Schroeder Books and Music

Schroeder Books & Music, 7629 W. Greenfield Avenue, Westallica: shelves piled high with books and magazines in genres that you can't find anywhere else. (Adjacent to the "Americana" section is "Linconana.") It's always worth a look-see here. I've imagined that every book ever published is in there...somewhere.

I found a Workbasket Magazine from the 1950's, in case I ever want to tat a doily. These are collectible little mags with historical value- not just needlework (presumably kept in a tidy basket by the hearth) but also for the ads. ("Steady pay every day as a Practical Nurse! Enjoy security, no recession for Nurses. Earn to $65 per week, good times or bad. Florence Nightingale School of Nursing.") As I checked out, the lady said,
"We have hundreds of Workbaskets."
Hundreds?
The mind reels!

I mentioned that I'm a longtime customer (sporadically) and used to go to the old store on 7th and Wisconsin, when it was across the street from the old Duncan Donuts, back in the 80's and early '90's. This was before the "revitalization" of downtown Milwaukee. She told me about the fire that destroyed the store- they had two locations at that time- and thousands of books stored beneath the street, all destroyed. But they have plenty again, so make sure you do some Christmas shopping for the lover of historic needework patterns or Linconana aficionado in your life.

DH

People have asked me the meaning of DH: it stands for "Dear Husband." As in, love of my life, my dearest heart, my completion, my everything: The Man in the Houndstooth.


It's a blog convention, and kind of a silly one I guess. I thought it was started by knitters somehow (multitudes of knitters have blogs). Elizabeth Zimmerman called her husband "the Old Man" in her iconic book Knitters Almanac and that is maybe where I got that notion (pun- "notion" -for you crafters).


Since I am trying to remain basically anonymous on this blog, it seemed like a good idea- but maybe I should find a different name for him. Besides his own, I mean, or "Brain" (which he has earned, BTW), which often garners me the well-meaning comment, "You spelled your husband's name wrong." Not wrong, exactly, just skewed, and true.

The 3/50 project

A woman I work with handed me this flyer the other day (who, I might add, moonlighted at a small store on Downer Avenue that closed last month) . Then I saw it on Facebook. My line of thinking started with, I don't spend $50 a month on "stuff." But of course I do. I try, not hard enough, to spend it at locally-owned establishments. The line "...you'd miss most if they were gone" crystallized this for me, as so many are closing.

Some of my favorite local bricks-and-mortar establishments are listed below the flyer.


Some of my faves, and reasons why:

Fischberger's Variety on Holton: the best place to buy gifts. The lady who owns it (one of the Brew City Bruisers) gave me a zipper once- not sold it to me- gave it to me. The fact that I remember it two years later shows how unusual this small act was.

Top Shelf Guitar Shop in Bay View. The guy that owns it not only checked out and tweaked my bass this year, not charging me because "I really didn't do anything"-- although I saw him tweak it! Then he ran out in the rain to bring me the patch cords I bought and then forgot on the counter. Truly excellent customer service every time.

Ruhama's Yarn and Needlepoint for getting my craft on.

Kellner's Greenhouse for decorative plants and herbs (especially since Weber's on Green Bay just north of Capitol closed last year).

Laacke and Joys, downtown location, "when nature calls you outdoors." It's a big store, and probably not on the verge of closing or anything, but it's a Milwaukee icon and always seems to have what I need. Or want.


What are your favorite local stores? Why do you like them?