My parents live quite close to the area of totality of the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse. Huge storms early in the day left a number of broken branches in the yard, but by the time the eclipse occurred, the day was quiet and the clouds high and intermittent.
The good news is that the sliver left by 98% coverage could be seen beautifully through the clouds. Camera settings allowed me a few good photos as the moon passed across the face of our bright star.
It was not as dark as the photos suggest. The dark in the clouds was due to camera settings. When that sliver peeked out between the clouds, it was too bright to photograph with clarity.
The shift in position of the sliver of solar light is a chronicle of the passage of the moon across the sun's face.
Question of the week: what do you do when husband banishes you from the house?
No, not a fight. Just some work that was going to create some dust so he suggested I find something to do. Hmmm....that's never really a quandary for me.
I spent an hour in the library reading Kurt Vonnegut and then another hour at my favorite antique store in town, Treasure Hunt, owned by Carol Reeder.
I bought the little Brown Betty salt and paper shakers while I was in there but snapped pics of a few 1950s to 1970s finds to share. Some of these were like things I grew up with. I had a Wonderhorse rocking horse and I definitely remember these tissue tins in the bedrooms.
The Bisquick tin would be great for homemade baking mix!
Later in the day, we drove to Pittsburg, Kansas to return a rented tool and found some lovely exposed history.
The tile was exposed on a building site on the main street of town. I hope the rest is recovered and restored.
The wall was found by a couple who bought an old building for an old-fashioned grocery store they want to create. When they bought the building, it came with all the contents stored there so they were selling them off and I found this 1950s Singer Sewhandy 20 toy sewing machine.
The needle is broken and it's missing a couple of (not completely essential) pieces. The sewing machine should work, once I clean it up and buy the needles it uses. There is no bobbin. There's a "looper" under the plate that creates a chain stitch to sew fabric together.
I did some research and though this was a children's toy made from the 1910s to the 1970s, I read many young women would take this off to college to make simple repairs. It's only about 5" tall!
It's a hand crank sewing machine. It looks like the thread spool pin was replaced ages ago with an old screw whose point was clipped off. The little depression in the front of the base was meant for a C-clamp that would hold it to a table.
I learned to sew on a Singer cast iron machine that had once been a treadle but electrified for factory work. My grandfather owned a vest factory and put it in a beautiful cabinet and gave it to my mother. Leave a comment below: what kind of machine did you learn to sew on?
