Sepia Saturday 101 - My Beloved, Short Lived Chevrolet

My very first car was similar to this one. It was a 1951 chevrolet and I didn't actually have it long enough to have my picture taken with it. I know, a picture of me standing in front of the car would have been more interesting for Sepia Saturday. But as I said, this car didn't last long. More about that later.

I purchased the car in 1961 for the sole purpose of moving from the small town of Pomona, California to  the big city of Los Angeles. I had an appointment with the phone company for an interview. So I bought the car for around $800.00. It was in very nice shape, no dings or dents or broken windows. But that would change soon. More about that later.

I was so excited about the interview and the prospects of a new job. What would it be - a phone operator, a secretary, or what?

 I jumped in my car and headed for downtown Pomona to remove the remaining money from my bank. I was in the left lane waiting for the light to change so I could turn. Barreling down the street toward me was a giant gravel truck, kind of like this one.

The light turned yellow, and being new to driving, I thought, surely that big truck is going to stop for the yellow light. I waited a little longer, not sure if he would stop. Then someone behind me honked, so I thought I better go. I sure didn't want to upset that driver behind me. That was a big mistake. The truck had no intention of stopping. He just keep barrelling. Then, CRASH. I was flipped around a bit in the car and then landed on the floor on the passenger side of the car. My new chevy was totalled. I didn't make it to the interview. I never became a telephone operator. And now I have a mortal fear of making  left turns. And also:

by-the-way, this isn't me. I found this photo when searching for gravel trucks.

    I never got another chevrolet. My next car was a volkswagon beetle.

Click here for more Sepia Saturday stories.

Sepia Saturday - 100 years of Typing

I know, typewriters are a bit older than 100 years. But they've been around for 100 years so that's what I'm going to typewrite about. The model above is from 1907. I couldn't find a 1911 version but I'm sure they're out there somewhere.

The typewriter has come a long way and now it's on its way to extinction, which is such a shame. I just disposed of 2 IBM selectrics. I used to love the selectric with the bouncing balls of type.

I've always loved to type. I started with a portable manual typewriter in high school and used it to type all my papers. It's still in my garage in the original case. I was a really fast typist, and still am, for that matter. But there's something about typing on a real typewriter and swinging that carriage and hearing the bell. You know what I mean?



I can't believe how well this man types to the music. He happens to be a percussionist with the orchestra, so I guess he knows how to practice and to master his instrument.

But Jerry Lewis does him one better or maybe worse as the case may be:



So after 100+years typewriters are slowly filling up landfills and we're saying a tearful farewell as we type away on our computer keyboards and don't even look back.

And what has the typewriter come to, but this:

From Sparkeez

and this:

from Kitten Lab

So farewell, goodbye to the typewriter, hello computer keyboard. Wonder what some person will be posting on Sepia Saturday 100 years from now.

For other Sepia Saturday stories click here sepia saturday.

I love Ikea

I recently visited the San Diego Ikea store. I wish there was a closer Ikea and I would go more often, not once every two years. Because I love Ikea. I went looking for a new kitchen. I wanted all new countertops, a new sink and maybe some new cabinets. I'd love to have cupboards with all kinds of pull out shelves and lazy daisies and things like that. So I looked and looked and finally chose all the the items I wanted. Then the salesperson said "If you'll just wait until the end of the month, all of this is going on sale and you could save about 20%."  That really got my attention. So I decided I would wait.  But, of course, I waited too long because I don't go to Ikea weekly, I go every other year. So, no new kitchen. Oh well, I didn't want to spend the money anyway.

So instead I made just some tiny purchases.  I got this lovely embroidered pillow that goes so nicely with my red room and red and white striped chair. Isn't it beautiful:

and then I spotted this set of spice jars.  I had to have them too. I took them home and filled them all up with spices that were littering my cupboards in little plastic bags.  Now they have a new home in their own little jars.

The jars are great. They can sit tipped or straight up. However you want them.

I also purchased a floor mat for my kitchen, but I'm not sure I like it. It's a bit ugly and not comfortable under bare feet. So I won't show you that. 

But I will share this youtube video with you. It's pretty amusing - all about Ikea:

My next post is going to be about why I love Big Lots. I don't love it as much as Ikea because you have to sort thru so much junk to find the little treasures. But it's a lot more challenging and when you do find something great, you feel so darned good about yourself and your bargain hunting prowess.

Do you also love Ikea? Any special buys that we should know about? Leave a comment and let me know.

Sepia Saturday 99 - Violin Mania

From the sublime:

To the ridiculous

I'm trying to keep with the theme this week. But I had no family photos of any kind that featured a musical instrument. It seems not one member of my family, extended family or friends were ever caught on film playing an instrument.  So instead I'm featuring two photos of women with violins. I don't know who these ladies are but I sure love the juxtaposition - the first woman so lovely and the second one so silly.

When I think of violins, I think of a scene from the most panned movie of all time - Heaven's Gate.

Have you seen it? It's pretty awful. But there is one scene that is so wonderful that I suffered through the film twice just to see it. It's maybe 4 or 5 minutes long and worth every minute. I thought, if I could just watch this every morning, it would start my day off right because it's so fun and catchy and happy.

The violinist is David Mansfield, a very talented musician and composer. He also composed the score of the film. I emailed him once and asked him if he knew how to roller skate before taking on this very difficult role. Can you imagine skating and playing a violin at the same time? He very graciously emailed back and said that, no he wasn't much of a roller skater, but Michael Cimino (the director of the film) had a roller skating camp set up to teach all of those involved how to skate. Imagine how much time, money and energy that must have taken. He also had the roller skating rink built especially for the film at huge cost. No wonder the film lost so much money!!  Anyway, here's the scene (be warned, it's almost 4 minutes long). Enjoy.

For other Sepia Saturday stories click here sepia saturday

Roller Skate Dance















Heaven's Gate

You might also like: