TOWN TIME UPDATE

Town time has not been especially interesting, so I’ll make this real time update brief. Mike reports that Dr. Alm is pleased with the progress of his foot. At follow-up next week they should be able to remove the rod in his toe and fit his orthotic insert. Although the weatherman keeps predicting rain or snow, we haven’t really had either except for passing brief showers, so Mike has been able to cycle almost daily. Last Sunday he rode with the bike club.

I helped Mike prepare a mailing to previous tax customers for the TaxTyme business. Together I think we put in about eight man hours – labeling and stamping. He took the exterior Christmas lights off the house but I will probably let my Christmas ceramics sit out a while longer. [The Christmas characters in this picture will soon be replaced by some of my "vintage" dolls.]

We’ve had some maintenance problems here at the town house. The pilot light on the water heater went out on Friday. Mike took an early evening shower and noted the water temp seemed a bit cool. (I’ve got to quit letting him take first shower!) Now, the water tank is located behind a panel in the closet of our office (the third bedroom). Not only is access to the tank difficult but access to the pilot once we get to the tank is also difficult. The chest of drawers we put in the closet to store supplies doesn’t help. Mike tried to contort himself to no avail. We finally had to remove the chest from the closet. We were not successful lighting the pilot that night and had begun to plot how we could make it through the weekend without hot water, but Mike was successful in lighting the pilot Saturday morning. And yes, we put the chest back in the closet.

Also last weekend, our Dish system began to malfunction and a visit from a tech was scheduled for this afternoon (Wednesday). Yesterday our receiver went out altogether, so we were without tv last night. We now have a new receiver – an upgrade on the one we got a month ago.

AM I VINTAGE?

In 1922 at the age of 58 (some of us can relate to that age), my Great Aunt Ida writes from her home in Drain, Oregon, to her sisters, Bertha and Ina: “I live mostly in the past now – and remember some things that I would not forget – and many others that I would willingly forget . . . But I am trying to look more and more into ‘the great beyond’ where there are so many that we love and where trouble can’t never enter – and the Great Father of all rules supreme. I look at people trying so hard to get wealth and affluence and wonder do they ever think of Eternity?” Dear Aunt Ida! She will continue “in this life” another 30 years.

A couple of years ago, Hallie mentioned an interest in the 1940s, and my curiosity was piqued. Ignoring that the world was at war in the 1940s and putting my own spin on the topic, I wondered about the everyday housewife -- how did she decorate her home, what was her kitchen like, how and what did she cook, what was popular in the way of handiwork, where did she get her ideas. I was convinced the internet would be a valuable research tool, but initially my search was fruitless – until I began to use the word “vintage.” And then the world of “old stuff” began to open. I’ve had a wonderful, wonderful time with this “journey.” I’ve expanded my timeframe to include the 1930s through the 1950s. It awakened me to what I had at my fingertips – family letters, recipes, magazines, linens, photographs, handiwork (finished and unfinished), and the interesting hodgepodge of old stuff in drawers. I’m fascinated to the point of replicating. Just don’t take away my creature comforts!

So, I am not vintage and neither are you. But any stuff I’m carrying with me from my growing up years and before – very vintage, very desirable, very collectible, very interesting – even the junk.

[In the photo above taken Nov. 21, 1942, sisters Ida Patchen and Ina Dobson stand in front surrounded by other family members: Edna (Ida's daughter), Vance Dobson, Stanley Sanders, and Grandpa Jack Dobson.]

MOTOFOOT

From a motorcycling standpoint my foot surgery could hardly have been in a worse spot. The surgery was at the exact spot on the foot used to up shift. With Kathy's help I fashioned a strap-on modification that enables me to ride. It's not the greatest but hopefully it will get me by until I can wear a regular shoe. M/W

"BEFORE THE BLAZING FIRE"

Jan. 12, 1936
Before the ‘blazing fire’
Dear Vance,
“The [Readers’] Digest didn’t arrive till after Xmas but it is fine. I’m so tired of all the magazine advertising that that alone makes the Digest a treasure. Don’t you get tired of looking at pictures of blasé men and wanton women, whose only idea is to look ‘smart.'

“The radio is doing good work in its new set up and would do better if I’d get busy and do some soldering on connections. I’ve just been listening to the New York Symphony Orchestra directed by the ‘renowned Englishman Sir Thomas Beecham.’ We heard the Portland Symphony Orchestra under Van Hoogstatten a few nights ago. [A computer search confirmed that the Oregon Symphony was led by Willem Van Hoogstatten from 1925 to 1937.]

“Your holly and candles were a treat and have served more than once. I have about half of the candles left on the mantel. They are such a pretty red. You do think of the nicest things! I suppose that is what is called ‘having an imagination.’ Well, thanks a lot for everything – the card with its message was doubly appreciated.

“We are having such a mild winter and now have only a few inches of snow and lots of bare ground. We need lots of snow or rain."

[The picture above of Ina and her daughter Pearl was taken in 1918 when the house was new. Though I had never seen a fire in the fireplace, it had obviously been well-used. In the remodel process, this fireplace was torn out and a new one built, the chimney lined, and an efficient insert installed. The fireplace and a propane wall furnace in the diningroom are now the main sources of heat. We find it takes a day or two to heat the house once it is cold. If we need heat upstairs, we open the stair door. At the contractor's insistance, each bath and bedroom has a wall heater. Those are costly to run but sometimes necessary.]

MY CHRISTMAS -- A WORK IN PROGRESS

My mother came to life in the fall of the year when she began to prepare for Christmas. It meant cleaning; baking fruitcake, beautiful cookies, and “tea rings;” making tree ornaments for herself and her family; shopping for gifts; and decorating the interior of the house -- in short, everything valued for a traditional celebration. I struggled for years to keep up. I thought that over time I would get better and that when I was truly “grown up,” I would have arrived at my mother’s Christmas. Someplace along the timeline, it became painfully apparent it wasn’t going to happen. So, a few years ago, I took stock and resolved to simplify, starting with my tree ornaments. I bought three ornament boxes. Into one box I placed all ornaments that looked old and worn and no longer had a shiny presence on the tree and labeled that box “retired.” Into the next box I placed my favorite traditional ornaments so that they would be readily accessible if I wanted them. Into the third box went ornaments for a quickly-decorated, practical tree – the Hallmark house collection, white crocheted snowflakes, angel ornaments, etc. In the process I realized that I had been spending a lot of time putting collector’s ornaments back into original packaging. Therefore, I put all individual boxes into a storage tote that I never have to touch. Not only does this save time and effort but wear and tear on the boxes as well. (Do I sound like Martha Stewart?) If I miss the old things, they’re still available. And I love that I can go right on collecting ornaments – symbols of love and friendship -- because I have room for them. This year I received a red and green bell from Hallie, an impish “Annalee” angel from Joni, a white lace angel from Chris, and two glass “candy” ornaments from Annie and Jack.

HALLMARK HOUSES

Generally speaking, Hallmark ornaments aren’t my thing. Just because you can make it out of plastic doesn’t mean it should go on a tree. But, as the new Hallmark ornaments are unveiled in July of each year, I’m there to buy the current edition in the line of nostalgic houses and shops. It all started in 1981 (date approximate) when I fell in love with the first house in the series, a pink “dollhouse.” I actually bought it as a gift but decided to keep it. The next year, I discovered post-Christmas shopping and bought the second house in the series at half price. Now I knew that I was committed to buying the series and just when I could get them at a bargain price. But year three, I was disappointed to discover there were no leftover houses to be had at the after-Christmas sale. And that’s the reason I now buy at the unveiling.

Yes, I am current with all houses in the series. But wait, you say -- you missed a year. Yes, I did, and I was without that house for many years. But one December evening in 2000, I went to our computer to check my email. Hallie was at Oregon State in Corvallis. A message popped up before me as though she knew I was there. “Mom, what is the year of the Hallmark house you are missing?” said the message. “How did you know I was here?” I asked. “I’m psychic,” she replied. “I found one on eBay and I’m bidding on it. How high should we go?” “Get it,” I said. So, I paid $75.00 for the one I missed and considered it worth the price to complete my set.

Over the years I’ve displayed the houses in various ways. When I had just a few, they seemed lost on the tree, so I placed the little village on an end table here or on top of a cabinet there. Eventually there were enough to grace the mantel. Then there were too many for the mantel but enough to be effective on the tree. So, yes, I have a theme tree.

And that’s a story for another entry.

WHAT NEXT?

Retirement naturally brings adjustments. The first year brings a round of new experiences. For the first time, I will be on my own -- if not home alone -- while Mike puts in hours at work. Time will not hang heavy on my hands. The days seem to melt away no matter what I do.

During the New Year’s holiday, I took time to review the year just past and to organize for the year ahead, making notes in my new “weekly planner” (which happens to be Nature’s Sketchbook by Marjolein Bastin). My notes serve as reminders as to what I want to accomplish this next year. I don’t call them resolutions because I don’t want to set myself up to fail. But I believe I am bettered by an introspective of this sort if only because it serves to focus my thought. And it includes the daily challenge to improve the caliber of my thinking.

While Mike watched football New Year’s Day, I took myself to Jo-Ann’s Fabrics for a much needed break (from football). As the clerk cut a yard of off-white linen for me, she commented, “This would make a yummy summer suit.” “Yes, it would,” I said, “but I’m making a doll.” (I wonder where she would wear that summer suit anyway.) Arriving back home, I set up the ironing board and transferred the doll pattern to the linen. I laughed to myself that my mother probably wouldn’t have let me handle that part of the project. Many wonderful things we didn’t do just because we didn’t make a start. So, on New Year’s Day 2008 I made a start on a project I’ve wanted to do for 33 years.

You might be surprised to know what else I did. I researched 8-inch dolls, both vintage and modern, on the internet.