Appointment Day -
I took a 100 mile drive to the eye doc - with a special mission at hand.
A couple of weeks ago when we went to Marion to get our North Carolina drivers licenses traded in for Virginia ones, I had something happen that has never happened before.
I failed the vision test.
You know that boxy thing you put your face in, and with the light shining up at you, you have to read the letters through the light.
I thought it must be a joke. Certainly, NO ONE would be able to read those letters. The machine must be broken or something.
I couldn't get my license that day. I needed to take a vision form to my eye doc, have a new exam and have them fill out the form.
And I wanted to go to someone who was already aware of my Macular Telangiectasia, not some new guy who didn't understand that the problem is not my eyes for driving as much as it is staring into a back-lit box where the light swallows up all of the text.
The fear of not being issued a drivers license is real. And it kept me up the night before, as if failing a vision test is somehow "my fault" and not just the way nature made me.
The good news is - there has been no change since my last appointment, the MacTel2 is holding its own with no more deterioration to my central vision.
And I have the signed and dated report to take back to the DMV to hopefully get my license THIS Friday. That's the next hurdle.
So why is there a beautiful blue sewing machine at the top of this post?
BECAUSE! After a stressful appointment where I really tried my best to leave my scrambled emotions over losing my driving freedom out of it, I destressed at another favorite Winston Salem Antique Mall - Lost in Time! (And I was! I can wander here for hours!)
The machine was OUT! For everyone to see! (Three cheers for not hiding it inside the folded up cabinet and piled with junk on top.)
It's in GREAT condition - I don't think it was sewn on much. There were few tell-tale pin scratches. It looks brand spanking new in its mid-century modern cabinet.
I found this in the drawer!
Yes, this is a continuation of yesterday's quilt chat (And fun stories in the comments section!) regarding the signature quilt where women were only known as Mrs.+ husband's initials+ husband's last name.
Evidently Mrs. O.C. Merritt purchased this beautiful blue machine on June 9, 1959.
Can you envision the dress she was wearing when she signed this little certificate?
Montgomery Wards pattern packet, 1959.
Of all of these smiling faces (gloves and pearls, oh my!) I want to know what Mrs. E in the upper right is thinking. LOL!
The price tag on the machine was $200.00 and I am no longer in the machine acquisition phase of my life, but I would have snatched this up if it had been more affordable.
Yesterday we talked about quilts being not as plentiful in antique malls. I can say the same for machines. They are just not there.
This caught my eye though!
Not just the store display thread cabinet, but that dome clock - my Grannie had one in her living room and I remember being so enamored with it. The workings are mesmerizing. But that cabinet!
Holy moly!
From the top looking inside.
Sides roll up to reveal the contents.
(I should have bought that clock!)
Oh, this is a beautiful thing!
But where would I put it?
Yes, NO!
But to find it, and lift the sides, and examine it - worth the zero price of admission.
I love how this place tends to group similar items together - here we have a choir of radios. All shapes, sizes and models. Fun!
Collection of enamel coffee pots.
Cabinet full of Jewel Tea.
Nothing came home but the photos. I was still happy with my purchases from the day before.
I had enough time mid afternoon to get an extra deluxe car wash - a birthday treat I had been waiting for.
You know the kind where they even clean the schmutz, dust, crumbs, grit and random spills from the inside as well?
I feel like a new person!
I stood outside in the 50 degree sunshine as my van was serviced- social distancing myself from others while noticing a hint of promise in the tree limbs above me.
No matter what Punxsutawney Phil reveals for Groundhog Day, February 2nd is one step closer to Spring and I am grateful!
Yeah, baby!
I'm glad I didn't get a "before" photo - as I was so covered in mud, dirt, road grit -
I know there is another storm system about to barrel through. I think this time we are far enough south that all we will get is rain. Temps in the 40s. I will need another car wash. I'm okay with that.
By the time I got home it was dinner time. I was hungry, tired, and not even interested in putting on a thimble and picking up a needle. Some evenings are like that.
Today, though? There are borders going on the Churn Dash Quilt!
How was your Tuesday? Any plans for today?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Have you noticed that some people create their own storms and then get upset when it rains, blaming their weather on others?
We are what we create! We can choose how we react to things that happen.
Are you the heroine of your own life, or the victim? I choose heroine!
The heroine that puts borders on the Churn Dash quilt today!
27 comments:
I understand your fears about not being able to get a drivers license. Since I had cataract surgery, I cannot use the black box vision test & I was in a panic worrying about the eye test. Fortunately they allowed use of wall chart (big E etc). Also due to my age, the state allows repeat of road test which also had me in a slight panic. Was able to pass eye test and no road test was required. If I see a sewing machine hiding in the cabinet in a store, I am guilty of pulling it out so it can be seen.
I very much remember those dresses of 1959. I was in second grade and had a red dress like the pink one on the pattern, with the exception that it had cuffed sleeves to my elbow. I loved that red dress so much and hated it when I out grew it because my teacher (we had 4 grades all in one room) had one in a different color. I felt so grown up when I wore that dress. Thank you for the memories.
I have that spool cabinet! I bought it at an auction many years ago for $50.
Oh my word, if I'd been there that blue machine would have gone home with me. Even I I'd had to get rid of something in order to put it somewhere!! So glad you passed your eye test with the doc!!
Mrs. E looks a little like Mrs. Cleaver from "Leave it to Beaver". She might be seeing Beaver mis-behaving just out of camera range!
My grandparents had that clock- I believe it's called an Anniversary Clock. My uncle brought it back from overseas where he was stationed after the war. I always wanted one - it was mesmerising watching it as a child. You certainly found some treasures!
The picture of the machine brought back memories. I had one. I sewed on it for many years until I traded in for my first of many Pfaffs. Have a wonderful day Bonnie.
My grandmother had both the Jewel Tea dishes and a dome clock. What memories. I'm glad the fertilizer plant fire in W-S didn't interfere with your eye appt or antique mall stroll. We're due for another 12" snow storm tomorrow into Fri.
Your photos make me want to Wander! I have a Dentist appointment, so I will need a reward. No more machines for me either. I have a few doorstop machines. Made a cute red and white Churn Dash last night. It sure is a happy block. Can't wait to see the border you choose. Have a good Groundhog day.
You must have been exhausted after that scare at the drivers license office. I am blind in my right eye, so I know I need to have my vision test from my ophthalmologist in hand when I go to renew my license. My Dr told me of a patient who was blind and should not be driving. Eye came to her for a vision test to use for renewing his license. So she gave him the test and filled out the paper. The numbers, of course, indicated he was blind, and she thought she did her due diligence. Well, they issued him a license!! Apparently, they needed someone to fill out the form, but they had no clue what the numbers meant.
Mrs. E could be a doppelgänger of my mon, and we had that Universal turquoise blue machine in a cabinet that we “antiqued” in a teal blue paint.
I have that clock. It was my Great Aunt Mary’s ( my godmother) and proudly sits on my mantle. Love clocks but you can have to many. That clock and a Belleek clock that my daughter brought from Ireland and a Black Forest Cuckoo clock that my brother got in Germany are some of my most prized possessions.
My grandmother had an anniversary clock. Supposedly you need to wind it only once a year.
My Grandparents also had an anniversary clock. When they both passed and the house was divied up I was hoping for the clock.. but someone higher on the relative chain got it. I did get my share of stuff though :) thanks for the memory.
The clock is just like the one my Great Aunt Elizabeth always had on her mantel. Growing up it fascinated me. I got one in a antique mall (no idea when) just like it. Not my grandson loves to watch it.
ooh my first machine was a universal circa 1972, paid $99 for it and it got used a lot...yeah my gran had a dome clock too...
I know that fear of not being able to take the "normal" eye test at the DMV. The first time I couldn't see the chart, I panicked. Wearing progressive lenses makes it impossible to see something close like that test while reading through the distance part of my glasses, so it's a big fat FAIL. From now on it's a new form from the eye doctor every time I have to take the test.
I love wandering through Lost In Time antique mall! Most things are a little too pricy for me though.
I have that sewing cabinet and just love it. The Clarks ONT signage isn't as fancy but I absolutely enjoy having it in my home. I use it in my livingroom
as a side table where we can see it daily. I have two different style sewing cabinets in my sewing room that I use for storage of tools etc. They are all wonderful additions to my home and I enjoying seeing them every day.
Hi Bonnie
I to have MacTel however my retina has some vessel leaking so i see my dr every 3 months for treatments in my eyes. I am nervous about my eye exam when I go next. The bright lite hurts mt eyes as well. My dr has already said he would fill out whatever I needed. I am glad your is stable. If this is as bad as it gets I am ok with that. Good luck to you in your journey with MacTel2
Been there and done that with failing eye test at driver's license renewal. "But I don't need glasses! (only i did !) Had to laugh at memory.
My Mom loved Jewel Tea and bought things when the Jewel Tea man came to our house. Were the beautiful dishes and bowls given for how much money you spent over a period of time? Mom had several pieces and used the serving bowls for holiday meals. I sure did like the dress patterns. Sometimes I like to go online and look at vintage patterns. So glad your eyes were okay when you saw your Dr.
Oh Bonnie:
I understand about your vision test and the need for verification. My eyes have been corrected, and they are not the same. The left is corrected for distance and the right for near vision, Olus the right turned out corrected for distance, too. This was 20 years ago. They can not set those little machines up for that kind of correction. So, I too, have a heck of a time w/ the vision test. I Think we all fear the day we lose our license, or give it up freely. The sense of losing our independence shakes you to the core.
I Had hoped to get the last round on my serging QAYG quilt, but for the love of me I can not get my serger rethreaded tor 4 thread overlock. It was working fine, then I caught the threads w/ the baatting when I was cutting new strips. SO, the threads were a mess, nothing to do but rethread it. BUT, I have been trying for two days, and can not get it done. SO, will take it in w/ me on Saturday, and hopefully someone at the shop can help me thread it correctly. Then I can finish that project.
SO, I ran the walk behind snow blower to make paths where I needed them after yesterday's storm, We are getting more snow tonight and tomorrow, then, more pathways to make that I couldn't get done today. Some places, the snow was hip high deep! Now to go shovel the front landing and steps, to probably do it all again tomorrow night!
But, I can sew on my Curvaceous Cabins quilt tomorrow after I get home from my dental appt!
Donna
Kasilof, AK
Where the temps aren't bad, and the snow is beautiful, even if it does mean more work!
Lovely words, thank you.
What a sweet memory! My grandmother collected Jewel Tea dishes. I have a pitcher in her memory in my kitchen. Thanks for sharing that picture.
Bonnie, I had the same machine but turquoise. It was beautiful and VERY heavy. Lots of problems with the tension assembly that no-one could fix so maybe it was a good thing it was so expensive.
I have not one but two of those anniversary clocks! My grandmother ordered them from Germany, one for my mother and one for her sister, probably in the 1950s sometime. Both my mom and aunt are gone and I have both of the clocks (how I got my aunt’s, I have no idea). They don’t work anymore, even after my husband had one of them worked on. But I remember my dad winding my mom’s once a year - New Year’s Day. Nice memories!! I’m worried about my next eye test for my DL too - will definitely be stressed before and during!! Glad yours worked out OK.
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