Hot Dog! We've Got A Weiner!

The lucky winner of the Dorothy Damar catalog and some other fabbo goodies is . . . . .

*******Leah of Storybook Ranch*******

Please email me with your full name and address and the package will be on its way.  I decided to forego the Easter candy since I'm thinking everyone is either on a diet, thinking about going on a diet OR just sick of candy right now but I'm pretty sure you'll be ok with what's included. 

Oh!  Here's a crafty little Easter card Mom made for me years ago--on the back she wrote "Happy Easter from Rob Rabbit!"  Rob is Peter Cottontail's much cooler bro.

(This will hopefully make up for my dreadful lack of taste in posting the dead bunny picture on Sunday.  The funny thing is that I only got ONE negative comment--the picture seemed to take most people down Memory Lane about their own childhood experiences with the subject.  Ya just can't please everyone, unfortunately).

I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone who reads my blog.  I LOVE writing it and it has been so much fun researching my family history and writing about all the things I find in my thrift store/yard sale/estate sale adventures.  Having been born right smack in 1950 (April 14 for those of you who might wish to send me soon-to-be-birthday greetings) I'm a member of the Baby Boomer generation who are getting all old and grey and lumpy.  I'm proud to say, though, that I'm ALSO a former hippie who has held on to her political and social beliefs, so there's a bit of a clash going on inside the ole beaner with the 50's conservatism and pre-feminism butting heads with the liberalism and Strong Sistah ideals.  I'm sublimely happy most of the time, though, so I guess things are going to be ok. So again, thank you -- and also know that I love reading your blogs and find so much inspiration in seeing you young whippersnappers making such an effort to live the retro life. When your great joy is having a vintage stove delivered or finding a cheap sunburst clock or discovering that your mother was a tap dancer, THAT'S what I'm talkin' bout, Willis!

Whew! As you can see, Blogger fixed yesterday's glitch (well, no they didn't since I just got bounced out of here but hopefully that won't happen again or I'm going to start pulling my hair out big time) and here are some family photos from 1987--not exactly vintage except in Etsy's world where they allow anything over 20 years old to be called "vintage". My nephew Sean is married to Beth and became a father last December--niece Corinne works at her local NBC-TV affiliate and has found her soulmate in Anthony. BUT BEFORE THEY GREW UP . . . they were these darling little elfkins. Here's Sean "hunting" for eggs:

Tinkie, in the "Knocking Knuckles" pose:

Here's the happy clan plus Mom ("Bama") ready for church.  In my family, you go to church on Easter and Christmas Eve.  Period.  Oh, except for Lowly Trooper Sally who became a Catholic and actually attends services more than twice a year.  Whatta ya think yer doin' Sis--tryin' to get in good wid da Loid?   Susie gained quite a bit of weight during her two pregnancies and had a difficult time shedding the poundage after #2 child Corinne was born.  Seeing her overweight, even if it was just for a short time, made me no END of happy.  These days, however, she's thin as a rail.  

(The kids look like they've just been told the Easter Bunny left them a lump of coal instead of candy and dyed hardboiled eggs.  Tinkie is thinking, "Hey, that lump of coal shit is only supposed to happen around Christmas.  What the fuh?")

Have a wonderful week, y'all!

Aaaaccckkk! I Could Strangle Blogger!

I can't see any images on my blog or anyone else's!  And I have some really good Easter-ish pix, too.  No dead animals anywhere!!!

This situation had better clear up soon or I'm going to stamp my little foot (hey--size 10 is little if you're a Na'vi . . .), put my hands on my little hips (HA! that's a lie) and just get so darn mad.  Ooooo, I could scream, I could.

Anyway, the giveaway will end tomorrow so if you want to enter, leave a comment either on this post or via this link to the giveaway post.  

Hell.

Easter Bonnets and Easter Bunnies

I'm sharing some VERY old family photographs for Joan's Vintage Easter Party. 

Here's my maternal grandmother and four girlfriends dressed in their best Easter frocks and hats--1915, Phillips Wisconsin.  I love that these young girls were wearing such big sophisticated hats AND showing their ankles!

OK, so much for cutesey vintage.  If you're squeamish, don't continue.  I have a quirky sense of humor about things and hopefully that's why you love me, he he he. 

Here's my grandmother proudly holding two dead bunnies.  I would imagine they're destined for the kitchen.  Back in the day, people had no qualms about raising rabbits and chickens for food and particularly in a small town where there MIGHT be a butcher.  Mom used to tell us stories about when she was told to go to the backyard and catch a chicken for dinner.  After she'd caught the squawking bird, Great-Grandma would grab it and quickly chop off its head.  For a bit of levity, she'd let the now-headless chicken jump up and run around the yard so everyone could have a laugh.

I LOVE this next photo.  Not the dead bunny part--the little kid in the background!

Hey, the rules were vintage and Easter. 

UPDATE! Before Lillian Vernon, There Was Mrs. Dorothy Damar!

Here's a sneak peek at my very own copy of the 1957 Holiday catalog--you are not going to BELIEVE what's in here. 

Be sure to click on these images to get the full impact of these INCREDIBLE deals!  How about the sunburst clock?  Or the desk lamp/globe!

See the spice rack, upper left corner?  I own that very set--paid $15 for it at the thrift store.  Argh!  I overpaid!  Oh wait, if it cost $3.98 in 1957, then adjusted for today's dollar, that would make it worth . . . hmm, let's see, calculating . . . ONE MILLION DOLLARS! 

What I wouldn't give to add Mrs. Damar's Infant of Prague to my Infant of Prague collection.  Just to get one with no nicks, chips or gouges AND all the fingers on the right hand would totally make my day.  If you haven't seen my collection, there's a picture at the very bottom of this blog.  Added bonus--click on it for the Novena.

I'll bet if you showed up at "Antiques Roadshow" with any ONE of these toys that fat guy who does the toy appraisals would squeal like a little pig, he he he.

I have a very good reason for not showing you anymore full page images but I couldn't let the following go without special mention.  I LOVE that they called the Mammy toaster cover a Southern Belle.  How progressive was that for 1957?!

 

Yup, back in the day, a girl didn't think twice about getting dressed up in a tight skirt and sweater AND high heels to polish her ride.  And I'll bet she improved with use, too . . .

OK--now for the giveaway.  One lucky completely-picked-at-random winner will receive this catalog!  You are not going to believe the cool stuff that sold for pennies back in 1957.  Oh wait--here's one more:

Wouldn't you just give anything to have this desk?

So anyway, all I'm asking is that you leave a comment on this post.  Plus, not only will you win this incredible catalog, but you'll naturally get some Easter candy and some other vintage stuff which I'll show you tomorrow.  There's only going to be one winner this time since I nearly had to take out a second mortgage on the house after paying all that postage on the first giveaway.

Plus the cat has flatly refused to participate this time. 

Oh, I Hurt THEIR Feelings? Wah.

Before I went to the dentist yesterday (due to an incredibly painful toothache) I lodged a complaint (at the urging of several of my fellow bloggers/suckers) with eBay about the repro cookie jar I'd purchased, since I still hadn't received a response from the seller.  Almost immediately (surprise!) I received a message from said seller saying I could return the items for a full refund, and then got another message saying that they (the shipper who was doing the selling for a second party) were simply told by the seller that the cookie jar was Westmoreland.  So ok, that's fine.

So I go to the dentist and wind up having the painful tooth AND an adjacent tooth that was just as rotten extracted.  Good LORD that was painful, even with 4 shots of painkiller!  The dentist said he'd pull the second tooth for free, which was nice, considering that he'd just inflicted more pain on me than I ever expected.

So I get home and after thinking about it, decided that it was going to be horrendously expensive to ship back the item due to its weight and fragility.  They also wanted me to return the sugar and creamer (the creamer had a fracture on the handle but I knew that when I bought it) since that was part of the purchase price of $61.  I sent them an email offering a compromise--I'd keep the items and they could just refund me the original shipping costs of $24.  What were they going to do with a reproduction Westmoreland cookie jar that they now knew had no value, anyway.

This morning I get up and had received this email back from them:

"We received your request to provide a refund of the initial shipping instead of you returning the product. Your initial message to us, which blatantly accused us of trying to trick you by selling a reproduction product was very inappropriate and offensive. The very idea that we, or anyone else for that matter, has enough time or interest to fake a piece of glassware is ridiculous. We have much better things to do than trying to "fool you" into buying a $60 item. We'll consider your alternative, but would expect an apology for your inappropriate message and accusation. I would suggest that you consider how to appropriately react before launching an attack."

Now, maybe I DID sound a little hysterical in my first email but I'm sorry, I truly felt like I'd been hoodwinked.  I shouldn't have made the compromise offer since I think that weakened my position.  HOWEVER, my message was not inappropriate under the circumstances, and anyway, if they didn't know what they were selling was a fake why didn't they respond to my initial email?  They sure responded fast enough once eBay got involved, didn't they?  And oh, "the very idea that we, or anyone else for that matter, has enough time or interest to fake a piece of glassware is ridiculous"????  Are they kidding?

I wrote several responses but then decided to just close the case and be done with it. 

Lesson learned: If it seems too good to be true . . . TURN OFF THE COMPUTER!!!!!

PS--and that free tooth extraction I mentioned?  After I'd gotten home and the painkiller wore off I looked at the bill and lo and behold--I'd been charged for it!   AMAZE-freaking-zing! 

I Knew Where Hazel the Rooster Was All Along, Miz Chicken. And Today's Lesson From God.

At least now with the new harem he doesn't have to get his rocks off like the rest of these sorry critters.

I'm not a cookie jar collector but when I see something in good condition or a seemingly good deal I tend to snap it up.  Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.

I paid $2.50 for this cookie jar (it was half off at the Olney Illinois thrift store) and didn't notice until I got it home that the freakin' churn handle finial had been VERY BADLY reattached prior to my ownership.  Yes, it's totally obvious but after I'd entered that store I pretty much lost my ability to see or think straight.   All's not lost, however, since even though it's unmarked it's definitely a McCoy cookie jar so hopefully I'll be able to sell it and make a little profit.  In good condition, they go for about $60.

Cookie jar number 2 has a picture of a handshake and the words Roseville Ohio on the bottom.  There's not a ding or scratch on it and it really looks brand new.  However, it's not--after about an hour of Googling, I finally discovered that it was made by Friendship Pottery in Roseville Ohio who were in business from 1973 until 1999 when their factory burned down.  They also made pottery for Longaberger for a couple years.   Most of Friendship's pottery has the spongeware look that I detest but I like this cookie jar--it's simple and the clown is cute.

OK--now here comes the "if it seems like it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true" story.  I LOVE Westmoreland Glass and own several beautiful pieces of it.  Many people are familiar with their milk glass Paneled Grape pattern and I'm a big fan.  I decided to see what I could find on eBay before we went to Illinois and successfully won a beautiful pair of 4" candlesticks for a very reasonable price.  Then I find what could concievably turn into an incredible deal: a Paneled Grape sugar and creamer PLUS a 12" tall cookie jar.  When I joined the auction the package was at about $55.  They had beautiful photos and great descriptions, identifying everything as Westmoreland Glass (including photos of the "WG" logo on the bottoms and lids), even mentioned and showed the crack in the handle of the creamer.  I was interested in getting the cookie jar, since I'd hauled out my Westmoreland book and, after I realized that it was actually the Cherry pattern and not Paneled Grape, I didn't care since the book value is $200. 

Remember now, I'm reading up on this pattern while the auction is still going on.  So guess what--I won the package for $61 plus s/h for a total of $81.  Then I go on vacation for a week and when I got home I retrieved my boxes from my neighbor, who said they'd arrived the day after we'd left.  I pulled out the heavy cookie jar, admiring the EXCELLENT job of packing (bubble wrap and cotton wrap and yards of cellophane binding) and promptly photographed my beauty.  And it IS beautiful and in PRISTINE condition, considering that this pattern was produced in the 60's.

Then for some reason I decide to read again where my cookie jar is worth $200 and have a little chortle and at that time read the following words (which I had obviously missed the night of the auction):  "The cookie jar has been reproduced in many colors.  Please view the picture of the bottom of the cookie jar on page 35.  Original jars must have a star, a circle in the center and a "WG" in the center of the star.  If any of these three items are missing it is new!"

Well of COURSE I have the reproduction.  It's like God said, "Hey, I let you score on that dinette set but if you get greedy I'll take you dooooowwwwwn, missy."

Thanks God.  Always good to know You're on Your toes making sure I don't get tooooo cocky.

P.S.  I did contact the seller even though by the time I realized my stupidity the 3 day return period they offered in the auction was long gone.  He has not replied to my email and I doubt that he will at this point. 

Two Buddhas

I love Buddhas--wise Buddha, happy Buddha, studious Buddha, worshipful Buddha.  All Buddha, all da time.  I found the green glass Buddha in an antique store. 

The pink quartz Buddha also came with a carved wood stand.  He's one of my prizes from the estate of the world traveler so he's probably something she acquired overseas. 

One of these days I'll share my Ganesh collection but it's going to take awhile to round them all up. 

In the meantime, OM, y'all . . .

PS--my latest blog banner is the Easter tableau I have in the living room.  Nearly everything is either from a thrift store or something I've had for years.  The little rabbits with the spun heads in the center were made by my favorite crafty lady, Magpie Ethel.  Here's a closeup of poor Daddy Rabbit who is totally exhausted from watching over his three rambunctious babies AND their chickie friends while Mommy Rabbit is out cruising the flea market.

I think Daddy Rabbit had one too many carrot cocktails trying to deal with all this . . .

MINE! ALL MINE!

Thirty.  Five.  Dollars.

You Are Going To Be Sooooooo Jealous!

We just got back from a fun-filled trip to southern Illinois.  Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but we really did enjoy seeing hubby's side of the family--one of his nieces got married and that was our main reason for going.  Took the dogs but the big one, Boogie, is probably banned for life from his parents' home since when we left the dogs alone for the evening Boogie not only got up on their bed but decided some antique lace panels were IN HER WAY and she NEEDED TO SEE OUT THE WINDOW . . . so she shredded them.

It's times like that when I think maybe having actual human-type children might have been a better idea. 

And what, pray tell, is going to make y'all soooooo jealous?  Oh, just the most incredible deal on a  . . . HA HA!  You will just have to wait until later today since (now you're going to get jealous even before you get jealous later) I'm about to leave to spend the day in New Orleans with my Spring-breaking niece Amy and her buddy Kristin.

Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day and no one's suffering too much from green beer hangover.

Faith and Begorra, It's St. Paddy's Day!!

Hoist a coupla green beers, y'all!!

I Finally Got My Clock and Good Stuff From The Flea Market

I've been meaning to show off MY sunburst clock since everyone else has been showing off theirs.  It's a General Electric, model 2502--it's rusty and the plastic face needs to be polished but it RUNS and guess what--I paid $4 for it!  Hubby said he can sandblast the rust and polish the face.  Whenever he gets around to it.  Uh oh.   

Yes, the clock is lying on the floor on top of shag carpet.  The "original-to-the-1970s-house-I-live-in" shag carpet that we hate.  It's so ugly that when the dog poops on it, the shit makes it look BETTER.  I have nothing against shag carpet, believe me, even though it's the worst kind of carpet to have when you've got two dogs, a semi-long hair cat and a husband who is constantly tracking dirt and leaves into the house.  The only reason we haven't pulled it up and replaced it is partially due to aforesaid pooping dog and the rest of the perpetually shedding pets (who technically should have been completely bald long ago) and partially due to our "we'll do it one of these days" mentality.

Now for the flea market.  The first three finds were plucked off a flatbed trailer parked at the very back.  A bit of haggling and these beauties were MINE!

What plant wouldn't be happy to grow in this sunny yellow planter marked TP USA,  although trying to find information on TP USA took a fair amount of sleuthing, but Google finally came through.  TP stands for TEPECO of Trenton, NJ.  In the early days, Trenton NJ was a hotbed of pottery production but was ultimately pushed out of contention by a combination of union politics (who woulda thought? Union politics in New Joisy?!) and competition from upstart Ohio companies.  Here's a link to a short timeline where TEPECO is mentioned at the bottom.  (Crane, the company that bought TEPECO, is still in business--making toilets, not art pottery).

This donkey cart planter is large and Made In Japan.  I love the butterfly perched on the donkey's nose!

All I need to make this an incredible accent lamp is a bulb and wire--the metal holder has a strip with a hole to hold the bulb in place.  There is also a piece of translucent green plastic that goes around the inside of the holder.  I think it will look awesome next to those chalkware bookends!

Not all my treasures came off the flatbed trailer.  This darling little Shawnee planter came from an awesome vendor named Joanne, a very cool lady wearing a squashy cowgirl hat, tight jeans and a looooooow cut tank.  What a hoot!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

  

50's Boys' Fiction

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet!

A young lad by the name of Frankie Thomas played Tom Corbett, a teenage rocket jockey.  Except that when the series started in 1951, Frankie Thomas was 30 years old.  Ah, the Golden Age of Television, when 30 year olds would play teenagers, horses could talk, and no, we really didn't see Edgar Bergen's lips flap around like nobody's business when Mortimer Snerd was yuk yukking away.

I'm the proud owner of a complete first edition set of the Tom Corbett books.  And stop drooling over the awesome 1950s bookends.

The books belonged to my first husband, so I'm fairly certain he had them since he was a kid.  Now they're MINE, mwah ha ha!!!

I love vintage bookends, and although the deer bookends on the right are pretty darn cute, these are just awesome. 

Happy Monday, y'all.  Tomorrow I'll be sharing some of my great weekend vintage finds.

My Youthful Love Affair With An Entire Professional Sports Team

When the Dodgers played their first game in LA in April of 1958, I'm pretty sure my Dad was in a seat at the Coliseum and I know I planted my own little butt there a time or two before they moved to Dodger Stadium in 1960.  As a matter of fact, I was there on the Grand Opening Day and still have the ticket to prove it!

I don't know what tickets go for these days but I'll bet the price of a Loge Box is a tad more than $3.50.

I became a HUGE Dodgers fan due in no small part to my Dad's love of the game.  We would actually sit next to the radio, listening to the play by play from the great Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett, and Dad would have a baseball diamond diagram on a piece of paper and proceed to mark every single hit, strike, ball, base hit, home run, etc. with lines, arrows, and little "tic" marks.  I don't know what he did with them after the game was over or even WHY he did it.  He's still a big baseball fan although he forsook the Dodgers long ago for the Atlanta Braves (maybe because they're both from Milwaukee, WI).

When Dad took me to a game, we'd usually wind up at Julie's Restaurant/Lounge afterwards, where I'd have a cheeseburger and Dad would do a little cocktailing.  I saved a placemat and dated it--Wed. August 24, 1960: 

 

Of course, it's a rare day in LA when you can't eat outside, and Julie's had a great patio with a pool!

  

Here's me and a friend of Dad's having an after-game snack on Julie's patio:

And yup, there's the pool.  I guess at night the grown-ups would get drunk on martinis, form a conga line around the pool and then jump in.  It's not so ridiculous to have a pool at a restaurant in LA--as a matter of fact, the church we belonged to in Van Nuys had a pool, too.  That's where I learned to swim, and how many kids can say they learned how to swim at church???

If you're wondering why I happened to save this particular placemat on that particular day, it's because THIS is written on the back:

(Wallace Wade Moon, LA Dodger outfielder 1959-1965)

Back in the old days, unless you were a total superstar like Joe DiMaggio, professional athletes hung out with the mainstream rabble quite a bit, and I guess ole Dodger Wally just felt like a burger and a beer after the game.  Of course when I saw him walk into Julie's I nearly wet my pants and begged Dad to get an autograph.  Wally was quite gracious about it.

I have a complete set of these "signed" team photographs in a scrapbook, along with the following original VintageChristine "Ode To The Dodgers":

I will always love the Dodgers,

Wherever I may be.

I will always love the Dodgers,

On land

Or air

Or sea.

(This may be one of the reasons why my dream of becoming a professional poet never came to fruition . . .)

I also saved a 5-part series of drawings of the 1959 Dodgers--in that year, they were in the process of beating everyone's pants off and eventually went on to the World Series with the White Sox and GUESS WHO WON?!  Which means that my Wally Moon autograph was signed by a man who'd just assisted in winning the highest prize in baseball.  How cool is THAT?

These drawings appeared in 1959 in the LA Examiner, a morning paper that merged with the afternoon Herald Express in 1962.  The Examiner had been founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1903 as a union-friendly alternative to the LA Times.  In 1947, the Examiner broke the Black Dahlia story about the dismemberment murder of 22-year old Elizabeth Short--a movie called The Black Dahlia came out in 2006 starring Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart but it was more about their love triangle with Scarlett Johansson than it was about Elizabeth Short's murder (Elizabeth was played by Mia Kirshner).  The LA Times started grabbing the Herald Examiner's audience and the paper finally ceased operations in 1989.

Finally, here are some interesting ads from the back of the newspaper drawing.  Wonder if the gals are still twirling their pasties at the Pink Pussycat . . .

And check out who was quarterbacking for the SF 49ers back in 1959.  Yelberton Abraham Tittle (better known as Y.A., for obvious reasons).  While he played for the 49ers for 10 years, it was his subsequent shorter career with the NY Giants that gained him more fame.   Just a little sidenote here since I  noticed his name on the 49er roster . . .

Well, all this writing and research and running down Memory Lane has done got me wore out.  I think I needs me a THRIFTY FIX, so I'll see y'all later.  Have a wonderful weekend!

On A Date 1945 - On The Beach 1948

This is just the coolest picture and it looks like it was taken by a professional photographer since this is stamped on the back:

Please Reorder By Number

2 Photos $.35; 6 for $1.00

Guaranteed Photo Service

30 W. Washington St. Room 611

Chicago, 2 Ill.

August 1945

Dad was 19 and Mom was 18 in 1945--she was a freshman, he a sophomore at Lawrence College in Wisconsin, where they met.  Dad was in the Officer Candidate Program which is why he's wearing that uniform--by the time he graduated the war had ended and he was able to get out and became employed by U.S. Pipe, where he remained employed until he retired from that one company over 60 years later.  What a great photo of my parents!

And speaking of great photos, check this one out.  How my father ever convinced Mom to pose like this is beyond me, but then who knows what went on between them in the early years of their relationship.  I'm pretty sure she has her bathing suit on under that towel . . .  You GO, hot mama!

Mom's Little Garden Of Eden

My mother never met an animal she didn't love, and the feeling was always reciprocated by her animal pals.  Here's Mom with her baby goat, Gracie, on her lap with Violet the dog checking things out.  Mom raised Gracie from the day she was born and that goat was as devoted to my mother as any dog could be. 

Violet looks like she's just about to . . .

. . . give the goat a big smackeroo.  Ahhhh.

When Gracie was little like this, Mom kept her in a baby's playpen in the house but as goats are wont to do, Gracie started pooping all over the place and it was time to let her live outdoors.  At night, she slept in a large dog crate and we soon discovered that she had a bed buddy, the barn cat.

Apparently cats and GOATS living together didn't signal the end of the world . . .  Whew!

"Ghostbusters".  One of the all-time GREAT films.