Novel News and Facebookly Fun

Having had the pleasure of "chatting" with you folks for almost five years now, come September, I know you are not only a creative bunch, but you have a sense of humor. So while I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea here-- and yes, I will get to the teacups and other thrifty goodies for you good folks later in the week-- I did want to mention my humorous space fantasy novel There Goes the Galaxy will be out soon, and it now has a Facebook page you can "like" to find out more.

The Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/ThereGoestheGalaxy

I'll be getting the proof of the book in my hot little hands this week, which means if everything looks good, the print version of the book will be out in the next week or two. YAY!!

The book will come in a Kindle version, too; though I'm learning that my storytelling abilities are far stronger than my technical ones. So that conversion is still in-process.

Anyway, just wanted to loop you folks in. I've wanted to write books every since I was 11 years old and had read every Nancy Drew I could get my hands on. So this represents a huge thrill for me-- almost as exciting as a thrifted lamp. :)

Wishing you all a lovely first week o' September,

Jenn

While I remember, a Little Short Fiction For You

While I know, sci-fi/fantasy isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea, I thought some of you good folks might enjoy a little space adventure short story I published recently on my humor blog.

The tale uses two characters from the humorous space fantasy novel I'm currently working to get published.

Anyway, if you have a minute and are looking for a chuckle, you can check the short story out by clicking here... It's called "The Hyphiz Deltan Job."

I'll be back to decorative and thrifty goodies later in the week. I'm working on a surprise for my friend Josette who will be visiting over Memorial Day. Woo-hoo!!

--Jenn

Turkey Tray Wednesday: TSR's Thanks, Tips and Travel Humor

Since the Treasure Box for this week isn't full of any thrifted goodies-- what with there being no time for thriftin' fun-- I thought I would leave you this Thanksgiving holiday with a great big helping of holiday humor from my humor blog Of Cabbages and Kings.

Savor 'em one at a time, or devour 'em in one big bite. But just keep a few antacids on hand, because even the most savory Cabbage can do a number on ya if you chew too fast.

• Giving Thanks, Cabbages-Style. I've put together a very special list of the things that I've been grateful for in the past year which are actually 100% unrelated to things like turkeys, family, or parades where giant Snoopys stomp Manhattan like beagle-shaped Godzillas. Perhaps you might even join me in a few of them! Click here.

• Tips to Liven Up Thanksgiving. At every family get-together, there's always that one person who makes a real statement. Like Uncle Joey who brings a case of beer he drinks himself all before half-time and then begins to regale everyone with the history of the combustion engine. Or Aunt Clara who isn't speaking to Aunt Betty since the Chestnut Stuffing Schism of 1987. But this year, why not make that memorable party guest... you? Click here.

• How Not to Annoy Airport Security. Making your life easier with helpful tips for getting through airport security without annoying them-- and molesting you. (Amusingly, I wrote this two years before this year's Dave Barry groping incident.) Click here.

And while I have you all here, I'd like to wish my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving, filled with all good things. I appreciate each and every one of you for stopping by this year.

(And to paraphrase Arlo Guthrie in Alice's Restaurant, I hope you have a Thanksgiving dinner-- or two-- that couldn't be beat!)

Seeing is Believing at the Madonna Inn

To go along with last week's little video tour of the Winchester Mansion, I thought you all also might get a kick out of seeing some of the rooms in the Madonna Inn, out in San Luis Obispo, California.

With 110 theme rooms all decorated in... um.... unique style-- from gaudy gilt to caveman kitsch, it's an eye-popping attraction! This is romantic decorating gone X-treme.

You can peruse the individual rooms by clicking the room names on their website here: http://www.madonnainn.com/features.php

(You might want sunglasses.)

Don't forget to check out the Caveman Room. Y'know, for all your indoor waterfall and leopard skin bedspread needs. It's where Fred and Wilma second honeymooned, don'tchaknow.

Anyway, that's what I have for you today. Sorry I'm running behind on posts this week, dear people. Sunday I was helping one of my friends assemble some large pieces of furniture and didn't get back home until it was too late and I was too unmotivated to post. 

I hope to have pics of her recent updates for you on Wednesday. Yabba dabba dooooooo!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Somebody Else's Treasure

I didn't hit the thrifts and antique malls this weekend. My attentions have been directed more toward wrapping up the draft of my humor novel-- which, happily, I have-- all 530-some manuscript pages of it! (Manuscript pages run about 2-1 on actual book pages.)

It's been a long time coming, let me tell ya. So with another good editorial scrubbing of the draft, hopefully soon, I'll have something truly worth sharing. That was my real treasure for this week: positive progress.

That said, "Why is there a giant deer posterior on your romantic decorating and thrifting blog, Jenn?" you ask.

"Ah," I tell you, "I was just getting to that."

Sometimes, my secondhand adventures lead to items that I do not so much wish to come home with me (please no), but which make me happy by their simply existing, and which need to be documented for posterior-- er, posterity and shared with my blogly buddies. Like this... unique... deer trophy.

We might title this, "The One that (Almost) Got Away."

I also spied this original and possibly hand-made with love (because I suspect it couldn't possibly be mass-produced) banana chandelier.
Doesn't it just make you think of the charm of Carmen Miranda?... The calypso musical stylings of Harry Belafonte... the, er, Clyde from "Every Which Way But Loose"?
I never got a chance to mention to you, that big-eyed pig-dog-Carol Channing-looking painting from the Ohio River Boulevard Antique mall we chuckled about in a post not long ago?-- well, that must have found a home somewhere.

After hanging in that mall for months on its third floor, only a week or two after the post here, it was vanished from its spot.

Did some TSR reader fall in love with it here on the blog and need to make it his or her own? Was it artistic admiration at first sight? Was it the so-tactile black velvet surface? Was it due to falling down laughing and saying, "Hey, won't this be a conversation piece when friends come over?"

I'd love to know. So if one of you dear folks felt inspired to install this art in a spot near and dear to your heart, I hope you'll leave a comment and share with us.

I need closure on this.

Well, must run off now-- like a white-tailed deer through the wall of a second-floor antiques booth. :)

Humorous Hand-Knit Hunks of 1940s Red Heart Wools

While many of us may have our minds drawn toward Easter bonnets and frilly dresses, today we're going to take a look at knit menswear from the 1940s. Because:

1. These fellows would look pretty silly in frilly dresses and flowered hats and
2. The sweater marketing is funny enough that I simply couldn't wait until Fall to share.

The Chadwick's Red Heart Wools sweater instruction booklet assures us that:

"These are the sweaters Mostly Likely to Appeal to Men of Success. Here are the sweaters for every taste and temperament--"

If your man's temperament includes the perpetual accessorizing with pipes, booze and books.

Let's start with what our booklet dubs the Young Modern. Yes, this has to have been what David Bowie was thinking of when he wrote his song Young Americans. Except the lyrics need just a little tweaking...

"With his Red Heart worsted knit
He lays it down
He frowns
Gee my life's a funny thing
Like wool, life's too spun?"

What girl doesn't love the deeply philosophical type?

In Streamline Design, this young man practices romancing the ladies, Maurice Chevalier-style, on his T-Square ruler-- the closest he's likely gotten to dipping a dame.

"Oooh, la-la, mon cheri, you are so slim, so straight, so fully-flat... I love you like I have never loved anozzer... It is the Red Heart Worsted I wear which beats for you..."

Er, let's leave give those two a little privacy and move on to Executive Material. After 25 years loyal service, this fine fellow was working on a persona that would earn him that coveted in-office nickname. He was aiming for "Smiling Bob"...
Little did he know, the unnerving, forced quality of even his most pleasant expression had inspired everyone in the office-- from the copy boy to his secretary, Miss Tibbs-- to call him, "Creepy McCardigan."

Fortunately, he had not heard this whispered gigglingly over the mimeograph machine.

Maybe he would have enjoyed more personal rapport if his wife had knitted him the Good Mixer. Yes, the Good Mixer is the man who knows wearing striped pants and a checked sweater can only be truly set for Sexy when it's topped off with a big ol' bowtie...
The kittens will just be dying to touch it, to straighten it, to let him buy them a Rob Roy, to light their smokes. He's got the swinging society eating out of the palm of his hand-- the hand he casually tucks into his pleated trousers which is now losing feeling at the elbow because he's struck this pose for the better part of an hour hoping one of the girls would notice his panache.

Now, the Stag at Ease (and no, I didn't make that name up just to be funny) knows that nothing is more manly, more devil-may-care, more virile, than a dotted Swiss fluffy sweater.

Yes, friends, nothing more clearly says, "I'm single. I'm available. I'm the son of a mother who still makes all my clothes" than the Stag at Ease.

Why, this young buck defied his mommy this very morning-- manly-style-- by wearing the dotted sweater, yes, but with completely different trousers than the ones she laid out for him! Mother would be horrified. But the Stag, he doesn't care. It's a statement. Its his way or no way. And he's a real American rebel.

Here we have another free-thinker through wool fiber. Meet the Rugged Individualist. He stands out from the crowd because of his... er...
He's different from all the other guys wearing suits and vests and ties and carrying pipes because of... um... well...

He has a special creative flair as demonstrated through...

Er. Okay. So, yes, he looks just like every other 40s old dude with a pipe. But sometimes knowing when you need to blend in with everybody else shows your deep inner strength.

Yeah, that's it. He's just keeping all that ruggedness and individuality under wraps for now. Otherwise, well, who knows what would happen?

The Crew Captain, on the other hand, is dressed appropriately for his active lifestyle.Yes, time on the water has shown his ability to adapt to any situation. That's why his striped wool sweater has short sleeves instead of long. And he wears thick wool slacks and a watch that is not, in fact, waterproof.

He knows that a single capsize will leave his sweater sagging to his knees, his tweed pants soaked and itchy against his legs, and his wristwatch entirely ruined. Which gives him that added incentive not to fall in.

It's Iron Will and a Fight Against the Odds at its most spectacular!

Now we go from the local lakes and rivers to the icy shores of ancient Scandinavia. Because here we have The Viking...
Contrary to what historical documents would have us believe, Vikings apparently were very big on skiing in turtleneck pullovers. And we're in luck! At this very moment, Olaf the Mightily Mittened is preparing to go on an expedition to find new lands, plunder, pillage and... well... enjoy some s'mores and hot cocoa at the post-pillage party. (Don't forget the whipped cream. Vikings love extra whipped cream.)

Now I know what you're thinking. But there is an alternate version of the woolly cap where you can knit up some horns. Olaf just didn't go for those because they affect wind resistance.

And that, dear readers, about unravels the last of our look into the hand-knit hunks of Red Heart Wools.

I hope you'll join me on Wednesday, when we peer into the thrifted Treasure Box for this last week.

I'm going to hop off for some Eastery edibles now. I believe there are some candy eggs with my name on them.

Have a lovely day!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Of Flowers, Forgiveness and Field Trips

It's been a heckuva week for me, friends, and I ask that you please forgive me for a less-than-hearty post today. For the last week, I have had two writing projects for work taking my attention-- and both of them are, in some twist of fate, due at the same time!

This has meant long workdays, weekend work, and--(gasp)-- no thrifting! So while all work and no play makes Jenn a mildly grumpy girl, I don't want to leave you all empty-handed today. You all deserve better than that.

So in addition to these couple of snaps (and in one case, a snap-dragon!) of the flowers in my yard...


I thought you might also get a good Wednesday chuckle from these past tales on my humor blog.

• Showdown at Crazy Francois' Maison de Fier details what happens when a work friend of mine gets himself sucked into a jalapeno daredevil taste test in New Orleans' French Quarter. Will he survive? Will I have to call the fire department? Click here to check that one out.

• Office Pranks, Pens and the Shrinkwrap Trap is about my quest to be Queen of the Shrinkwrap machine at work, after a sly practical joke by my boss sets a dangerous (and hysterical) precedent. Click here for that one.

• Henry the Eighth Goes to Counseling is from the perspective of King Henry Tudor's therapist, Mrs. Harker, who's been trying to help Henry work through some of those intimacy issues of his-- you know, what with all the beheadings. If you were curious what I actually sound like, here's your chance to find out: I'd done it as a sound file. I won't win any awards for acting, but I hope you'll get a smile. Check that out here.
  

And that's all from me today, my buds! I'll be back on Sunday with the regular weekly post, as my life should have sorted itself out a bit better by then.

Take care of yourselves!

Signs You Might Be a Vintage Lamp Addict

Hi, everyone. My name is Jenn... and I'm a vintage lamp addict.

(Chorus: "Hi, Jenn!")

I have been picking up interesting old lamps willy-nilly at thrift stores and antique malls for... oh... six years now. But I know I'm not the only one. No, indeed-- studies say Vintage Lamp Addiction affects one in 50. And it is the most popular thrifting addiction right after Wicker Basket Amassment Syndrome, Pyrexia, and Dishaholism.

And so I thought that today, as a Thrift Shop Romantic public service, I would detail for everyone, the top signs that you, too, might suffer from this fascinating yet powerful need for unique yet affordable table lighting.

Signs You Might Have Vintage Lamp Addiction

• Your hands tremble slightly each time you approach a thrift store lighting section

• You pick up chandelier crystals at flea markets and salvage yards "just in case."

• You have three lamps in every room, but only two outlets. And you don't care.
  

• You hoard rewiring kits the way some people collect cats.

• The sight of a box of interesting fennials, or a roll of shade fringe, leaves you a little breathless and dizzy.
  

• When you hear people use the phrase "time to cut the cord" you immediately envision a lamp with a wiring problem.
  

• When you have a lighbulb idea go off in your head, you can also identify the wattage.

• You named your daughter Tiffany after your favorite lamp manufacturer. Her middle name is "Wisteria." Your son's name is Dale.

• You catch yourself checking out the lighting in pubs, those restaurants with all the stuff on the walls, and movie sets.

• For Christmas, some people ask for new socks or jewelry. You request socket sets.

• At the corporate holiday party, you're the only one who comes to the party already wearing the lampshade on your head. You bring spare shades for others.
  

Yes, Vintage Lamp Addiction plugs thrifters into a strange subculture of electricity consumption and unending lamp display rotation. Rehabilitation is rarely successful; addicts find the fascination almost impossible to kick. We see an exciting specimen of lampness and suddenly, we are reaching for our wallets. Before we know it, we are embracing our new find on the way to the car.

We can't help it. You might say, we're simply wired this way!

• If you missed last Treasure Box Wednesday, where we take a look at the latest lamp find, and other less obsessive goodies, click here.

Otherwise, I hope you see your smiling faces here again this coming Wednesday, for more Treasure Box fun!

Gently Needling 60s Fashion with Spinnerin Knits

Fear... Friendship... Pain... Adoration and stalking... Knitwear-based chafing... You'll find them all here between the pages of Spinnerin: More Fun Time with Giant Jiffy Needles.

At a mere $0.45 cents at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Greensburg, I felt I'd uncovered the entire range of human emotions wrapped up into an eight-page knitting and crochet instruction book.

Also, I kinda laughed out-loud in the book aisle. That was probably forty-five-cents-worth right there.

For its time, Spinnerin seemed to have had a pretty good handle on the trends in 60s/early 70s fashion... Like harvest yellows and oranges, aqua blues and short hemlines. But leafing through its pages, it stikes the viewer instantly that Spinnerin's inter-model posing was a bit on the... um... eccentric style...


I can hear the shoot director now.

"Okay, you, brunette: look at the camera. Now you, blondie: look adoringly at the other gal like a puppy who'll follow her anywhere. That's right! Very good!... Groovy, baby!..."

"Okay, you can stop now.... Blonde girl? You can stop now... Um, I got the shot... You can stop now... Please stop..."

"Okay, you're kinda creeping your colleages out now. You do know that, don't you? And I don't have a lot of film to waste here... We're on a budget."

I like how the brunette appears to be trying to project herself out of the scene entirely, by having gone to her happy place.

"She's still staring. I know she's staring. But I will use my one Method Acting class to imagine myself in a warm summer meadow... alone... with the sun beating down upon my face like this yellow knit dress I am wearing... It's filled with sunflowers, gently swaying... I can hear birds chirp and...

"Is she still there?...

"She's still there, isn't she?

"I knew it."

Finally, it looks like they had to send the blonde stalker for a little break. Only one of the other models seems concerned about what she's getting up to off-stage...

"What's she's doing now? Oh my gosh, Cheryl, it looks like she's dyed her hair brown and she's wearing all your clothes!..."

"Oh, that's definitely your favorite sweater, micro-mini and go-go boots, Cheryl!...

"And what's that she's carrying in that boiling pot? Oh, surely that's not...(gasp) Your pet rabbit, Mr. Thumper?!"

"Nevermind that, Lacy: look how I can turn my arm around the entire wrong direction! I'm double-jointed you know. Isn't that far out?"

Finally, though, after the blonde's breakdown, they've gotten her properly medicated and subdued. She looks almost like a new person! One way of controlling her seems to be through full-body knitwear...


The discomfort distracts her from anything else. In this shot she realizes she probably shouldn't have had the full glass of water with her 12:30 anti-anxiety pill.


Well, that about ties off and blocks this particular post of The Thrift Shop Romantic.

• For folks who missed last week's Treasure Box Wednesday, click here.

And this coming Wednesday's post promises an astounding array of goodies to share with you. When vendors at fleas are offering an additional 30%-50% off antique items, well, you just know it's going to be a good day!

Hope you have a terrific week ahead of you-- and knit-jumpsuit free. :)

Holiday Road: TSR's 2008 Thanksgiving Vacation in Postcards

Ah, pack your Aloha shirts and sandals, my buddies, and break out that sunscreen-- because The Thrift Shop Romantic is headed to the tropics! For Thanksgiving this year, I'll be hitting the skies and flying to the Florida Keys to visit my dad. So I thought I'd take you all on a little preview of my travels, as through this pack of 1940s Florida souvenir postcards...


Because, ya know, my trips are exactly like 60-year-old tourism shots. In fact, you'd be surprised how colorized the world looks when I go on vacation. It's weird.


So here we are on the way to the Florida Keys, a string of islands right off the Florida peninsula. And because it's Thanksgiving, you know we'll be having the traditional Thanksgiving holiday feast main course--

Roasted coconuts!...

What, you mean you don't have to climb coconut palms to get just the right coconuts for the Thanksgiving table? You don't husk that coconut and then pop it in the oven for 7 hours to roast it just to perfection? You don't carve the coconut at the table, and have coconut dressing, and mashed coconut, coconut slaw and finely aged coconut wine?

You mean you don't finish with coconut cream pie?

Hm. I could swear everybody did that. Like, the Pilgrims, and just, well, everyone.

Strange.

Well, I bet after your big holiday feast, you all make sure you get in a nice bit of canoeing. We always do. A perfect way to work off those calories!


Then we go visit our neighbors...


As you can see, they like to canoe, too. You know, there's simply nothing like a little Thanksgiving fellowship, spending time with the people you care about.

If there's time, we'll all get together and help Farmer Joe nearby pick some of those ripe juicy oranges from his orchard...


Okay, so Farmer Joe doesn't exactly know we're helping him. In fact, it's best to keep an eye out for Farmer Joe and his men when you're picking... And don't forget to duck when the shotgun bullets whiz past your head.

But there's nothing like the feeling of helping your fellow man do an honest day of labor.

That's something to be thankful for!

Once we return home with our Thanksgiving oranges, we drop them off and head back out to peer in our other neighbors' windows and watch the football games...


Why, we don't have TV, but that never puts a damper on our finding out which college trounced the other. We like to keep informed, dontchaknow. This works out really well, as long as we don't accidentally lean on a window and trip the neighbor's alarms.

Darned ADT home protection! Well... lesson learned, right?

Now me, if I'm not delayed by the local law enforcement at this point, I always like to take a nice walk in the Everglades swamp just around dusk. There is simply nothing more beautiful than the sun setting over over mangrove trees, the palms, the three foot tall mosquitoes and the alligators...


Of course, for two years in a row, the gators ate the breadcrumbs I was leaving behind me, and I totally lost my way back to the fanboat. Who knew gators were so big on croutons? So, I found myself just wandering around lost at night, with only the stars to light my way.


Eventually, I ran into some Cuban refugees, who were just as lost as I was. It was really nice to have company, and I appreciated how Juan and Carlos beat off that gator from my leg. You were very brave Carlos. Juan and I still miss you. Rest in peace, hermano!


Ah, it was a beautiful dawn that morning. Juan and I stood on the shore, looking on the light of a brand new day, as the sun rose over the Atlantic.

Or perhaps.... just perhaps...

I've been making mountains out of molehills today.

Ya never know!

A note to my regular readers, due to the wonders of technology and the fact my hotel seems to have Wireless, I'm going to attempt to continue posting this Thanksgiving holiday long distance, and will try to respond to comments as often as I can.

Treasure Box Wednesday will be posted as normal, and barring technical problems, Sunday's post will be posted here at the Blogspot address only, and not on the Thriftshopromantic.com address. (I can't update that part of the system long distance.) That will be updated when I get back.

Sunday, I plan to share with you some photos of what I actually did over the holiday. And (ahem) yes, I'll give your regards to Juan.

• If you missed last week's Treasure Box Wednesday, click here. It was a massive Shiny Brite find!

And perhaps I'll see you all Wednesday!

U.S. War Bonds with Popular Photography

Today, the world faces tumultuous economic times, so perhaps it's both transporting, and even a bit hopeful, to take a look back at what things were like when life was really challenging-- at Christmastime during World War II.

A December 1942 copy of Popular Photography magazine is our time machine today-- giving us a glimpse into how professional photographers were communicating critical war-time issues to the public through imagery....

And how amateur photographers were being drawn in to assist the war effort in some very surprising ways.


We'll begin today with some of the wartime posters directed at everyday Americans. The magazine article was designed to give how-to tips for creating war poster photos with impact, but maybe visual impact isn't exactly a premium when you've already got a headline like this one...


"Take care!" the poster warns. "Idle hands work for Hitler!" You get the feeling that this guy has heard that just a few too many times lately from the doctors at the clinic... And his buddies at work... And the guys at the canteen... And that the next person who says this phrase to our poor fellow here is going to get a good left-handed biff in the snoot.

"I broke my arm fer Pete's sake!" he's saying. "It's not like Hitler's signed my cast, er nothin'!"

Of course, during this time period, any number of things also were said to work for Hitler. Pessimists worked for Hitler... Cooks who squandered their bacon grease worked for Hitler... Wearing nylons worked for Hitler... Even choreographers of dance routines worked for Hitler (oops! sorry-- that was much later, once Mel Brooks got a hold of 'em).

Now here below, we have the lead singer from Midnight Oil who shows that he can really put his back into it for the U.S. (even though he's Australian) when it comes to productivity...


Believe it or not, this very poster was the inspiration for Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning" hit in the 80s. (Yes, he was already 65 when he had his big career surge. They just didn't talk about that in the VH1 Behind the Music special.)

But shoveling in an inferno was only one way of helping defeat Hitler. Did you know, good Americans could even change their driving styles to help U.S. troops?...


Yes, by taking it slow during that summer drive, you could save on valuable rubber that was more greatly needed overseas!

Only, our driver, Mr. Jones there, doesn't look very happy, does he? He's got an expression on his face like he's been trapped on this vacation roadtrip with the family for 18 hours... the smell of little kid vomit's been wafting from the back seat since hour two... and by gosh, they're going to get to Lake Winnapausakee if it kills them.

Of course, Mr. Jones does want to do his part...


Apparently if he doesn't do his part, heavy machinery will roll to his little white picket-fenced tract home. And that will be pretty hard to explain to the neighbors.

Hey, did you know farming was another great way to defeat the Nazis?


I imagine wife after wife was showing up at the U.S. Employment Office-- not hoping to sign her husband up for a farm job or anything-- but just looking for this guy.

By 1940s standards, this guy was pretty much Brad Pitt. He was good for morale.

"Mrs. Brown, he's an actor. An actor," explained the tired government employee for the umpteenth time. "No, he doesn't work for us. Go home. And please take Mrs. Simmons, Mrs. O'Leary and Mrs. Jefferson with you."

Of course, the government had other effective ways of making Americans comply with military need. One was by showing the magnitude of the problem...


But more effective was, well... good old-fashioned guilt...


Do you want the life of this innocent gunner on your hands because you didn't contribute all you could? Worse yet-- do you want to disappoint him? Well, of course not! So fork over those stockings lady, and stop driving so fast; you're giving Hitler fits of giggles with every selfish thing you do. And nobody wants a happy Hitler.

Here we see one strong, proud Welder-American doing what he can to help the U.S...


He's "Free Labor." Though it does kinda look like they've got him on some sort of electrical lead there, doesn't it?... Well, I'm sure he's mostly kinda free. Or as free as a man can be who can't run very fast in all that equipment and with a visor that undoubtedly keeps falling down.

Here we see "Men Working Together"...


(Not to be confused with Men at Work or the Village People...) The amusing part about these Men Working Together is that, well, pictures don't lie-- and these men never even met...


During the 1940s, even Santa Claus had a good bead on what was going on during the War...


This rather crabby-looking Santa Claus is showing you one of the best wartime gifts around--- a refurbished camera.

Santa also recommends you buy War Bonds. After all, the elves have gone to all that trouble making them. What are you waiting for?

And yet another ad echoes Santa's sentiments...


Promote Peace on Earth by getting everyone you love U.S. War Bonds and Stamps!... (Er, and also photography equipment.) But mostly War Bonds and Stamps!

And looking to send our troops that extra-special gift? Bauch and Lomb suggests you donate your binoculars to the cause...


Yes, tell your wife to stop using them to spy on what casserole Mrs. Stevens is making across the street. Instead, put 'em to good use by sending them to the U.S. Navy-- who will use them to spy on the Germans and see what they're making for dinner across the street.

Lastly, I thought you might enjoy seeing how actress Bette Davis got into the act...



Bette wants us to support the USO. She probably also wouldn't mind if we bought some War Bonds, but she's shy about asking.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little journey back in time. The great thing about looking back at history is, no matter how bad it seems now, it never was really so swell then, either.

• If you missed Wednesday's Treasure Box post on Posies, Pyrex and Presents, you can check it out here.

Otherwise, I hope to see you this coming Wednesday! And in the meantime-- go easy on those tires, eh?