The Relaxed Happiness of a Myopic Seamster

Sent from my Commodore 4400

115 typewriters on the move

The move we've been planning for all year has finally arrived. The movers cleared out the house, minus typewriters and other essential items (okay, the typewriters aren't essential but I wouldn't entrust their care to a moving company!)

At W's suggestion, I decided to take advantage of the great empty space of the living room to do a group photo of all 115 of my typewriters. I spent several hours last night arranging them (with his welcome help in carrying them around) and posted an out-of-focus teaser to the Antique Typewriter Collectors group on facebook.

So here they are, all 114 portables and 1 lone standard, laid out for your eyes to feast.

I'll save any grand speeches for my beloved Tacoma for another time.
But, the next time you see me, I'll be in Sacramento.

Kittens!

I love going back to Michigan to visit my family. It's somewhat of a surreal experience each time, going back to the family home—I didn't exactly spend my childhood there but the last three years before moving out, a whirlwind of conflict, were spent there. Of course, now going back is nothing like when I lived there because all the conflict seemed to evaporate after I left. Really, it's like visiting a rose-tinted memory.

But this time, there were two new additions to the family! Two identical black cat sisters, Ebony and Onyx. The only way to tell them apart is by counting how many white whiskers they have. Allegedly you can tell by their reactions to blowing in their faces, but that's not a very nice way to greet them. Sometimes a behavior pattern makes for a clear indication, as one of them (I don't remember which) is really cuddly at certain times of the day and can't stay off your lap or out of your way.

They're both equally adorable though and some of the best cats I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with—sweet, gentle, playful, and patient. They've destroyed more than their share of things over the months but I never saw any evidence of it. They must have been on their best behavior for the guests.

I grew up with cats my whole life and our family was never without a cat or three, but since I've moved out I haven't had the chance to adopt one yet. Spending time with Onyx and Ebony really reminded me how much I missed having a cat… as much as I love Ned, our black lab, he's still not a cat! When we move, in a year or two, we'll get a house with a proper yard and then it's only a matter of finding the right cat (or cats maybe!).

I ended up doing more interesting things than I expected while away, including a last-minute visit to my grandparents in Colorado who finally got to meet W, so I didn't end up spending as much time working on my typewriter research projects as I thought I would. Expect to see some more of that this month as I return back to schedule!

What does the Super Bowl mean to me?

Not enough to spell it correctly.

Sent from my Olympia SM3 De Luxe

The collection has grown to 75

That's a lot of portable typewriters! This was the first time I had to split my collection into two groups to photograph them all! I grouped them by brand name roughly alphabetically. This, of course, brings to attention an interesting fact.

The first half of the alphabet contains many more typewriter brands/manufacturers than the second, but at least in the United States, they are far less common! The second half of the alphabet, on the other hand, only contains a few brand names but most of them are plentiful here.

You might notice a few typewriters in this group that I haven't mentioned before. This is because I have 8 typewriters that aren't fully functioning and need something major fixed with them (carriage problems, loose typeslugs, etc.) I plan on keeping them and hopefully fixing them myself or else getting them fixed, and then that's when I'll give them a proper reveal. There are also 2 machines that haven't had their chance to shine yet due to recent aquisition-ness.

Going through my collection like this has prompted me to reconsider how much I want certain typewriters, and I have a few that I'd like to sell to fellow typospherians at decent prices or else an agreeable trade. These are nice machines that I like, but know they'd be better off in another home. At the same time, I don't want to put them on eBay because I kind of want them. If nobody wants them, I'll probably keep them for now. :) Keep a lookout for a post in the near future for details!

A Flat Continent(al)

194X Continental 200 501679

"There is no sacrifice of convenience when using a Modell 200." I sound like an ad writer using his second tongue. XD

typewriters.ch: Continental 200

(supplementary typecast with more photos)

Sent from my new Continental 200

Family Units & The Answers

Nobody won the contest. It was too tough.



My new old alarm clock chirps like a bird. When you press the 'Doze' button,

how long you hold it down is related to how long it waits til it starts up again.

When it starts after a doze, it starts slowly and speeds up. It's cute.

Not quite the best alarm for waking you up roughly!