Brother, What a Repair

One of the aspects of garage saling I enjoy is the opportunity to bring new use or life back to castoff objects.  That may mean refinishing abused furniture or a little tinkering on mechanical or electrical items to get them back to 100% (or close) operation.

The Brother stereo I bought last year fell into that category.  

What was on TV December 27th 1980 through January 2nd, 1981

We're back on track with TV Guide this week with a trip back to 1980 just before it became 1981.

The Pink Dot that Hurts a Lot?

I found this partly-used box of Sylvania Flashbulbs (with the Blue Dots for Sure Shots) at an estate sale a while back.

I had absolutely no use for them (having sold my Land Camera last year) , but I liked the box graphics and it was only $1.

I was familiar with the Blue Dots, but I'd never heard that they could turn pink indicating they had gone bad. Apparently, the blue dot is Cobalt Chloride which turns pink when exposed to moisture in the air, indicating a vacuum leak in the bulb and therefore no good, not to mention possibly dangerous if used; cracked flashbulbs have a tendency to explode.

I'm Nuts, You're Nuts, We're All Nuts for Spudnuts

Going through some of my collected ephemera the other day, I came across this postcard.  

Son of Stuff I Can Live Without

Continuing the Stuff I Can Live Without series, I present to you the following:

I saw this homemade chip and dip combo at a local antique mall.  The creator has done the unthinkable and destroyed two of the  butter-dish cereal bowls similar to those I wrote about here.  A few blocks of wood and bottlecap arms and legs later and you’ve got…well, you can see what you’ve got.  

Now that I think of it, it kind of reminds me of William Shatner in stereotypical Mexican attire.

The Best Christmas Present I Never Got

My mom provided daycare for a couple of kids back in the 70’s when I was about 10.  It was a brother and sister and the boy was a year younger than me.  I recall one day shortly after Christmas he brought one of his presents over.  It was a Marx Magic Shot Shooting Gallery.  The Gallery was a plastic box similar in shape and size to a 13” tube tv with a piece of plexiglass closing off the targets inside. 

Holiday Mail

Previously I wrote of the decline of Christmas card sending.  I found this related item at an estate sale earlier this month.  I found it at the blingle house.  

The basket in front is a pocket to store your flood of Christmas cards until you get a chance to open them.

I'm not sure what kind of bicycle Santa is riding, but he seems to be engulfing everything but the wheels and the ends of the handle bars.  Stick to the sleigh, Santa.