)

This is the problem when you are not just a simple DIYer, you are a Maker. Very comfortable with making just about anything and everything you want....and when you have very expensive tastes for quality, custom goods but only have a discount beer budget....you make the things you want.
And I dont really care how long it takes or what new skills I need to acquire to get the finished product I am wanting or needing....you work at it until you get it. Same thing happened with my small tool bag. (There are plans for a larger one) I couldn't purchase the tool bag I desired so I made one. It too is a "luxury" item....

if you were to look up John Kelly chocolates....he sells truffles in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive.....luxury stuff.
I make 1,000 pieces of chocolate, not much different from his, every year at Christmas to give away....as well as 1,000 cookies a hair better than Christie Cookies sells at their retail stores....not the franchise bake and sell....but literal brick and mortar stores. (They are different and better)
But I'm a chef....trained in the very same school John Kelly went to...(2 classes behind) worked along side of very famous names....
(Yes, Wolfgang Puck is a poser and nobody likes him)
Those are luxury goods given out every year....
For Christmas....because I can and they cant.

Because someOne loved me to make sure I had cocoa....so the world gets treats on His Birthday.

I ALWAYS wonder about the mom who baked those 5 barley bread loaves and smoked those 2 fish....
What was her reaction when she heard? Sure, it was the ONLY lunch in town....captured markets rock for profits.
BUT
She cooked for not just her beloved child but the God of the universe who multiplied it to the point that 12 basketfulls were leftover....Jesus wanted NOTHING wasted of her bread and fish.

Eating that bread and fish is another luxury....just like the water/wine at the wedding.

 

[Lynx]

Cars made out of pure crystal for bodies instead of painted-over metal. The type of crystal is for the color.
All the weels, suspension parts and ball bearings, driveshafts and internal drivetrain parts, all made out of pure crystal; with types of crystal varying for colors and durabibity.

The ability to moonjump over obstacles, and noclip through walls.
More furniture and kitchen appliances made out of pure crystals, coushins of the most comfortable materials of all creation, every electronic device having a completely clear glass housing, an aquarium running throughout the walls of the house, so it looks like your house has 'veins' of coral reefs and fishes swimming around, ceilings which perfectly emulate the glory of the night sky, robotic servants which will perform a whole restaging of the place at an instant by the grunt of a mouth, A hovercraft limousine overlaid with pure gold, coming to take you into a city completely made out of all precious metals, stones, and materials, glimmering in the light yet never glaring to look at,
and in the mddle of all of it is just a guy in his underwear going about his day.

I think one of the x-men can noclip. Not sure who it is though.

 

[Lanolin]

Mum had a Singer and I would use the foot treadle for exercise when I was younger. When the machine was inside the casing of course. But it wasn't as heavy as that industrial one you've got there wow! Getting that one out must have been an effort.

Nowadays the cat sleeps on top with all the towels and blankets and leaves her fur everywhere.

 

[Lanolin]

Cat is tuxedo so black and white...is cat fur useless colour? I don't think so, it just happens to match the opposite of whatever fabric she chooses to shed on.

White fur--black fabric
Black fur -- white fabric

 

[seoulsearch]

Something else I consider a luxury is being able to buy small toys and trinkets I wanted, but my parents didn't want to spend the money on as a kid.

I'm always glad my parents taught me "NO" to many things, as it comes in handy now, but every now and then, I'll buy something I would have liked from my childhood (from a favorite show, favorite characters, etc.)

This was part of the inspiration for the Thundering Throwback Thread -- nostalgic things that seem like a luxury now.

Fortunately, I'm picky, which my wallet is very thankful for, and I try to stick to the rule that it has to be practical.

Hello Kitty is one of my favorites -- a little girl in school had all sorts of cool HK accessories, and I was SO jealous at the time!!

I could use a new soap dispenser, and I love it when HK is dressed as other animals. She's originally a white cat, but in this version, she's dressed up as a black cat for Halloween!!

If I can find this -- at a reasonable price -- I just might have to pick it up.

 

[zeroturbulence]

To me a luxury would be a day off with zero responsibilities. But God has blessed me with lots of other luxuries so I can't really complain.

 

[seoulsearch]

To me a luxury would be a day off with zero responsibilities. But God has blessed me with lots of other luxuries so I can't really complain.

This is another reason why I find it so interesting to hear what people's personal definitions of luxury is -- it reminds me to work harder at not taking anything for granted.

I have several friends who would consider the ultimate luxury to be a day during which they didn't have to change someone's diaper, whether for a child -- or for an adult.

 

[zeroturbulence]

This is another reason why I find it so interesting to hear what people's personal definitions of luxury is -- it reminds me to work harder at not taking anything for granted.

I have several friends who would consider the ultimate luxury to be a day during which they didn't have to change someone's diaper, whether for a child -- or for an adult.

I'm glad I don't have to do that.

 

[Lanolin]

If you working hard at a job, break time seems to become a luxury when you stop working for 10 minutes and can get time to yourself away from whatever. It depends on the type of job..if you doing a sit down job like at an office you need the break to get up and walk around, if it's a job where you on your feet all day just sitting down and putting your feet up is a luxury.

They ought to be paid breaks but some workplaces will not even pay you if you take half an hour for your lunch.

Any holiday (away from home) to me was a luxury. I recall other children would go away to all these places during their school holidays but our family pretty much stayed at home. Couldn't afford to go anywhere. A holiday was just not going to school lol.

It's like people at work ask what you do on the weekends expecting you to tell them exciting plans of trips or shows or concerts etc. And you tell them I don't do anything on the weekends because they are my days off. I just don't work. Besides when you get to the weekend you are too exhausted to do anything else lol.

 

[SoulFaith]

For me, luxury is not really about expensive things. It is more about having enough, having peace and being able to enjoy the simple things in life.

For me, luxury is going to the grocery store and being able to buy the food my family needs without constantly calculating in my head how much everything costs or wondering if I have enough money.
It is also having the freedom to take an unpaid day off and spend that day with my family.
One of my favorite luxuries would be a slow morning at the kitchen table, a cup of tea beside me, reading my Bible and spending time with God without having to watch the clock.
In winter, a warm home where I can sit in light clothes without being cold feels like a luxury too.
And there is something very special about being able to walk into my backyard, pick berries and vegetables and then make a meal from what God has provided.

I think my definition of luxury has become very simple. Having enough, having peace, having time and being grateful for what God has given me.

 

[SoulFaith]

One of the greatest luxuries I have ever had was being able to make a dream of mine come true. When my youngest child started school, I was able to take a year off from work. Simply having the freedom to step away from work for a while was a huge luxury to me.
I quickly fell in love with that life outside the rat race. Eventually, I decided to leave my job and look for work I could do from home. I found a job where I could choose my own hours and I ended up working six-hour days with longer weekends. I did that for several years before eventually returning to a more traditional job.
Some people may dream of having more material things. For me, luxury is having control over my own time and the freedom to live life at a slower pace. That kind of freedom is worth far more to me than expensive things.

 

[seoulsearch]

For me, luxury is not really about expensive things. It is more about having enough, having peace and being able to enjoy the simple things in life.

For me, luxury is going to the grocery store and being able to buy the food my family needs without constantly calculating in my head how much everything costs or wondering if I have enough money.
It is also having the freedom to take an unpaid day off and spend that day with my family.
One of my favorite luxuries would be a slow morning at the kitchen table, a cup of tea beside me, reading my Bible and spending time with God without having to watch the clock.
In winter, a warm home where I can sit in light clothes without being cold feels like a luxury too.
And there is something very special about being able to walk into my backyard, pick berries and vegetables and then make a meal from what God has provided.

I think my definition of luxury has become very simple. Having enough, having peace, having time and being grateful for what God has given me.

One of the greatest luxuries I have ever had was being able to make a dream of mine come true. When my youngest child started school, I was able to take a year off from work. Simply having the freedom to step away from work for a while was a huge luxury to me.
I quickly fell in love with that life outside the rat race. Eventually, I decided to leave my job and look for work I could do from home. I found a job where I could choose my own hours and I ended up working six-hour days with longer weekends. I did that for several years before eventually returning to a more traditional job.
Some people may dream of having more material things. For me, luxury is having control over my own time and the freedom to live life at a slower pace. That kind of freedom is worth far more to me than expensive things.

These posts are beautiful.

From some of your other posts, I know you've been through a lot in life, but the fact that you've come to a place of peace and enjoying the blessings God has given you is very inspiring. How amazing to take a break from work and then find a flexible job that let you pick your own hours!

I also love the image of you choosing things from your garden to provide for your next meal. I know a lot of people do that but it seems to be very rare these days.

Everyone is struggling with something -- and the world seems to compound it with nothing but bad news to offer.

In the midst of all the craziness, it's very comforting to me to hear about how God is looking after and blessing His people. It reminds me to be humble and always grateful (which I'm not very good at.)

Thank you so much for sharing!