I have been restoring vintage lights since I was a teenager in the mid-1970s. An Interstate highway was being rammed through the city where I lived, and I ran (steps ahead of the bulldozers, and with my shag haircut flying) from one incredible building to another, and from one incredible house to another, and salvaged everything I could.
My poor, bewildered parents. Their garage was soon chock-a-block with what I thought were treasures beyond compare. But which they thought was just useless flotsam. I did though once overhear my mom say: “Well, at least he’s not out doing drugs.”
However, when all their boring lights were systematically replaced with the most stunning lights they had ever seen – and all for free, rewired, and restored – they soon had second thoughts about the flotsam. (I paid for new parts by mowing lawns!)
Fast forward many decades.
One day I realized I had a pile of old lights rusting away in my basement. I hauled a few out, restored them (bringing back many old memories), and listed them on eBay.
At the time I had no idea, not a clue, that I had just radically changed my life.
Within months my life was unrecognizable, and I was working full time restoring vintage lighting and selling the fixtures across America.
My new e-commerce website is now online. Whoee! Please feel free to shop and purchase here:
My blog post are below.
A Great Brass Beauty
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingI Splurged…
…on a new pool. It seemed vital. Wanna see? Scroll down… OK. So, maybe it is not a 40-foot lap pool. But a lot of birds and small animals will…
Continue ReadingI Keep Saying…
This is a political post. If interested please scroll down… If you get your news from FOX you are, no doubt, certain how badly President Biden has destroyed the economy. If you listen to any Republican politician you are, no doubt,…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 69
Today was in the low 90s. But the humidity was low. With a nice breeze. And I was shaded, drinking water, and had a powerful fan facing my every minute. Plus, an audible book kept me company (Runaway Jury). Ross perfectly happy. And dry! This week will all be around 100-degrees. I might…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 67
Friday. Dropped stuff off at the recycling center in Cottonwood Falls. Stopped by the antique store. Stopped by Clark’s hardware store in Strong City to get stuff. Stopped by Emporia Hospital to get a blood work test (results: blood clotting too low; medicine thus adjusted). Stopped by the lumberyard to buy two lengths of crown…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 66
Oh. That made sense. Ross be dumb.
Continue ReadingA Tantalizing Bath
For years now this is EXACTLY what I have sought for the original second-floor bathroom. Such tubs though are normally priced at around $9,000. So, yea, that is sooooo never gonna happen. This tub though? $2,900. A steal, frankly. But $2,900 more than I can afford right now. Sigh. Time to start buying…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 65
I predrilled for a bunch of finish nails. Pounded bunch in. Set nails. Painted with turpentine mix. I am doing what I can via standing up. I could do more by contoring my body and go lower. But, I have learned to be careful about my 66-year-old body. It vastly prefers vertical to…
Continue ReadingToday
I took the day off. Ann can explain:
Continue ReadingTwo Stories
This is a political post. Please scroll down if interested. From the NYT: A story in the New York Times today by Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage, and Maggie Haberman outlined how president Joe Biden and his allies are…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 64
SQUEE!!!!!!!! SQUEE!!!!!!!! SQUEE!!!!!!!!
Continue ReadingCH: Day 63
I hauled the new chop saw out of the car and put it together. I plugged it in. And…nothing. No matter what I did (like checking the extensions cord three times) made any difference. FFS. Chop saws are pretty basic. Why was I unable to get this one to work? Thus, I was…
Continue ReadingCH: Day 62
On Friday, I left Strong City, heading east to the Cross House. I knew there was a storm to the west and hoped it was not moving east. The sky ahead was blue. Looking in the rearview mirror showed an ominous sky. I thought: I should turn around and go back home. But I…
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. Getting home I soon discovered that while I had the original finial (fabulous) and original ceiling canopy (particularly fabulous) I did not have the stem. Poo. Bigly poo. A few weeks later, in another local antique store, I saw a light on the floor. My heart quickened. It…
Continue Reading