Vintage Monday: The Feline Edition

The cat isn't vintage but her surroundings are, as she's the guardian spirit of a vintage clothing store. She's not chubby, just full of love.

I've fallen into a vortex of store cats lately, and came to marvel at all the different feline personalities. The bookstore kitties are young and playful. One of them tried to chew my ear off. Twice. The hardware store cats treat customers with friendly disinterest. They condescend to be petted for a second or two before walking away.

Meanwhile, the cat above is the friendliest of her kind. When I first stepped into the store she came right up to me and swathed me with her affections, leaving generous amount of fur on my clothes in the process. The other day I stopped by only to bask in her love.

Vintage Monday: Baking Bread

I love freshly bread but baking my own has always seemed a daunting task. Bread machines were out of the question--been there, done that, didn't care for it. In my world bread has to have a hard crust and a nice, chewy body. So of course, when I found a super-easy no-kneed recipe on Pinterest I had to try it out. I'm glad I did.

Isn't it beautiful? Oh, and that crunchy crust... The dough needs 12-18 hours to rise but it's not an issue. I can start it in the evening and it's ready to bake sometime in the next day. The other big thing is that you need a Dutch oven to bake it in, but I had one already. I'll be baking more bread in the future.

Vintage Monday: Too Much Snow

Since the white stuff is about to hit the northeast, I give you and image from the The Great Blizzard of 1888. In for days in March (!!) "The Great White Hurricane" buried parts of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and connecticut under 20-60 inches of snow. The 45 miles an hour winds were icing on the cake.

So folks living up there, make sure you have plenty of food, toilet paper, and warm blankets. I hope nobody looses electricity, because that would suck. Oh, and charge and stock your ereaders, just in case.

Vintage Monday: Viennese Gents

So, last night after a long day of working plopped down in front of the telly, thinking it was Saturday. Then I saw my Sunday shows playing and was very confused for a minute. Where the frak did the weekend go? And it's bloody Monday again--pardon my British. So I give you these two gents and back to the grind stone. Ta!

Vintage Monday: Holidays

Right ho, as Bertie Wooster would say. Let's get this holiday thing over with. I still haven't wrapped presents, and will start baking cookies tomorrow or so, but currently I have a lot of work to finish before I can take a breather.

Vintage Monday: Three Gentlemen in Top Hats

I'm too groggy this morning to say anything witty, or even try. So, enjoy the gents and their top hats.

Vintage Monday: Same Old, Same Old

I found this on Pinterest, and the best I can figure it must have been the poster for some propaganda movie about the evils of female sexuality. The kind that titillates and admonishes at once. Because, you know, a woman in charge of her own body and desires is the first sign of the end of civilization. After all, a woman should allow a penis penetrate the sanctity of her body only with disgust and within the confines of marriage.

Considering current conservative rhetorics and the the political disputes over whether birth control should be covered by health insurance, very little changes in the last half a century or so.

Vintage Monday: Do you remember these?

I do. And I just recently realized what a relic it makes me.

Public libraries are one of the best inventions. Anyone who's against them should be shot. Out of a cannon and into a field of cacti.

Since the protagonists of my next Secrets book (fourth in the collection) will be a couple of bartenders, naturally I set out on research mission of everything mixology. My inquiries led to me to The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury, a book that has been out of print for decades and copies of it sell for more than a pretty penny. Fortunately, the LA County Public Library system has several copies.

As I opened it I saw the familiar pocket, but there was no card in it, so I put my receipt there. At least, it's still a print book. Most days I mostly consume ebooks and audiobooks, both of which the Library has plenty. I love libraries.

Vintage Monday: Wolpertinger

I was rummaging on Pinterest for mythical creatures this morning and came across this 16th century Albrecht Dürer illustration of the Wolpertinger. It's a creature of Bavarian folklore, composed from various animal parts--here seen as a rabbit with antlers and wings, although other formations are possible too.

I wonder if it can fly. The wings should at least help it to jump higher.

Vintage Monday: US Sailor and his girl

I love the expression on his face and the dreamy look in his eyes.

Vintag Monday: Conundrum

I have no idea what's going on here. This could be a photo of a bearded lady, perhaps from a circus sideshow or a Victorian cross-dresser. Or a cross-dresser disguised as a bearded lady.

Vintage Monday: Kilt

This laddie is actually in uniform. He probably served in WWI. I hope he made it--he looks so young.

I wonder about the practicality of kilt in the trenches, especially in winter.

Vintage Monday: Dark and Rainy

Hollywood at night 1950s

As a writer you'll be scoffed at if you if your plot relies even on a single coincidence. But coincidences happen.

We've been having unpleasant weather here in L.A. recently--hot and muggy. Then it started to rain. In August. It never rains in the summer in southern California. Our window for precipitation is roughly October-March.

It was drizzling when I drove over to the used bookstore to search for books on cocktails and bar tending for my next project. While there I checked the mystery paperback section for Ross Macdonald books I don't have yet. I found one: The Far Side of the Dollar.

MacDonald wrote my favorite type of mystery, hardboiled detective novels from the fifties to the seventies. The filmic equivalent of this genre is Film Noir. They won the name both for content and their dark visuals. It's ironic that the biggest names in the hardboiled genre--MacDonald, Dashiel Hammet, Raymond Chandler--set their stories in perpetually sunny Southern California.

At the bookstore I pulled The Far Side of the Dollar off the shelf, opened it, and read the first line:

It was August, and it shouldn't have been raining.

Vintage Monday: Summer Time

I wish I was that toddler in the washtub. He doesn't seem to have a care in the world.

Currently LA is experiencing a moderate heatwave with high humidity and weird wether. There were sudden downpours yesterday at some places and we don't normally get rain at this time of year. There was also lightning, and at least one person died from it at Venice Beach.

I pick the washtub in the backyard.

Vintage Monday: Field Shower, WWII

Once upon a time I was in the army reserves, as a laundry and bath specialist. Mine was support unit, tasked with setting up laundry and shower units in the field. I never got called up for active service, but one summer my unit was part of a field exercise for two weeks. I can tell you, all the soldiers were happy to see us. Our showers were inside tents though.

Vintage Monday: Victorian Dandy

I've been doing a research into men's Victorian fashion lately because of book cover designs. I uncovered a wide variety of collar and neckwear styles--they range from cravats to bow ties. Vests--I should say waistcoats since we're talking British--were commonplace among upper and lower classes alike.

I've just started writing a new story too, where bow ties feature. So I give you this fine Victorian gentleman with s bow tie and beautiful mustache.

Vintage Monday: Sheep

Another Pinterest find. I love this picture and it's truly unique. Not that there aren't plenty of old photos of farm animals, but someone took this sheep to a photographer's studio to have its portrait taken. And it's a good quality photo too, better than many I've seen of human subjects. I wonder about the reason. Was this animal a champion, did she (he?) win a prize at the state fair? We'll never know. Fabulous picture though.

Vintage Monday: Lifeguards

Continuing with the beach theme, here are a couple of lovely lifeguards. This was a Pinterest find. On a side note: apparently, in 1949 lifeguard was two words. Just comes to show you that language is a living thing.

Vintage Monday: On the Beach

This old photo was a rare find--it's such a perfect representation of a bygone beach-going experience, it almost looks fake. But it is real. I feel sorry for those people for having to wear so much clothes on a warm summer day.

Vintage Monday: Men out of Uniform

I know, I missed Memorial Day. My wrong.