Weekly Photo Challenge: Blue
One photo, spot on, would be just right. I usually have no problem choosing one image.
Until almost midnight on Monday night. Blue.
Yes, that is a leather bodice. NYC shop window. I was focusing on the shoes but the blue dress caught my eye when I was looking for a blue photo.
Dan’s Classic All American DINER
Touts a jukebox and seats covered in red vinyl. 1881 South High Street Columbus OH
Urbanspoon gave it a 93 % positive rating. Check it out here. Next time I visit I will photograph the interior. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes or breakfast all day.
Maytag Repairman- Loneliest Guy in Town
There’s a bronze statue of an unemployed Maytag repairman in Newtown Iowa where they manufactured Maytag washing machines. Here is another view of the same statue in the snow. I was in Perla’s Appliances Plus Store in Swissvale, picking up a grill plate for my new stove they delivered last week and saw this statue of the lonely Maytag repairman. Turns out there are other figurines of the same theme in existence and are popular collectibles. I asked to blog it and they said fine by them, thank you! Do you remember Jesse White the character actor who first played the Maytag Repairman in a commercial in 1967?? There is a Youtube video of a Maytag Museum in Eaton CO if you want to see the collections of washing machines, some powered by gasoline and one actually has a meat grinder attachment. Wringers, rollers, drums, agitators, tubs, automatics and rack and pinion gearing, motors and spin cycles. But since the Maytag needed so few repairs, their authorized repairman was taught to carry a deck of cards to play solitaire as he was called so infrequently! 
Nostalgia for Metal Roller Skates and a Key Around the Neck
Photographed at Bicycle Heaven 10-26-11
When my family lived in Newark, NJ my brother and I used to skate around the block. Your feet would hum after you took off the skates. You left your regular shoe on your foot and tried to fit it into the metal brace. I can hear the sound when I look at these old skates. Childhood of the 1950′s. They were heavy. At least that is how I remember them.
Melted Blinds and Retro Signage on High Street
James, my SIL2B, spotted the melted blinds as I was shooting the signage.
DAIRY Lit on One Side- QUEEN Lit on the Other
And on the other side…….
Why do you think one word is lit up on each side?
Michael Contemplates the Jukebox
Still in the COSI Progress exhibit. Last week we had a nice day trip to downtown Columbus, driving around the city to check out Laura and James wedding venue, reception and the hotel where we’ll be staying. When we went through the Columbus Science and Industry center the kids showed me their favorite room. There is a vintage soda fountain and in one corner the jukebox and the other corner a pinball machine which you can play if you have a dime.
Actual VINYL plays inside this gem of a coin-operated jukebox . Seems everything is moving to a digital file. Records, 8-tracks. cassette, CDs.
He was taking it all in......
Silly Putty®, Wiffle® Ball,Slinky®- 3 Toys Share a Distinction ( and it’s not short i)
All three are manufactured in the USA!!
Two in Pennsylvania, and one in Connecticut (Wiffle® Ball)
Learned how to make a ® symbol on the Mac keyboard so thought I would use (overuse) it for this post.
These names are familiar I know. And to people my age, a host of memories will resurface after you view these images.
Silly Putty® is now owned by Binney and Smith and is more than fifty years old. Tons of this pliable stuff has been manufactured and sold in the past fifty + years.
Slinky® has an interesting history, too, and About.com lists this memorable jingle but be careful cause it might stick in your head all day and you’ll remember the tune, too. They are manufactured in Holidaysburg PA.
“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy
- Advertising Jingle for Slinky
You can always buy a new Slinky cause who hasn’t gotten one stretched out and tangled up irreversibly?
And I remember when Wiffle® Balls came out ! Do you? They are still selling strong. Especially to college kids.
I was in Shadyside Variety Store, picking up a few items for the grandchildren. I remember when Mark, Matthew and Laura used to shop here in the early nineties. We lived around the corner for two years and they could walk there to shop.
So many nostalgic favorites- and the latest inventive toys from the Toy Fair, like Spot It which Sharon the proprietor demonstrated for me so I can play it with Anna and Michael when I visit. Keeping my brain sharp. I am fairly certain they’ll beat me.
See the rubber chicken dangling inside the colorful hula hoops at the store entrance? Next time the grandchildren come I am going to take them to the Shadyside Variety Store, give them each some money and see what they decide to buy after extensive browsing!
The nicest guy from Texas,who just finished up a Robotics Conference at CMU, was shopping – he held the Etch-a-Sketch up for me when I was exploring the store for classics!
When your shopping list says birthday gift, jumprope, jacks, sidwalk chalk, art supplies, Dots, Pinky Balls, and Silly Putty, Slinky and Wiffle Ball….. Shadyside Variety Store 5421 Walnut Street, Pittsburgh – (412) 681-1716 (Cash or check!)
Someone asked me the other day if I were a reporter. No, a blogger. Self-assigned!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Famous Chocolate Refrigerator Roll
My friend G’s mother in Morris Plains NJ used to make these icebox cakes in the sixties. I always loved to eat a slice of one. And they still sell the cookies you need to make one. I hear they are difficult to find. I found a box on the top shelf of Giant Eagle supermarket right here in Pittsburgh and I saw them for sale in Kroger in Ohio.
We are still missing the NABISCO bakery which is now a location for Google and the new gym, Anthropologie and some other stores. There is even a hotel in Bakery Square where the NABISCO bakery used to be. I am not sure if they used to bake these chocolate wafers in that facility or not. Found an article that these cookies were advertised in 1929 with this recipe suggestion! And the author of the article is correct- these cookies are always hidden on the top shelf in the cookie aisle. I’ve been thinking about making a Famous Chocolate Refrigerator Roll for a long time. 
So I bought the Famous Chocolate Wafers and a pint of heavy cream to whip. Mine did not look as neat and lovely as my friend’s mother’s dessert did when we were growing up. Once I covered it all with the leftover whipped cream it looked better. It is chilling now. Laura is coming in tomorrow from OH and I hope she will find it amazing when we slice it and it is striped.
Milk chocolate is all I had for a garnish but dark chocolate garnish would have looked better. After you put it all together, it sits in the refrigerator and as I remember it, the cookies soak up moisture and get cakelike and soft, with the layers of cream in between. A no-bake dessert you just assemble and refrigerate. Anyone remember eating this as a child?
If you want the nutritional information you can click here but just enjoy a single slice and have people over to share it!
Today We Saw a Turquoise Plastic Radio, a Bobble-Head Jesus, a Princess Grace Ashtray and a Copy of Paradise Lost
Where can you see all that in one afternoon? BELLEVUE, PA And in the slideshow at the end of this post!! Head vases, a statue of Groucho Marx, autograph book, Betty Boop and an Atwater Kent Radio.…..oh, and another church for sale, too!
After my 11 o’clock appointment, J and I headed for Bellevue. Who knew that tomorrow is the start of their 4 day long Summer Solstice Spectacular. You can click here for the details We grabbed a quick bite at Joe’s Rusty Nail, an ice cream scoop of chicken salad on greens, some mandarin oranges and strawberries with balsamic and a blueberry muffin. A tall glass of ice tea. Cash or check, no cards. We walked down the block to a place we had driven by. Joyce’s Antique Emporium at 494 Lincoln Avenue in the heart of downtown. Oh my. We could have spent hours there, everything so carefully arranged and classified. Things you might have had as a kid or your mom had or the neighbors or your grandmother. I’m still thinking about the set of Pyrex bowls I left there and am thinking about going back if they are still there. Afterwards we stopped by the Farmer’s Market booths and I bought some strawberries that I made into jam when I got home- Joy of Cooking recipe. There was a shaved ice vendor. J bought the perennial Bloodroot to plant in her wonderful garden. We had fun checking out the antiques store with EVERYTHING. The Pickers Show on the History Channel needs to come and do an episode from this place. I am serious. We had the nicest conversation with the man minding the place and he was knowledgeable and full of great stories about the items in the store! The aluminum glasses on a blue coffee table outside the store caught our interest and we couldn’t get over the variety of items displayed. Canisters Depression glass, Kewpie Dolls, Betty Boop, swizzle sticks, an accordion, bugle, toys etc etc etc….See the slide show below. Call them at (412) 761-1288.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Vinyl DOORS Playing on Record Player
Panza Gallery- the night of the Big Love show.
I wanted to post this picture and you may remember the floor from another post of the portrait class that meets on Monday nights. Panza Gallery (in Millvale) had a cool show called Big Love, no artwork was priced over $100. i saw the record player spnning and I had to photograph it. Fun night.
33 1/3
What You Should Never Eat- But Tastes Great!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hungry
Sometimes you are hungry
for something that is just not good for you.
And you eat it.
And regret doing so.
Or not!
Wednesday nights I take a class at Manchester Craftsmen’s and eat an early dinner on the South Side, driving down the slopes from Arlington. The last two weeks it was Carson Street Deli sandwiches but then I started thinking French fries. Undoing all the work at the gym yesterday.
So I crossed at 16th St and went into Mario’s, the only patron at that off hour but not for long. Cory was hosting and tending bar and took my order for an Alpine burger (don’t ask) and their house cut fries. A tall ginger ale. I asked if I could photograph the stained glass windows. Designed by Williams Stained Glass of Bethel Park. It was a good time to photograph the architectural details. Woshner’s was once “haberdashery” and is now Mario’s. I was too early for Karaoke night. Had to get to class.
Button, Button, Whose Got the Button? ( & Bridal Veils, too!)
1700 Carson Street is the home of a great button store. It fascinates me- Parker Button. Boxes and boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. All colors, shapes and sizes. Like an artist’s palette. Shank or flat. Frogs and belt buckles. Ribbon and trim. Spools of thread to sew them all on for utility or ornamentation. My mother had a glass jar full of buttons. My sister made me the coolest necklace from vintage mother-of-pearl shirt buttons, strung onto embroidery floss. Do you have any clothing missing a button?
The other half of the shop is Clarissa’s Boutique . One word to describe the bridal veils, jewelry and accessories for custom headpieces and wedding necessities- exquisite? lovely? classic? ethereal? They will create a custom headpiece for you but allow three months. Feathers, flowers, jewels, or pearls. Voted the Best of the Knot for weddings 2011.
These Days Buttons are Often a Part of Web Design
Or people push our buttons.
Press the button to call the elevator
or select your floor.
Today’s post is the old fashioned kind.
Two-hole, four-hole or shank.
Metal, plastic, shell or bone.
Beatrix Potter shapes of rabbits.
When was the last time you sewed on a button?
Today marks 500 blog posts and counting!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Growing up we had a record with the song ( these lyrics are from 1929)
Button up your overcoat, When the wind is free, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Eat an apple every day, Get to bed by three, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Be careful crossing streets, ooh-ooh, Cut out sweets, ooh-ooh, Lay off meat, ooh-ooh, You'll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!
Filmstrip Projector Paired with a Record, I Can Hear the Sound to Advance the Frame
School. Ditto machines and drinking in the smell of the purple sheets and filmstrip projectors. Who remembers?
Little canisters of filmstrips are still in cupboards. Ding!
Loading the 1950 BelAir, Rock Island, Illinois
Driving around with my sister, we were looking for the Historic District and saw this scene. BTW I am in Columbus OH not Illinois this weekend. One friend wrote and thought I was on a cross country trip and had stopped working. The men were loading the 1950 BelAir behind the pick-up.
Watching the men load the 1950
Laundromat on Bryant Street
Laundry. It piles up no matter what else is going on in life. One week, years ago, I wrote a tally mark every time I did a load. Total 14. Grateful for washer and dryer at home.
Pittsburgh Filmmakers Harris Theater Downtown
Refurbished and renamed in 1995.
Saturday night and the neon lights glow. We’re waiting for Steve to get the car in the parking garage. No tripod but a slim tree trunk, the cable remote. Evokes another era. I realize I’ve photographed at least 3 other vintage movie theaters. Pittsburgh Filmmakers screens the Film Festival here and at Regent Square and Melwood. Another restored theater in Wisconsin(click to see)
Model Railroad Mother Hangs Out Wash
Somedays it’s fun to play. The era is supposed to be c.1936. My mother pinned clothes on a merry-go-round contraption with a center metal pole, stuck in a concrete surrounded hole. The needs-to-be-oiled sounds of a pulley as the clothesline is reeled out with colors, shapes and flags. Whipping around in the breeze, drying in the sun. The smell of a pillowcase on a clean bedsheet that earlier flapped on the line. I bought these at the Hobby Shop. Read about HO scale .
Just reading about HO scale on WikiPedia. Miniatures appeal to me.
Front Porch Still-Life at Dusk
Old seltzer bottles, a birdcage, the texture of the wicker, some stained glass at dusk. J’s front porch with the sun sinking behind. Condensation inside the old glass, the metal tops. Artists usually arrange inanimate objects to create a still-life to paint or draw. This was already there, waiting. But then it is an artist’s house.
Setting sun through old turquoise and plain glass seltzer bottles
Twisters Ice Cream at Night in the City
Coming off the Bloomfield Bridge I took a left to avoid the potholes and discovered Twisters Ice Cream. The dangling cones? Whoa. Drove around the block. Haven’t sampled their advertised soft or hard ice cream click on their name for a link to a map and review.
No parking on Main Street in Bloomfield, so shot from the driver's seat
One Whitewall in the Snow at Night
Mark Identified the Model as the One "Pop" Drove In Florida
What I Found on the Sidewalk
Had just left school and was headed for tea. Drove by. Pulled over and got out and walked back to photograph these three chairs.
I Saw Three Chairs Just Sitting There as I Drove to Dorothy's for Tea
Retro Appliance Colors on File Cabinets
Harvest Gold Avocado Green Burnt Orange- date the items when these colors were the rage!
Trackbacks & Pingbacks from fellow bloggers. You can check out how they responded to the challenge.
Flat Ruthie got in on it this week, too. Click here