How lucky am I!!

[Ralitsa]

Yesterday I decided to stop in at a small antique shop near my apartment to look around. I need a radio, and instead of just going to Radio Shack and buying a cheap plastic thing I figured it would be really cool to get an old one, vacuum tubes and the whole business
So of course they didn't have one, which I'm not surprised about since they are really hard to find, but she thinks she might get some in next week, which I was actually surprised to hear.
But she told me I looked nice and that she liked my dress, and that I should check out the jewelry she had. I saw some pieces I liked, and she talked me into trying on a pair of earrings that I didn't really like. Well, they looked great with my dress, better than the ones I'd been wearing, so I kept them on
So we got to talking, about all kinds of stuff. And it turns out that she wears the same size as I do in shoes and dresses and she has a big collection of both and she will sell me whatever I want. But the best part, she has a really good eye for styles and fashion, she was a singer and designed her own gowns, and she said she will help me. So I finally have a fashion consultant!
This is something I've been struggling with. I know what I like, but I'm not convinced that it's the right thing for me. I always buy what I think looks good on someone else, and then feel like it doesn't look good on me. I have a few friends that I go shopping with sometimes and they are a big help, but I don't really feel like I can ask them to review my whole wardrobe and overhaul my look.

And, I also bought from her some old books, and she has more there that I want to get later.

So I might get a radio, she will help me with fashion, I got some cool books, and her shop is right across the street!
Life is good

[Anita]

That was uplifting to read, Ralitsa.
I would think vacuum tube radios would be very rare, and sought after. But she's saying that she does get them.

[Requal Jo]

It sounds as if you are a very luck girl Ralitsa. It must feel wonderful to have found such a supportive person, just across the road. Sounds as this maybe the start of a new friendship.

[Davita]

Wonderful Ralitsa. Gotta love good help when you can get it. I also think she's getting something from it as well and not just the money. SHe's getting to helpful at the same time she gets to make new room in her closet Seems you two my have a shopping trip together in the future.

[Eileen (SO)]

Dear Ralitsa,

There are clubs in the mid-West that collect and restore the type of radio you're looking for. It's one thing to buy one, quite another to get it in working order.
I love antique shops! And lucky you to find an advisor! Have fun shopping there!

Eileen

[Ralitsa]

Well I almost forgot to give everyone an update about my radio.
I went back to the antique shop the next week, but Sherri (the owner) wasn't there. Then I was out of town for a while so I didn't get back there until last weekend. Sherri was there this time, and she told me she had had a stroke shortly after the first time we met and she had been in the hospital. Well, luckily she got to the hospital right away and is doing fine now.

So she had a radio in, but said it didn't work. Well I had followed Eileen's suggestion and looked into the clubs that restore old radios, and it turns out that it isn't too hard to find parts for them. So I bought it for $35 and figured I would have a project for a while. As it turns out, it does in fact work. One just has to wait several minutes for the tubes to warm up, and then fiddle with it a bit. So I will probably only have to clean it up a little, and it's missing the back cover, but otherwise there is nothing wrong with it.

And then Sherri talked me into putting a down payment on an old typewriter that she has decided I need, and I decided I need a really, nice fur coat that she has so I put it on lay away also. It's just a good thing I have a small apartment here, and am planning to move soon, or I would buy everything
But she told me I could have any of her large collection of shoes, in which I found a pair of boots that fit perfect and I like; actually I'm wearing them right now. And she has a long blonde wig (somewhere in the attic) that she is going to find for me.
Needless to say, I'm really happy too have her shop just a few doors down the street.

[April Rose]

A while ago a customer came into our store and put a vacuum tube on the counter. I was the only one in the store at the time who was old enough to know what it was!

[Marti]

I have a bucket of 6146As in my garage that I am getting ready to throw out.

[Eileen (SO)]

As it turns out, it does in fact work. One just has to wait several minutes for the tubes to warm up, and then fiddle with it a bit. So I will probably only have to clean it up a little, and it's missing the back cover, but otherwise there is nothing wrong with it.

Of course, dear, that's how tube electronics work. Enjoy your manual typewriter. Back in the day, a secretary could wear long finger nails, while a mere typist could not. Can't pound those keys with long nails!

Eileen

[Ms. Erin]

Sweet memories, my grand father used to build vacuum tube radios and amp's. His room was full of them.