Some retro things that still work

We've got a pot of beans soaking in the kitchen for tonight's supper.

On a related note, we've begun using a Foodsaver vacuum system to prolong shelf life for some of our dry foods. Dried beans, rice, flour, and pasta top the early list. Good old fashioned "depression era" staples. We're using reusable Mason jars.

I'm delighted to see the vacuum sealer attachment seems to work with the antique blue jars. I've got a stash of the old jars from the 1930s and earlier handed down to me in the '70s. My Great Aunt Norma provided some of them. She and Uncle Alfie once had a farm on the outskirts of Cincinnati, but sold it to developers in the 1950s and it became the site of Cincinnati's Tri-County Mall. They then moved a few miles up SR 747 where they continued farming well into the 1980s.

One more retro thing I've dusted off and put back in use is my old Westclox wind-up alarm clock. I bought it 30 or more years ago when I was working weird hours in radio and needed a wake up alarm that would work if the power went out. Still keeps good time. I haven't seen them in stores for years, but similar wind-up Westclox are still available through on-line merchants like Amazon.


Update 11/30/2011: Disappointed to report only one of three antique blue Mason jars held a seal. I plan to dig up more test subjects... as soon as I figure where in the basement that box of old blue jars is stashed.