@DaNanner @StillIRise1963 There were Black beauty salons that refused to my hair because it was "too curly" or even "too white". Or because it was too long. I took my money elsewhere. We don't have many Black salons in Albuquerque,so it's usually a white or Latina salon; do it at home; or fly back home to LA and pay $150 for a damn cut. I do the color myself.
@IveyJanette When we moved to places with no Black people, I learned to do my own hair - be it relaxing, a cut, whatever. When we returned to a place with some Black folk, I was not spending my whole Saturday in a salon because people don't know how to stagger appointments the right way. I don' want to eat lunch, I want to go home. shit. So, I just kept doing it myself. I still do. I cut my hair last weekend. @DaNanner
@StillIRise1963 @IveyJanette @DaNanner Even though I'm an old white guy, I hear you. I started cutting my own hair 25 years ago. I remember when a haircut was 2 bucks. I save $15 plus tip today. I don't have to go anywhere, talk to anybody, mingle, congregate, share viruses, listen to Fox News, or pretend that I'm a Trump supporter.
@shuttersparks Yep. I have a thing about being self-sufficient. I never liked dealing with people's bullshit. I'm great at doing fingernails, tiling, painting walls, laying floors, changing light fixtures, whatever. If I can do it myself, learn how to do it, I will. @IveyJanette @DaNanner
@StillIRise1963 @IveyJanette @DaNanner That too! My mom (old school German) drilled that into me. And my grandmother. Cooking and sewing were required. She felt that you had to know those basics to qualify as a human being, male or female. Some might view that as kind of harsh, but that's how she and her mother were. I'm glad they were.
Retired engineer now a chef for ten years. And I love sewing. Go figure.
@shuttersparks 🤣 Yep! I took a Singer sewing class when I was 12. I used to make my own clothes as a teen. I can also do any type of yarn work from needlepoint to knitting, crocheting, rug hooking, macrame, whatever. And, I learned how to cook and made dinner for my parents/sister beginning at 14 most week days and on the weekends. It was fun.@IveyJanette @DaNanner
@StillIRise1963 @shuttersparks @DaNanner I learned to crochet when I was 9,used to make clothes for my Barbies and hats and afghans. I took home ec in junior high before I got kicked out for fighting. Didn't really learn how to cook until I started working in restaurants. And after mom passed. I learned mostly from watching the Food Network and PBS.
@StillIRise1963 @IveyJanette @DaNanner Hah, yep. Crochet was the first thing she taught me in terms of "fiber arts". It's probably good training for a little kid, eye-to-hand, etc. Sure didn't hurt me. Then hand-stitching, starting with buttons, then hems, etc. By the time we got to the sewing machine I was excited to learn it. It was an old Singer. Then around 1964 she bought a new machine that could do zigzag and some fancy decorative stitches. I liked sewing but it was something I never told my schoolmates about.
@shuttersparks @StillIRise1963 @DaNanner My mom always sewed. So did my aunt. But it just wasn't interesting to me. I learned to crochet when mom put me in an after school charm club . I'm more into drawing,painting and writing though. And taught myself how to play several instruments after I turned 40.
@IveyJanette Nice. I wish I could draw, paint, or play instruments. @shuttersparks @DaNanner
@shuttersparks I think it's very cool you're now using these skills after doing something very different. And, yeah. Kids were harsh. We had rigid gender roles. @IveyJanette @DaNanner
@StillIRise1963 @shuttersparks @DaNanner We did. We were expected to be wives and mothers and not be in the workforce. And not much else. My mom was mostly a single parent and had to work,so I learned by example. I couldn't do the music back then because those rules kept women from playing horns,drums and guitars.
@shuttersparks @StillIRise1963 @DaNanner I should have paid more attention to what mom was doing with the DIY. Plus when she and grandma were cooking. When they passed, I struggled for a while. Ultimately learned it on my own.