peanuts

Fandom Merchandise and Where to Find It

Standard

​As I look at my Christmas gifts, and my recent birthday gifts before that, I am struck, but not terribly surprised by how much relates to the variety of fandoms and pop culture things I am involved in. Many of these things have stayed with me since my teen years, to the point that I no longer participate, but they still hold an important place in my heart. The one example that comes to mind was my getting a new messenger bag: ThinkGeek’s Bag of Holding. It’s so glorious that I’ll be writing a separate review of it. My son was a little annoyed that I would be getting it – it was a little expensive, but with the thirty percent discount that was offered, it was well worth it. He was still a little annoyed and exclaimed, “You don’t even like Dungeons & Dragons!” I think I may have snorted. I was momentarily speechless.

I don’t like Dungeons & Dragons?! Do you even know me?! I had been playing Dungeons & Dragons since high school. In our school cafeteria, we would use the half-pint milk container as a six-sided die. Every weekend in college, we’d get together in the blue room to play. Dave, our DM (dungeon master) would not let us have any alcohol. We got stupid. We were probably the only group on a Saturday night not drunk. We would play all weekend, talking time only to sleep before the next night’s game.

I met my college roommate in a study hall through a conversation about character sheets.

My oldest son used my original books when he and his friends played Dungeons & Dragons.

Not a fan?! Harumph!

Glancing at The Walking Dead trivia box, the Hufflepuff necklace, the Supernatural zipper bag, the Star Trek 50th anniversary gold ornament with sound, I saw just how many fandom things there are, and I also realized how difficult it was to get some of them.

Continue reading

Tasty Tuesday. Peanuts

Standard

My Dad used to eat peanuts all the time. He’d get this big bag of peanuts still in their shells. He’d crack them open and go through that bag in one or two days. He’d toss the shells in a paper garbage bag next to his chair, but on occasion he’d miss. Some days before he cleaned it up it looked like the floor of a country bar or a Ground Round in the “old” days of my childhood. I still flashback to my Dad sitting in his blue recliner in our den when I see those big bags of peanuts in the shells.

I used to love Nutter Butter cookies because of him also. And Vienna Fingers. It’s amazing what pops into your head from childhood, especially where food is related.

Stuff and Things – Transistor Radio

Standard

image

This is my Jimmy Carter peanut radio. It’s just one of those things that I can’t remember getting, but I’ve always had. I imagine that it was given to me early on in the Carter Administration or while he was campaigning for President. I know that my brother and sister also had one.

The battery cover is missing, and I think one of the wires has come out, so if I put a new 9 volt battery in it, it wouldn’t work, which is sad. I have some good memories listening to this radio.

No antennas, no plugs. The radio stations broadcast. If I recall correctly, it got FM. Not all of the radios that we had could pick up FM, so this was a big deal. FM had the cool music.

He’s also missing a top hat. He must have been modeling after Mr. Peanut. There were so many ways that politicians were good naturedly parodied and teased, but I kind of think that President Carter would like this. It shows his friendly, if toothy grin, the twinkle in his eyes, and of course, a homage to his peanut farming and farm life and family ancestry.

This is one of my childhood treasures along with a stuffed astronaut doll from the Kennedy Space Center. I will look for that later in the year, and share it with you when I find it. We discovered it again when we were cleaning my mother’s house out several years ago. It was a bit moldy, but I know we have it either in the garage or the basement.