Way Back Wednesday ~ Vintage Star Trek Toy Commercials

So many times the geek in me comes out but I can't help it!
Not only do I love vintage stuff, but vintage Star Trek stuff is even better!
Enjoy these old commercials!

Way Back Wednesday ~ Chris' Big TV Debut 1990

OK so this isn't nearly as "Way Back" as I normally go, but I am currently in the throes of coping my old VHS movies to DVD and I came across a video of my oldest, Christopher from an Izuzu Truck commercial that he did when he was 4 years old.

The fact that I even have a copy of this is next to amazing because the company told me that they did not provide copies of their commercials because of copyright infringement or some other excuse I can't remember. One day I just happened to get a hold of a sympathetic producer when I called (for the 10th time) explaining to them I never got to see the ad when it was on TV and I was just devastated. So she sent me the video and I have kept it all years these promising myself one day I would get it onto a more permanent and secure medium.

The cool thing is that Chris was not the first choice of the producers. They had chosen another little boy (who I believe was the child of one of the producers) and Chris was called in as a back up. The director told us they would film both boys but unless something went wrong the other kid would be the one they used.

The wardrobe lady fitted both of them into the pajamas which included taking a regular pair of footie pajamas and cutting a flap into them and then sewing on buttons to give them a traditional look. All this while the boys were in them.

The other little boy was taken onto the set first and they gave him instructions such as "When I say BIG BIRD you turn and look at the truck and when I say BALLOONS start swinging your bear." And "Now when I say COTTON CANDY you look over your shoulder then look back at me and make a face like you just ate green beans."

The other kid would not follow directions quickly enough when the words were called out and he could not make a funny face that the director was happy with. So when it was Chris' turn he did everything on cue and then he made the face you see in one take and everyone laughed so hard and the director said "YES..now thats what I was looking for!" The other boys mom looked pretty mad and I had to try not to look too happy.

When it was time to leave they told us that we wouldn't know which kid was chosen for about a month but in less than a week we got our first check from the production company and I knew they had chosen Chris.

And as I mentioned, I never did see it on TV, but everyone else I knew in the free world seemed to catch it because I got at least 3 calls a day from an excited relative or friend informing me that they had just seen Chris on TV.

At least I have a permanent version and I can watch it anytime I want!!

Way Back Wednesday ~~ Banjo & Andy

Because I was looking through my moms old "pet album" last week for dog pictures, I came across some of the other pets my parents had back in 1955.

First up is their pet spider monkey "Banjo".
My dad got him from the studio. Apparently the pet show they used to film there often gave away the animals they brought in and my dad was always keen to adopt any that he could.

This picture is kind of fuzzy but its the only one where my mom is holding him.

Banjo lasted a year or so until one day when my mom was trying to put him back into his cage and he didn't want go and bit her on the arms about 20 times. They found him another home after that.

From the same era was their burro "Andy".
Andy was another acquisition from the studio. My mom loved to tell the story of the day my dad brought him home. They lived close to the studio so my dad walked him home but half a block from the house Andy didn't want to go anymore so he sat down in the middle of the road and refused to move. My dad had to leave him there, run home, get some carrots and run back and entice him the rest of the way.
At the time my parents lived out in North Hollywood and had a house with a huge backyard so there was plenty of room for him. When they bought the Hollywood Hills house Andy moved to a local farm.

Back in the day you could send away for a spider monkey through the mail.
I remember seeing this advertisement when I was a kid and WISHING I had $18.95 (and a checking account).
I don't know what I would have told my mom when it showed up but I wasn't thinking that far ahead.
I guess I figured I would worry about that part of the plan once it arrived.

I did, in the other hand, order the seahorses only to have my envelope returned saying there was something wrong with the address.
I was sorely disappointed but never reordered probably because I knew my mom wouldn't be happy with these either.

There was also the story about the time my dad wanted to buy my mom a baby elephant.
(You used to be able to get all kinds of exotics back then).
I have no idea where he thought he was going to keep it or what he was going to do with it once it grew up but I dont think he was thinking any further into the future than I was.
Fortunately my mom found out and talked him out of it.

Happy halfway through the week day!

Way Back Wednesday ~ Dogs of the Past

Keeping with the theme for the week of dogs, I thought I would do some pictures of my parents dogs that they had over the years.

This was one of their first dogs.
Her name was Cookie and she was a pekingese.

Then they got Tuffy who was a toy poodle.

Tuffy had black ears as a baby and when he grew up they turned pure white.

Cookie and Tuffy got together and had a couple litter of puppies.

They included Candy Jane who went to one of my moms best friends:

And Smidgey who they kept until he was an old man:

There were several other puppies (Ting-a-ling, Whitey, Smudge) who also went to their friends.

They took Tuffy everywhere, including all their vacations:

And shared the morning breakfast donut with him:

 When Tuffy was no longer with them, my mom went in search of another dog and found Lo-sten.
They got her out of the pound and the story goes that someone else wanted her to and back then they put the dog up on auction when their were 2 or more interested parties and the dog went to the highest bidder. Because my mother just HAD to have her, my dad kept bidding until the other people gave up. Lo-sten lived a long and happy life and loved my mom with the devotion only a dog can.

They also had a tiny Yorkie Terrier who they rescued from a very bad situation.
His name was Danci and he was already pretty old when he came to be with us.
He lived many years and by the time he passed away he had no teeth and almost no hair.

After Lo-sten and Danci passed away there was a whole other pack of dogs that I grew up with but I will save those for another time!

Have a great Wednesday everybody!!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1971 Beverly Park & Kiddieland

One of the fondest memories of my childhood was Sunday mornings when my dad would take me to Beverly Park to ride the ponies. It cost one dollar and you got 7 times around the track.
Over the years the cost stayed the same but you got less go-arounds.

Here I am smiling for my dad while my pony takes a drink half way through the ride.
My favorite pony was Popcorn and I was disappointed that I didn't get to ride him on the day we came with the Polaroid.
I can still vividly remember waiting at the gate (behind me in this pic) wondering which pony would be mine that day. The sweet anticipation never lessened in all the years I went there.

There were 3 tracks.

One for walking, one for trotting and one for running.

Often the ponies decided about half way through that they didn't want to run anymore and one of the workers would come out onto the track and shoo them back into a gallop.

I was much more of a daredevil as a kid and loved the exhilaration of racing around the track as fast as my pony could take me. My mother always worried I was going to snap my neck.

In my right hand you can see the blue plastic "whip" they gave the kids to make their pony go.

I don't think that kind of thing would fly today.

Every once in awhile we would bring my best friend Sally and she would only go on the walking track. Which meant I would be finished about 10 minutes ahead of her and had to stand there and wait and watch while her pony would leisurely stroll around the track. And one time they forgot to pull her horse off the track at the end of her turn and she got to stay on for another 2 or 3 circles which meant I was stuck standing at the fence wishing I could again.

And after the pony ride I could usually talk my dad into taking me next door to Kiddieland and going on a few of the rides.

I always wanted to go on the funhouse even though I inevitably came out crying because it sacred the bejeejus out of me at the end when it looked like your ride car was going to be run over by an oncoming train.

I don't think my dad understood why I wanted to go week after week.

Frankly I don't either!

Here I am on the carousel:

They eventually tore down the park and pony ride and built the Beverly Center shopping mall.

But these will stay forever in mind as one of the happiest times of my childhood.

Recently found these great videos:

Have a great Wednesday everyone!!!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1958

I found this picture in an album my mom made for my dad of some of the different crews he worked on over the years.

This was from 1958 on the set for a show called "Ladies Fair".

I have looked everywhere and can't find any reference for it so either it was extremely short lived or it was a one time special. Either way I really love the old camera and everyone's very cool clothes. Notice only one lady in the crew? I wonder if she was hostess.

My dad is sitting on the floor in the white shirt with the arrow pointing to him.

I am assuming it was shot at the KNXT studios on the corner of Sunset and Gower in Hollywood.

Here's an old color shot of the studios around the time the above picture was taken:

I spent so much time in this building. I would often come here after school and watch TV in the make-up room until my dad could drive me home. I remember going up the roof (the tallest one above the CBS logo) and dropping small pebbles onto the sidewalk so people would look up and I would duck down so no one could see me..

Yeah, hooligan in the making.. that was me.

In the course of looking for information it seems they have closed this building down which is sad. I knew every nook and cranny, every shortcut through the soundstages to get to the cafeteria the fastest..places to hide so I could read a book or pretend I was lost in some vast warehouse with no way to get out and evil villains were looking for me.

Another part of childhood gone.

At least I have some pictures to remember it by.

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1977

In honor of Valentine's Day this week I found a picture of a Valentine's Day party I had back in 1977.

This was on a small patio off the library. It was a really neat place and very much reflected the time that the house was built back in the 1920's. You got out here by climbing a set of cement stairs so you ended up raised above the library and you could look down into the house through big plate glass windows.

You got to the rest of the yard by walking up a small flight of rickety wooden stairs back to the left (that later my mom had redone in cement) and if you stood next to the wall behind us it would come to your mid thigh.

It was always nice and cool in here so we ate out here a lot in the summer. My mom kept all her low light plants here and one summer I made a small guppy pond in a cement depression that was near the window.

I really miss this house.

From left to right in the back row we've got Jackie, Katie, Sasha and Michael.

Sitting in the front row there's Dina, me, Sally and Grace.

We had those wrought iron tables for ever and every time they started to get rusty my mom would simply paint them.

She always gave me the best parties and this was no exception. I'm sure we had a really nice cake that she made from scratch and served all kinds of tasty treats.

I hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day and I will talk to you soon!!

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1935

I figured in an effort to get back to my weekly picture posts, I thought I would start with something not too complicated!

I found this great picture of my dad and his sister Anita from the mid 1930's.

Looks like it is probably summer time and they are outside near the garden.

My dad is wearing a shirt with a zipper and I don't know what strikes me as odd about that.. I know they had zippers back then.

Anita is sitting on a really fantastic old hobby horse. There's something I would really love to have!

She is holding a little dog that looks to me like a King Charles Spaniel. My dad isn't around to tell me the little guys name but I'm sure it must have been a family pet.

Basically this is just a great picture of a typical day in the Oklahoma sunshine.

I think most people around the country are looking forward to some sunshine and warmth. Hope this winter doesn't last too much longer for all of you. Being out here in So Cal I cant complain as it's going to be close to 80° by this weekend. Please refrain from throwing rocks or sarcastic comments. 

Stay warm if you're cold and don't gloat if you're not!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1966 (Adoption Day)

Hey there
Hello
We're glad that you could show

OH ouch! Sorry I was channeling a ridiculous song from a Charlie's Angels episode I saw recently and I can't get the dang thing outta my head.

So here we are half way through the first week back to school. And I am not liking having to get up when the alarm tells me instead of when I dang well feel like it.

Welcome to life.

So in honor of this being my birthday month I thought I would post 2 pictures that were taken on the day of my adoption in January 1966. Which just happened to coordinate with my birthday.

First up is my mom holding me in her bathroom. We are both all dressed up and ready to go to court.
On the back of the picture my mother says I am wearing a hat with Marabou feathers on it. Marabous I have discovered are in the stork family, so I wonder if the hat was chosen on purpose. (Being that they were going to officially become my parents that day).

Do I have to mention I still have this hat in it's original hat box? You can't open the lid without becoming covered in small pink feather fuzz.

That chandelier hanging behind my mom stayed in the bathroom for as long as we owned the house. By the end though, it was missing many of the crystals and had lost part of its glamor. The curtains lasted into the 1980s before they were taken down and never replaced.

I might also mention that in all pictures of me as baby, I have red nose. Looks like I have been hitting the bottle a little heavier than necessary.

And here are both my mom and dad holding me at their friends house after court was finished and I was legally theirs. The friends  (Fred and Mary Scott) came to court with us and were one of the people to act as character witnesses telling the judge that they thought my parents would make good parents. They were also the ones to give me the outfit and fancy hat.

Whenever I see this picture, my eyes are drawn to the jars along the top of the paneled wall. I could never figure out what they were doing there. Or what they really were. I sort of thought they were mason jars, but looking more closely, I don't think so. And as usual, I love the old retro chest and cheesy knick knacks.

So I hope your week has been good and the rest of the week will be better!!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1966/67

Yes, the holidays and impending arrival of the Mother-in-law have gotten me way off track. I have barely had a moment to think straight let alone put thoughts together to write.

I've got about 15 minutes to myself right now. The kids are in their room plotting last minute strategies to improve their Christmas morning haul, Jeff is teaching, and grandma is watching Without A Trace in the living room on my spot on the couch.

I figured I would use this Way Back post to feature my first couple of Christmas trees.

My mom has this labeled 1966 and my first Christmas tree. I was born in January 1965 so for a long time I thought my mom mislabeled the year until it occurred to me that this must have been the first year we had a tree.

Not sure what was happening in '65 but apparently it didn't include putting up a tree.

This was a real tree and the only real one we would have until my mid teens when I insisted we stop using the old artificial one.

The giant brown teddy bear, which I still have, was given to me by my moms mom. Its still in really great shape for its age. I also still have that rag doll with the blue handkerchief on her head. Her name was Tatters. I also really like that cool blue poodle!

This is the next tree in the photo album and it's labeled as 1967 and the other photos with this one have been labeled 66  and 68 so I don't think she knew what year it was really. I assume she did what I have done which is take pictures, not label them then have to figure out when each was taken years later.

This was the first year of the 5 ft Sears tree that should have been the 6 ft model but the wrong one arrived and my parents never bothered to return it. My dad built a big wooden box with an attached stand that we used every year so it would be taller in the living room that had 15 foot high ceilings.

Look this year we finally had drapes in this room!

I got some nice dresses and a darling Kewpie doll that (surprise!) I still have. When I blew up the picture and looked at it real close I see ornaments that I still have too.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday, no matter what you celebrate.

We finally got a check and I can start Christmas shopping for the kids.

I haven't been kidding all this time when I've said I hadn't bought anything yet.

I'm going to try to post over the next week or so but it might be lean until the first of the year!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1963

The holidays are upon us.

Even if we aren't ready for them to be.

So I thought I would use my next 2 Way Back posts for Christmas pictures.

This set is from 1963 (maybe 64).

My parents are visiting their best friends of the day Don & Jody Remer.

They had a cool little apartment in the heart of Hollywood.

They also had a poodle named Pierre.

Over the years they had several poodles.

Pierre, Pierre II, Pierre III.... You get the idea.

Here are my parents with Don and Pierre who is sporting a handsome Christmas bow.

Don't you love the the silver tree behind them?

And all the cool cards pinned to the vintage curtains?

Love my dad's 50's tie.

I wonder how long it took for my mom to get ready?

That hair style didn't come easy.

She is wearing her mink stole that my dad bought from her from a furrier in Beverly Hills called AJ Lipsey.

It had her name embroidered inside.

I (of course) still have this but unfortunately it didn't fair particularly well through the years and has a split near the top from where it was hanging. I don't really know what to do with it because I would never wear it but it was so special to her that it feels wrong to sell it.

Here are my mom and Jody (and Pierre) holding gifts.

I wonder what's in them? In the first picture my father is holding the gift that Jody is holding here.

If you look closely you can see a rubber fire hydrant under the tree on the left.

Pierre must have been a good boy this year.

My only question is why the photographer felt it necessary to sit on the floor while taking the picture?

Hope your holidays are going well and that Santa is feeling particularly generous this year.

At least that's what Jeffrey said yesterday.

Hand in there..... only 3 more days 'til Friday!

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1965

Welcome to Wednesday!

Today I found some Polaroids from October 1965.

I was 9 months old.

These were taken at the home of Francis Lederer who was an old time actor who started his career in the silent films of the 20's and kept right on going all the way through the 1970's. He died in 2000 at the age of 101.

Here is a cool collectors card I found of him when he was in Return of Dracula in the 50's. He was extremely well received in the role.

He was also famous for the house that he built in Canoga Park at the northern end of the San Fernando Valley.

He started it in 1934 with such care and detail taken in every aspect of it's construction that it was considered landmark quality right from the start.

He imported 14th and 15th century Italian and Spanish museum quality art pieces.

He also built a stable on the grounds that in the 1970's was turned into the Canoga Mission Gallery.

The house was damaged in the Northridge earthquake and is still undergoing renovation. 

My parents were invited to his house and allowed to take photographs, which ended up including me!

This first shot is of a painting by Alonso Cano who was a 17th century Spanish artist.

(Geez, I hope I am not touching it!)

This painting is entitled "The Black Madonna" painted in 1605 by Juan Villa Fono from Peru

And here my mom and I are standing in front of an alter that was brought in from a 17th century Spanish church.

This is in front of a leaded glass window.

The house was built to look as if it were centuries old.

This is a beautiful carved mirror with candlesticks.

And the last picture is of my mom and I sitting on a burlap type couch with ornate crests sewn to the back.

There is a carved Madonna and child marble statue on the table behind the couch.

On the back of the picture my mother noted that the living room we were in measured 35' x 50' and had a gorgeous view from the arched picture windows.

Hope you all have a really great hump day!

See you soon!!

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1958

This is my mom in the late 1950's when she and my dad started one of the first fake fingernail companies.

I still have a box of this somewhere (or at least I think I do). Of course none of the components would be good anymore. Probably most of them are evaporated or congealed. This was a real do-it-yourself kit where you had to mix all the chemicals together correctly then shape the aluminum form around your nail and finally paint the mixture onto the form and let it dry. In my wildest dreams I don't think I could accomplish this with any degree of accuracy. It would just end up a mess.  (But then again, this IS me we are talking about.)

I love the costume jewelry my mom has on. I still have the watch she is wearing in my jewelry box and it actually works. It barely fits around my wrist which even at my thinnest are much bigger than my moms. I do hope to wear it comfortably one day soon.

The photo was taken by a famous Hollywood Glamour photographer named John E Reed. He did a lot of shots for up and coming starlets. I'm sure he and my dad worked together at some point. This is a picture of his studio where the photo was taken which was on the north side of Sunset Blvd near Highland in Hollywood. Not too far from where I went to high school.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday... we're half way to Friday which is plus no matter how you look at it!

Way Back Disney Sunday ~~ 1969

Well the holidays got the better of me and I have been absent all week.
I was going to go back and post a Way Back Wednesday post but decided I would just combine my weekly posts into one.

So here I am in February 1969 for my 4th birthday at Disneyland (Yes I was born in January but better late than never). This was my very first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

I don't know any of the ladies in this pictures, they were simply horning in on my big moment with Dopey.

Even more dwarfs!

Happy and Bashful is my guess.

I really loved that sweater I'm wearing.

I had quite the fashion sense even back then. (No really, don't you think?)

And the last one is me with Pinocchio.
No one to steal my moment, only a couple of kids hanging out in the background and a disembodied hand off to the right.
The rental strollers weren't much different then my own stroller from my childhood.
I'm guessing this is outside Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Not a lot else to say about these pictures.

I REALLY wish my parents had taken more shots so I could remember this day better but I believe these were taken with the old Polaroid my dad owned and if I remember correctly it was real pain to work.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and your turkey didn't get too trampled by the incoming reindeer who are now fee to frolic unimpeded by superfluous holidays who get in the way.

Have a great day everyone!

Way Back Wednesday ~ 1960

This is a picture of my dad appearing on The Red Rowe show which ran on CBS from 1959 to 1960.

My dad was huge collector of antiques and some of his favorites were these old Edison phonograph players from the turn of the century. 

He was invited on the show to demonstrate two of his machines which were in pristine condition.

The one on the left has a built in speaker horn under the player and the one on the right has the horn taken off on the counter next to it.

These play old Edison wax cylinder records which he had in the case in the middle.

I eventually sold these machines some years back and they each went for well over $1000. 

I still have several boxes of the wax records.

They are also highly collectible, especially the politically incorrect ones.

Did you notice the huge microphone hanging above their heads? 

It looks like a giant ray gun ready to disintegrate my dad's head.

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1971

Today we venture back to my 6th birthday party.

My parents owned what was originally an old motel on Ventura Blvd in Studio City.

They fixed it up to look like an old western town and called in Knaggs Berry Town.

(Their last name was Knaggs, it was on Berry drive and it was supposed to be a town).

Across the street from it was a gay bar called Oil Can Harry's.

My parents became very good friends with Bert the owner.

He was a wonderful man and when my parents were looking for a place to have my 6th birthday he offered the use of his main dance floor. The whole place was only open after 8 at night.

My parents, ever mindful of saving money thought it was a wonderful idea so out went the party invitations inviting a bunch of kindergardeners to a fun filled afternoon at the local (gay) watering hole. Apparently not many people were bothered by it because most of my classmates showed up.

The first picture is me on the pool table. It looks like Ive been having a good time already because my stockings were filthy!

The next 2 pictures are of the piñata portion of the program.

The first one is me having a go at the parrot.

And there's my dad with his usual cigarette.

You can also see ALL the way on the right the Pin the Tail on the Donkey poster.

I think I cheated when I played so I could win.

I'm glad I developed a sense of ethics as I got older because I don't think I had any at this age.

This next picture shows my mom placing the blindfold on a little boy whose name I do not remember.

I do remember that he had a lot of really cool red hair and freckles.

You can't see me in this picture but I CAN see Sally who is still my best friend to this day.

As crazy as it sounds, I still have that skirt that my mom is wearing.

 (I think it's the same one that she is wearing in my first WayBackWed post?)

Don't you just dig that retro yellow daisy wallpaper in the background?

And those pink and blue doors were the bathrooms.

I have a whole tray of slides from this day and I think I may break them out soon and show them to my kids.

They may need some color fixing if I go to develop them but showing them on a big screen in the living room sounds like a lot of fun. 

Now if I just find a slide projector that actually works!

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1948

Today we take you back to the mid to late1940's.

The date is approximate but I know my dad was somewhere in his 20's when he worked here so we are settling on 1948.

Both of these were taken when he was managing a King Cole grocery store  (The Friendly Place) which was either in Oklahoma or Texas. Judging by the products I would say this was around Christmas time.

The first pic he is putting a display together (a carload sale) and holding Softasilk which was a cake mix that had cornstarch added to it. And you could buy it for the bargain basement price of 37¢ each.

Unfortunately everything else is a bit too blurry and even blown up in photoshop I cant make out the names of the other products. But they were all pretty cheap.

In this second picture my dad is hanging up candy canes which could be yours for just 10¢ each. FOr some reason this seems pricey to me considering the prices of the boxed goods. 

The other things for sale include K's Grapeade (It's refreshing!), Lady's sliced Cranberry Sauce, Teaser's Popped Corn and Libby's Tomato Juice which is priced at 27¢ each.

Gotta love that tie my dad is wearing!

I have a couple of other pictures of his time in the store but I will save them for another time.

See you soon!

Way Back Wednesday - 1968/69

Today I have 2 pictures that are both taken in the same place 1 year apart.

The first one is in 1968 and I am 3 years old and dressed in more that I usually wore at this age which was usually just some panties.

This is in the living room of my parents 1926 Spanish style house in the Hollywood Hills.

Isn't that the greatest piano you have ever seen?

It is a late 1800's Knabe & Co square grand piano. Very hard to find nowadays. 

So many things in this picture that my mom loved.

First was the antique marble cherub lamp which you can see better in the picture below.

I was quite sad to finally part with this some years back but I just didn't have a place for it.

You can't see it too well but on the right side of the piano is an antique music box. I used to adore having my mom wind it up for me so I could listen to all the different songs it played.

I still have the brass butterfly thats on top of it.

The picture on the wall is of a little song bird watching a bee on a flower. I think that picture is still in storage.

The old sheet music is really neat too. Nice examples can go for quite a bit of money.

Next to me on the piano bench is a rubber horse made by Edward Mobley that I still have in my baby trunk. 

I have 2 matching pieces by the same maker. A teddy bear with fuzzy ears and a dog. I collected a 4th similar piece a few years back off eBay.

This picture was taken in 1969 and I was 4 years old here.

Notice I have the same basic outfit as the previous picture except this time I am sporting a long black wig. The wig belonged to the lady sitting in the chair in the right hand corner. Her name escapes me at this moment but she lived in the back apartment (more like a bedroom with a small kitchenette) for a year or two. I used to beg to wear that wig and wanted to grow my hair that long. When I look back I think it might have been so I could continue not wearing any clothes as I grew older and my long hair would cover up the important parts.

My moms other child, oh wait.... I mean her dog is laying on the top of the chair. That was Lo-sten. (My mom loved Asian culture and names).

Not much different in the background of this picture except that the piano bench is gone and a velvet loveseat has taken its place.

You can see the wallpaper in the stairwell behind the piano. It was gold with flocked green leaves. My mom was forever telling me not to run my hands along the wall so I didn't rub the flocking off.

So thats that for this week. Just me and my exhibitionism.

Going to school finally cured me but not for lack of trying.

I remember the first week of school I begged my mom to let me go in just my undies. I even tried to strike a deal where I asked if they would allow me 2 days a week in my skivvies then I would wear clothes all the other times.

No such luck. 

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1955

November 22 1955
My Parents Wedding

I don't remember whose house this was at, but I think it was in the valley somewhere.... probably North Hollywood.

My dad looks great in his suit with the padded shoulders and I love my moms green taffeta dress and elbow length lace gloves. I am not sure if I still have that dress in storage. I know she would have kept it but I dont recall seeing it.

Can you totally dig that wallpaper? How great is that with all those leaves?

And that armchair on the left that matches it in a completely clashing sort of way!

I would really love to have that chair with the original fabric!

Their wedding gifts are on the right including that wonderful clock.  I really love old clocks and have several.

I like the floorlamp, another piece that would be fun to have. And also the knick-knack shelf behind them I am sure holds some items that would go great in my cabinet of vintage trinkets I have in the den.

My parents were married 36 years when my dad died. I wish it could have been longer.

Way Back Wednesday ~~ 1966

Here I am all of one year old and stuffed into that great old stroller with Smudge who was a peek-a-poo. (Pekingese poodle mix)
I seem to remember my parents also calling him Smidgie..

I still have that baby toy hanging down from the front wrapped up in tissue in my baby trunk.

I'm in the kitchen and those classic 60's cabinets were still there when we sold the house 5 years ago.
That floor which was thick white linoleum with black "gouges" in it lasted until the late 70's when some totally retro stick-down squares were used as a cover up. I don't know who invented that white flooring but even as a kid I remember wondering why anyone would make a floor with holes in it that caught every crumb and piece of dirt that hit the floor.

On the counter is a pack of my dads ever present Marlboro cigarettes. He smoked til I was around 10 and then my mom told him he couldn't smoke in the house anymore and eventually he quit since he didn't like going outside.

Along the back wall on the counter is a set of jelly jars that my mom kept in that exact spot for as long as she lived there. I eventually found a good home for them.

The dining room is behind me. I can just barely make out the thick green drapes hanging on the windows. They match the ones that are in the way-back pic of my mom and cousin in the living room. Matching drapes! My mom loved them.

Not a lot else to say except I really loved that dog... he was already pretty old in this pic so I dont have too many pictures with him so these are very special to me!