Stamps...and "The finished product"

Last Thursday night my wife and I were both watching one of the bridal shows due to our son's impending wedding.  It may have been the one with 4 brides, or one of the "say yes to the dress" types, which one isn't important.  Together, we saw a number of beautiful gowns.

Friday at lunch, the topic of one of the gowns she saw after I had gone into the other room...one where the girl sat down on the floor and the gown was beautifully spread out 360 degrees around her.  Not sure what this is called...  She commented how she loved it, and from her description of it, I agreed...  Then I absent-mindedly admitted how I'd love to be able to experience the elegance of wearing something like that.

As you might have expected, at that point she had a relapse of "Not My Husband" syndrome.  "Everybody we meet already suspects you're a girl...my husband isn't going to wear dresses and gowns."  Then the subject got dropped quicker than a discussion of the latest political "hot potato."  (She's not big into current events, either.)

Don't know if I should change my Halloween plans to go to Mom's in a skirt and top because of that.  Right now, my inclination is to "just do it."  Fortunately I still have a lot of time to decide.  And if I choose to go ahead, I'll have to make a cornfield transformation before I get there!  (Even though the corn will have been harvested by then.)   Been there before, and done that...

Saw the above sign in an antique shop while on our Ohio trip...

Remember the premiums they used to give you at gas stations and grocery stores?  S&H Green Stamps, Top Value Stamps, and Plaid Stamps, to name a few?  (Wikipedia describes them as small paper coupons given to customers by merchants in loyalty programs, which predate today's "loyalty cards.")  These were the ones you licked the back of, and pasted them in the little paper booklets  when you got home....yuck...and the ones which were going to allow lower prices once retailers began to discontinue them in the late 1960's (yeah-right.)   You don't remember?  Sorry, you're not quite old enough!

But they existed...all of them, and more.  I still have a Kodak slide projector that I bought with S&H green stamps, back in the mid-1960's!  (That was before the stamps were discontinued...)  It hasn't been used in eons, since most of my slides have been digitized and I sold off my empty carousel trays.  But the last time I used it, it still worked! 

Back to my antique car...   Here is the completed engine, being reinstalled:

Good as new!

Going back together, one piece at a time...

The original vinyl top was masked off during the car's shop stay.  "Original" in good condition, is always better than "restored" (things are only original once).  Thus, I chose to postpone its replacement.  It was in fairly good shape, even given the car's advanced age.  No loose spots, bubbles, tears, or frays.  The tech and shop owner agreed that with reasonable care it should last another 10 to 15 years.

And they were right.  The top's still going strong, 10 years later.  Future deterioration depends on how much sun exposure it gets from being driven,   I shouldn't have to worry for 5 more years or more - it's losing some elasticity and getting some crazing.  But they're still not serious issues, considering that the top is coming up on 50 years old!  Original IS still better...

Almost done...

From start to finish, repainting processes took about 5 months, with the shop working on it in off-times as much as possible, to eliminate most overtime and keep costs under control.  But that effort was worth it...  The paint job looked excellent back then, and other than a few stone chips it's acquired from being driven, still looks almost as good today, after 10 years, over 25,000 miles, and a whole bunch of local and national car shows!

On the road again....

My October and November are scheduled to be busy ones...another week long trip, three weekends out of town, a visit to our son's near Atlanta, and various other commitments.  In the event that you don't see me post as often, you'll know why...

Till next time...

Mandy