Dial up phones, “party lines” ‘cause they were cheaper. Dialing “0” to get an operator. Calling “time.” (“The tone the time will be...”)
Black and white television, rabbit ears, 3 local channels, get up to change the station. Though T.V. Was something we only watched as a kid if we were sick. I remember Perry Mason being on.
Sea Monkeys, Magic Rocks were fascinating!
Sliding down dry grassy hills on cardboard, playing in sprinklers, making mud pies- Play was outdoors and didn’t require supervision and it didn’t cost a thing.
Riding a bike without a helmet, drinking from the hose, lemonade stands. Ah, nostalgia!
I remember when there were no seat belts in the car! Well, maybe one for the driver. All of us kids would argue over who got to ride in the space above the rear seats cheek to cheek with the window...laying flat and gazing up at the sun!
There were 6 of us kids. First we had a station wagon and Dad would put the seats down in back and make a big bed when we went to our grandparents' house 3 hours away. The 6 of us would either lie down and sleep or sit up with our backs to the windows. I read. The rest could not or they would get car sick. Usually someone did get car sick. If Dad stopped for gas, the man pumping the gas (which was not Dad) would ask "How many ya got back there?" Dad would proudly respond, "Six."
Later we had a small white car and we sat 4 in front and 4 in back. One on Mom's lap, one in the middle in front and I don't know how we got 4 in back.
I remember doing that on long car trips. I think everyone must have done that. How dangerous it was, but we lived! :)
We never had a station wagon, but just a regular sedan. Mom used to lay a blanket across the seat so that we could either lie down and sleep or put our feet up.
On car trips, I used like those magic pads, where you would scribble over a page and a picture would appear. We always had one of those and a magic drawing pad as well (where you lifted the page and drawing would disappear!
When the seat belt became mandatory, I taped a note on the steering wheel, "use sit belt." Gee Wee. Police started to stop cars like crazy just to check if the drivers were using the sit belt. Yes, they started to write tickets for not clicking the new seat belts.
I was recently going through my grandmother's old sewing basket. All of the needles, dress pins and safety pins, were of such good quality. They were strong and made to last. The old dress pins are very, very sharp... much sharper than the ones today.. you can easily stick yourself with one of those.
Some of the buttons inside her basket are made of glass, ivory and mother of pearl. I like how the ivory buttons turned brown from being so old.
The drawers on the sides of my grandmothers old treadle machine were filled with all sorts of buttons and notions. I would sneak off and play in them for hours when I was little. The old machine was left to Aunt Louise (you know, Pigeon, dear old Aunt Louise) told me that she would leave it to me when she passed. She died after being in a nursing home for a few years, and the machine disappeared while she was there. Her daughter-in-law autioned off a bunch of her antiques, so I'm sure that was it's fate. I still grumble about it every now and then.
My mother had a sewing basket too, and a box full of wonderful buttons. I loved playing with those buttons. Glass, ivory, mother of pearl, some brass ones too. And a needle/pin holder that looked like a tomato.
In the 50's I remember a big bowl of fruit in the middle of the dining room table. I don't remember my mom ever having anything else on that table as a centerpiece. All of my Aunts and friends parents had the same bowl of fruit but in different containters. That fruit was wax! It was a large ugly green bowl with imprints of grapes around the sides. The wax fruit was so old from years of being displayed that a lot of scrapes and fading made the fruit look even more fake than it was! Even though I was young I remember thinking how ugly that fruit was. But boy was it popular for the times.
My best friend's Mom always had a big bowl of various exotic (to me) and real fruit on the table. I never understood how no one ever ate from it. I always wished someone would offer me a piece. A bowl of fruit would never last long enough to be admired in my house. I had brothers.
My grandma had the faux fruit centerpiece on her dining room table, and she always had individually wrapped speckled sour apple gum balls thrown in there, for some reason. I liked that addition.
Pigeon I do remember the fuzzy fruit! I think they came out with that after the wax fruit craze. Then they came out with fruit that had sequines all over it! Now, the sequines I think were/are a bit tacky for my taste!
In high school, a classmate told the class I was rich because there were natural fruits on the dining room table and natural flowers in the living room in the house where I lived...
Well, when I got merried, I had wood painted fruits on the dining room table. So, according with that classmate I was not rich
anymore because the fruits were not fresh and natural.
My son recently came across tape cassettes in our loft and he had no idea what they were or how they worked, how old did i feel??
I remember when kids TV was only on for maybe an hour after school and Saturday mornings until noon.
PS. Warm weenies, what a great shop. I have a real thing for Daschunds, unfortunately i don't have one but one day i would love to own one(or more!! lol) If i ever do i will be buying from your shop. x
I remember when flying was a 'big deal' and not taken for granted. Flashback. You dressed up like you were going to Church! Only your best clothes would do. You wore high heels with a matching purse. A dress. Your make up applied just right and your hair worn up. Many wore hats to match their ensemb. The guys wore their suits freshly pressed. Clean shaven and every hair in place.
For many years now you dress with comfort and lack of that 'big deal' feel. Jeans, sweatshirt, Tshirt, tennis shoes, flip flops, backback, hair going every which way and of course...your phone and/or other tech stuff. I miss that 'big deal' feeling.
