Frigidaire Flair Range

1970

Continuing a series of "awkward" photos taken during the Kodak slides period: Reaching under the sink for something.
This picture is obviously the basis for the remark our four year old younger son made when he was visiting a friend's home and saw their kitchen. There were some unwashed dishes and various things on the cabinet. He announced in a loud, low voice, "My mom has a messy kitchen too." (I was always saying that I needed to clean up this messy kitchen.)

In the background is 'Super Stove.'  Two ovens and a sliding drawer that held four cooking burners. Below there was storage space and that was the main reason we bought it. . . a very small kitchen and with a dishwasher installed, there was hardly any place for pots, pans and casserole dishes! This was a 1969 Frigidaire. I can't remember the model name. There were options to set the oven to start a meal later in the day while the housewife was away, playing bridge, shopping or working outside the home.
I never used that believing that the food sitting there waiting to be baked was not refrigerated and more likely to cause food poisoning than my regular cooking methods.

The  space had been measured very carefully by L. to be sure the range would go into the space under the upper cabinets. When the delivery men came in to see where it was to go, one said, "It will never fit." As you can see, it did, barely.

unknown year (BK - before kids)

Yes, we can have wind damage that rips the roots right out of the ground. This was on North Poplar and between 1952 and 1958.

Tilt

Isn't this an odd little building? When I was very young I worked for a time in this office. It has housed many businesses but when I was there it was Mid-Plains Finance. I worked there until I resigned to wait for our first son to arrive in April, 1959. I learned many things there. Some are:  don't ever buy a house on a land contract; when you take out a loan on furniture, be sure it isn't sold to a finance company; make payments on time.

I could have straightened the photo but it seems to me the 1920's style just looks better
off-kilter.  (I'm guessing at the year.)

Underbite

 

And here is Jill, the more aggressive of the pair. Perhaps she is sensitive about her prominent lower teeth.
And today I examined her upper front teeth. Some are missing! Very sad.

Overbite

No, I'm not strangling Jack, the dog. There are times when I would like to but when I find the chewed newspaper, it's hard to tell if it was Jack or Jill who did the damage.
Probably both.
No, just showing you his terrific overbite.
Jill has an underbite so they are a matched pair, unrelated except by sharing a kennel at the animal shelter a year ago. Now they share everything at our house.

The Back Side of Main Street

LP and I went to lunch at the new Fraese Drug location. This drug store was located in the old Wolcott Building which was torn down and mentioned in a previous post.

The drug store moved to the Wiley Building - another landmark in our little city.

Through a series of unfortunate events, they had to move again this year and are now in what used to be called Self-Service Drug.

LP had a salad that we could have split and still have been "full."  I had the chicken fried steak with two sides.  All  very tasty. We'll go back for breakfast soon because the pancakes and sausage and gravy are not to be missed.

We parked in the large lot behind the stores because believe it or not, there weren't many spots on Main to park!

Cool Squirrel

This is how one squirrel was beating the heat in Portland, OR. The metal was cool in the shade. Portland had a few days that were much warmer than usual.

 

And yes, those are Christmas lights. Maybe this winter they will help Mr. Squirrel stay warm.

Tiny Butterfly/Moth?

This little creature has been on our kitchen window for two days. To get an idea of his size, I put a penny up beside him in the second photo.
I wonder what he  is called.  Amazing creatures inhabit our earth.

Wishing for less mosquitos. And why are there so many more this year when it is so dry?

Errors

Don't you just hate it when you have been dealing with a service forEVER and suddenly they change their procedure? This is particularly frustrating when it's billing online and what you want to do is no longer possible.

Thank goodness for the old fashioned telephone and a twenty-four hour service. It seems it is their change (not my error!) and it wasn't working correctly so they took it down. A notice to that effect would have been nice to see on the site!

The friendly rep was apologetic and helpful so it all ended well. I think we'll just use the phone from now on.

1953

That's L. and I with our new 1953 Ford. One week after we signed the two year contract for $94 per month payments, we met another car at an unmarked intersection. She took out both right doors without touching either the front or rear fender on the passenger side.
I was driving. We are looking happy here because nobody was hurt and the doors got fixed.
However, in any Kansas wind storm, dust did seem to drift in around the new doors.
By the way, ninety four dollars a month was just what I cleared at the United Telephone Company in Russell.

Yipee! The First Sign of Fall

 This tree, along with two others in our front yard, will turn red as the weather cools off.
I'm just thankful they are all still alive.

Hash-Mash Potatoes

Today I thought hash brown potatoes sounded good with some pork chops.
No recipe needed for hash browns. Just chop them up, parboil and then fry.

Well, I more than "parboiled" and in the frying pan they didn't brown; they changed to mashed mush.

They tasted ok with a little gravy added. I guess the frozen ones would be easier.

Pigs in a Blanket

 We each had one before the picture was taken. 

Innocent

 

We had to leave them along today for about two hours.
I had imagined lots of things chewed, torn and destroyed.
Boy!
Was I pleasantly surprised when we arrived home and a chair pad was on the floor but nothing was ruined!

Praying Mantis

L. found this in the back yard while trimming what we think is an apricot tree.

I hope the mantis was praying for rain. 

Sixty Years Ago Prices

 Please enlarge to read.
Today is our 60th anniversary. The prices back then look good until you realize the going wage at the dime store was fifty cents an hour.
A year's salary was less than $5000.
Good old days?  Not too sure about that but it has been an adventurous trip.

At The New Book Store

 Yesterday Miss M. and I went to the new bookstore in town. There we looked at many books, book-ends and other oddities.
Next to Margaret Truman's book I saw this great brick - painted to look like our old HHS.
I hope it is one of the bricks from the school.
I admire the talent of anyone who can make a brick look like a building and a blue sky.

An Empty Couch

This couch is for waiting.... people waiting for delicious Mexican food at The Anchor Inn.
I understand the cafe was named when there was a Naval base here in our little town. . . in the middle of the Kansas. Chosen because of the many days of good flying weather, lots of pilots were trained here. Wayne Morris, an old time movie star, was even stationed here for a while.
I guess the name was to draw the sailors in and drop anchor for a brew and some food.
We're glad it's still here.
Oh yes. The cardboard cutouts are the ads for performers who will be at our State Fair in September.

The Belles of Louisville

 The paddlewheel boat - and two little belles of Louisville (at that time.)

Ancestors

This is portrait of my grandparents and their six children. My mother is the one with the big bow in her hair.
They all look so solemn. I have no idea what the exposure time was for a picture like this. Perhaps it was easier to hold a grim look than a forced smile.
Date: Approximately 1914.

Fall colors

This makes me think of fall - even though the iris bloom in the spring.

This week has been quiet: a visit from two on their way to Sturgis and Sunday we will have one grand come to visit for several days.
Glad for the visitors and wish the rest of the clan was closer so they could come more often. 

Favorite T-shirt

My favorite t-shirt.  From one of my favorite cities. Lots of parks, mass transit, bicycles and rain.

The bridges of Portland, OR.

Upset Swing

 

We may have had a gust of wind overnight Saturday. Thankfully we lost no limbs or fence sections. Those things happened earlier in the week from a storm that struck a small section of the city. I believe they called it a power burst - there are several new terms in the weather world that I am not familiar with: wall cloud, micro-burst, dustnado (?)

I think we called that last one a dirt devil.

Cool Morning

 

This morning it was 63 at 6:30. What a relief! Many days (and nights) our low was only in the upper 70's with 90 degrees at 10:00 p.m.
I know this can't last but at least we know it can cool down a little.

The dogs stayed calm and didn't over react to the unusual coolness.
Most of the time they are in the A/C anyway, as are we. . .

Lunch at the Bank

 

Our bank suggested we bring in school supplies which they will match for our students who may not be able to afford all the things they need.
Linda and I took a couple of bags of supplies and we each received a brown bag. We picked turkey sandwiches over pb and j, got a bottle of water, an apple, an oreo and Frito Lay chips of our choice.
We ate  inside where it was cool and the bank had set up a table.
Glad to help some kids with pencils, crayons, rulers etc.

Ernest A. Dewey

 

This man was an author, a typesetter at the Hutchinson News and a friend. He was also a distant relative (married to my dad's cousin.)
His daughter and I were as close as sisters without the sibling rivalry.
Ernest wrote a column, State Senator Soapweed for the Labor Review. There was a series of articles for the News that revealed the unknown facts of Kansas history. These articles were illustrated by Shirley Crawford Schmidt.
He was a great guy and I always thought he reminded me of Fred Astaire - his build and mannerisms.
Later when I received this studio photo, I think the tilt of the hat reinforced that opinion.

Rainy Day in Yoder

 

This was taken several years ago when rain was a common occurrence.
We have had a few sprinkles but we are hoping for more.