Ask The Old Farmer's Almanac
Published Friday January 9th, 2009
What are some old-fashioned gift ideas?
Jan. 12, Monday — Plough Monday. Fifty-seven degrees below zero Fahrenheit in Helena, Montana, 1959. Author Agatha Christie died, 1976.
Jan. 13, Tuesday — St. Hilary. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school officials can censor student newspapers, 1988. Words often do worse than blows.
Jan. 14, Wednesday — Actor Humphrey Bogart died, 1957. The first probe to land on Saturn's moon, Titan, signaled it had survived its descent, 2005.
Jan. 15, Thursday — Moon on equator. Conjunction of Saturn and the Moon. Elizabeth I of England was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 1559.
Jan. 16, Friday — Singer Sade born, 1959. Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians became the first tribe in the U.S. to issue tribal license plates, 1974.
Jan. 17, Saturday — Last quarter Moon. Statesman Benjamin Franklin born, 1706. Seventeen degrees below zero Fahrenheit, Millsboro, Delaware, 1893.
Jan. 18, Sunday — Conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter. U.S. president John Tyler died, 1862. Yellowknife became capital of the Northwest Territories, 1967.
Welcoming grandchildren
Q: We have a grandchild due to arrive any day now. Any thoughts on old-fashioned gifts?
— S.T., Owen, Wis.
A: What about name boxes? By Pennsylvania Dutch custom, a new baby is presented with a name box — a small, fancy, wooden box with the child's name painted on top. Stenciled designs or initials are sometimes added for a decorative appeal. You might also paint the child's birth date on the bottom of the box. Inside, you can place some small trinkets, toys, or notes from family and friends who greet the newborn's arrival. You could also add family photos or a family tree printed in calligraphy. Many hobby shops or craft stores offer unfinished Shaker-style boxes in oval shapes that could be used in the same way.
Another old custom is for grandparents to write a letter welcoming the newborn and expressing the thoughts and news of the day. Current events, the latest songs or book titles, and popular fashions or trends can be recorded. Over time, the letter can become a mini history of sorts.
Safe hammocks
Q: I received a Yucatan hammock for Christmas, but it looks too flimsy to bear much weight. Is it safe?
— D.M., Barnegat, N.J.
A: If your hammock is brand-new and shows no obvious structural defects, chances are it is safe and sound. Compared to the thicker rope hammocks with the wooden stretcher bars that we're more familiar with in New England, the Yucatan hammocks do appear delicate, but you'll notice that the fine cotton threads are tightly woven in an intricate lacework that is amazingly strong. History reports that early Mayans wove hammocks from the bark of the hamack tree. Hammocks were also used in the Bahamas, according to Christopher Columbus, and sailors aboard ships commonly used hammocks.
To test your hammock for strength, try lying crosswise on the hammock and see if the material sags in the middle at all. It should support you in an almost flat position, with your legs and your head at about even distance from the ground. Next, lie in your hammock in the conventional way, but with your head very near to one end. You should be in an almost upright position, with your legs more or less parallel to the ground. If these two positions are workable, you should be able to twist and turn and experiment with various postures in your hammock. Because the hammocks have no stretcher bar to keep them open, they take a little getting used to, but you're unlikely to fall out of them because they tend to wrap themselves around you quite snugly.
In our experience, the only real danger with the Yucatan hammocks is that if they are exposed to strong sunlight for several years, the fibers may yield to the elements of the weather and gradually lose their strength. In this case, you may have rips and tears in the weave and should replace the hammock. Because Yucatan hammocks are so lightweight, however, it is easy to bring them indoors if you will not be using them for extended periods of time. This will prolong their natural longevity.
Making moths move
Q: What is the best way to rid a pantry of moths?
— P.O., St. Martinville, La.
A: Food moths can be pretty tough to get rid of once they've moved into your home. You'll need to dump all pantry staples containing grains and nuts — including pasta, popcorn, crackers, flour, raisins, nuts, and breakfast cereals — since the moths may have already laid eggs in them. Buy new staples and put them directly in the freezer for two days, which will kill all stages of any new moths that may be in them. Then store the foods in glass jars. Any of the remaining moths will head for the hills when they discover nothing to eat in your pantry.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Weekly Riddle
Q: How do you stop a fish from smelling?
A: Hold its nose
Send your questions to: , P.O. Box 520, Dublin, NH 03444. Visit our "Question of the Day" section at Almanac.com for more advice.
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