Monday, May 11, 2009

Somethings have NOT improved with time...

Yeah, like this week-end when I discovered my thinning white hair with it's new cheeky-haircut was a "sun-magnet" and I have a sunburned head..and my ear-tops. How silly is that?

And it really hurts..

How does Charles Barkley do it? Does he not go out in the sun? And he's so much closer to it than I am.. Maybe that's why all those bikers wear "do-rags" huh?


Thought when you think abut it, do-rags are not going to much help if you crash..Hmmm...

And pans.

We spent a lot of money on some pretty good pans. And Mr. B is pretty particular about not
putting them in the dishwasher..

But they are not holding up like they should. I remember my Mother having the same old pots & pans my whole life (so far) when I was a kid.

And I'm more than certain Daddy didn't spend very much money on them. As a matter of fact, Mother probably got them at the "supermarket" on the weekly plan...or with her S&H Green Stamps.

Remember those? I used to help her. There were some Blue ones as well, but I can't remember what they were called. Were the blue ones called Blue Chip stamps? Somehow that sounds familiar...{Update! Yes they were! Lookie what I found.....}


I remember saving the books, putting rubber bands around them and finally, finally having enough for the item, whatever it was......

........probably pans.


Some supermarkets offered double stamps on certain days..


We used to get one plate at a time at the supermarket...then it was encyclopedias..I never got a whole set..I think I had the first three of 3 different ones. I never quite got to the LMN's..it was always A ~D, E ~H and I ~ K..

I don't think houses have gotten better either. I mean, I can drive past an empty lot and one week later there's a house. I've seen them in the building stages and it looks like toothpicks and paper mache if you ask me.

When Daddy was a carpenter, it would take quite a while to build a house, but it was sturdy. Plumb, straight and level too. Built to last.

And TV's? OK OK they were smaller (in screen size) and much huger in sheer girth, but when a tube went out, you didn't just go out an buy another whole TV....you took it to the TV repair person-guy and he fixed it...
Your radio too. Every town had a "Small Appliance Repair" shop - those are all but extinct.


Geeze, I'm getting old..carrying on about the "good old days"..

Maybe with our sad economic situation, we will go back to "repair, reuse and recycle"..

I kinda hope so. I think it'd be great to have my toaster fixed. You know, the one that's made out of real metal..not plastic??

Well, one thing that I'm glad we get all the time - a new day. And tomorrow is one of those..so make it special and do something remarkable...like fixing something instead of buying new...and ask you grocer about those S&H Green Stamps...

-me

13 comments:

debi said...

Well, if you're getting old, then I am too. I remember every one of those things you just talked about. And I still have some of those dishes bought that way.

Pearl said...

Well that was a fun ride down memory lane. I really remember the green stamps. And that T.V. looks real familier. My Grandfather was a T.V. and radio repair man. If a tube went out we took it to Grandpa and it was fixed in 4 mins and off we would go. Thanks for the memories.....

Irish Cottage Dreams said...

You reminded me of my deceased granddad's shop....a typewriter repair shop. When was the last time you actually saw someone use a typewriter? LOL

hugs~kimme

diane b said...

A nice trip down memory lane. Have you ever been to a country town museum and seen appliances that you used to use? That makes you feel old. I worry about the landfill problems caused by the throw away society. Have you seen the mountains of mobile phones that are being thrown away?

wendy said...

WOW.....took me back to the dining room table sticking the green stamps in the books for my mom! And I remembered going to the shop with her to redeem them! What fun! Thanks for the nice start of my day!

Unknown said...

OMG, what a trip down memory lane! I so remember those green stamps and the repair shops that you could count on. Of course, the worse part is the shabby houses that are being built today... which is one reason we bought an historic home. Nothing wrong with this baby!

Karen said...

My son has one of those huge screen TVs. After 5 years it doesn't work and would cost him over $500 to get it repaired. EEEK. I, however, still have my four-slot metal toaster that we bought 31 years ago.

Vee said...

Hahahaha, you sound so much like Andy Rooney today! Loved Memory Lane today and found myself nodding my head over and over. You're so right, though, they do NOT make things the way that they used to!

Betty said...

Funny post...you're the Good Humor lady. Wonder why I never saw a Good Humor lady? Maybe those trucks were too hard to turn without power steering, eh? Lots of things they don't make like they used to...and, thank goodness for that, in some cases!

Heather said...

i agree with you! great post.

Little Penpen said...

Yep, I remember going with my daddy to have our tv repaired several times. Then we finally got a new one!!! And I loved helping mama stick the greenback stamps in the books.

Shari from Big Yellow Farmhouse said...

I loved putting the S&H Green Stamps in the book for Mom. It was great how fat and crinkly the books got when they were full of stamps. Then we got to go to their store and trade those books for stuff! My first iron that I took to college came from the green stamp store. And I'm sure it would still be working if I had kept it.

I am so very tired of all the made in China junk. I go to sales and estate auctions and see all the wonderful, quality older things with Made in USA labels. Sometimes, along with the company name, a town is listed and I always picture a closed factory, good jobs gone that are never coming back. So sad. Doesn't sound like progress to me!

A Wild Thing said...

You know girl...we're really pushin' that 60 number aren't we...yeah, yeah, yeah...I know, I'm older than you...by what 2 weeks...ha! Who cares anyway. I wouldn't give up them memories for nuthin', my Dad still has boxes full of old tv and radio tubes...those were the days, clothes on the clothesline, towels and dishes out of the detergent boxes, prizes in cereal boxes(we always opened the box from the bottom)shoe-repair shops run by little Jewish men...

We'll have plenty of good ol' memories to keep us company as we sit and rock (or swing) on our front porches, as time flies and the laundry dries...wouldn't give up my clothesline for nuttin!!!

Been thinking' about cha...have a wonderful week friend!...I'm with ya on the sunburn...
sharon

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