Time for a Giveaway!

I came across this little hand blown art glass owl paperweight this weekend and thought he'd be great to give away to one of my faithful followers.  Aren't his eyes a "hoot"?  Although, I get the feeling that he may be saying "Whoooo gives a hoooot?".  Anyway, now that I have used up my owl related humor, here are the rules.

You must be a follower of Cul-De-Sac Shack.  Leave a comment to this post to enter.  One entry per person.  Only open to residents of the continental U.S. or Canada.  Entry period will end Friday, December 3, at 11:59pm.  The winner will be chosen using a random number generator, and entries will be numbered in the order they are received.  Good luck!  Whoooo will the winner be?

A Little Christmas Awww....

Enjoy!

My New Vintage Zenith Console TV

First of all, I have gained 3 new followers over the past few days, so to all the new people, welcome!  And to all my old followers, thanks for sticking around!

So, here it is.  The Zenith console TV that I purchased about a month ago.  It is in beautiful condition, although I don't believe that it is working.  However, I really don't care about that, as it is going to sit in the living room where I don't watch TV.  I just wanted it because it matches the style I have going in the living room, and wanted to be period correct.  I can always get a flat panel and set on top of it if I decide to use the living room for TV viewing again.  I even have the original remote for it!  It's so neat - no batteries required!  Now, I just need to get things rearranged and I'll be able to bring it home from the storage unit!

Identification Break

I picked up this very old pottery pitcher at an estate auction yesterday, and though I spent a lot of time searching last night, I have been unable to identify who made this pitcher.  It's design is of roses climbing up lattice, and it is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks.  It's 9 inches tall and fairly heavy.  I'd just like to know who made it so I can do some research on it to know it's age and to find out if I got a good deal on it (I think that I did - I paid $4 for it).  If anybody has any idea who might have made it, please leave a comment!  Thanks so much!

A Question

I received a package in the mail today that I ordered off the big auction site.  I noticed when I opened the box that the shipping for the whole thing was more than I paid for the item and shipping combined.  So, the seller was out money for the deal.  Now, the seller has not contacted me, but I feel that I should compensate the seller since they miscalculated the shipping costs (the seller is a new seller).  What do you think?  Should I email the seller and offer to make up the difference in the shipping costs?

Thanks for your thoughts.

For Those Traveling Today...

...click to enlarge.  Have a great day!

My Quest Continues

I have been searching for a great 1950s sofa or sofa / chair set for at least a year now.  Still haven't found what I want in the price range I'm considering.  In my perfect world, it would be a set manufactured by Kroehler.

Last weekend, I took a full car load to Salvation Army.  Of course, I couldn't drop things off without taking a look in the store!  The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a glimpse of green upholstery.  That great nubby mid-century fabric.  My heart skipped a beat!  So, I went over, looked at the set, and after really considering it, decided to pass.  It had it's original upholstery which was not torn, but it was dusty and faded.  Lifting the cushions on the couch, there was the tag I was looking for "Kroehler".  Sigh.  The couch cushion was a little saggy, but the chair was pretty good.  The price was great: $65 for the set.  But, when I looked at it more closely, I decided that the set was probably from the late 1940s or very early 1950s.  The back and front were more rounded that I wanted.  Although it was a difficult choice to make, I left it to hopefully find a loving home from another mid-century freak.

I already have a couple of chairs in the style I'm looking for, and if I could find a sofa to go with them, that would be the best solution.

Here's the style I'm looking for:

The pinkish chair on the left is Kroehler.  The brownish purple chair on the right I'm not sure about right now.  Still, you can clearly see the style difference between these chairs and the green set above.  The quest continues!

A Touch of Magic

I came across this great film from the 1961 General Motors Motorama over the weekend, and couldn't believe what I'd found.  It's a little hokey, just enough to make me laugh a little as I watch it.  The best part, apart from the cars, is the amazing mid-century house featured in the film.  It's perfect, a magically modern house designed by Frigidaire!

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this 10 minute clip!

Have a great Tuesday!

Blueprint Monday

I thought I would share another house plan from the 1955 Celotex book of Today's New Homes.  This is the book that the floor plan I picked out if I ever get to build came from.

Isn't the elevation of this place great?  I love the roofline and the floor to roof window in the living room.  It really catches the eye.

The square footage varies depending on whether you choose to have a basement or not.  With a basement, the square footage is just over 1500, but without the basement, the house pushes 1600 square feet.

Either way, you get 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, with a living room, dining room, multi-use room and a patio.  I'm thinking that if I were to build this house, I would make the kitchen and the multi-use room one large eat-in kitchen and turn the patio space into a family room.

Here is the information that was included with the plan.  Click on any of the above pictures to see them larger.

I've made it to 95 followers!  Welcome to my new followers!  When I reach 100, I'm planning on doing another giveaway.

Have a great Monday!

Don't Mess With the Mid-West

Looks like that "church" group that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago that had a protest in my town at a soldier's funeral received a similar welcome in another small town in my part of the country.  Looks like this small town was even a little less welcoming than our town was.  Read about it here.

Once again, I ask that the group not be named in comments, as I don't want people finding my blog when they do a search for the group's name.  Thanks for your understanding.

Quidditch World Cup

Am I the only insane Harry Potter nerd around the vintage blogging world, or do I have companions that I don't know about yet?

My obsession began when I was in high school and the first three Harry Potter books had been banned from the middle school library and transferred to the high school library.  For all of you book banning fans out there: there is no better way to make a person (child, teen or adult) want to read a book than to ban it.

At the time they appeared in the high school library, I was a library assistant, and of course I wanted to know what all of the fuss was about.  What I discovered was an amazing story of a boy with a difficult childhood finding that it was okay to be unique in the world and even sacrifice yourself for others.  The setting (a school of magic) was second to the story line.  It just made things more interesting.

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the early books was the great Wizarding game, Quidditch.  Well, today I discovered that we muggles (non-magic people) have reinvented the sport so that we may play it (we can't, after all, fly on broomsticks).  Looks like it would be great sport to watch.  So, next year, I want to attend the 2011 Quidditch World Cup!  You can read all about this year's World Cup here.

Mystery Item Revealed

So, a couple of you have a pretty good eye.  Last week's Mystery Item was indeed the current edition of The United Methodist Hymnal.

As Maria said, "It says HYMNAL, and it's Methodist, because I can see the top of the flaming cross or whatever you Methodists call that. :)"

So, what is that flaming cross?  Well, we commonly call it the cross and flame.  I felt that I could explain it, however, I thought that it might be best to get the information on it straight from the United Methodist website.

"The history and significance of the Cross and Flame emblem are as rich and diverse as The United Methodist Church. The insignia's birth quickly followed the union of two denominations in 1968: The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Following more than two dozen conceptualizations, a traditional symbol—the cross—was linked with a single flame with dual tongues of fire. The resulting insignia is rich in meaning. It relates The United Methodist church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw "tongues, as of fire" (Acts 2:3).

The elements of the emblem also remind us of a transforming moment in the life of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, when he sensed God's presence and felt his heart "strangely warmed." The two tongues of a single flame may also be understood to represent the union of two denominations.

The insignia, one with lettering and one without, was formally adopted by the General Conference in 1968 and registered in 1971 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Since 1996, the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of The United Methodist church has supervised the emblem's use."

As such, I am not allowed to copy the emblem here to the blog.  You can see it on the cover of the hymnal, or follow the link above to see it on the denomination's website.


Have a great Sunday!

Movie Friday: The Hunt for Red October

Since visiting Russia 5 years ago (how has time passed so quickly?!?), I have been obsessed with Russian / Soviet things.  This movie was released at the very end of the Cold War.  I was 8 years old when today's featured movie was released.  I haven't seen it, but it is on my list to see.  As such, it made the list for Movie Friday.  With that list of actors (watch the trailer) who wouldn't want to watch it?

Have a great Friday!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I would like to take a moment to thank all of the veterans for their commitment and the sacrifices they have made for our country.

Today I'm thinking of my grandfather.  He enlisted after his best friend was killed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.  He was originally part of the Army Air Corp (before what is now known as the Air Force), but was moved to serve as a soldier in the US Army as the Air Corp was not needing as many recruits as they were receiving.  Granddad served "overseas" in Kodiak, Alaska (Alaska was not yet a state at that time, and as such, since he was stationed there, he was considered overseas).

It's Mystery Photo Time!

Can you name this item?  Take your best guess and let me know what you think in the comments below.  Answer to come soon!

Another Historic Home

Today I want to continue sharing another historic home from my town, past and present.  Earlier this summer I shared a dilapidated house that had gone on the market.  Along with that post, I shared a photo of what the house looked like when it was built.

Today's home is an 1896 Victorian known around town as the Wiedman (pronounced "wide-man") house.  The house has been altered some from it's original look as seen in the photo above.  The porch columns have been changed and the staircase where the children are standing has been removed.  However, the house still looks fairly close to the above photo.

At some point, my guess would be it was probably around the time that the porch was altered, the house had asbestos siding added.  Even though it is a very mid-century type of siding, it doesn't detract from the Victorian home much at all.  It's still a stately old home that many people (myself included) would love to own.

Have a great Wednesday!

Weekend Finds

Saturday morning was cold!  There were no estate auctions, so I hit up a couple of garage sales.  Only picked up a few things.

Some cat-eye woman's eye glasses, some vintage drinking glasses, and a couple of Federal Glass white iridescent mugs.

Sunday was warm, sunny, and absolutely beautiful (except for the whole getting dark early part).  There was an estate auction that I attended after church, where I picked up several items.

Among them, this Made in Japan tea pot with cream and sugar set.

A Fire King red dot mixing bowl (large size).

A green glass batter bowl.  It isn't marked, but the handle on it sure looks like the handle I have on a couple of old Fire King pieces.  Anybody have any idea who made it?

A Queen Anne Glasbake bowl with two handles (I really like this one!).

Two Jeanette Jadeite shakers.  One is marked "Flour" and is in pretty good shape, the other is marked "Sugar" and the top is dented and the wording is faded.  However, the glass on both pieces is in great shape.

A vintage manicure / pedicure set.

A set of Lenox silver flatware (a couple of the pieces are pretty rough).

These Made in Japan salt and pepper shakers are really interesting.  They look like black kettles, but they have cat faces on them.  Anybody know anything about them?

I also came home with this Noritake lustre creamer.

I love vintage prints, and these two are great.  Now, just to clean them up!

This is my favorite out of the pictures I picked up.  I love that great antique frame!

Lastly, to appease the teacher side of me, I found this great set of subtraction flash cards for the "new math".  LOL...strange how we've moved on since "new math".  This set is copyright 1965.

I am wanting to either start a booth, or maybe put a few of these things on Etsy to get an idea if I would like selling that way.  Anybody want to give any insight as to their thoughts on selling on Etsy?  I think I would prefer to have a booth, as I can easily get out to restock it, and I won't have to figure out when I can make it to the post office (my job keeps me away during the hours that the counter is open at the post office).  Also, with a booth, I can put some bigger things in it that I don't want to send through the mail.  It's decision making time.

My New House???

No, I'm not moving anytime soon.  The Shack and I are still happily together on our quiet (usually) cul-de-sac.  However, someday I really want to build a house on some land that my grandparents bought in the very early 1960s, that my dad now owns.  I already have the location picked out, although, I won't be able to do anything until Dad retires from deer hunting (I want to build just about where his stand is).  Let me describe the location to give you an idea.  Dad has 80 acres of land with beautiful rolling hills.  The land is very wooded (more so every year...Dad has to have an oasis set up for the deer!).  The location I have chosen is atop a hill in the center of the land.  About 200 feet from the location I have chosen is a pond, which is hidden by trees, which I would clean out so that I could see the pond.  You can't see the location from the road, and you can't see it from any of the property lines either.  Complete secluded bliss.  Not only that, but there is a wild prairie hay meadow just behind the piece of pasture land that I want to build on.  I want to clear out the fence row, so that I can see the beautiful prairie wild flowers each spring in the meadow.  Ah, it's my calming happy place.

I think that I may have chosen the house plan that I would build there.  Lots of floor-to-ceiling windows to let all of nature's beauty in.  Of course, it's a mid-century ranch plan.  I don't know that I would live in anything else.

I found this Celotex Book of Today's New Homes in the same box of magazines that I found all of those pictures of Harry S Truman in. (Did you know that "S" was Truman's middle name?  His parent's couldn't settle on which family member he would be named after, and as both names started with an "S", they simple named him Harry S Truman.  There is no period after the S as it is not his initial, it's his complete middle name).

Anyway, I believe that the booklet dates to 1955, and the 22 homes contained in it are even better than the ones in the booklet I shared last week.  I finally found one that I think I could live in forever.

This house, plan number 48, has everything that I am looking for.  I would probably rearrange the kitchen a little, but that's no big deal.  Doesn't it look great with those long, low lines? (You can click on the photos to see them larger).  I may also have to find a way to change the carport into a 2 car garage.  Still the floor plan is great, in my opinion.

The three bedrooms are all spacious, which is usually a challenge to find in a mid-century home plan, two bathrooms, the place where the stairs to the basement are located is large enough to change into a utility room, and the family area is large enough to put a small kitchen table, and a love seat and a chair.  I'm fairly certain that I would do away with the fence around the front terrace.  The whole idea of a house in such a secluded location is that you can see nature, especially with those enormous windows / sliding doors.

I may try to share more of these floor plans.  My collection is growing, and they're all so interesting!  Have a great Monday!

Movie Friday: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

"I'm not dead yet!"

I can't believe that I haven't shared Monty Python and the Holy Grail before now!  It's almost as big of a deal as The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

The following plot summary comes from Wikipedia:

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail loosely follows the legend of King Arthur. Arthur (Graham Chapman) along with his squire, Patsy (Terry Gilliam), recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise (Terry Jones), Sir Lancelot the Brave (John Cleese), Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot (Eric Idle) and Sir Galahad the Pure (Michael Palin), and the aptly named, Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film. The group is instructed by God (represented by an animated photograph of legendary cricket figure W. G. Grace) to seek out the Holy Grail. They are led to a castle controlled by the French where they believe the Grail is being held. After being insulted in mangled Franglais and failing to invade the castle in a Trojan Rabbit, Arthur decides that they must go their separate ways to seek out the Grail.

Concurrent to these events, in a manner of breaking the fourth wall, a modern-day historian, while describing the Arthurian legend as for a television program, is killed by a knight on horseback, triggering a police investigation.

Each of the Knights encounter various perils on their quest. Arthur and Bedevere attempt to satisfy the strange requests of the dreaded Knights who say Ni. Sir Robin narrowly, but bravely, avoids a fight with the Three-Headed Giant. Sir Lancelot accidentally assaults a wedding party at Swamp Castle believing them to be holding a lady against her will (who is, in fact, an effeminate prince). Galahad is led by a Grail-shaped beacon to Castle Anthrax, populated only by comely women who wish to perform sexual favours for him, but is "rescued" by Lancelot. The Knights regroup and travel to see Tim the Enchanter, who points them to caves where the location of the Grail is written on the walls. To enter the caves, the group is forced to defeat the Rabbit of Caerbannog using the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

With their final destination known, the group travels to its last peril, the Bridge of Death, where each Knight is forced to answer three questions by the bridge-keeper before they can cross; Sirs Robin and Galahad fail and are thrown into the chasm below the bridge, before Arthur tricks the bridge-keeper. Lancelot becomes separated from Arthur and Bedevere, later shown arrested by modern-day police for the murder of the historian. Arthur and Bedevere travel to the Grail's castle, which they find is already occupied by the French who send them away with their insults. They amass a large army to prepare to storm the castle, but just as they are ready to start the charge, the police arrive and stop it, arresting Arthur and Bedevere, and putting an end to the filming."

It was impossible to choose one clip from the film to share, so I added several of my favorites!

Have a great Friday!

A Little Love for AMC

Poor AMC, the unloved step-child of the American automotive industry.  They never found many people to love them.  After all of these years, the only division of AMC still in production is Jeep.  When Chrysler bought the company in the 1980s, there was Jeep and Eagle, but Chrysler stopped production of Eagle in the late 1990s.  At least we still have Jeep!  Where would Daisy Duke have been without hers?

So, today I want to share some vintage AMC commercials.  Maybe you can find a little room in your heart to love them?  Maybe not.

Have a great Thursday.  Thursday?  Already?  Sheesh!  Time flies when you keep yourself busy!

Amazing Vintage Photos

My little town has quite a colorful history.  There have been a couple of famous people that have lived here.  Wyatt Earp?  Yup, he was here.  Harry S Truman?  Check that one as well.

I purchased a box lot at that auction on Saturday, which was filled with several old magazines.  In the bottom of the box (why are the best finds always in the bottom of the box?), was an old photo processing envelope from 1944 complete with 15 negatives and 16 photos.  What did I find in the photos?  Take a look!

The man in the passenger seat?  That's Harry S Truman!  He came to my town in 1944 to give his Vice-Presidential nomination acceptance speech.  The lady whose estate I purchased these from attended the event.  It must have been exciting!

Thankfully, the house in the background is still standing so I can identify where this photo was taken.

Little towns love parades!  This was a great occasion to have one!

People congregating on the square, Post Office in the background.

There is a monument in front of the courthouse steps now in the location where Truman gave his acceptance speech.

Sadly, the beautiful building in the background of this photo burnt during the fair 6 years ago or so.  It's now just a big vacant lot.

I collect memorabilia from my town.  I would love to know what the expression was like on my face when I pulled these photos out of the little envelope!

Have a great Wednesday!