The Slow Passing Of An Era
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This morning we awoke to the passing of another Hollywood Icon. This one got me, I instantly started crying. Those Saturday afternoon showings of the Andy Hardy movies, his many appearances in other movies and the time my Dad took me to see the musical variety show “Sugar Babies” at Fair Park. Along with Mr. Rooney was the multi-talented Ann Miller. What a joy it was for the history of entertainment lover in me to see these two together.
So many of our entertainment icons are slowly slipping away and it saddens me. They truly broke the molds long ago. There will never be another like him and I mourn the passing of him and this era.
RIP Mr. Rooney
My musical awakening
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UPDATE: My cousin just posted an old pic on her Facebook page and unbeknownst to her I had written this blog. In the background was Sylvia!!! A flood of emotions rushed over me and I couldn’t wait to get home an update this blog.
Honey and I spend a lot of time looking for old albums at estate sales and thrift stores. We enjoy their rich sound (especially when the original owner took good care of them), the cover art and liner notes – all things that digital music collectors miss.
Several of our most recent acquisitions are albums by Julie London. We love her sultry voice and Honey seems to have some fascination with the sexy cover photos. Go figure.
It got me thinking of the first albums I owned: The Commodores, Donny & Marie, Elton John’s Greatest Hits and Shaun Cassidy – Born Late. I was just entering a stage in my life when music became important to me and my friends. Everyone had their favorite band or singer. It was around the time we lost Elvis and then the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever came out.
I am proud of the fact that, as a middle schooler, I earned that album by the dreamy Shaun Cassidy. Sylvia, a very nice lady that lived next to my Aunt Nancy, owned a record shop in Vikon Village (a true flea market that I miss deeply). After her husband died, she needed help carrying boxes and with other chores around the shop. She paid me in records – mostly promotional copies that she got for free – and I couldn’t have been happier.
My musical tastes have matured since middle school, just like all of you. But, I enjoy that I can revisit those old days just by dropping the needle on one of my old albums.
Graceland Outside
My memories of this day in history, along with photos of my visit to Graceland back in January this year.
Thirty Six years ago this afternoon I was in our kitchen washing dishes, we had a little black and white tv in there and I was waiting for my afternoon shows to start.
Suddenly the banner and tone for breaking news popped in and my summer changed dramatically.
I was raised on Elvis music. As an adult I have realized for the most part there were Elvis folks and Beatles Folks, rarely did they intertwine. Our mother was a huge Elvis fan. We didn’t have a huge collection of albums, but what we did have were mostly Elvis.
Of course I started crying hysterically and my younger brother ran in from the other part of the house probably thinking I had impaled myself with a knife or worse. His reaction was “oh is that all”, too which I cried more hysterically.
My mother road the bus back and forth to work so I went down to the corner to wait for her arrival to break the news. Aside from the moon landing when I was about five years old this is the only time I recall news running non stop in our home. We stayed up late waiting for the special tribute show the network aired after local news.
I feel a bit guilty to this day because it was about a year before Elvis death that my mother had the chance to go see him live for the first time. I pitched such a fit at not getting to go that my mother gave up her ticket to someone else.
My first year of junior high started a few days after and I remember a friend having a copy of the Enquirer claiming to have a pic of Elvis in his casket.
So there you have my random memories from this day in history.
I never dreamed I would ever get to see Graceland. Many of my family members had, even my youngest got to see it before me. Well finally I got to cross it off my bucket list.
It was truly an emotional moment for me. Here are the pics I shot from the outside.
Front
Elvis Presley Blvd
Front fixture
Back
Memorial Garden 1
Memorial Garden 2
Memorial Garden 3
Side window
Front Wall
Pondering Grandparenting
I have sat alone quite often lately and pondered what kind of grandparent will I be.
Will my grands see me as the crazy grandma that gets nothing right and has outlandish ideas about the world?
Will my grands beg constantly to come to my house or as their parents try to leave will they hang onto them for dear life?
I know for certain I won’t be the sort to spoil them with things.
I will spoil them with time, the time sadly I didn’t always make for my children.
I will spoil them with knowledge, teaching them the things they don’t learn behind a school desk.
I will spoil them with discipline, kids need structure and guidance, life is not a free for all.
I will spoil them with love.
HOLY MOLY I’M GONNA BE A GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The best of two Fathers
As I have pondered many times the blessings that can come of bad situations, I was lucky enough to have two Fathers growing up. They both have taught me many things in this lifetime .
One taught me the love of sports
One taught me tolerance and patience
One taught me not all kitchens gadgets work.
One taught me it is ok if you don’t make the drill team.
One taught me about starting over and second chances.
One taught me to watch out for practical jokes.
One taught me love doesn’t always mean they are right there with you.
One taught me no you won’t be Dorothy Hamill by the ice skating lessons were worth every penny.
One taught me that laughter is the best medicine.
One taught me a bleacher seat is most often the best seat in the park.
Both by example taught me love of country and service.
Both have been there for me even if not right across the room.
Both have loved me unconditionally.
We had our moments and maybe sometimes I didn’t think they were the best in the whole world, but getting through those times and on the other side speaks volumes.
Happy Fathers Day to them both and Thank You.
Me and my Daddy
Father number 2
Old Spaces New For Me Part One
Another angle in the world of vintage I would like to explore are places I have always known but never really saw till now.
This is a medical plaza that as it turns out was built the year I was born. I visited recently to see the ophthalmologist my husband has gone to for years. I know I was in this place at least once in my younger years but dont remember why. I was excited to be inside again to see if it was the same as I remembered. To my delight it is.
Tell me now how lovely and peaceful this looks. It truly is what it seems.
So calming.
As a person who stresses over even the most benign doctor appointments, yes even getting my eyes checked, this is the kind of place I’m drawn to.
It is a very simple two story structure that has stood in the neighborhood I grew up in for decades. Driven by thousands of time in my life.
Love the wear of the paint. I could detect red in one of the layers.
Turns out the ophthalmologist started his practice the year after the building was built and the year after I was born. He was great guy and the staff was a pleasure. Not always found these days.
Well Mr. G and I get our appointments taken care of and I truly didn’t want to leave. We stroll around a bit more and look what we find.
You are free to depress yourself now or in the doctors office.
Stones??? No explanation
I don’t get the stones thing at all but thought it was cool among the fountains and foliage.
I don’t have a pic but I always thought it was odd that directly next door to the medical plaza is a funeral home. I hope you enjoyed my look back to the past through the present.
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Bittersweet Estate Sale
Many times when we shop at estate sales we have no idea who resided in the home the story behind them. Last summer one of the first sales we hit after moving into our new/old neighborhood turned out to be one of the most touching.
Mr. G and I were running around taking care of errands when we spied the sign. Right turn Honey!!!!!
We pull up to a home in an area known for the cutest little cottage style homes. Most are very tiny and those that have been snapped up by the younger folks have been renovated. It is a funky little area and a delight to visit. Right off the bat we spy old bikes and the most darling pair of arm less Naugahyde chairs. I notice right away the prices are insanely cheap. Sadly no way to get the chairs home and no where to put them. Moving on indoors and where there are dozens and dozens of liquor decanters of all types, shapes and sizes. Cats, dogs, birds, pirates and on and on they went all through the home. I hadn’t quite made the leap to an online selling biz at the time so my mind was squarely on my own collections and what might look cute in our new/old home. There were so many people as this was the first day of the sale that Mr. G and I browsed and picked up a couple little things and went on our way.
It wasn’t till the next day when out and about I asked Mr. G if we could pop by to see what was left that we found out the story of the owners of the estate. It turned out this was a benefit sale with the proceeds going to a group of neighbors that formed a group to help out the elderly and disabled folks in the area that either had fallen on hard times or just weren’t physically capable of making repairs. Mr. Walker had lost his wife years before of brain cancer and the illness had depleted their savings therefore Mr. Walker had let his home owners insurance coverage lapse. One day working out in his garden he smelled something in the air assuming his neighbor was cooking out, but no it was his little home in flames. When neighbors became aware of his plight they got together to raise the funds and make the repairs or find others to donate time and materials. His lovely home was repaired and although his advanced years limited him Mr. Walker was known for pitching to help others right along with the other volunteers.
Mr. Walker was so touched by the kindness of others that he left the entire estate to the group so that they would better be able to continue the good work of helping others in need.
On the lighter side is Mr. G’s reaction to me running in and out of that house with all the treasures we picked up on the second trip like my hair was on fire (pardon the pun). He just kept standing there by the check out table repeating my name and the word stop every time I came out of the house with an armload of stuff. We get in the car and he says “the look in your eyes was scary”. LOL, he still sees it every no and then and knows now to just back away.
Enjoy the few pics of the treasures found.
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A bit of the treasures from this little cottage benefit sale.
It is hard to see but these unused tiles are iridescent cream and avocado green
We love albums and still play them
From a local radio station promotional compilation album
One of the many Tantalus sets
The New Old Homestead Part Two: Buyer Beware
When we left you folks last Mr. G and I had found our dream home after a long stressful search. After finally seeing inside the whole house and questioning this and that, measuring here and there we put in an offer. The first obstacle Easter weekend. We waited and waited on pins and needles for hours to find out if the offer would be accepted. Finally after a full day of waiting there was a counter offer and we accepted.
Now let the nightmare begin. We thought we had done so much right from the beginning. But when it came down to the inspection this where the problems began and clearly explained why the house had been on the market for so long and why the previous contract fell through.
Here is the first buyers tip I hope you all will keep in mind. No matter if you are required or not for your home loan, get it inspected by an experienced reputable inspector. What our inspector found was astonishing. Major termite damage, air duct for the central air under the house rusted through and last but not least, a bad fuse box. Surprisingly none of this was addressed in the sellers disclosure. The Reason??? In Texas there is a bit of a loop hole in this document. If you have inherited a dwelling the seller cant be held liable and can simply reply “Unknown” to every single question on the document. Which is exactly what the son of the previous and original owner of the home did. I have a huge phobia of house fires and immediately started to panic. As it turns out most home insurers will not approve a policy on a home with these electrical panels. After much research and fretting Mr. G and I had our agent contact the seller regarding the repairs that were none negotiable. Well, he balked and wouldn’t pay for any repairs. Really???? To say the least we were between a rock and a hard place. After spending our time and money on estimates and such, long story short we finally talked the seller into lowering the price of the home a bit more and we lowered our down payment a bit in order to get repairs done before we moved in. We seriously loved this home and neighborhood but at one point we were so mad and stressed out over the situation we came very close to walking away. The electric panel I referred to above is notorious for catching fire and literally blowing up and burning down homes. They were installed by a company mostly in the southwest and the only reason there weren’t officially recalled by the government is because by the time all the bureaucracy was weeded through the company went out of business. We found a couple local stories where the home fires were traced directly to these boxes.
I always wanted to hang bunting.
Okay!!!! We got the deal done, the repairs done and we are ready to move into our dream home. Here is where tip number 2 comes into play. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH whoever you are going to hire to touch your precious belongings. As I mentioned before we had to move all our belongings to storage and live in a hotel for a couple weeks before we closed on our new home. Well it was up to me to hire movers. I thought I had thoroughly vetted the company I eventually hired. Well after the experience we endured I did some more digging on this “company” and realized I hadn’t checked the Better Business Bureau. This company DID NOT have a good rating and a little more digging found a website that people had posted some horrifying reviews of this company. Not only were they careless and took two hours longer than quoted they broke two pieces of furniture. One was fessed up to in the end, the other we didn’t discover till we moved into the new home from storage. The piece they fessed up to we ignorantly let them take with them to “get an estimate for repair” on. It finally took threatened legal action to get the family heirloom piece back from them and our insurance paid for the repairs. Turns our the piece was irreplaceable to our surprise. I felt like a colossal idiot to say the very least and still get an ill stomach when I think about it. Oh another thing that lead to my mistake was Craigslist and the ad this company ran with the owner posting a pic of himself in the service shaking hands with a general. DO NOT fall for patriotic names or claims of service. As a military mom I was gullible and wanted to feel as thought I was helping a fellow veteran.
The good news is the second company hired were the complete opposite and as pleasant as moving can be from a storage unit into a home.
Our back porch.
Five minutes from our home.
Isn’t this a lovely little place????
Here is my last tip, talk to your potential neighbors. If we had we may have known more of what we were dealing with here. Turns out the seller was a former Realtor and new how to avoid the truth. His mother the original owner was alive and very well at the time the home was put up for sale. He was aware of the problems and hoped to get away with not saying anything about the repairs that needed to be done. Well his arrogance cost him about $30,000 off the original price of the house by the time we came around.
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The New Old Homestead Part One
How Mr. G and I ended up back in the hood……
Mr. G and I lived very close to each other several times in our lives way way before we were ever a couple. Both of us had moved to our previous city for the schools and our children’s education….like ya do for your kids. As our relationship progressed over the years we found ourselves over and over again in the old neighborhoods, shopping, dining and entertainment. Shortly after the last kid left the nest it slowly occurred to us that all we did was sleep in this house in a city neither of us cared much for and in a home we weren’t that inspired to fix up.
The hunt for a home started somewhat slowly. Mr. G and I started driving around the parts of the area we knew we liked. I did a few searches online and we pulled a few of those flyers from for sale signs. Well what do you know we could afford one of these gems and maybe even save money. Now let the stress and heartache begin.
We get the current home all spruced up, find an agent and take the advice from others. As we TRY to wait patiently (not one of my strengths) run out of the house every time we get a call someone wants to see the house and keep the house spotless we also house hunt. Thank goodness for the internet, I cant imagine house hunting without it. Wish I had taken pics of the few downers we viewed in person. I was shocked at what people were trying to sell. Seriously one home was a condemn worthy shell. Then there was the Pepto Bismal house, all original pink tile in kitchen and one bathroom, unfortunately not very good maintenance on that one and no utility room inside. (have you ever gone to the garage in the middle of a Texas summer to do laundry? HA NO!) Lastly the one I thought we would end up with had really bad 80’s bathroom makeovers.
Meanwhile, the current home luckily sold very quickly, the down side we hadn’t found one yet and the clock was ticking. We were already going to have to move all our worldly possessions to a storage unit and live in a hotel room for who knows how long.
This is where the previously mentioned bad 80’s bathroom makeovers came into play. We spent forever in this house going over all the pros and cons. This was pretty much it for the offerings at that time. Mr. G and I went home and to bed thinking this was the house we may end up with. We had talked ourselves into all the pros and out of the cons by the time we went to bed. Low and behold I was up before the chickens the next morning totally stressing over our impending choice. I get on one of those websites that feature homes for sale by zip code and such. I plug in all the desired specs for the umpteenth hundredth time……and there it is…..surely I’m seeing things in the fog of early morning before the coffee had fully kicked in…..Our dream home has popped back up on the internet.
This home was the very first one we tried to see but with in an hour of our appointment to view the home it went under contract. I was devastated at that news because we had been able to see in most of the windows of the home and new we loved it before crossing the threshold. My fingers couldn’t work fast enough to email our agent at I kid you not 5:30 am. Could it be true or someones colossal boo boo that it was back on the market????
As I wait to hear back from the agent and for Mr. G to rise from his peaceful slumber (men seem to be able to sleep through anything) I guzzle coffee and wring my hands waiting impatiently. A couple hours later the phone rings and to our extreme delight it isn’t a mistake the house is back on the market.
Stay Tuned for the rest of the story folks…..we just thought looking for a house was stressful…..hahahaha….a year later we can laugh.
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Another Salvage Addition……
This past weekend goes to show that the best laid plans sometimes don’t come to fruition. In this case that isn’t a bad thing. Mr. G and I after a great breakfast at an old diner headed out to a couple architectural salvage places to find clear glass cabinet knobs for our master bath.
The first place http://www.dhwsalvage.com/ was somewhat of a bust with the exception of this epic piece…..
If we had the space and a couple grand it would have been so going home with us. We were told it was taken out of a local home. Can you imagine if this piece could talk…….
Well to my great disappointment (not really) we headed to Ft. Worth for our second choice for home finds. http://www.oldhomesupplyhouse.com/ Once again it was a bust because I cant see spending triple or quadruple for something that can possibly be found for a lot less with a little patience. (patience is another blog topic for the future) So Mr. G and I start wondering around checking out other possibilities. This place is truly the Holy Grail and has tons and tons of stuff. After considering other knobs, deciding the iron work pieces they had on hand didn’t speak to us we headed over to the building with doors and such. I have wanted a door that matched the time period of our home since day one, (original owner’s son installed a new one that stinks of chemicals) but he whom I love with all my heart has nixed it saying we have a perfectly good door. I browse around anyway hoping for define guidance to an irresistible deal. Mind you there many “little” things I would like to improve upon in our lovely dream home. One of those was our two sliding glass doors. They both had in my opinion horrendous vertical blinds and were the first thing I insisted be ripped out. Unfortunately the one in the master bedroom partially blocked out the industrial dusk to dawn light out in the backyard that gave our bedroom the lovely ambiance of an airport runway. OK, I will admit a bit of a mistake here so off to Wally World to get a curtain to block out the light when we moved in. Well in an attempt to make this shorter one thing led to another and the runway light was taken down eventually, but I digress. Back to the hunt after the front door hunt hit the skids again I was pretty much just wondering till I hear Mr. G beckoning me to see what he found. Okay Mr. G!!!!! Well Done!!!!!
After a bit of haggling we are coming home with these.
I can hardly contain the excitement and all the way home praying nothing will impede us getting these into the house. We get home and Mr. G gets right to it and I try not to badger and keep busy in the house. (my attempt at patience)
And finally folks here we have the alternative to such a tacky way of blocking out runway lights I was embarrassed to post a pic of it.
My pleasure with this addition was so over the moon. We think they were originally shutters for very large windows.
I was even more suprised at how from the outside it really made our little baby size patio look bigger and much more inviting.
The morale of this story…….remember that plan you have isn’t always what will happen folks….Thankfully.
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