Low Tech Girl In A High Tech World

I think I might need my head examined. I really, really do. Because this year, I have decided to sew Hallowe'en costumes for my children. They are psyched up about it all, I am, however, experiencing an odd sort of sinking feeling deep in my soul. Oh, it was all well and good, you see. In light of my decision to drop out of the 9-5 rat race working world, I decided that I wanted to do more things for my children, and sewing a Hallowe'en costume was one of them. It seemed like a great idea at the time (famous last words). I would get to express my creativity, do something wonderful for my children and (snort of derision here) I would save money. Riiight. It is not as though I have not sewn costumes. In my earlier days I sewed belly dancing costumes, medieval dresses, a couple of kimonos. I even made a pair of pants and a skirt for a woman and was paid (paid no less) for doing so. And then there have been more kids clothes than I can shake a stick at. But facing that store full o...

I have been saying for some time now that I am not necessarily a fan of high tech things because I don't always understand how they work and that I become frustrated when they do not work. But there are a few things that I do like. And toilets are one of them. Ah, the Western toilet. Gleaming ceramic bastion of easy waste disposal. You clean them and they glisten. Flush them and they work. Flick the switch on the wall and you can see what you are doing. Why discuss toilets you ask? This weekend I accompanied my daughter on a camping trip with her Girl Guides unit. The first night was cold. The second night it rained like nobody's business. Did those things bother me? No. I had a warm, waterproof coat and a hat. And our tent was wonderfully dry (not so much for the girls' tents, but that is another story for another day). What bothered me was this: Now, I must tell you, this lat is not precisely what I had to contend with. This one is not surrounded by trees, and is somewhat...

As I have stated, I am not necessarily a fan of technology. I watch my friends and my brothers who know the magic computer voodoo that you need in order to be able do what you need to do quickly and efficiently. And I am stuck cursing and swearing at my computer screen, shaking an ineffective fist at it until I succeed. But my child is not at all like that. I watch her and all I can do is shake my head. And worry. The amount of technology she has access to is phenomenal. She has computers in her classroom and easy access to the Internet. She even has a cellphone. A cellphone! Granted, it is my old one, and it is simply so that we can keep in touch with her when she is out and about with her friends. I thought I was a cool, hip, with it mom. It certainly seemed like she was ahead of the pack when she was given her phone. But on a recent school trip, my certainty about this fact was shaken. We had pulled away in the bus on our way down the highway, when suddenly- out came cellphones and ...

As the title of my blog may suggest, I am, at heart, a low tech girl in a high tech world. Although my blackberry and laptop computer may argue to the contrary, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. As long as it works, I love it. As soon as it breaks (as it does all too often) I hate it. But as soon as I made the decision to work from home, it became somewhat more necessary for me to make forays into the depths of technology than I ever wanted to. A bottomless cave it is, as I am beginning to discover. I grudgingly started a Twitter account, and began to look at Facebook as something other than a way to get my virtual farming kicks out. It has been a time consuming process but luckily, one that has not been too painful. I am beginning to enjoy the ease of electronic money transfers, although I will admit it mystifies me a bit. If I am paid online, transfer my money online and pay bills electronically, did the money even exist? Sadly, it disappeared so quickly one might argu...