Come Dancing

My Lady Chatelaine has often said she felt she was born too late. I too am nostalgic for things before my time. The post war years (WWII) seem so full of glamour as seen through my five year old eyes. By the time I could drive, the local malt shoppe was gone, replaced by Golden Arches. The dance palaces were ancient history.

So, LC looks to me to find pieces of what she missed. And me? I have this Ray Davies song and a fantasy that I will be able to dance in a romantic way that was giving way to the Twist when I was six.

Come Dancing / The Kinks

They put a parking lot on a piece of land
When the supermarket used to stand.
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local palais.
Thats where the big bands used to come and play.
My sister went there on a saturday.

Come dancing,
All her boyfriends used to come and call.
Why not come dancing, its only natural?

Another saturday, another date.
She would be ready but shes always make them wait.
In the hallway, in anticipation,
He didnt know the night would end up in frustration.
Hed end up blowing all his wages for the week
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek.

Come dancing,
Thats how they did it when I was just a kid,
And when they said come dancing,
My sister always did.

My sister should have come in a midnight,
And my mum would always sit up and wait.
It always ended up in a big row
When my sister used to get home late.

Out of my window I can see them in the moonlight,
Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate
.

The day they knocked down the palais
My sister stood and cried.
The day they knocked down the palais
Part of my childhood died, just died.

Now Im grown up and playing in a band,
And theres a car park where the palais used to stand.
My sisters married and she lives on an estate.
Her daughters go out, now its her turn to wait.
She knows they get away with things she never could,
But if I asked her I wonder if she would,

Come dancing,
Come on sister, have yourself a ball.
Dont be afraid to come dancing,
Its only natural.

Come dancing,
Just like the palais on a saturday.
And all her friends will come dancing
Where the big bands used to play.

And now it's July

I'm sorry I'm not around much lately. There are quite a few things going on.

But then again, not really much going on at all.

I guess it's kind of psychological and emotional things that are going on. I'm fine, nothing truly wrong, but there is something bothering me. I can't really talk about it on the internet, though. And no, the Captain and I did not break up or anything, so don't trip.

However, it is now July. The summer is just ticking away. Like that old REO Speedwagon song said..."Peeling the years away, and we can't relive it."

I like Independence Day. I don't like being alone for it, though. It's a pretty lonely day if you're not picnicking or boating or something. I'll probably stay inside, stay cool, work on my latest household project, which is my magazine and scrapbook project. I have about 10-15 years of magazine clippings, recipes, decorating pictures and articles that I'm scanning into my computer. I've been collecting these things for years, and I'm tired of the paper, and they're easier to find when sorted and organized in a computer file. Plus, the Captain will need some cabinet and closet space in the home-office room.

I'm such a geek.

Here's something I found of interest. It's the proper etiquette for flying and displaying the United States flag. I like to have a flag hanging from my front porch in the summer. It's such a nice sign of the season for me. It looks nice with the red brick, white columns, and green grass. Plus, I've always loved our flag. I'm just a patriotic girl, I guess.

There's a full moon coming up on July 7th. It's the Full Buck Moon. Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. The July full moon used to be known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are known to flare up during the summer a lot. However, the moon will probably look full as early as July 4th, so that will be nice for the people outside watching fireworks. We do usually have a good little fireworks display at the country club I live on. I should be able to drag a lawn chair right out of my backyard and on to the fairway, and there'll be a spectacular view. I haven't heard anything about it this year, though, so I hope they're still having it. This town is having some hard economic times these days.



"When the heat like a mist veil floats,
And poppies flame in the rye,
And the silver note in the streamlet’s throat
Has softened almost to a sigh.
It is July."

- Susan Hartley Swett (1860–1907)

When Dancing Was REALLY Cool

I have danced to so much of his music. I must have had at least a dozen cheerleader pompom routines to his songs. And I tried so hard to make my hair look like Farrah's when I was 14.

That was my junior high years that died yesterday. I never thought I'd be pretty sad about all this, but I am. My feelings were mixed in the later years of his career because of all the oddities, but there's no denying his talent. I remember saying that to someone back in the nineties when all the weird stuff started coming out.

This was a favorite song of mine. Choreographed a pompom routine to it in 9th grade. Earned a superior rating with it at UCA summer cheer camp at Ole Miss and received the camp All American Cheerleader award that year.



I feel old today.

Watermelon Days of Summer

When the Captain was here a couple weeks ago, we got a watermelon and put it in the fridge to get really cold, then for several days I had watermelon and cottage cheese for breakfast or lunch. And I bought one myself this past weekend. It's chilling in the fridge.

Mostly, though, when I think of watermelon, I remember eating it as a kid. I guess everyone does, probably. But to me it was always a big deal in the summer when Dad would get a few watermelons from a customer or something and bring them home. We'd sit outside in the backyard where we had a couple of wooden picnic tables, and we'd eat watermelon after Dad served up some hamburgers from the grill. I remember when I was really young that we had one of those old fashion brick barbecue pits. Captain got us a nice charcoal grill back in March, but I think I'd like to have one of those classic brick ones in the back yard again.


Build Your Own Pit

Uh....Captain?...Honey-do?...Maybe for next summer or something???

And this is what I want us to cook!

Grilled Striped Bass with Watermelon and Corn Relish

Doesn't that sound good? I'd probably try it with catfish, though, just cause I do loooove me some catfish.

I love this

What a great blog.

John's War Bride


That really makes me smile.

Tell you, people, that it's home sweet home

This song has been in my head all yesterday and last night. I love the feeling of it. I really hope the era is not completely gone by.

I guess I'm getting old

Lately I find myself increasingly interested in, even in pursuit of, life the way it used to be. I'm so nostalgic. I long for things I remember from my childhood or the way life used to be when I was a kid. I strive for the slower pace, the atmosphere, the character, values, and attitude. I want the tastes, the smells, and the look of things I remember from long ago.

So is this what it's like to get old? Is this the beginning of senility, focusing on the long term memories instead of the more recent ones?

I think we've discussed nostalgia on my previous blog before... Americana, vintage postcards, tin signs, old metal clocks advertising cola drinks and beer. I love old things, and finding something that is uniquely southern in its nature and history is a bonus. I'm dying to find an authentic RC Cola and Moon Pie metal sign. I think since I come from such a rural area, the things I associate with childhood actually date from earlier years. I was a kid in the late sixties and seventies, but a lot of the things I remember from childhood are from the fifties or even forties. I guess things just didn't progress as quickly here, which to our southern dismay, was not always a good thing. But there are some things that I'm glad were still around, like country stores, dirt roads, and old advertising and signage.

I've not got much to do today. No doctor appointments for my parents, no errands to run for them, no yard work since there's a heat advisory and heat index over 100. So I think I'll spend a little time on eBay, iOffer, and some of my favorite nostalgic sites looking for things that take me back to the days of simpler living and slower pace. And innocence. I think maybe I'm searching for the innocence and decency we used to have.

God, that does make me sound old.

Of course, I do realize that there is a hypocritical side to my nostalgia. I am a girl who is used to her creature comforts and couldn't go totally Amish in my desire to slow things down and live simply. I like to eat good food, drink good wine, take bubble baths in sweet smelling potions and soaps, have soft skin, and good furniture to live on. But right beside my Lane leather club chairs and four poster carved mahogany bed are tin signs advertising the American Seed Company and an ornate brass phone that is still rotary dialed. I believe in taking the best of both worlds, but leaving the mistakes (like Naugahyde and harvest gold appliances) behind.

Some good places to find nostalgia, or at least re-created nostalgia...

American Nostalgia

The Vermont Country Store

Vintage Metal Art

50's Retro Signs

Heinsohns Country Store

Crusin' the Fifties

Good stuff, but one of my favorite things to do is to browse through antique and junk stores. The Captain likes to do that too, and he's 12 years older than me, so he really knows the history of junk and always has good stories to tell about the things we find. I love finding old things.