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Question:My mother grew up on a farm in east Texas; I've heard stories of their first and second houses (only the second had running water and electricity!). I've not only heard lots of stories about the farm itself, and have been taught to do things needed to survive, but also about people who worked for them during the Depression, when all they could pay was food and a place to live, but at least everybody had enough to eat! I've been told how to do everything from raise flowers to slaughter a hog, although I hope I never have to do the latter. I learned to make butter and soap, how to raise chickens, how to milk a cow, and how to pick cotton. I learned how to "candle" an egg, how to put a chicken to sleep by tucking its head under its wing, and what to feed baby chicks so that they grow quickly. Both my mother and grandmother taught me to sew, quilt, and embroider (and I do the best needlework of anybody I know, hands down!); thanks to them, I can make anything from a pair of underwear to a wedding gown, and have DONE it! And from my father and grandfather, I learned some basic carpentry skills, how to tool and sew leather (I at least know in theory how to TAN it, no less), and can make a basic sort of pair of shoes if I really have to, along with moccasins. I know how to read basic blueprints, make simple drafting type drawings, and can (and have) built bookshelves, plant stands, and a variety of other things. I think I'm very lucky!

My grandmother died in 2000 at the age of 96; my mother is 79, and I am 52.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My mother grew up on a farm in east Texas; I've heard stories of their first and second houses (only the second had running water and electricity!). I've not only heard lots of stories about the farm itself, and have been taught to do things needed to survive, but also about people who worked for them during the Depression, when all they could pay was food and a place to live, but at least everybody had enough to eat! I've been told how to do everything from raise flowers to slaughter a hog, although I hope I never have to do the latter. I learned to make butter and soap, how to raise chickens, how to milk a cow, and how to pick cotton. I learned how to "candle" an egg, how to put a chicken to sleep by tucking its head under its wing, and what to feed baby chicks so that they grow quickly. Both my mother and grandmother taught me to sew, quilt, and embroider (and I do the best needlework of anybody I know, hands down!); thanks to them, I can make anything from a pair of underwear to a wedding gown, and have DONE it! And from my father and grandfather, I learned some basic carpentry skills, how to tool and sew leather (I at least know in theory how to TAN it, no less), and can make a basic sort of pair of shoes if I really have to, along with moccasins. I know how to read basic blueprints, make simple drafting type drawings, and can (and have) built bookshelves, plant stands, and a variety of other things. I think I'm very lucky!

My grandmother died in 2000 at the age of 96; my mother is 79, and I am 52.

that is personal to a few

Too many to even begin to mention here.

They were strong resilient woman who have been a positive influence on me and the rest of my family.

ok, there's not room to put that here.
can you be more specific?

my granny is pretty much an alcoholic who uses the n word a lot, i love her

My grandfather was a bee-keeper.

my mother was 1 of 13 children back in 1920's so I was told many ,many interesting stories especially during the war when there were black outsand my mother would sneak out to see her boy friend my father was 1 I remember.

My granny escaped from Germany during the war and sewed jewelry into the hems of her clothing to pay their way out. They walked to Switzerland through the mountains and then immigrated to Canada where they bought a farm in Winnipeg. While working on the farm, my granny's brother pushed her off of the loft onto what he thought was a haystack but someone had laid a pitchfork on top of a bale and she fell on it and it impaled her stomach when she landed on it. She lived but she would never live on a farm again in her life, it haunted her. She became a wonderful pastry chef and made the most delicate kuchen, cakes and candies that I still miss today. RIP granny

I could write a book about my mother,nan and great grandmother. Put it this way my mother got married at 17 in the middle of the second world war,so how's that for starters. The exploits of my nan and great gran would make a saint blush so who knows maybe I'll just keep it in the family.

My grandma came all the way from China in a Junk boat.
She helped my grandfather to germinate Bean sprouts to be sold in the market. Their business grew and they monopolise the fish stalls. Later the bought a shop and some pineapple and also rubber land. Theirs was a rags to riches true story.
My father died young. My mother became a widow at age 44. But she was great. She singlehandedly brought up all of us ,a total of 7 children and lived up to the age of 86.
She became a washerwoman to earn some money, made local cakes for sale and even planted vegetables to sell.
She is the greatest Mom in my neighbourhood.