mandag den 31. januar 2011
onsdag den 26. januar 2011
A Car with a Mind of Its Own
I love Herbie! Disney’s living car that has a mind of its own and is capable of driving all by himself. He is such a great character and I have loved him since I saw my very first Herbie movie in 1969. I was six years old, my dad (who is car crazy too) took me and my little brother (aged 4) to the cinema and we all fell in love with Herbie immediately.
At that time we had a tiny Renault 4CV, the French car that was made to compete with the Volkswagen, but didn’t succeed. Driving home from the cinema our little car, called the Nolte, became living too. Dad sat with his arms raised over his head and the Nolte drove all by himself!
What we didn’t notice was that the car was so small so dad could steer with his knees. Dad is a mechanic so he had placed several buttons at the bottom of the car so he could operate the horns (he had several funny horns) and the light with his feet. So while we drove the car would blink and “talk” to us, just like Herbie did. We were SO excited. We could not see dad moving his feet from the backseat.
But the little car really had a mind of its own. He was kind of strange and often very stubborn. Dad had put a bigger and faster engine in him, but he was often unwilling to start, so dad placed a crank in front of the car, which mum had to turn a lot before he would start. I suppose I was about 10 years old when I got the responsibility of sitting behind the steering wheel and step on the accelerator – I felt very grown. My mother turned and turned and the car wouldn’t start, it kept dying again and again. My mother sweared a lot and then one of us three kids asked her to try talk nice to the car. She gave us the eye, but then she patted him and asked him to please start! And vroouuum – he started! You could almost hear him laugh. The three of us shouted with joy from the back seat.
Once we had been to the theatre and while we were in there, a snowstorm had begun. When we came out we looked at each other knowing that little Nolte would never start. We had no phone, so we could not call dad, the expert. There was about two feet snow, it was damn cold and it was late and we were SO tired – not good at all! We walked through the snow and found Nolte all alone at the parking place. We brushed all the snow off him and got in – and vrooouuum, he started immediately! I thought he knew we were all very tired and wanted to go home to our warm dining room.
He also had a bad habit – he could never pass by an ice-cream café!
Mum protested, but dad insisted, with his arms raised over his head, that it was the car that wanted to stop! We all hooted from the backseat.
But a Renault 4CV is very rusty. Dad kept repairing him over and over again, and one day he came home, sick and tired of all that rust and said that now the car had to go to the breaker. All three kids started crying! He could not kill our little Nolte! We cried and cried, until he made a compromise: He would repair little Nolte one last time and then sell him. That was OK with us, not good, but better than killing him. So dad kept his promise and repaired him for the last time, even painted him dark green, so he still looked good and sold him to a lady in our town – which I’m sure killed him within a few years! The last day we had him dad took a photo of all of us in front of him with self-timer on his camera.
My brother must have been somewhere else that day.
This is a photo of little Nolte and my mother. Judging from her dress I think the photo is from the very early seventies.
I’ve told my son these stories and we’ve seen all the Herbie movies and he loves Herbie as much as I do. I have a vintage Opel GT and he thinks that it is a little alive too. We hope so, until now he’s behaved and been a good car.
Little Nolte became the love of my life and every time I see a vintage Renault 4CV I have to go check if it is MY little Nolte. If I ever find him, I’ll buy him on the spot, irrespective of the condition he will be in. If he is all rusty I will just place him in my back garden and go down to pat him once in a while. (And dear husband will kill me for doing so!)
Do you also have such memories of cars!?
You can read more about Herbie here.
At that time we had a tiny Renault 4CV, the French car that was made to compete with the Volkswagen, but didn’t succeed. Driving home from the cinema our little car, called the Nolte, became living too. Dad sat with his arms raised over his head and the Nolte drove all by himself!
What we didn’t notice was that the car was so small so dad could steer with his knees. Dad is a mechanic so he had placed several buttons at the bottom of the car so he could operate the horns (he had several funny horns) and the light with his feet. So while we drove the car would blink and “talk” to us, just like Herbie did. We were SO excited. We could not see dad moving his feet from the backseat.
But the little car really had a mind of its own. He was kind of strange and often very stubborn. Dad had put a bigger and faster engine in him, but he was often unwilling to start, so dad placed a crank in front of the car, which mum had to turn a lot before he would start. I suppose I was about 10 years old when I got the responsibility of sitting behind the steering wheel and step on the accelerator – I felt very grown. My mother turned and turned and the car wouldn’t start, it kept dying again and again. My mother sweared a lot and then one of us three kids asked her to try talk nice to the car. She gave us the eye, but then she patted him and asked him to please start! And vroouuum – he started! You could almost hear him laugh. The three of us shouted with joy from the back seat.
Once we had been to the theatre and while we were in there, a snowstorm had begun. When we came out we looked at each other knowing that little Nolte would never start. We had no phone, so we could not call dad, the expert. There was about two feet snow, it was damn cold and it was late and we were SO tired – not good at all! We walked through the snow and found Nolte all alone at the parking place. We brushed all the snow off him and got in – and vrooouuum, he started immediately! I thought he knew we were all very tired and wanted to go home to our warm dining room.
He also had a bad habit – he could never pass by an ice-cream café!
Mum protested, but dad insisted, with his arms raised over his head, that it was the car that wanted to stop! We all hooted from the backseat.
But a Renault 4CV is very rusty. Dad kept repairing him over and over again, and one day he came home, sick and tired of all that rust and said that now the car had to go to the breaker. All three kids started crying! He could not kill our little Nolte! We cried and cried, until he made a compromise: He would repair little Nolte one last time and then sell him. That was OK with us, not good, but better than killing him. So dad kept his promise and repaired him for the last time, even painted him dark green, so he still looked good and sold him to a lady in our town – which I’m sure killed him within a few years! The last day we had him dad took a photo of all of us in front of him with self-timer on his camera.
My brother must have been somewhere else that day.This is a photo of little Nolte and my mother. Judging from her dress I think the photo is from the very early seventies.
I’ve told my son these stories and we’ve seen all the Herbie movies and he loves Herbie as much as I do. I have a vintage Opel GT and he thinks that it is a little alive too. We hope so, until now he’s behaved and been a good car.Little Nolte became the love of my life and every time I see a vintage Renault 4CV I have to go check if it is MY little Nolte. If I ever find him, I’ll buy him on the spot, irrespective of the condition he will be in. If he is all rusty I will just place him in my back garden and go down to pat him once in a while. (And dear husband will kill me for doing so!)
Do you also have such memories of cars!?
You can read more about Herbie here.
mandag den 24. januar 2011
Monroe Mondays
I also want to have "Monroe Mondays" inspired by Blonde & Red. I will try to upload a not too common photo of MM on Mondays, when I remember it - then I haven't promised too much, have I? ;)
torsdag den 20. januar 2011
Vintage Costume Jewellery
I've written a guest blog about vintage jewellery at The Apron Revoulution. Have a look if you like.
onsdag den 19. januar 2011
søndag den 16. januar 2011
Frugality
I’m not stingy! And I hate being stingy, because if you are stingy with money you probably also stingy with something else. But I am frugal – everything is glued, mended and used to the last bit at our home. I cut my cream tube into two so I can use the rest. Often there is one week’s use left when you think a day cream tube is empty. And long ago I’ve stopped buying products I don’t believe in, e.g. slimming and anti-cellulite creams. Understand it – they don’t work!
Denmark has the World Record(!), yes really – in the most expensive café latte. For very long I’ve refused to pay SO much for SO little. It is very easy and quick to make a super delicious latte yourself: invest in a milk foamer (cost about 2 dollars in Denmark). Boil water, put the milk in the microwave oven (or in a small pot – 3.5 ounce per tall glass, it must not boil), put one teaspoon instant coffee powder and a a little sugar in each glass, pour the boiling water over, foam the milk, divide the milk and the foam into the glasses, pour more water in the glasses until full and voila! Delicious latte for almost nothing!
Denmark has the World Record(!), yes really – in the most expensive café latte. For very long I’ve refused to pay SO much for SO little. It is very easy and quick to make a super delicious latte yourself: invest in a milk foamer (cost about 2 dollars in Denmark). Boil water, put the milk in the microwave oven (or in a small pot – 3.5 ounce per tall glass, it must not boil), put one teaspoon instant coffee powder and a a little sugar in each glass, pour the boiling water over, foam the milk, divide the milk and the foam into the glasses, pour more water in the glasses until full and voila! Delicious latte for almost nothing!
Latte is served at Café Stone Corner.
onsdag den 12. januar 2011
The Cafe Latte Machine
Our good friend, Jesper, is visiting us. We’re enjoying a home made café latte, when his cell phone rings. It is one of his other friends, and Jesper says that he is drinking latte with us. Jesper and his male friends are really food and coffee nerds that loves expensive machines. They have latte machines for a fortune, so his friend at the other end asks which latte machine we have? “It is a Sanne”, Jesper laughs.
søndag den 9. januar 2011
Marilyn Monroe
Do I need more books about Marilyn Monroe?
No, I don't think so. Anyway, two more books about her ended in the Amazon basket a few days ago. I got money for books from my mum as a birthday gift, she is as crazy about books as I am, but not familiar with the internet.
The first one is new:
"Fragments" are all her own notes, poems, and scribblings in various notebooks and on small pieces of notes. I look very much forward to reading it, since I think it will show me who she really was.
The other is with a rarely seen serie of photos from Canada:
It is with photos from 1953, where she looked incredibly lovely. To me she has always been the most beautiful woman in the world - and she had figure, something I truly love.
I will end with a topical photo from the book:
Right before the photo session she hurt her leg, and despite a leg bandage she carried through the session and looked fabulous as always.
I've also broken my leg! Last Wednedsday. I slipped on all that damn ice, so now I'm doomed to stay calm for the coming weeks. But I did not need to have an operation - which I'm NOT ready for yet. So watch out in the Winter weather!
tirsdag den 4. januar 2011
Resolutions for 2011
No resolutions this year! In fact I never have resolutions since I think it is stupid and that they are almost made to be broken at the end of January. Last year DH made up a shared resolution for us and I want to stress that he did his very best to break it all year long. He topped it by investing in a lawn mower at 5,455 dollars, which I dickered down to 4,545 dollars, but that’s pretty expensive anyway. Yep, we have a very nice lawn all Summer.
Shop less
The resolution did something good – my shopping-gene has almost withered. I do shop a little, but I’m very proud that it isn’t much. I’ll continue doing so.
Tidy up, clear out
I have cleared out a lot of things including tidied up the basement. I have carried lots of bags to the second hand shops, trashed something and put up for sale at our Danish version of eBay. But I’m sure more can be cleared out.
Exercise
Well, that’s an evergreen. But as soon as my belly stops hurting after my operation, I want to use my EasyShaper.
It is genius and super effective – if I use it.
Loose 3-4 kilos
I’ve already lost 3½ kilos, but want to loose 3 more, 4 would be perfect. What a lot of clothes I can fit then!
Enjoy life
I love my everyday life, because it fills most of my life. I will enjoy sitting in front of the fireplace with a mug of tea, or in my vintage garden swing during Summer, take a ride in my vintage car or backseat at DH’s motorcycle. I think it is good to be pleased with the daily things and never just take them for granted.
Shop less
The resolution did something good – my shopping-gene has almost withered. I do shop a little, but I’m very proud that it isn’t much. I’ll continue doing so.
Tidy up, clear out
I have cleared out a lot of things including tidied up the basement. I have carried lots of bags to the second hand shops, trashed something and put up for sale at our Danish version of eBay. But I’m sure more can be cleared out.
Exercise
Well, that’s an evergreen. But as soon as my belly stops hurting after my operation, I want to use my EasyShaper.
It is genius and super effective – if I use it.
Loose 3-4 kilos
I’ve already lost 3½ kilos, but want to loose 3 more, 4 would be perfect. What a lot of clothes I can fit then!
Enjoy life
I love my everyday life, because it fills most of my life. I will enjoy sitting in front of the fireplace with a mug of tea, or in my vintage garden swing during Summer, take a ride in my vintage car or backseat at DH’s motorcycle. I think it is good to be pleased with the daily things and never just take them for granted.
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