Ramblers and Kelvinators

 What do Ramblers and obsolete Kelvinator appliances have in common?  They were made by the same company, and this place has a big collection of each!  The Kelvinator refrigerators were built to last, and most did for 35-40 years or more.  Sadly, today the average refrigerator is built to last approximately 5-6 years, with one or more repairs during that time.

We stepped back into time, back to when our mothers and aunts had these reliable appliances in their kitchen. Notice the stove has a well beside the 3 burners.  It held soups and stews warm. I remember one of those in the house when I was very young.  On the right side is an electric butter warmer.

Usually the older styles had just one door, but the upgraded model below actually was a side by side.

Inside the freeze was a section for bananas and a dispenser for freezer wrap!

There was never a hunt to find where the cheese or juice was in the refrigerator since there were built ins for those items.  No more kid whining he couldn't find where the orange juice was!

Behind the partial see through door were containers specifically labeled "juice".  If one was a rebel, there might have been milk in the container.

I am old, but I sure don't remember anyone having a pastel pink stove in their house and a darker pink sink complete with automatic dish soap dispenser.

One very familiar thing I spotted along the shelves above was a Corning Ware coffee pot.  We got one exactly like this as a wedding gift and I had to figure out how to make coffee on the stove when we had company.  Back then, neither of us were coffee drinkers.

One room was full of all the different Kelvinator products including freezers and the old wringer washing machines.  I remember using those (and hanging up wash on the line).  

In the 50's and 60's everything was ironed, including sheets, pillowcases and handkerchiefs. The electric mangle in the picture below brought back many memories. My mother had managed to bring hers along when we moved to Arizona in 1955.  I scoured the internet and found a picture of one. 

The mangle was just like the one below.  I learned very quickly how to avoid burning my fingers on the large metal surface!  Both hands were used to guide the item and the roller was worked with knee paddles.  Nowadays I bet most young people don't even own an iron!  

The Electro Sink Center was something I had never even see before! If you wanted to make a salad, juice oranges or even make bread dough, this was the thing to have!  They even had a manual on the counter nearby.  I guess the woman's place was really tied to the kitchen and the home.

 

The 1960's modern kitchen may have looked like the photo below, with the stove top retracting back.  That would have been a plus if you didn't want to clean the burners after using.  Just shove it back in, and "Voila" clean kitchen!

Denver Gardens Part I

 This week we drove to the Denver Botanical Gardens.  The 24 acres have been meticulously planned out to make every square foot count.  The day started out being overcast, which was a plus since temps were going to be in the 90"s.

One of the first areas we walked toward was the Steppe Garden.  It has plants that thrive in a semi-arid area with rocky mineral rich soil and extreme temperature changes.  The pine tree framed the entrance.

Below, the Black Eyed Susans and cone flowers nestle between the rocks and bushes.

Close by was a huge pond with various species of water lilies.

 In the late 1990's Euro Disney commissioned the solarium below and 7 others to be built, but never used them.  This one sat in a crate for 20 years and in 2012 it was donated to the botanical garden. 

 

This is one of the few sculptures in the gardens, most likely because the focus is on the numerous flowers and shrubbery.

We meandered over to the Japanese Garden area, complete with little stone walkways.  Very peaceful and calming!

These were labeled as "Shofu-en" gardens, which translates to pine and wind. In the photo below, you can see the details of the rock path, carefully laid out by hand.

Towards the back of the garden were other ponds and mini waterfalls.

Although the flowers aren't spectacular, the name of this plant captured my eye.  It was labeled "Squirting Cucumber".  I never knew cucumbers could squirt!  Maybe there should be a sticker on them advising people to wear glasses while eating them.  After all, who would want cucumber juice in their eyes?😄

Time for a short break.  Don had gotten a text from a neighbor that we had a leak in our backyard, and water was coming down outside our block wall.  He made a quick phone call to our landscaper.  We certainly can't have the neighbor turn off the water because of the extreme heat, so we'll settle for a higher water bill and also a bill from the landscape guy.

While he was on the phone, I was lucky enough to capture this Koi blowing bubbles.

Circling back, we came across another part of the Japanese gardens.

This glass and steel sculpture is by Dale Chihuly and was specifically made for this site.  It references the dense spiky shapes of the Yucca plants and the colors reflect the colorful Colorado sunsets.

If you plan a visit to Denver, I would definitely encourage you to visit here no matter what time of the year it is.

Denver Botanical Gardens Part II

 There were so many pictures of flowers that I had a hard time deciding which ones to choose.  So, I ended up doing two posts: the first with overall photos of the landscapes and this one with close ups of various blooms.  

This Tiger Lily captured my eye with it's gorgeous spots and melon orange color.

A bee picking out just the right Cosmos flower.

Pink Dawn shown below is one of my favorites from the gardens.

This white flower was labeled Peucedanum.  Hmm.....No generic name listed.  It looks like little snowballs on sticks!

The Bellflowers below are almost tissue paper thin with a subtle blueish color.

"I'm almost in there".  The back end of a bumblebee!

A blush hydrangea.

The Vetch's Blue is also known as Globe Thistle.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of what these last two flowers are called.  Not every flower or bush had name plates by them.  None the less, I still enjoyed them!

Sculpting Out Our Life

On July 20th we returned to the Loveland Sculpture Park.  It had been at least 4 years since we had ventured there last, and each year more bronze statues are added.  The day was cool and breezy which equated to a pleasant walk of about a mile.

 Even though this wasn't one of the new pieces, I had to take a photo of the fox with a fresh flower on his head.

The alligator statue was halfway hidden between the cement paths that meander through the park.  I wonder if any children are tempted to sit on him. 😕   Flowers are also in abundance, and the grounds are meticulously taken care of.

One of my favorites is the fox looking over the small waterfall.
Monarch Girl was a newer addition, being added in 2022.  This was quite interesting, and looked different depending on what angle you were looking at her from.

The setting for the mountain lion statue was perfect.  As you followed the path around the corner it looks like the lion is crouching on a rock, ready to pounce.  It is partially hidden by the bushes and trees.

This might be my new favorite!  The banana statue is called "On a Roll".  What an imagination Jack Hill had to think of putting skates on a banana!!

The "Hangin' Around" Bronze was added last year.  It reminded me of when I was young and hung from bars like that during recess (such a long, long time ago).

This guy seemed to be wondering why Don had such a stern look on his face.  Maybe he was thinking "Relax buddy and sit back like me.  You are way too uptight" LOL😂😂

Such a peaceful park.  During the time we meandered around, there were at least 3 groups of people being pushed around in wheelchairs by their caretakers.  I'm sure they enjoyed it just as much as we did, maybe more so.