Grocer Nan Won’t Step Foot In Polly’s Trippy Kitchen

Congoleum 1932
Congoleum 1932

These fake Latuda smiles are not exactly winning endorsements for the enticingly-named Congoleum product. They look more like they’re remembering an old flame, the one that got away. Who can say? But we CAN safely assume this is a tee-totaling home. A couple whiskeys and this tile does not a good pair make. Every day is a hallucination in Polly’s kitchen! Actually, Prohibition was in effect, so the liquor was probably in the cellar. Americans were sober and their pockets were empty.

Two years later, old floors still posed problems. Fortunately, Muriel found a way to fix it.

Congoleum 1934
Congoleum 1934

Before islands existed, folks tossed a table in the kitchen and called it eat-in dining. I like how the couples are having separate conversations three feet apart. You think Edward and Henry even NOTICED that Muriel changed the tile? Fat chance. Drinking is legal now, and it is SO ON. Edward and Henry have hooch on the brain and hooch only. Meanwhile, Muriel is sitting on the table, assessing her new flooring. I think she’s having second thoughts, now that she sees how it clashes with Nora’s orange striped dress. In fact, I think Muriel is playing the quicksand game and avoiding contact entirely. And why is she dressed for a funeral?

At least her little green squares were preferable to this muddy brown zigzag hot mess. I imagine it disguised dirt well but I’m getting a migraine just looking at it. And such a shame with an otherwise upbeat kitchen!

Armstrong 1936
Armstrong 1936

Did your grandparents have tile like this? Did you make up games to walk on it?

Bear Each Other’s Burdens, Part II

August 1947, National Geographic
August 1947, National Geographic

A member of the Finnish Red Cross hands Helsinki housewife Sirkka Michelsson a package, including a sweater knit by the Nashville American Red Cross chapter, pajamas for her children from Connecticut, a dress, and more. Michelsson, weeping tears of gratitude, was one of thousands of people helped by American generosity in the post-WWII years.

When Your Dryer Has A Faulty Belt And It Sounds Like It’s Functioning Normally, But The Drum Of Wet Clothes Won’t Spin So Plan B

Natl Geographic June 1963
Natl Geographic June 1963

A serviceman gazes up at mostly-white skivvies drying in the warm Genoan sun as he steadily climbs upward in the Truogoli di Santa Brigida. Due to a shortage of space, Genoan buildings grow upward.

Incidentally, the quiet nook of Truogoli di Santa Brigida receives a 4.5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

One reviewer said, “ジェノバ・プリンチペ駅から王宮へ向かって道を下る途中、王宮手前の右手に路地へ入っていく場所がある。 この様に口コミサイ…” which means “much fun party!” No, I don’t know what that says.

Another review read, “Reliable local simple and tasty cuisine, in a beautiful and typical square of the historic center of Genoa, just behind the Royal Palace of Via Balbi. Among the first great typical ravioli Genoese touch and fresh pasta, good also with meat, often cooked according to traditional recipes from Liguria (rabbit, roast), plus a few fast and light dish like octopus with vegetables. Discrete bottled wines, excellent quality/price ratio.”

Makes one wonder if the laundry drying in the Italian sun would smell “linen fresh” or ripe with hints of game and basil…

New Hollywood “It Boy” Or Soldier Born 175 Years Ago?

shorpy_00201u

SHORPY: Ca. 1863. “Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with forage cap carrying a bone handle knife in breast pocket.” Sixth-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress.

Per wikipedia, the Civil War the M1858 forage cap, based on the French kepi, was the most common headgear worn by union troops, even though it was described by one soldier as “Shapeless as a feedbag”. What do you think? Pretty slouchy?

shorpy_00201u-preview

So often, we see pictures of Civil War soldiers, and they look creepy/eerie/stiff, nothing like a man in 2017. But this one is different. Maybe it’s the goatee or the penetrating gaze. He reminds me of someone I’ve seen. Just to put this in perspective, let’s remember that Civil War facial hair often looked more like that of Major General Alpheus Williams.

major-general-alpheus-williams

Not that this beard isn’t AMAZING. Because it is.