We here at the ranch are huge fans of Alfred Hitchcock and since today would have been his 111th birthday, I thought I'd post a video that I made a couple of Halloweens ago, recreating the shower scene from "Psycho" with Jack the mannequin boy.
We've done a couple of horror shoots but this was the only one where Jack took on tons of water. The poor kid oozed plaster for a week! I had parts of his body propped up on heating vents all over the house!
It was fun to dissect this scene from Psycho frame by frame to recreate it. It made me admire Mr. Hitchcock even more as I noticed subtle nuances that I'd never noticed before.
Side note: Black and white filming allowed us to substitute pancake syrup for blood. Boy, did the house smell good after a day of throwing pancake syrup into a steamy shower!
By the end, I was soaked, the kid was soaked, the bathroom was flooded and the whole joint smelled like a pancake house. Not to mention the sticky syrup in my hair and on the camera. All in all, a good day. It was one of those (many) days where I called Mr. Kitsch at work to warn him what he'd be coming home to. I know he loves those days!
What about you? What's your favorite Hitchcock movie or scene?
Oh! And with Halloween coming up, anyone have any good ideas for a scene from a movie that I should put Jack in this year? We've already done this one from "Psycho" and young Danny losing his Redrum! Redrum! marbles in "The Shining". I'd love to hear your ideas!
Until next time...be sure and lock the bathroom door, x's and o's, Eartha
As you may have gathered, this post is all about birds. I'm mad for birds. Real birds. Fake birds. Classy birds. Tacky birds. I love them all!
On the road this weekend, we came across this guy! I've named him Pete.
Isn't he wild? I'm guessing that he's a tie-in to the St. Louis Cardinals. I found this guy waaaaaay underneath a shelf in a junk shed, completely matted with old sticky cobwebs and covered in black dust. There is no telling how long he'd been under there! I got him for a song(bird) - three bucks!
And look! He's real live "art". Because the bottom says so!
He's a real sweet chalk ware piece. I've been collecting chalk ware for quite some time now. He's only my third bird. One of my other two birds is an interesting piece. I found him in a junk shop in Kentucky (like I keep telling y'all - Kentucky is THE place for junking). I was immediately interested in him just for his looks.
Then I tipped him over to see if there was a price on the bottom and was surprised to find a handwritten note scrawled way up inside of him - not on the bottom mind, you... but someone had taken the time and energy to scrawl these words on the inside of the bird:
and these:
Pretty creepy, huh? I would give anything to know the story behind who wrote those words and why! I was intrigued and fascinated and of course, brought him home. Thankfully, we haven't had any trouble out of him for the most part. Well, there was one little incident at our old house where I caught Mr. Lying Bird in our basement lying to all of the other residents of Kitschville.
Look at how dazed they look! He told them that I was going to put them all out at a yard sale! Mean old lying bird! He spent quite some time in isolation after that. Actually, he still IS in isolation. He's been sentenced to living with the holiday decorations in the garage.
(Mary looks like she spends a lot of time meditating since he came around.)
I'm thinking now though that since we have defender Pete the Cardinal around, we might just let that bird come back into the house. I think that Pete can handle him!
Until next time...I hope that all of your birds are good birds, x's and o's, Eartha
Some shots from one day junking in a small Kentucky town:
First up, Watkins Cookbook for Kids Inside
Is it just me, or do you immediately think the worst? Why the scrawled font? Why are the kids inside? Air raid? Nuclear attack? Are they all in a bunker somewhere? And what about the dog? Dear God...WHAT ABOUT THE DOG??!
Now on to something less disturbing:
Well, how you doin'?
My first thought was of Andy Taylor's Aunt Bea. Maybe it's the hat. Or maybe I have some issues that need to be resolved.
And since we're on the "Naked For No Good Reason" train:
Just your average Saturday night.
Her eyes pierce through me. And I want to give that entire guitar a good scrubbing with Simple Green cleaner. Maybe another unresolved issue on my part. Anyone keeping count? I think we're up to two.
Now back to disturbing:
Holy hellfire. This was an apron. A plastic apron with this design over the entire thing repeatedly. This exact same illustration with text screaming, "Soup's On!" and "Come and Get It!" Blekkk..
After that I think that we should lighten up the mood a little. More pig, but this time:
There. I hope that I've redeemed myself.
Oh lord, now I have to spiral back down into horrible:
When Mister Kitsch first showed me this knife holder, I squealed, "Ooh! A rooster! I want it!" Then he said, "But..do you see what is happening?" Soon enough, I did surmise what was happening. Poor Mister Rooster!
I'd make a heck of a detective, don't you think?
And now...
Here comes the bride! Or...something.
For our final stop, I'd like to show you who our backup Ranch Dressing mascot will be if for some reason, Swiffer McCluster can't perform his duties:
Basement dweller, Bizzy Beaver!
I hope that y'all have enjoyed this (mostly disturbing and eye opening) tour of one little Kentucky town.
Until next time..(say your prayers, check your window locks and keep saving up that junkin' money!) x's and o's, Eartha
Hey there, my little buckaroos! I hope that you had a great weekend!
Today, I'd like to show you another beautiful ranch home belonging to an amazing star, right here in Nashville - the fabulous Kitty Wells! You all may know her from her best known hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" or from one of her many other wonderful songs.
Ahh...Kitty! She's SO great! Kitty was born under the name of Ellen Muriel Deason, in 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee but was given her new showbiz name of Kitty Wells in 1943 by her husband, Johnny (Johnnie) Wright who is also a performer. Johnny reportedly got her name from an old folk ballad recorded by the Pickard Family, entitled "Sweet Kitty Wells".
Kitty and Johnny married in 1937 and are still together after 73 years!
From the Tennessean newspaper: "The couple is no longer touring. They prefer to stay at home together in Madison, though the tour bus is still parked in the driveway, ever-ready in case they decide to hit the road again.
'We stayed on the road for years, and then come home and just looked at each other,' Wright sometimes says. Apparently, they still like what they see."
And here that home is. I LOVE their house.
Just like Patsy Cline's house that we saw last time, the home is in a nice but modest subdivision area. Property records show that it has four bedrooms and four baths and approximately 4,379 square feet and was built in 1965.
The Mister and I had driven past this house for years, each time swooning over it. We didn't know for most of that time who the house belongs to. Once we learned, the house doubled in specialness for us. We'll go past and say, "Look at Kitty and Johnny's Christmas tree in the window!" or wonder if we could just stop by with some 78's and sit a long spell with them.
The home is always beautifully manicured and just like the newspaper article says, usually has their tour bus parked around back. Here is an aerial shot that I took from my invisible plane (oh, okay...that I got from the internet):
And how about this photo that I also found in the Tennessean of Kitty in her kitchen back in 1965 with her late daughter, Ruby and her little granddaughter, Kitty Elizabeth?
Isn't that a sweet photo? And is anyone screaming out, "Pyrex!" along with me?
Kitty and Johnny had three children but sadly, Ruby (who is shown above) died in 2009 at the age of 70. She also was in the music business and may be best known for her songs "'Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens" and "Dern Ya" which was an answer to Roger Miller’s “Dang Me” .
It's so hard to believe that Kitty will be 91 years old this month. She's one of those ladies who is just so timeless to me. Here's beautiful Kitty in 1957 singing "There's Poison In Your Heart".
I tell ya, I want to holler out along with the others in the room with her. And how about that dress? Hot dog!
As a bonus for you, here is a current photo of Kitty and Johnny's first rental home in Nashville. They paid five dollars a month back in 1937.
You've come a long way, Kitty and Johnny!
And as another bonus, here is the song that Kitty took her name from (not by the Pickard Family but by another performer who also does a nice job):
