Different versions of A Christmas Carol

[Andybev01]

That makes me happy, thank you.

I found a bagful of plastic lighthouses that appeared to have been made to clip onto Christmas tree lights, but all of the clips were broken.

I used one for the topper and accented a sparkly fish net with some of the rest.

[Murfreesboro]

That sounds creative and appropriate.

Ah, yes! Nice photo. I like the way the ribbon drapes from the mantel onto the tree.

[Andybev01]

I'm trying to think outside of the giftbox this year.

[Murfreesboro]

I think you're achieving your goal! That's a very imaginative and lovely display.

I also like that you have Holiday Inn cued up on the TV. I bought that DVD instead of White Christmas because I knew it was the one that had introduced the song. Also, of course, it has Fred Astaire.

[Andybev01]

Modern TVs make great background art in photos.

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. Who'd a thunk it? But it does look very nice in your photo.

[MauEvig]

Great display Andy!

I have to say a flat screen TV does indeed do well to accent a room. They don't take up as much space as the older TVs either.

But some of the older TVS were functional, because you could store movies in hidden compartments and put your VCR on top...

...am I getting old?

[Murfreesboro]

No, Mau, you are nowhere near old, but it's true that technology changes.

I still have the first color tv my family ever owned. It was delivered on my 6th birthday, back in 1960. An Admiral. Of course it hasn't worked in decades. It was all vacuum tube technology. The thing is, it was built in a substantial mahogany cabinet. That's how they did it back then. The tvs were solid pieces of furniture. Sometime in the very early 2000s I tried to see if i could sell it on line. I thought someone might be interested in an antique like that. But at that time you couldn't give it away.

[Andybev01]

Old CRT TVs were astonishingly huge.

We had one of the all-in-one models.

TV, AM/FM stereo & turntable that had bins for albums that was accessed by lifting up the hinged top of the unit.

It had to have been 5' long and weighed 200lbs.

Dark cherry wood cabinet with nubly speaker cloth that had metallic threads woven into it, and generated enough heat to keep our livingroom warm on cold days.

That thing lasted 20+ years.

[MauEvig]

Older built things seem to last longer for some reason. I can't help but be amazed that some of these old TVs were built to look so fancy.

There might be a market for older TVs for those who enjoy the retro gaming experience. Unless a game has been repurposed in HD, the pixelated graphics of the atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis might actually look better on the older screens. I think because the older screens themselves were more "gritty" compared to the definition of modern screens, but it adds to the charm of old school gameplay. If someone wants to take the time to fix it up, that could still be a treasure.

If all else fails, you could take the tube out and make a nice cat bed out of it:



I think a lot of upcycling projects with older things are neat, because they can get repurposed into something useful. But I have so much junk as it is that I probably won't be doing that much myself.

I don't know, Murf. I'm 38. I feel like I'm getting old. I'm wondering where the time went. One of my best friends from school even calls me old, despite being older than me.

I really miss the old days. VHS tapes, recording stuff on TV, recording music on the radio, the old style TVs, going to the video stores. -sigh-

But they have more Sonic toys than they did when I was a kid. Or at least better access to them, and I can actually spend my own hard-earned money on them if I so choose. So adulthood isn't...THAT bad...

[Murfreesboro]

I miss video stores, although I guess that's one thing that just got replaced by the streaming services.

[Andybev01]

The anticipation you felt not knowing whether or not the video you wanted was on the shelf was thrilling.

I liked buying all of the movie snacks in store as well.

[Murfreesboro]

That was fun, wasn't it?

When our kids were little, my husband and I would rent a video, pop some popcorn, and have our date night right in the house as they slept. I loved the coziness of that.