A Dying Art

Dear Diary,

What a miserable day, weather wise.  It is pouring rain!  We have returned to mild temperatures.  I had to resort to some indoor activity today.  I was cleaning out some drawers with sewing notions left over from when we cleared out my mother's house after she died back in 2002.  (Yes, I know...about time!)  I found a package of darning yarn which cost 10 cents so you know how old it is!  I have the handmade darning egg my grandfather made so I thought I would try my hand at darning a sock.

Now, I don't suppose many people take the time to darn socks today.  I remember my grandmother always had a basket of "mending" near to hand.  People didn't throw things out as readily as we do today.  I spent some time trying to get a smooth, lump-free patch.  Not as well done as my grandmother would have done it but not too bad.  It really made me smile to put the socks on and think, "These have a few more years left!"

I gathered together some other old sewing notions, none costing more than 15 cents, and created a domestic still life on this rainy day.  Now I will dig out another old movie and make a bowl of popcorn.  A perfect thing to do on a day like this!