“I love to sleep. My astrological sign is the sloth.”
Another rainy day after a rainy night. The good thing, though, is today’s rain will be intermittent. Last night it was steady. The bit of snow on the ground from the dusting, too little for a memory, is gone.
My day started late and poorly. I went to get the newspaper and noticed the front fence leaning so I decided to prop it with pieces from a metal pole. I knocked the fence down instead. I pulled it up with difficulty, propped it and went back inside to get my coffee. When I got to the den with my cup of coffee, I somehow spilled it all over the table. The fallen fence and the spilled coffee occurred within 5 minutes of the start of my morning. I can’t wait for the rest of my day to unfold.
When I was young, I had no fashion sense, the result, I think, of wearing a uniform to school. My clothes were chosen by season. I wore cool clothes in summer and warm clothes in winter. I wore whatever I found in my bureau drawers. I mostly wore my sneakers, my play shoes. They were white in the beginning. In the winter my ensemble was a flannel shirt and dungarees as we used to call them. In the summer it was a blouse and shorts.
I do miss places that are gone. Woolworth’s is probably at the top of that list. It was the perfect store. The big one in my town had a lunch counter. I’d usually order a hot dog and fries or a hamburger club and fries. The waitresses were old. I remember one lady who wore a colorful handkerchief with crocheted edges pinned to her uniform with her name tag. She always moved quickly. She called everyone hon.
I went to my uke lesson yesterday. It was so good to get back. We practiced strum patterns and songs which had those patterns. I then did a little shopping. I needed bread, milk, animal treats and Snickers, my human treat.
A little while ago I noticed neither dog was on the couch with me which is odd as it is their nap time and comfort is supreme for both dogs. I got up to go to the kitchen to get coffee. All of a sudden a herd came stomping down the stairs. Both dogs had been asleep on my bed.
Today is a sloth day.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
January 25, 2024 at 2:32 pm
So Melanie (Safka) has left us. I have to freely admit that all those years ago I did buy “The Four Sides of Melanie” and immediately wondered why. Heck it didn’t even include “Brand New Key” . I guess she was at Woodstock and had her moments in the early 70s. Every now and again I would notice she was appearing at a small venue near Ann Arbor but didn’t bother to go.
Its just sad when we say goodbye and Melanie is another artist that deserves a nod.
Woolies was big in the town where I lived. Many of my classmates were Saturday girls and often regaled us with stories of outrageous shop lifting such as the guy who pushed a lawn mower out of the store. As I remember they had a very modest rack of 45s and that who pick and mix thingy who ruin your teeth
The ice and snow have changed to fog and almost mild but the City is more than slightly focused on the team heading to SF on Sunday.
January 25, 2024 at 9:57 pm
MDH,
Brand New Key and Lay Down are the only songs of hers I know. I can even play Brand New Key on my uke.
I was in Ghana during Woodstock so I missed her debut, but I remember when Brand New Key was released. I never bought a record or album of hers. I don’t remember why.
My favorite store was Woolworth’s from the time I was a little kid. A dime really did go a long way. I loved to roam the aisles hoping for a find. I was usually lucky.
January 25, 2024 at 4:36 pm
Hi Kat,
Here the rain has subsided and we are just cloudy with a high of 61°. The last couple of mornings we had dense fog and drizzle.
When I was a kid I also was not into fashion. In the Dallas school district the uniform for boys was blue jeans, sneakers, and a white Tee shirt when it was warm and a polo shirt and jacket when it was cold. When I moved to the NYC public schools, they required we wear dress shoes, slacks, and a collard shirt with a tie. In those days public schools in New York had standards.
I also miss Woolworth as well as the other small and locally owned, “Variety”, stores. My mother called them, “Five and ten cent”, stores, in Texas they were called, “Dime”, stores. Regardless, they’re all gone now. It’s a genuine pain in the rear end when I need to buy something essential and very inexpensive like shoe laces. Walmart and Target are too big and they only carry one brand. The old Dime stores would have en entire case of shoe laces in every color and every length. “Those were the days”.
January 25, 2024 at 10:06 pm
Hi Bob,
It was warm this morning but is now down to the high 30’s. Rain is again predicted for tomorrow, and the temperature will stay about the same.
When I moved to the cape, I didn’t have to wear a uniform. The school standard for boys was pants, not jeans, and a shirt with a collar. Girls had to wear a skirt or dress.
W had two small stores near our house, a white one and a red one. We called them corner stores. Woolworth’s was always the five and ten. I agree about not being able to find little things.
We had a store called Benny’s where you could find just about everything. It closed about a year ago when the owners who were retiring couldn’t get any family members to run the store. People are still upset!
January 25, 2024 at 10:30 pm
This problem is happening all across the country. When many immigrants arrived in this country a hundred years ago, they started lots of businesses. Unfortunately, their children may have worked in the family business, but their grandchildren have college degrees and professions and don’t want to work in the family business.
January 25, 2024 at 10:56 pm
I think running a store like this one was is complicated. I get that doing a lot of work for not so much money isn’t attractive.
They chose not to sell the store. It has been empty for a while. I miss this store as much as I miss any store.