When I was growing up my parents didn't hire babysitters. They had my older sister for that. But my older sister sometimes had other places to be, so the television was my nanny on those nights. This was when I was about eight or nine and up.
When I was a preteen and a teen and all of my siblings had grown up and moved away and my mother was in the hospital, it was just me and my dad. But he, being a cleaning contractor, still had some jobs at night that he could not take me to, so, once again, I stayed home with the television for companionship.
In those days before the internet and large child care centers, television was probably there for a lot of us in one way or another. I learned a lot from TV and chose to watch PBS programming a lot of the time, though I certainly indulged in my favorite cartoons, like Jonny Quest, sit-coms like Hogan's Heroes and old musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and many others of the great actors. There was also Creature Feature with all of the neat old spooky movies that I tried never to miss.
I learned a lot from TV, but I also learned that you could not trust everything you saw on TV either. You cannot trust everything you see on the internet, but I'll leave that for another entry sometime.
This week's Friday Faves is dedicated to that magical box of sound and moving pictures that some of us, me included, can spend too much time in front of. While I don't spend as much time in front of it as I did when I was a kid, all of that time spent watching those flickering pictures is probably why when I'm sick I still love to just kind of zone out in front of and often sleep with the TV playing softly in the background.
I guess you could say that TV is like comfort food, it has its place and is appropriate in smaller not greater portions.
Here's a couple of my favorite scenes from those old musicals I previously mentioned. The first is a clip with Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly from the musical Singin' In The Rain and the second is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oWk4ZiuSHE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34FHYl9NHVw
Aspects of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers "reluctant" dance always made me wonder if the choreographer for the 80s film Legend was inspired by this old scene.
Well, enough of retro TV and other things --
Let's go shopping!
TV Shop Number 1
Shop name: Supreme Decals from The Ebay Gift Shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ebaygiftshop?ref=seller_info
When I saw this I thought it was a great decorating idea for a televison area in the home. It's definitely something I had not considered doing before I saw it, but I love it so much that I just have to share it with all of you. It really could make a room pop with style!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62501167/spring-festival-tv-background-home-decor
TV Shop Number 2
Shop name: Farm Tables Plus More
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FarmTablesPlusMore?ref=seller_info
I really love this entertainment unit/television center. The open design using hardware cloth will keep your other components nice and cool, while adding a nice country touch to your decor. Beautiful!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/79129178/handcrafted-television-entertainment
TV Shop Number 3
Shop name: My Secret Vintage
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MySecretVintage?ref=seller_info
I could not resist this when I saw it. We never had one of these, but I learned about them, yes, you guessed it, from a documentary about the television. Apparently, when TV first came into the home it was believed that watching television in darkened rooms could damage one's vision, so the television lamp was born to provide ambient lighting and protect one's vision. This one is one of the very popular panther models, but there were many different designs. What a great collector's item!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81186282/1950s-panther-tv-lamp-chartreuse-green
TV Shop Number 4
Shop name: By Renee
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Reyney?ref=seller_info
And if you really love your TV, then why not take it with you? In fact, why not wear one around your neck? This lovely retro-style television necklace is the perfect homage to the television.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61527354/retro-tv-necklace
TV Shop Number 5
Shop name: Jacklom3 Modern Vintage and Timeless Antiques
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jacklom3?ref=seller_info
What would a Friday Faves dedicated to the television be without, well, a TV? Here's a beautiful yellow one from 1975. That's right! Apple was not the first to come up with bright, fruit-flavored colors for electronics and, who knows, maybe it was these great old tv sets that inspired Apple. We had a bright red Philco model when I was a teen. What a great way to add some color and some retro feel to your home -- and it's even portable!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80975340/yellow-1970s-television-set-portable-rca
Well, that's all for this week's Friday Faves. I hope you enjoyed checking out some of the fabulous finds that Etsy has to offer and I hope you'll come back next week when our theme will be Balloons and Ballooning! That's right we're going up, up and away next week right here on Friday Faves!
What's your favorite television program of all time? I would love to read all about it in the comments section.
Have a great weekend everyone, and take care out there!
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