We're in Bend, OREGON

Wanting to break up our long drive to Idaho, we have rented a home for all ten of us Haerrs in the very interesting town of Bend! What a blast.

We chose our Airbnb well with its Old Town Historic District location. This District encompasses approximately 32 city blocks and 338 individual parcels. It features a variety of architectural styles spanning in age from 1910 to 1950. Boy does it make strolling the neighborhood very intriguing!

What I appreciated was the fact that many of the buildings proudly displayed their history. The G.W. Horner building (c. 1916) is a unique brick building, constructed as a business investment.

Mother Nature competed actively with the architecture. Everything was in bloom.


I loved that no one here is afraid of color!

With kayaking being a very big activity here, it was fun to discover all the ways people pay homage to it.

The Deschutes River runs through the middle of town. We watched kayakers frolicking in the rapids. I wonder if this mailbox was the result of an unfortunate river crash.
Discovery is our prime purpose during our brief stay here. What fun!

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Big Blue Music & Brews Festival

During this Memorial Day Weekend, a FREE 3-day music festival was happening, and it featured live music from over 40 artists across 15 venues in South Lake Tahoe.

"Events highlighted the classic beachside experience at The Beacon and TIKI Bar at Tahoe Beach Retreat, panoramic views of Lake Tahoe at Lakeview Commons, various local breweries, and ended each night underneath the Heavenly Gondola with mountainside views."
Due to our crazy schedule, we were only able to attend one concert, but some of our friends joined in to make it extra special.
We delighted in listening to Dennis Johnson & The Revelators at our favorite spot, Lakeview Commons.




While the high was only 56°, it felt a little like Summer!
And people watching was at its zenith! Who brings sandwiches to the beach in a Chanel bag?
When these newlyweds strolled by, the entire audience clapped and cheered for them. How fun!

This image just sums up the day! There was a feeling in the air, one of the expectations of an unforgettable summer! I can't wait.

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Capital Thunder Hockey in Tahoe

We live just a few blocks from the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena. What fun to stroll over there to catch a hockey game on a Saturday afternoon.

How cool is this? Established in 1984, Capital Thunder Youth Hockey (CTYH) club was designed to encourage the growth and development of a high quality amateur youth ice hockey program that compliments and extends the educational options for young people ages 6-18; actively develops and implements creative avenues, which encourage young people to excel throughout the ice hockey program both collectively and individually and most importantly to provide a fun, instructional and competitive hockey experience.
The Northern California (NORCAL) travel league consists of teams from Roseville, South Lake Tahoe, Stockton, Vacaville, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Fresno, Cupertino, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Redwood City.


I think our ice rink is a spectacular setting, nestled in the pines.


There is always something going on in Tahoe!
“Some of us love hockey not just for its ferocity and skill
but for its underlying code of civility off the ice.”
- George Vecsey

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Another Find: Spaghetti Poodles

I love fun and kitschy objects of the 1950s. For pet lovers and canine enthusiasts many dog breeds were popular in the decorative arts and collectibles of the mid-century modern era. One of the most popular breeds was the poodle.

Elizabeth Taylor owned a pet poodle in 1955 and Audrey Hepburn appeared with two poodles at the photo shoot for her movie Sabrina in 1954. From poodle skirts to Glidden pottery featuring dog imagery, the poodle had a place in the American design aesthetic of the period.
Spaghetti poodle figurines spoke to an interest in the upper echelons of society, like Hollywood starlets, and pointed toward a cultural high style for home accessories. Atop many new mid-century modern television sets, there sat a family of white, pink, grey, or very rarely yellow ceramic Spaghetti poodles. Some were general figurines for a display shelf, some were more functional holding earrings or lipsticks on a vanity dresser and some were marketed in sets of three with chains or leashes attaching parent poodles to puppy poodles (mine).
Lifestyle blogger Yasmina Greco explains, “These items made people happy in the 1950s and 1960s and they continue to make people happy today with their bright colors, cute faces, charming expressions, and they add a touch of whimsy to any room. People also like the sense of nostalgia these items evoke. They were usually seen on popular television shows and remind folks of relatives and the good old days of yesteryear.”

And just what am I going to do with my trio of poodles? Mine was sent to my Canadian pen pal, Lisa, for her birthday. Her response was as I had hoped, "Thank you for the amazing gift. You were right! It is perfect. I loved it all. I wanted to write you an email telling you how much I enjoyed opening up your gift after all this time (I mailed it way back in late-December). It was well worth the wait! I cannot wait to add these darling little poodles to my existing poodle family. They will fit right in. It is so wonderful that they are in such perfect condition AND they still have their chain. Where did you find them?? I am curious. You really wowed me! Thank you Denise!!"

“They’re not dogs [poodles], they’re art.”
~ Rachael Leigh Cook

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Typewriting Instructions Circa 1947

Why do I need this book? There's no need, it just struck me as something very cool and I just had to have it.

20th Century Typewriting Fifth Edition (written by D.D. Lessenberry, Director, Courses in Commercial Education University of Pittsburgh and T. James Crawford, School of Business, Indiana University) is 75 years old. It is considered, if it says so itself, the Complete Course.
We forget how it was in the early days of typing. For example, some keys were not on the keyboard and one had to do special 'tricks'. To get the Equal Sign (=) one had to "Use the hyphen; backspace; turn the left cylinder knob slightly away from you; hold the knob in position; type the hyphen a second time; return the cylinder to writing position."
 “I have the typewriter and I have white paper
and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.”
— William Saroyan.
I do love the completeness of this book. It even describes how to insert paper.
It clearly demonstrates how to properly address and fold a letter. I so remember doing this in my typing class. Wild.
I guess everyone in 1947 needed to know how to work the Mimeograph Duplicator. Ah, the smell of a newly copied worksheet!
My favorite page was this one teaching Finger Gymnastics. "Brief daily practice of finger gymnastics will strengthen your finger muscles and increase the ease with which you type. Begin each typing period with this conditioning exercise. Choose two or more drills for this practice."
And my favorite of the drills? It has to be DRILL 6. "Hold both hands in front of you, fingers together. Hold the last three fingers still and move the first finger as far to the side as possible. Return the first finger; then move the first and second fingers together; finally move the little finger as far to the side as possible." What?!
I'm pretty sure Gene Roddenberry had this typing book and used DRILL 6 for Dr. Spock's famous greeting, "Live long and prosper". Right?

So as you can see, I didn't need this book but it will provide me with hours of glee as I learn more about the typing of yore.

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Password Game from 1964...

Steve and I both grew up playing this Password. When I saw it at a thrift store, the $3 cost for the nostalgia was worth every penny.

Based on the classic TV game show that began in 1961, with many editions printed starting in 1962. Each edition featured a different set of words, although later anniversary editions used words from previous sets.
The object is for one person to get their teammate to say the password given a one-word clue for 10 points. Each time a clue is given, the other player can guess the password; if they get it right, the team scores. If they get it wrong, the other team gets to try for 9 points. This goes back and forth, with the word value continuing to decrease, until A) the word is guessed; B) ten clues are given without a correct guess; or C) the password is said by a clue-giver, in which case the word is thrown out.
Included was this Welcome to Gameland brochure of the various games produced by the Milton Bradley Company. There were games we all played (Candy Land, The Game of Life, Stratego) and games I have never heard of (Go to the Head of Class, Alfred Hitchcock's Why, Hit the Beach). I now have a shopping list for future thrift store visits.
I also love that this game has a Betty White tie-in. Betty met the love of her life, Allen Ludden, in 1961 on the set of his game show, Password, when she appeared as a guest. In 1963, the couple married. She made many appearances on the hit program as a celebrity guest, from 1961 through 1975. This was something I watched as a kid, too. So cool.

"Life is more fun if you play games."
-Roald Dahl

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