February 19, 2007

long time no see,music with meaning, old family remedies

So a while since I blogged but it has been a long week. We went down to babysit our grandsons for 2 days that felt like a week what with the bad weather and such. I got some knitting done on a shawl of mixed pinks/purples. Photos soon I promise.I felt awful when I got back home, totally drained and fit for nothing.So had a quiet weekend. Going to doctors tomorrow as I'm having a few (more) health things that need checking out. Bad circulation, out of breath and pounding heart. Figure its time I went and visited to see what is happening.
Got me to thinking of old remedies and so forth. My nan was a witch/wise woman as well as a crafter . I remember many remedies we had when I was a child. Comfrey(knitbone) was put on my arthritic joints to ease the pain and also boiled up for me to drink(Yuck was like a manky cabbage water).
Quassia(?) chips boiled to use on hair to get rid of lice.
onion covered in brown sugar and the subsequent liquid drunk for colds.Wedding ring stroked on styes. There were more but thats all that springs to immediate mind.
Nanny always asked the bees for advice as well as told them all that was going on in her life.
When I was little, well until the age of 11 we lived in a house with no electricity, we had gas lighting and cooking, coal fire. No heating in rooms upstairs. We had a stone hot water bottle each that always leaked. The toilet was outside and shared with a pig, not a good place to go at night. I remember some nights waking up and going downstairs to the loo and the walls in the kitchen and living room being alvie with cockroaches. When I was eleven we moved to a house with electricity and first few days were a magical experience turning lights on and off. We also had an indoor bathroom so no outisde loo or tin bath.
I spent a lot of time from the age of 2 in hospital for various operations and some time at a school for delicate children. Seemed each time I went home there was another baby. I'm the oldest of 6. I babysat from the age of 9 and at 11 was looking after 5 brothers and sisters. It was a relief to eventually leave home and not have those duties. Folk remedies were all I knew and even now I like to use them where possible,.
Music that means something, do you have certain tracks that mean something to you or have memories happy or sad??
I got to thinking about this last night while i couldn't sleep and came up with a few,
Daydream by Robin Trower, the most wonderfully moving piece of music that reminds me of nights spent by a fire with this on the player and a gorgeous man in my arms, a much younger man then all of 15 years younger:))That was about 17 years ago now and it took me ages to realise it was the same Robin Trower from Procul Harem.
Cross town traffic Electric ladyland, Jimmy Hendrix. I remember sneaking out of school to go and queue for Are you experienced by him.
A day in the life Beatles. I saw the Beatles live in Preston and loved them but I especially loved this later track
Bad end Buffy St Marie, because for years I was convinced that was what would happen to me and I wanted this played at my funeral.
Needle and the damage done Neil Young for all the friends I no longer have sadly.
Sister Josephine Jake Thackery:))
I will have to try and put down some of the others sometime.

1 comment:

Marianne said...

I miss a day in blogland to find two posts, will comment on this one first. I can only wish that I could remember all the folk rememdies, some and actually most working quite well. More from my father, actually, we were all convinced he was druid.
I can certainly relate to your music moments...lots of Procol Harem in my younger days, and of course, Jimi, Joni, Joan and Neil, throw in some Leonard, Beatles then John and George, Stones, Sting (did you happen to see him opening the Grammy the other night? be still my beating heart) and yes, Buffy. and mustn't forget Mr. Robert Zimmerman.

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