Paddy's Wanderings

The Pink Soap

The t-k is a good helper, even when the foam brush is taller than him.

It was a nice day, not too warm, a little wind, but a good day to wash the Jeep. Ahh, to be six again, when the highlight of the day is to go with dad to the wash and scrub the Jeep.

Bug guts, it had to be bug guts. Being six means an endless supply of questions as well. I don't think he ever was happy with any answer I had for all the dead bugs on the bumper. He was happy we did not hit any good guy bumble bees(phew!). But, I got the shrug and we moved on.

I was in charge of the top because we did not have a ladder. His words. Good thing too, last thing I needed was him on a ladder trying to wash the 'high parts'. I did convince him not to hold the trigger, the force darned near put him on his butt!

There was just enough of a wind to create a fine mist in the wash bay. He was worried he was getting wet and he would drip all over the seat. Of course, it was not a problem. After all his aim is not as good as he thinks and I may have been a wee bit wetter then he was.

I remember two little boys who did the same thing. I was excited when they got old enough to cut grass, rake leaves, all of that stuff. Soon the t-k will be ready for more of that and I am happy. Not so much because it is one less thing I have to do, but it is one more thing he can learn to do.

Watching the wee ones grow up is a good thing. Enjoy it while you can, I have.

Happy Wanderings

 

 

Sheeple Camping, 50's Style

Better 1/2 and middle boyo like to hunt for treasure at estate sales. Once and awhile, they find a gem like this book right here. It was a quarter, not much to time travel back to the camping days of the 1950's if you ask me. This book has all kinds of good stuff in it for the hardy sheeple adventurer. Wanna take a peak?

 It has a lot in a little book, from planning where to go to what to take and what to eat. This is camping folks, so fueling the motor home is not covered. But, there are diagrams for packing bedrolls and checklists of what to take and what to do as part of the camper's chores. There is a chapter on how to build and tend a fire and good safety tips, all illustrated.

Food, very important when camping and hiking. There is some good advice on making 'poke' lunches, food in a bag tied in a bandana and tied to the belt or carried on a stick, 'hobo' style(book terminology, see it is from the 50's). For longer trips, there is some good advice on how to cook and a bunch of recipes.

There is a whole chapter devoted to knots and another to lashing, as in lashing wood together to make everything from tables to the framework for larger tents. Amazing what you can build with a scrap of canvas and rope. There is also a chapter on care of tools like knives and hatchets as well as some very good advice on first aid.

A lot of this stuff I learned in the Fashioned Challenged Seventies and passed along to the wee lads during the Roaring Nineties. Cool thing is, the boyos use it today when they go camping. Sure the language is dated a bit and maybe wax paper is not used in the younger generation as it once was(shame too, cause it works great for a lot of things), but a lot of the info shows up in camping guides today.

Good info works like that. Time to head out camping, take my poke bag, cook some frankfurters on a 'cabin' style fire and get outside. No cell phones allowed.

Happy Wandering