Archives for June 2013

Can I take your picture?

June 28, 2013 By amusingmjblog Leave a Comment

I’ve always loved photography, and am learning to be better at it. I have those great parents who are supportive of all my new interests (of which there have been quite a few… piano, photography, woodworking, running… and most of them have stuck). So when I was in high school they bought me a Canon rebel and classes to learn to use it. Since then I’ve been kind of obsessed with photography. I love a good photo, whether it be artistic or just a snapshot that captures that moment in time, I love them all. And since I have a collection of cameras old and new, the office walls were a perfect place to display this collection.

So when Nannan and I were going through her basement and I found some of these old cameras, I just knew I wanted to display them. Some of them are a little worse for the wear, but I love that they show how much they have been loved over the years.

The black box behind this camera is actually an old lunchbox that reminds me of ones construction workers used to take to work. The larger prints are photos that an old relative of mine took. The woman in the photo below is my great great great grandmother. Doesn’t she look like she is out of an old black and white movie?

But you’ll notice, not all the cameras above are as old as others. And that leads me to one of my favorite stories and one of my favorite people. I had a professor in college who had also taught both my brothers and my mother when they were at the same university. He and my mother had struck up a friendship and kept in touch off and on over the few years with the occasional Christmas card or update letter. He’s definitely a quirky professor and an excellent teacher (although his favorite line at the beginning of every semester is to say: I feel like when I’m grading students I am really grading the teaching… and I am an A teacher!)

Vic believes very much in the supernatural and the meaning of dreams, etc. And so one day my twin brother and I had gone to his house to visit and he said: “my wife (who had been deceased for several years) came to me last night and told me I should give you all of her cameras.” She had been an artist and worked with a lot of photography medium. Of course I told Vic: no no I couldn’t possibly take her things! But he said he had been trying to figure out what to do with all of it, and since she had told him so, he couldn’t possibly go against her wishes. And thus I became in possession of all of her cameras and lenses and photography books. I never look at these shelves in the office without thinking of Vic and his wife, and the generosity he showed me.

Also on this shelf is a little mug that my aunt found me. Since I work for the family company, and am one of the only female grandkids that lives close to my family, I regularly get delegated to be the errand girl. (In my family, we are run by the women… my mother and her three sisters and mother are all wonderful, formidable women… and together… whoa) So my aunt found this little winged roller skate and it reminded her of me and my willingness to be the little winged errand girl. I love that she thought of me and have kept this here with some of my other treasures.

And finally tucked on the tallest shelf, is a cute little picture of my grandmother circa 1922. I think she looks cute peeking out around all the cameras.

Filed Under: Basement Treasures, Decorating, Office

The $750 Dollar SOB

June 26, 2013 By amusingmjblog Leave a Comment

My day job is working for my family’s construction company. I am the fourth generation to work in the company, and am very proud that we have been a part of building roads and bridges for over 85 years. Part of that history is the fact that the company has weathered a LOT of modernization over that time span. One of my favorite stories about the adaptation of ‘technology’ was when my great grandfather bought his first adding machine. He spent $750 and never trusted a number it spit out, double checking every number by hand, essentially doubling his work instead of making his life easier. And so it has lovingly been referred to as his $750 SOB.

Although I don’t know the first thing about how to properly use an adding machine, I love having that little piece of history in my home. It felt like my office would be the perfect place to display this little piece of history. I paired it with an old typewriter that belonged to my grandmother (another basement find) and an old rotary phone. The typewriter is one my grandmother had in college and it was a big deal because it is a ‘traveling’ typewriter, complete with its own (VERY HEAVY) carrying case.

I remember using these rotary phones at my grandmother’s when I was a kid. And funny story… a few years ago I was trying to fix a problem on her computer and called customer service on a phone like this. Remember when they used to say “Press 2 on your touch-tone phone” ? Well they don’t say that anymore because NOBODY HAS ROTARY PHONES ANYMORE, but those systems don’t work with rotary phones! I appreciated the irony of the fact that my 90+ year old grandmother has and operates a computer, but is still using a rotary phone well into the 21^st century.

office-top-of-bookshelf

I’ve got all these things displayed on a flat mirror laid over a bookshelf from Pottery Barn that is similar to this one (mine has a bookshelf instead of a top drawer). The mirror was a builder grade one I removed from the bathroom downstairs but liked the shape, so it fits nicely as a platform for these items!

The other cool piece of history was a gift from one of my mother’s friends who found these books in an antique store. They are the specifications books for how to build a bridge from the 1920s. I love how they match up with the colors and the theme of this little display!

Do you have an obsession with antiques too? I love these that have both meaning and significance to me!

Filed Under: Basement Treasures, Office

Basement

June 24, 2013 By amusingmjblog Leave a Comment

I am named after my grandmother, whom we refer to as Nannan (my oldest cousin’s rendition of Nanny). Born in 1920 she grew up in western Kansas in the heart of the depression and dust bowl, which means she throws away ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Not only does she not throw things away, but thanks to a good ole Kansas basement, she has plenty of space to store everything. Probably you would refer to her as a hoarder… but in my world this just means a world of treasures that was available when I went to set up my own house.

When I moved into my house I had absolutely zero cash to invest in good furniture pieces, so I went to the only place I knew that I could get quality furniture for free… Nannan’s basement. As I go through the house tour you’ll notice that several pieces of furniture originated from her basement and got facelifts before taking up permanent residence in my house. (I’d show you a picture of the basement, but everyone deserves a dirty little secret or two… so I’ll leave Nannan’s a mystery)

One of my favorite pieces of furniture to come from her basement is a single oak bed. It had been passed over by aunts and cousins because no one needed a fairly ornate single bed. HOWEVER, this fit my goal for the office perfectly. It is a great second guest room option (especially for when my now widowed grandmother comes down to visit with my parents) and I didn’t mind the single size.

The only drawback was that after being in storage for so long it was in pretty sad shape. A piece of the side had chipped off and it had a white film over most of the bed. Sadly I don’t have any before pictures for you since I spruced it up before blogging. But I will tell you this stuff: Howard’s Feed-N-Wax is a miracle worker. Twenty minutes later and my sad looking wood bed was shining like it was brand new. And this stuff smells citrus-y so it was nice to use.

I love all the intricate details that add so much character to the bed. I also love that it belonged to my great grandparents, so it feels like it has a lot of history.

As for the chipped off corner, I used a little wood glue and a clamp put on overnight to fit the piece back on to the corner, and now you can barely tell it was ever missing!