Suzy,I think a lot of what is and isn't available depends on where you live. You'll be happy to know that pole lamps are readily available here,hula hoops can be purchased in the sporting goods store at the mall,( they are becoming popular again) and pay phones are still all over the place,although I think a lot of people use phone cards with them instead of cash. Don't know what's up with the parsnips and mint because I can get both in my dinky little grocery store here as well as just about any other kind of herb. Guess that won't do you any good though. LOL I think the local Welcome Wagons went out of business a few years ago,probably because of all the people moving in and out of the developments. Grandkid had a hoola hoop a few years ago and he picked it up very quickly. I never could get the hang of one of those.

My Maine grandkids made their own hula hoops this summer our of some rubber (or some such material) their mother bought for them, then decorated them with stars and moons, etc.
Marda, I never could get the hang of a hula hoop, either, but of course my grsndkids can turn it into an art form and the eight-year-old does two at once. I just stand there with my mouth hanging open.

I really hate parsnips so I have no idea whether my grocery store sells them or not. they do have mint once in a while, though not very often and never when it's the one ingredient I'm after.

I figured if I am getting serious about writing, I would need a desk just for that purpose. This week I bought a small solid wood secretary with a drop down writing surface. The design is a cross between Shaker and Federal. I have been looking for a single Windsor chair to go with it this week. Can't find one locally. Will try Huntsville, but now will shop by phone before I drive to a store. And I'm finding that I have to explain to most store workers just what a Windsor chair is. I can find them on line, but those I find are custom made and I'm not paying $1,000 and shipping to go with a $250 desk.

I don't discuss hula hoops with anyone.
I dislocated my butt trying to learn how to use one
and I still walk crooked, I think.

Good luck with the chair hunt, Michael.

They were fun when we were kids...

Here is a link that might be useful: Hula Hoops

Pay phones are disappearing because almost everyone has a cell phone. I csn't remember the last time I saw a pay phone - even in an airport where there used to be banks & banks of them.

Bu hula hoops & parsnips are easy to find around here. And the real Welcome Wagon lady still appears at your door when you move into the neighborhood.

My local grocer just installed two pay phones, probably for employees and/or customers ?

As Marda said, probably depends on where you live.

I have to say that today, after reading your thread, I stopped at our local Marc's for some olive oil and in their seasonal aisle there were four pole lamps, one with a swag-like lamp :)

Everything old is new again ?

I was a champ on the hula hoop !! Just couldn't do a cartwheel.

Peace

I long ago replaced all those aggravating wire clothes hangers with sturdy plastic which don't get tangled up. Recently Jim needed some wire for some project or other, and none to be found around here. I had several packages and rolls of wire for crafting but all too flimsy...he said nothing could replace a good wire clothes rack! (And when did the term "rack" disappear for clotheshangers) Seldom use the drycleaners anymore except for large comforters and such...but guess it's time to send off a few winter clothes to be cleaned so we'll have wire coathangers again.

Before we moved we found an attic box which held an old metal Slinky, Rubik's Cube, and Etch-a-Sketch. It was funny to see my son, then 35 or so, playing with them again. Never owned a hulahoop as I don't think boys enjoyed those like the girls did.

I think I've read that parsnips are best tasting when harvested in Fall after a frost. I guess nowadays they briefly refrigerate them to fool Mother Nature but I don't look for them until the first cold spell when I start thinking vegetable soup. Somehow like sauteed cabbage and baked yams they say Fall to me. I've never eaten parsnips except in stews...how do y'all cook them?

I'm buying extra herbs to turn into herbed butter and freeze...they're cheaper now than in winter. Basil, parsley, etc. (no mint as we don't care for it). But all are easily available yearround, at least at my favored grocery. We go back to my old neighborhood to shop every other week as that store caters to pickier eaters...it's miles out of the way but worth it to easily find what I want and the deli section is the best! josh

SIL loves parsnips. Yes, the best ones are dug *after* a good freeze; same as with kale and carrots. Something about the low temperature brings out the sweetness; refrigeration after picking just doesn't have the same effect.

SIL says to clean and peel each root, and then cut into chunks about 1"; lay them in a single layer in a shallow baking dish, brush with melted butter or margerine, sprinkle lightly with marjoram, salt, pepper; cover pan with foil and roast at 350°F until tender. It takes about the same length of time as roasting a large chicken; but check them after 30 minutes.

You can also make them into a veggie-chip: thinly slice the chunks; put 2T canola oil in a plastic bag and add the chips, shake well. Place on foil and sprinkle with cumin powder and with garlic powder; bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes.

Thanks, Meldy. Still in low 90's here but won't be long before we can open the house one cool day and enjoy roasting something in the oven. If it's raining, too, it makes a perfect fall day for me. josh