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If I think of the sewing machine, my grandmother’s one immediately comes to mind, and I see myself as a child observing the gestures, the big wheel I couldn’t stop touching, the pedal, the bobbin.
She made everything seem so easy, then, over time, I experienced that it is not at all, like a whole host of other things.
Even the protagonist of the book, whose name is never mentioned, perhaps to leave the reader the faculty of identifying themselves at a deeper level, as a child watches her grandmother, who is all her family, sew, and she teaches her, together with sewing, the life.
And the teachings of the grandmother, as well as the strong bond between them, will save her in various situations.
The only place mentioned in the book is Paris, all other places are indicated with only the initial. Paradoxically, instead of losing the references, I found a precise orientation, as if Paris represented a single fixed point while “it’s a small world”, precisely with the slightly negative meaning of the proverbial saying.
A world in which even dreams become a luxury that cannot be afforded.
And so the sewing machine becomes more precious than a jewel, transfiguring itself in the way to improve one’s condition more easily, more intensely, but always with commitment, with constancy, with one’s own strength, without discounts, working.
Once again I thank Monica for this reading: an embroidery of female figures that I admired.
Stories of Women of those we like, of those who stand out, of those who struggle not to be princesses.
Women who survive.
Women who teach.
And the negative figures, the ruthless women, consuming themselves in their wickedness do nothing but make those who deserve shine more.
Hi I'm Claudia and this is KCDC.
Very impressive Claudia. You are so amazing. I appreciate you.
Lela 💖
I really thank you Lela!
Your thought always makes me very happy.
I tried to learn sowing on a sowing machine in my youth but nothing much came out of it. I am better at writing than at sowing, he he he ….
Surely your writing is more than “better than sewing!”
Unfortunately, I was not able to learn how to sew as well as my mother and grandmother did.
My grandmother had an Olivetti sewing machine that was foldable inside a cabinet and I loved looking at it and turning the wheel.
My mum’s Olivetti is more recent and is a portable model that I still have, but which, like all things not at hand, I have used very little unfortunately.
I did not know that Olivetti also produces sewing machines. I know they make excellent calculators.
It doesn’t actually produce them! I was the one who was stupid enough to get the name wrong!
The Olivetti I have is a typewriter!!
The sewing machines are Singer brand!
FORGIVE ME!!
Ah, Singer, of course, a well-known brand. Singer sewing machines are excellent, and so are Olivetti calculators.
I remember my mother saying of very calculating women: “She has an Olivetti calculator in her head!”
This is great!
I did not know this saying and I find it really fantastic.
THANKS Olivia!!
Yes, it fits!
Needless to say that my mother liked the Olivetti brand but not the calculating women.
Needless to say that I admire your mom very much: a great wise woman!
Yes, she was an exceptional person. I have fond memories of her, although she could be very severe and strict, as fas as education goes. She demanded a lot of learning.
The other area where she was very unforgiving was sloppiness: no sloppy hair, no sloppy nails, no sloppy clothes, no sloppy posture, no sloppy habits in general allowed! It was a strong regime.
Undoubtedly a very strict woman with regard to education.
With good reason, especially considering the degree of general rudeness that we have reached.
I guess it might not have been easy when you were little, but now all of that is part of the special woman you are.
Thank you for seeing it this way, Claudia.
If it had not been for my mother, I would not be who I am today. I thank her daily for this, she is always in my mind, although she died, in 1980, but she is not really dead. She lives on in me.
Dear Olivia, I cherish your words because you have described a state of mind that is also mine.
I miss my mom very much too. And I think she always protects me.
But I’m not as good as she was.
But your mother might think that you are just at good as her or even better. Why don’t you ask her?
I often have private conversations with my mother. She tells me this and that. And she is always the same as she was in her lifetime: ambitious, energetic, haughty, intelligent, rather manipulative and also petty if something did not go exactly her way.
But I love her anyhow.
Oh dear Olivia, yes, I too “talk” often with my mom.
And I know I may sound crazy to you, but sometimes I had what I considered as “answers.”
For example, I suddenly found n my head a song that I hadn’t heard for a very long time, for no apparent reason, and it was obviously a song with a specific meaning.
Your love for your mom is felt and flows in your words. Perhaps even more so precisely because you do not neglect the less positive aspects, I perceive that you have understood them and that you have transformed them into positive ones.
I also get answers from my mother when I talk to her. Most of her answers are sound advice, down to earth, practical and pragmatic, just like my mother was in her life. When I follow her advice, I am on the winning side.
Some of her answers are a bit old-fashioned and rigid. She could be very snobbish in her social ways, and rather conservative in moral questions.The conservative morals are alright with me, but with snobbishness I won’t get far.
Today people mostly do not have a back entrance for personnel any more, most people do not even have personnel at all. They do all the work themselves. But tell this to a mother who had a maid, a cook, a seamstress, a chauffeur and a gardener.
Each era has its own characteristics and the comparisons are not balanced because they would be based on things that once did not exist or vice versa on things that no longer exist today.
And this is precisely the concept of evolution, growth, progress.
You’re right Olivia: snobbish is never beautiful, neither now nor before, but your mother was also a daughter of her time.
My mother was a typical lady of the upper class, and they are not always pleasant to deal with, neither in former nor in present times.
I guess that’s it. I’ve never had a direct experience. Yet the first of your stories that comes to mind is your journey in Thailand which I perceived as a BEAUTIFUL mother / daughter moment, yours alone, simply peaceful.
Yes, it was a very good trip. Actually, all of the travels with my mother were good.
Have you traveled a lot together, you and your mom?
We undertook three major voyages together: Thailand – Mexico – Tunisia.
Now that I think of it, I find it curious that we covered three continents: Thailand in Asia, Mexico in the Americas, Tunisia in Africa.
I think my mother wanted to discover the world. She was curious about life on other continents.
Of course, we often traveled together with my father, the three of us, to Italy and France. We did this several times a year, mostly for business reasons.
Fantastic!!
I think that traveling is the best way to enrich culture in every sense!
Three continents is a lot to me that I have practically never moved from here …
Mexico Thailand and Tunisia among other things are very different from each other and offer a broad vision.
Every time I hear about Mexico I think of Paolo Conte’s song: Mexico and clouds.
I like Mexico and Mexicans. They are very hospitable, friendly, warm-hearted people, at least those that I met were.
This is very nice! I have never met any Mexican directly or personally. Where have you been in Mexico? Have you also visited the Mayan sites?
Yes, Claudia. My mother and I started out in the south of Mexcico, the peninsula of Yucatan. We visited several Mayan temples there. Then we moved northwards and ended our trip in Mexico city. We met a very hospitable lady, she was the owner of a ranch, and she invited us to her ranch.
Even now, I have two Mexican blogger friends. One is Santiago Serralonga. He is a journalist and did several interviews with me; I have published them on my blog.
The other is Elvira Gonzales. She writes a serial for TV and published excerpts on her blog. Very interesting, too.
FANTASTIC both the journey and the new friendships you got to meet!
I read Santiago Serralonga’s interview on your blog and I liked it a lot.
I will also look for Elvira.
I would also love to visit Mayan places. Did you feel like you were breathing mystery?
Well, not really, I did not feel like breathing mystery. There were many tourists around these old Mayan temples. They talked a lot, this does not allow for mystery. But I admired the temples and their architecture.
Oh wow what a shame. In fact it would be a dream to be able to visit places immersed in silence and peace to be able to breathe the true essence.
The Maya, for example, are a people who have always intrigued me very much.
Well, I enjoyed it anyway, even with many tourists around. We cannot expect to be the only people at such a famous site.
Actually, my dear mother also was quite a chatty person, she talked a lot. If I had wanted silence, I could never have traveled with my mother.
She was sometimes entertaining, at other times enervating, depending on my mood.
🙂 <3
somehow speaking a lot is a very common female trait …
A common female trait but not mine, Claudia, and I am a woman, too.
And luckily everyone has their own characteristics: diversity is heritage.