1951 Studebaker

I saw this beautiful 1951 Studebaker the other day...and since her owner was there, I asked him a bunch of questions.

He bought her from eBay 11 years ago and he’s slowly been restoring her. In 1951, this beauty was driven down the streets in style with her bullet nose and fancy lights leading the way. Her hood ornament even lit up!

 

Her deep wine color told the world she was not ordinary. Look at those suicide doors! At the time they were advertised as the easier way to get into the back seat of the car.  The back seat was roomy with both head room and leg room AND a pull down arm-rest in the middle of the bench seat, so two people could sit in comfort!

 

The curved back window with the sleek chrome bar down the middle is an added touch of class. This car even had an automatic transmission, which was very advanced in 1951.  

If you look at the dash board, you see an integrated state of the art AM Radio (no add-ons here). There’s a dash mounted rear view mirror giving the driver a clear unobstructed view out the front window.  The Studebaker Land Cruiser was a luxury car. Back in the day you could buy this beauty for less than $2300. That was a lot of money for a car when you consider the following facts:

What Things Cost in 1951: Car: $1,800 Gasoline: 27 cents/gal House: $16,000 Bread: 16 cents/loaf Milk: 92 cents/gal Postage Stamp: 3 cents Stock Market: 269 Average Annual Salary: $4,200 Minimum Wage: 75 cents per hour 

Sadly, all good things come to an end. The Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company that started in 1852 making wagons in South Bend, Indiana, ceased production in 1966. My dad said that was a sad day for cars. To that end, it’s a treat to see one of the icons of American automobile history still looking gorgeous 67 years later!

Coasters, Angels and Blankets

I’ve branched out...I’ve designed and made a few coasters too. I placed an angel on top of the coasters to show their size...just big enough for a glass not to leave a ring on a table. 

I’ve just finished another blanket...and 

...it’s ready to be delivered to Project Linus.

Another R

Reflections 

 It’s the time of year to look back, evaluate, reflect and make plans to move forward.

The optimism of Spring.

 

Three R's of Spring

 I’m not talking about Readin', Ritin', nor Rithmetic...this is another set of "R's"—

Rock Roses or Rockies for short...these fragile flowers just started to appear...soon, the bushes will be covered in pink!

Redbuds...the second R. For a short two weeks a year we enjoy the magenta madness of the redbud...then the trees leaf out, and melt into the background...until the following spring.

Roadwork...the third R of spring. After the rains, the gravel road needs some repairs.

The grasses are greening, the wildflowers are beginning to blossom, the rabbits are acting crazy...spring is just around the corner.

Sunset 1-2-3

Sunset 1

Sunset 2 (a few minutes later)

Sunset 3 (still later)

Beginning to end—less than 10 minutes. Ephemeral beauty.

 

Spring Might Be On The Way

I love walking in the early morning. It’s that calm time of day before things begin. While the sun is rising and the critters are starting to shake off sleep, the rooster crows, the horses bray, the jackrabbits leap great heights ... and then comes the noise! The geese and ducks just don’t know how to be quiet. They squabble a constant banter of quacks and honks making sure the rest of us get up!

After the recent rain, the ponds are full. Look carefully and you see our pair of Canada Geese have returned for another spring at the pond. They will be starting their new family soon. The ducks are taking a morning swim. The grass is just starting to get green. The promise of spring is in the air.

 

Easter Angels

Last Easter I made bunnies...a bunch of bunnies

This Easter I’m making Angels...I know, no one has ever heard of Easter Angels...but here they are!

One angel led to...

Five angels ... and that led to a ...

Garland of Angels and then...

A mess of Angels...They are fun to make! Angels come in all colors too!

 

The Next One

Making blankets is something that I do. I just finished the next one (fifth for the year)—and it might be the prettiest blanket I’ve made in a long time.

The picture does not do it justice as the zig-zag looks like a neon light shooting thru the a sea of black.

 I think a teenager will like it.

 

Duh!

Yesterday we were on a mountain road and saw this sign.

Here’s a closer look at it...gee...did you know that a hill would block the view? The Great State of California made this sign with this important piece of information, just in case you did not know that a solid mountain would block your view. I’ve known this all my sentient life...but then, this is California and we’re not too sure how many sentient folks are running it.

Away from Home

Today I met the owners of this vehicle. It’s a European motorhome called a Hymer, and there are not many of them rolling down US highways. The couple in this unit are from the Netherlands, and they have been winter-camping in the US for 2 years now. (The picture is copied from their “business card.”)            

They started in Halifax and wandered to Las Vegas last year where they left the RV with their son. This year, they picked up their RV in San Francisco (their son drove it there), and they started touring the western USA. They will be leaving the US next week, so they can return in time to see the tulips at home. They plan to leave the RV in SF where their son will pick it up and drive it back to Vegas.

What a great adventure! Years ago, we thought it would be fun to RV in Europe but we discovered the joys of river cruising and we did that instead. One of my joys is meeting people on my morning walk. 

A “Tents” Moment

The other day I talked about recreational vehicles. Today I’m going to talk about tents! 

Tents have come a long way from those I remember as kid. The old tents were canvass and smelly and dark. Mostly they were tree green. My best girlfriend’s father set up a tent in his backyard every summer and we would play in and around the tent. We loved it even if it was dark and smelly. Maybe that’s why we loved it. Kids are strange as you know. Well, forget about that tent of old, and look as some of the tents that are in the Park. This “3 bedroom 2 bath” wonder (I’m exaggerating only a little) is proudly set up not too far from me. It has an entry hall, and a couple of “pop-outs” to give it more room. 

Not all tents are huge. This is more of a normal size in light blue

If one tent is good, two must be better

Camoflage-Shamoflage...it’s good to be seen

...so why not a red tent        

...and a blue tent

Not all tents sit on the ground. Some are mounted atop SUVs. I talked to the campers with this tent and they were very pleased with it. When the tent is folded up, it makes a 18 inch high package that fits nicely on top of the SUV. Inside it has enough sleeping space for 2 adults and 2 dogs...and the mattress is 3 inches of plush memory foam. The downside...remembering to not walk out of the tent in the morning. The fellow told me it was a long drop from tent to ground, but he’s only made that mistake once!

 

And here’s another roof mounted tent. 

I’d be remiss if I did not picture the pop-up camper. When we first started camping, this was the entry level RV. After folks had tented for a few years, they bought one of these vehicles...all the joys of tenting with some of the mod-cons (refrigrator, stove, and dry space).         

Tents seem to bloom when the weather is good and the view is wonderful. 

As we are starting President’s Day weekend, I’m expecting to see more tents coming. 

A Farewell to Arms

As you know, our local library has a collection of DVDs...some old, some new, and some “in between.” Last night we saw another of the “old” variety...the 1932 rendition of “A Farewell to Arms.” The tragic story of forbidden love in a war zone was written by Ernest Hemingway, however, there were several “leaps” of storyline that just did not make sense. A quick look at Wikipedia told me why...the screenwriters made some changes. Hemingway did not approve of the changes, but they were made nonetheless.There’s a 1957 version of the film...I wonder if it has the same “leaps” of storyline?  

Helen Hayes is beautiful. Gary Cooper is moody. The title is a play on words...farewell to war and farewell to the welcoming arms of a lover. In fact, the title was used before—by a 16th century poet. Folks are unsure if Papa knew about the poem or not, but it is a moot point, as titles cannot be copyrighted (not to mention that something written in the 16th century is in the public domain). 

The copy of the film that we saw was in shades of gray because so many copies have been made of the film, it’s hard to find one that is crisp. For classic movie lovers, it’s another “must see” but not so much for the rest of us.

Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day. Tell your special honey, that you love him/her. 

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Judgment at Nuremberg

The old movies continue, this time with Judgment at Nuremberg. The 1961 classic is a must see movie. It tells the story of government gone crazy (do we see any relationship to what is happening today?) The message is meaningful. 

The all-star cast told a timeless story of what happens when an ideaology goes wrong. If you have a chance to see this 57 year old masterpiece, take it. 

(On a side note, a very young William Shatner is in the movie.)

Number 4

I finished the fourth blanket for 2018. It’s shades of lavender with a blue/lavender variegated stripe.

 The stripe looks like little pieces of stained glass so I’ve been calling it my cathedral blanket. 

That’s a close up of the stripe...I think it came out well.

Spring

Earlier in the month a rodent prognosticated that we would have 6 more weeks of winter. 

No matter what that rascally rodent has to “say”

...the blossoms are starting to appear

...it’s the beginning of spring in this part of the world.