I'm so old I Remember when:

[Ursuline Chick]

We got together to play in my neighborhood and used whatever we could find to turn into a game. I got into a bunch of trouble for climbing a round carport poll and pulling myself up in the gutter onto the roof. I don't remember if I was playing at being on top of a castle or what, but Daddy was not happy at all about it.
We walked across round pipes to cross deep drainage canals. paddled pirogues with holes in them down bayous with homemade paddles, past small alligators and water moccasins. We ran, bare foot through swampy areas next to bayous with moccasins left and right, (I once stepped on one )
We would ride bikes through city park all day, even in the rain. I was bare foot so much at 16 years old I could put out my lit cig with the callus on the bottom of my right big toe.
What a great life I had as a kid, problems and all. (sigh)

 

[Evadig]

I remember for entertainment my sister and I would make food dishes out of various plants. Burritos and fish dinners were the most common. Hydrangea leaves made good tortillas. I don’t remember what made up the beans, cheese, and sour cream - probably flower petals. Fish dinner was rose petals with the inside of a daisy for lemon toppings. (Needless to say we didn’t eat our concoctions!) We'd also go down to the lake near the house and catch frogs which provided hours of entertainment. Once we somehow caught two baby rabbits but they weren't very happy so we let them go. In winter we'd make a snow resort out of the big snowbank that the plow created. We had toys but a lot of them weren’t used for their original purpose. I never even saw an iPhone till I was twelve or so. We definitely knew how to entertain ourselves! Those were good days…

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Remember when groceries came home in ... wait for it ... brown paper bags? Mom would give us crayons and let us draw faces on them. Then she'd cut out eyes in them, and on the sides she cut scoops for our shoulders. We'd put them on and chase each other around for hours, playing "monster." What fun! That was for rainy days. Sunny day fun involved cardboard boxes and forts made of plywood and lumber scraps and bricks dad brought home from his construction jobs. We were rich, nobody else had toys like ours!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

We had a grocery store that had different themed paper bags for different holidays, Turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas tree for Christmas etc. and you could color them.
For Halloween, you could color it and use it to go house to house and collect your candy in it.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Remember when groceries came home in ... wait for it ... brown paper bags? Mom would give us crayons and let us draw faces on them. Then she'd cut out eyes in them, and on the sides she cut scoops for our shoulders. We'd put them on and chase each other around for hours, playing "monster." What fun! That was for rainy days. Sunny day fun involved cardboard boxes and forts made of plywood and lumber scraps and bricks dad brought home from his construction jobs. We were rich, nobody else had toys like ours!

This reminds me of when the New Orleans Saints football team was doing so poorly that people would cut eye and mouth holes out of paper bags and wear them on their heads to the game.

 

[troyer]

I remember when a farmer made the news with his cow that forecast the weather. His cow was right as much as the pros were. Amazing girl he had.

Our dairy cows were pretty accurate as well.

Christmas wrapping paper was thicker than Kleenex and didn't tear when you gave it a stern look.

Use feed bags.

 

[troyer]

We got together to play in my neighborhood and used whatever we could find to turn into a game. I got into a bunch of trouble for climbing a round carport poll and pulling myself up in the gutter onto the roof. I don't remember if I was playing at being on top of a castle or what, but Daddy was not happy at all about it.
We walked across round pipes to cross deep drainage canals. paddled pirogues with holes in them down bayous with homemade paddles, past small alligators and water moccasins. We ran, bare foot through swampy areas next to bayous with moccasins left and right, (I once stepped on one )

Story of my life minus the alligators and pirogies.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Our dairy cows were pretty accurate as well.

Use feed bags.

We use thick butcher paper and pretty ribbons (on sale after Christmas) We have different rolls of ribbon for birthdays, showers, etc. The white paper works for any occasion and can be purchased in large amounts at a wholesale cuisine store. Looks great and you don't spend a fortune on wrapping.

We used burlap to wrap something one Christmas and while we were out, the dog decided it must have been his present and decided to open it early.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Story of my life minus the alligators and pirogies.

@troyer may I ask where you are generally located in the country? Please do not feel pressured to answer.

 

[troyer]

@troyer may I ask where you are generally located in the country? Please do not feel pressured to answer.

Central southern Michigan, about 15 miles from the Michigan Indiana line.