Friday, February 24, 2012

Baby, Light My Fire

 I casually collect matches...little matchbooks. They have matches inside (usually) and that is handy. They have great little bits of art and great graphics. When I was little, my parents had matches made with their business names and addresses and that used to mystify me.  The box of Yountville Cab Company at 6528 Washington St. matches sat on my dad's counter in a box that said "For Our Matchless Friends".











Where did they come from? Well, probably from Diamond Match company in Chico, California or Monarch Match company in San Jose, California. These have ads from Yountville and Napa businesses back in the day ...


Paper matches were patented in  September 1892 by a Philadelphia  Patent Attorney!  2 weeks later a Mr. Bowman of Pennsylvania patented the little paper "folder"  they come in.  Bowman's patent, was challenged by the Philly Attorney, but Bowman's patent was upheld.
The attorney then  sold his patent to the Diamond Match Trust in 1896 and got the job as the company's patent attorney. Mr. Bowman's company, the American Safety Head Match Company of Lebanon, PA didn't last long though. The Diamond Match Co. then became the first mass-producer of paper matchbooks.

Ads have been printed on the covers since 1894, two years after they were patented. They've always been a cheap promotional item or anniversary souvenir.

 Collectors are known as phillumentists, or "lovers of light".  Which is waaaaaay different from Thomas Kincade,  "The Painter of Light".
Now, lots of people use disposable lighters or even...don't use matches at all, because so many people have stopped smoking and nowadays, pilot lights turn on electronically with a Piezo lighter....no need to strike a match!
Want to know more more more? clicky here







People used to carry wood matches in little boxes that came in zillions of shapes and made in all kinds of materials.
Here's mine...from one of my favorite eras...and look at that script !
a little wishbone on the back....
Compliments of The Dave Blake Co. Tacoma Everett Olympia.
The little top lifts and you can store matches in there.....I store other things.....




20s era silver match safe kept the matches safe (hence the term) and you'd pluck a match out and then strike it against a textury surface...a brick, the street, the sole of your shoe.
from etsy seller EvettaHill


Matches were first made of wood sticks with explosive chemicals glued to the end, and then sold  in paper boxes of a tiny size, about 1" x 2", and then, a bigger size, about 3" x 5". Here's a holder that you'd always see in the kitchen to light the cooking stove if it ran on gas...to light the pilot light. Or, kept in the living room to light the fire if you had a wood stove to warm the cabin.
So common was the box of matches in everyday life....even...little toy cars...Matchbox Cars, the size of a .......matchbox! were named for the tiny box of matches.


an old tin matchbox holder...you'd slip the open box of matches inside with the scratchy strike paper on the sides....the slots on each side allowed you to strike the match and light the pilot light....
from etsy seller sofralma

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sunny Day with Corn and Stripe Tshirts

when it's bitterly cold and drowningly wet...I honestly find it near impossible to remember what a sunny day feels like.....I hardly remember what a fecund garden smells like....and I can't believe I can walk outside in a Tshirt and a pair of cut-off Levis and nothing else and be so fucking happy my head explodes.....to be sure I haven't gone crazy (completely) I offer proof from the summer of 2011. I swear it was not just a dream....









ok....and with a fresh martini with a garden-grown nasturtium, in a stripe Tshirt and cut-off Levis...


Saturday, February 11, 2012

Brave little happy home

Every time I look at my Brave, "the winnie", I just smile. Every where we go, people want to talk about her, and she makes people smile. "waal, I haven't seen one of these things for a long time!" "How's she run?"
Fine thanks!





When we were looking for one to buy it had to be in really good condition, both physically and mechanically. And this one came with tons of rcts. for lots of work done.
The most important item was a leaky roof. I did not want that! This one has a new-ish rubber roof, which is the creme de la creme. Lots of recent work on the engine and brakes and chassis....2 year old tires (1500. bucks).
I really wanted a 70s Winnebago, and I really wanted a Brave. It's a classic RV motorhome...it was very popular in its time and it is still loved.....I tried not to influence Mark...I wanted him to make up his own mind....and he (being the mechanic) had veto power over any RV we looked at that was rotten in the engine box.
How wonderful that we both decided that a Winne 70s Brave is the one we wanted, and then we found one in excellent condition.


(that's a big plastic box of RECEIPTS!)



 There are a few changes in the interior that I'll be making. I did get the exact floor plan I wanted....kitchen and bath, permanent and easy seating area-dining area....and ...the 20" high bed in the back. The last thing I want is to crawl up into bed and roll out in the middle of the night....and my dog! He can just jump on the bed in the back anytime he wants. Also, I didn't want the bed in the front because I'd have to make it up to a couch every damn day. Life is too short to move furniture every morning.






But there are 2 problems with the decor. I do think it's damn funny that back in the 70s it was assumed that people can easily move down a corridor that's only 26" wide at the most. The narrowest part is between the dinette and the bath...18" !!! Not that I'm gonna bloat up anytime soon, but this is a bit too narrow, and besides, I don't like built-in dinettes.
I'm gonna take out the first seat and the room divider.  The table moves and folds away if I don't want a table there (no prob), and the one seat (below) will stay. I'm gonna try to re-use the gold vinyl trim.....and then there is the gold vinyl issue. Gold is fine. I can live with it. I'll just pretend it's Sunflower !






What I cannot live with is the REAGAN-era Blue carpet that was added ...when the seats were recovered in 80s era tapestry.
for 2 reasons.....
#1. I hate REAGAN. that mf'er.
#2. I hate Reagan era blue/oak/brass/Republicans.
*the ReaganBlue carpet in the back is gone.



I've collected a selection of green stripes, vintage Indian blankets, vintage bark cloth in shades of brown and green earthy tones, and a few yards of retro Marimekko-style fabrics. I'm such a cheapskate, that I don't want to actually use my real Marimekko fabrics....so I have a few Swedish/70s retro patterns that are modern and all are thrifted.
The Blue #2 problem listed above ...the blue carpet will come out and be replaced with brown, and the vinyl floor will be changed over to bamboo.


So the first dinette seat will go bye-bye, and a cabinet will take it's place. Instead of a 3 foot wide obstruction/divider, will be a 24" wide cabinet. That will help with the claustrophobic skinny space.


 (the tall vintage cabinet in this corner will fit inside the winnie just fine)

You know what will stay?
The faux wood !!
Why?
The last time I felt hopeful about life, about politics, about the Earth...was in the 70s. So, the 70s faux wood, being cozy and fake in a real way....well, it's staying. At least for a while.
I didn't want to change anything inside. It's in such good shape...... & I'm a traditionalist. I like to keep things original, until that becomes stupid. Since so much has been changed (blue carpet and new fabric on all the cushions, I don't feel like a vintage-murderess.)





Below....
the stripe and X retro fabric for the dinette window?....the big calico on the top right, to line the wide green and white stripes, on the bottom left (which is shown inside out), for the bedroom "privacy" curtain. (just a chance to hang some neat fabric).


brown bark cloth in the middle....I don't know.......maybe the back window. That big big IKEA fabric on the bottom right...maybe that should be the dinette window and a little tiny valance over the kitchen window.........
decisions decisions....
There are so many knobs and settings and buttons! So much to learn. Push this in and don't touch that one. Now that we have safe propane bottles, we'll light the stove and oven and check it out, and light the refrigerator, and then plug in the refrigerator to 120, just like in the house.

I used to just laugh at those big fat RV's going down the road.....Geez Grampy, why don't you just drive your house! Ha ha on me. This is my house, since I doubt I'll ever buy a home again unless I win the lottery.

(inspirational picture of a vintage bike from SecondThoughts blog)

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cinderella is proof postive that

the right shoe can change your life!

Loafers, oxfords, Mary Janes, 80s Pumas and made in USA Vintage Converse .....High heels...and boots...knee-high and ankle high. Work boots....

Baby blue vintage Converse All Stars.....white vintage Converse.....



basic vintage black leather boots....all of these are in my etsy shop...



 60s pink rose floral high heels....



 Green vintage Work Boots !
clicky to go to my etsy store....

 Librarian taupe wingtip heels with double straps Mary Janes......woah..that was a mouthful....

Spectator wingtip oxfords....Suede oxfords....











vintage 70s White loafers....clicky to go to my etsy shop to see all the shoes and boots....




Red Wing Boots....with cork soles....



80s B Ball Puma Cats...


 vintage cowboy boots....

see more ....

Friday, February 3, 2012

thru the window of the Winnie...


When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;






When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;




And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.


John Keats 

 Tacoma looks better thru the windshield of my winnie.....It must be the anticipation of leaving........