Not Fade Away

Went for a crisp Fall walk in the park after Dad's talk the other day...

Wildwood Preserve in Toledo is a lovely place - walked the trails and visited the Ellen Biddel Shipman Garden near the Manor House.

But even with the beauty, I can see that Summer is over and winter is approaching

You do get the splendor of the colors

yet Winter is whispering that her turn is coming.

Took Miss Roxy for one more spin before she sleeps,

Had one more barbecue before it is too dark and too cold to enjoy it.

I guess though that you need to look for hidden wonder.

But, it snowed the other day - along with lovely hail balls

...I'm just not ready yet!

I suppose we'll just need to slide into this slowly and see where the path takes us.

A Close Shave

Last week I had the pleasure of listening to a very special guy talk about a hobby he enjoys... My Dad!

He has collected razors and shaving tools for many years...

Some items have special histories

and many of them were given to him by friends from all over.

Some of his artifacts cover all the mysteries of grooming!

He demonstrated the idiosyncrasies of the straight razor - safety first!

Discussed how the razors were sharpened

and told how the Gillette Company wanted to increase sales by switching to a new kind of razor with a replaceable blade... why sell one straight razor when you can sell blades over and over again!

So many styles of shaver were born once the blades were invented...

...and new ways to sharpen the blades for the frugal!

a plethora of honing devices!

(And did I mention my Mom dressed him and added the fake mustache to complete the ensemble? He's a good sport my Dad - ever ready to play along with the theme dressing!)

Know those fancy vibrating Fusion Razors that are all the rage? Here's an old school one that plugged in. Some where in the display is a wind-up one that is even older! Every thing old is new again...

Every Christmas we bought Dad a new bottle of Mennen aftershave - each year a new design some were pretty cool!

And here is a photo of a real live barber shop belonging to a cousin from Southern Ohio.

Hope you enjoyed our little tour through shaving history! Wish you could have heard it first hand!