My husband and I decided to get out of town again and visit Spencer, Iowa, home of Carey’s Electronics, which is in turn the home of a wicked vinyl collection in their upstairs store. My husband found some great treasures, and I made off with a couple of albums as well. The vinyl collection is fun and easy to look through because of the clear rating and labeling on each album. I found a near mint condition Dina Washington to add to my collection:
And another Neil Diamond album with one of the creepiest pictures of him I’ve ever seen. Who takes these pics and says “That’s it!” I definitely would not have put this one on the cover, but whatev.
Speaking of album covers, I couldn’t help but giggle at one by a group I’ve never heard of. (I’ve since looked them up on YouTube. Not bad, just not my style, I guess.) I cannot fathom the photographer who thought THIS was the winning shot:
I’ve decided that from now on when my husband is all engrossed in finding his mint condition vinyl that I am going to go hunting for really bad album covers to take pictures of. This pic makes me laugh every time I see it.
I picked up some more tablecloths, but they are all soaking right now for stain removal, so I will take pics of the finished product.
Two other little trinkets:
I’ve never heard of Bokar Coffee. Wikipedia has a short chronicle of its existence – as bumpy as it sounds. In reality, I just liked the font on this can. I’m a font dork. My husband, a graphic designer, is also a font dork. We buy things just because we like the fonts on them. You may now do the wide-eyed “Wow – weird” expression that you’re probably tempted to make.
This last treasure is one that I feel like I should have run across before but never have:
Having grown up in South Dakota, I have spent lots of time in the Black Hills and especially Deadwood. I was a huge fan of the HBO show Deadwood as well. How did I never know that Calamity Jane kept a diary? I haven’t read it in full yet; it’s just a small little pamphlet-type book. However, a brief glance at it tells me that Calamity Jane was indeed a complex woman who had zero tolerance for morons and/or nosey people.
I can relate.
The last treasure was truly just that – a treasure. Every time I go into a vinyl store, I head right for the “Big Band” section, searching for a couple particular albums. I nearly squealed with delight when I ran across this one:
This album is special for one reason: my beloved grandfather is in this picture. See the woman in white? He is two from the right. He was a small-statured man with a booming singing voice and a huge heart. The Lee Williams band played all over the Midwest from the 1930s up to the 50s. My grandpa was only part of the band before he had children, but I think he was proud of the time he spent in that group. He also served as the actual band leader for a time during WWII when Lee Williams himself was drafted. This album is particularly special because my grandpa sings Mack the Knife in one track and also provides a closing prayer (he was a minister). Hearing his voice is like chicken soup for the soul. Finding this album felt like him saying “Hi.”
I’ve uploaded the song for you to listen to if you so desire. 🙂
