Old Gadgets

Have you ever used old gadgets that younger people have not even had access to? I will talk about some that I have used. 

Can openers. I have used the old can openers that you punch into the top of the can and use the sharp blade to cut around the top to create the opening that allowed you to get the contents out. There were the punches that opened beer cans by pushing the point through and making a triangular hole to drink from. They were called church keys. They could also be used several times around a can to remove the lid but it was not easy to do. Then they invented a small opener that was placed at the top of a can and had a handle to twist. As you twisted the two attached parts slid together to fasten it on the can. By twisting the handle the opener would travel around the top of the can to open it. Later they made an opener with long handles that were squeezed which punctured the can. A wheel-type handle being turned moved the opener around the top of the can causing it to open. Both of the previous openers were especially hard for us lefties. And all of them left sharp lids that I cut myself with many times. Thank goodness for new electric openers that do not leave sharp edges.

Washboards are a wooden frame holding a corrugated metal piece. To wash your clothes you stood the washboard in the edge of a washtub filled with hot water. When the clothes (one piece at a time) were soapy you scrubbed them up and down on the washboard to mix the soap with the dirt so it will leave the clothes. Then you wring the water out by hand and drop the clothes into a tub of rinse water. Diapers get two rinse tubs. Again you wring the water out and put the clothes in a basket to take to the clothesline to be pinned up and dried by sun and air. There were wringers you could attach to the tubs and hand crank them to get more water from the clothes. They were clumsy and more trouble than they were useful. It was not unusual for the tubs to tip and spill when using the wringers. 

Then came wringer washers. Electricity was a wonderful addition to doing laundry. The tub of the washer was filled with hot water and soap. There was an agitator in the tub that swished the clothes around in the soapy water. When the allotted time for washing was over you turned off the agitator and put the clothes through the electrically operated wringer into a tub of rinsed water. Often the wringer was rotated to wring rinsed clothes to another rinse tub. Then the clothes were put through the wringer again . With the water wrung out the clothes fell into a basket and were taken to the line to dry.

Clothes did not dry with no wrinkles. They had to be ironed. When they came off the line clothes to be ironed were sprinkled with water and rolled to evenly distribute the moisture. Ironing day was also an all day affair. The first irons (besides hot rocks) were heated on the wood stove. They needed to be replaced often so there were often two heating while one was being used. Along came electricity and some nice person found a way to heat the iron that way. Eventually irons had dials to regulate the amount of heat. Next was an iron that sprayed steam on the clothes. No more sprinkling.

I was going to talk about wood stoves and cleaning rugs. I have run out of space. Next time. Do you have an odd gadget that you find interesting? Please share.

Songs For Children

 I love children's music. I have ever since I was a child. I have happy memories of my mother singing to me. My father would whistle and once in a while fancy that he sounded like Bing Crosby. Music was a staple in our house.

Here are some favorites. At least most of them can be found on YouTube.

Pineapple Princess by Annette Funicello

Daddy What If by Bobby Bare

I'll Stay In The House by Jimmy Boyd

Scarlet Ribbons by The Browns

Hula Hoop Song by Theresa Brewer

Cuban Pete Sally Sweet by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball (the video is fantastic_

Mr Sandman by The Chordettes

Que Sera Sera by Doris Day

I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door by Eddie Hodges

Happy Trails by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

At The Codfish Ball by Shirley Temple and Buddy Ebson (really anything from Shirley Temple)

The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens

My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small

All of Schoolhouse Rock

Swingin' On A Star by Spooky and Sue

Bug That Tried To Crawl Around The World by Johnny Cash

Your Nose Is Gonna Grow by Johnny Crawford

Centerfield by John Fogerty

This Land Is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie

Little Bitty by Alan Jackson

Pretty Irish Girl by Sean Connery (from Darby O'Gill and the Little People)

Witch Doctor by David Seville

High Hopes by Frank Sinatra

Tippy Toeing by The Harden Trio

Iko Iko by The Dixie Cups

Bimbo by Jim Reeves

Minnie's Yoo Hoo by Carl Stallings

Ragtime Cowboy Joe by The Rank Rangers

The Marvelous Toy by The Chad Mitchell Trio

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window by Patti Page

Oh my goodness. Look how many there are already. I have so many more but I must stop. If you have a favorite I left off the list please let us know.

More Remodeling

 My son and his friend came to visit again. Lots of work was done. I will bore you with it now.

My front steps were deteriorating and breaking. The very center seemed to be sinking. Since I am still using a walker it was becoming more and more difficult for me to maneuver. I needed help to lift the walker into the house. Then I would hook my elbow inside the door to help pull myself in as I stepped into the house.

They rebuilt both sets of steps into the house with nice solid cement. Now I will not have such a big step to deal with. I like it.

They also put a small awning over the steps so rain would not come down and straight into the house. Now I will not get a shower every time I walk into the house as it is raining.

The plan was to shore up the threshold of the back door which they did. But in the process they discovered that the wall on one side of it was ready to fall off. What a job that was.

Basically he tore the whole wall away and rebuilt it... all in one day. With the temperatures well over 100 degrees it was miserable work. But now the wall is solid and safe. Two windows on the wall were completely replaced.

In my room the window is brand new. They made some repairs to the walls in my room. They also mounted my television which gives me a lot more room. I had a large space rug which they put under my bed and across half the room. No more cold tootsies when I step out of bed in the morning.

In my son's room one window was replaced. Half the floor was reinforced. 

Moving on to the hall the floor was reinforced. It is nice and solid now. Quiet too.

Off the kitchen my ex-husband had built a small block house around a big wood burning stove. The heat came in through the window which he had sealed inside metal. The problem was that it leaked a bit. The window was replaced and looks beautiful. The light it lets in is so nice.

On top of all that my son took us all out to a nice restaurant for my birthday. We all had a good time. 

In less than a week all of this was done. Of course we paid for it. That kind of work is not cheap. But if we had hired a company it would still not be done and would have cost many times more. I am happy with the results.

Who I Am

 I am a baby boomer. After World War ll, there was a huge increase in new babies. The servicemen coming home from the war married and started their families. My father was in the navy. His younger brother was dating a nice girl who had a sister who was not attached. A blind date was arranged and my parents met. Soon after, they married and a whole 10 months later, they had a beautiful baby girl.

My daddy had always wanted a daughter. When he came home from overseas, he had a kimono for his wife-to-be and his little girl. He wasted no time getting both of us. I have always felt very special because I was the little girl my daddy wanted. I have 4 brothers and two sisters. It was great being part of a large family. We never had much money but there was a lot of love.

My mom was the most intelligent person I have ever known. She was a quiet, nurturing woman. Daddy could make or fix anything. He loved being a family man and we all adored him.

Daddy was always looking for something better so we moved a lot as I grew up. I went to 9 different schools before I graduated from high school. He still kept moving until they moved to Detroit. I think he finally found his home.

Mom just packed and moved to where-ever. I don't think she liked Detroit and as soon as she could after Daddy was gone, she moved to warmer weather.

Today is Mom's birthday so she is very much on my mind. Daddy's birthday is in a week and a half with me plopped right in the middle. 

My parents are both dead now. I miss them both so much. 

Emma is not my real name. My family have not given permission to having the world know them. So I made up a name. Otherwise any facts I give about myself or my family are true.

Silly Songs

 I have yet another group of songs. These are my special passion.  I love anything that makes me laugh and silly songs certainly do that. See how many you know.

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah by Allan Sherman

The Ballad of Irving by Frank Gallop

I'm A Lonely Little Petunia by Arthur Godfrey

My Boomerang Won't Come Back by Charlie Drake

Dead Skunk by Loudon Wainwright III

Wasn't That a Party by the Irish Rovers

Lily The Pink by The Scaffold

My The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose by Little Jimmy Dickens

Mule Skinner Blues by The Fendermen

Mahna Mahna by The Muppets

Snoopy vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen

Wild Thing by Sen. Everett McKinley

Oh Lord It's Hard To Be Humble by Mac Davis

Charlie Brown by The Coasters

The Little Nash Rambler by The Playmates

Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport by Rolf Harris

Disco Duck by Rick Dees

Mister Custer by Larry Verne

Daffy Duck's Rhapsody by Daffy Duck

It Came Out of The Sky by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Boa Constrictor by Johnny Cash (The whole album named Everybody Loves Nut is good for a chuckle)

The Doo Hickey Song by Ben Colder

Chug-A-Lug by Roger Miller

The Streak by Ray Stevens

I have hundreds of them. Like I said they are my favorite kind of music. All of these should by on YouTube if you want to hear them. If you know any silly songs I welcome them.

Are You Happy?

 So many people have had unhappy lives. I read about them on various posts. I see them on the news. I hear them from folks I know. 

I have been mostly happy all my life. There have been unhappy moments... deaths, illnesses, and so on. But my life has been good otherwise. 

So I was pondering happiness recently. What makes a person happy? What makes you happy?

I think I was born happy. I was my parent's first child and the first (of many) babies in close proximity to other various family members. I received lots of attention and love. My parents also gave me the gift of six babies they called brothers and sisters. Boy did they love me.

My father worked hard. There was never a lot of money. That is the reason I have little use for money. Too many other things are more important.

So I have narrowed happiness to two categories. Things I need and things I want.

I need a roof over my head. I personally NEED an indoor toilet. I need healthy food and water. I need and want my children. I need clean air to breathe. I need my medication (darn it). I suppose I need clothing and (ugh) shoes. I cannot think of anything else.

I want my favorite baseball team to win more than they lose. I want my dishwasher so I do not have to do dishes. I want to be able to walk again without my walker. There are little things that I want from time to time but the pleasure from them is temporary.

I am realistic enough to know that the whole world will never be at peace. I wish for it even so.

Think about it. What makes you happy?

Sad Songs

 As promised here are some sad songs. Some will tug a bit at your heart. The first one makes me cry every time I hear it.

Willie McBride by The Irish Rovers

The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

Yesterday by The Beatles

Hurt By Timi Yuro

House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me by Culture Club

I Will Always Love You by either Dolly Parton or Whitney Huston

What In The World's Come Over You by Jack Scott

I'd Love You To Want Me by Lobo

Don't Just Stand There by Patty Duke

Massachusetts by The Bee Gees

Detroit City by Bobby Bare

Teddy Bear Song by Tanya Tucker

Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town) by Kenny Rogers

HaveYou Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival

One Of Us by Cher

Three Stars by Eddie Cochrane

The Ballad Of Ira Hayes by Johnny Cash

Walkin' After Midnight by Patsy Cline

Stormy Weather by Keely Smith

Cool Clear Water by The Sons Of The Pioneers

This Time by Troy Shondell

So Sad by The Everly Brothers

Tracks Of My Tears by Smokey Robinson

Great Pretender by Freddie Mercury

Who's Sorry Now by Connie Francis

Wasted Days And Wasted Nights by Freddy Fender

World Without Love by Peter And Gordon

Where Have All The Flowers Gone? by Peter, Paul, and Mary

I'm Sorry by The Platters

She Cried by Jay & The Americans

As usual by Brenda Lee

Return To Me by Dean Martin

Lonesome Town by Ricky Nelson

Cryin' by Roy Orbison

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Liam Clancy

That should give you an idea. You should be able to find all of these sad songs on YouTube. As always I left out a bunch. Is your favorite missing?