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Hey, Hey, My, My

The 70s

I just realized it's been ages since I've posted a vintage photo. It's been quite a long time since I've even done any scanning, but I do still have a good number of great photos in the queue. The quality of this one is a bit dodgy, but it's too interesting not to share.

This takes us back to 1970. In it are, from left to right, my sister, my baby brother, my cousin, and me. I honestly don't remember ever watching TV while holding a rifle, but those were strange times. Nixon was president.

In the background you can see a set of encyclopedias, which were a major source of entertainment for me back in those google-less days. Over on the left side of the image, you can also see the radiator, which is the most awesome kind of heat. I'm pretty sure this photo was taken right around Thanksgiving, putting it in late November, which in western New York means that there was probably snow on the ground outside. And yet I've got no sleeves or shoes on. That is the power of the radiator. There's no draft -- just heat (if this seems like a strange thing to comment on, consider that I now live in the South, where there's nothing but forced air heat -- brrrr!). Also, dig my sister's head gear. Solid.

A year ago today...

... G-Dog and Emmie capped off a brutal week in a breathtaking fashion.

Beautiful Boy

Mom

Big Bro's B'day

Happy birthday today to the best big brother I can imagine. Here he is with our mother and someone's dog (definitely not ours -- we begged to have one, and eventually did get Mom to compromise with a cat), in 1965. He hasn't really changed at all since this shot was snapped, except for getting taller. I think he maybe even has the same hairdo on most days.  ;)

Southern Gothic

Hey, y'all. I just got back from yet another trip (the last one of the summer, thank dogness -- I'm tired of the road). This one was a mission to take my mother-in-law's ashes to her hometown in Dade City, Florida, where we met up with family and friends to say goodbye. It was a bittersweet occasion. Saying goodbye is often hard, but getting together with family -- especially those we don't get to see very often -- is always a treat.

From there, we went on to Anna Maria Island, on Florida's west coast, for a few days of R&R before heading back here to Chattanooga, where the fall semester is poised to begin. I just looked over the week's photos and I think I got a good number of really nice shots (my compact camera is working out so well, I'm not sure I'll ever go back to using my big DSLR on a regular basis!). Here's one, from the Mt. Zion Cemetery (est. 1871), one of two cemeteries we visited in Dade City. I'll be rolling out some others in the coming days...

The Week That Was

What can I tell you, internet? It's been a hell of a week.

Last Sunday, my brother- and sister-in-law drove down from Ohio to help us move my mother-in-law from her apartment into a nursing home. But the mother-in-law had other ideas. On Monday evening, she got us assembled, she said her goodbyes, and then, on Tuesday, she promptly died. No one (except maybe her) expected that she'd be gone so quickly.

But I have to give her a lot of credit -- she went out on her own terms and even managed to have both her boys there with her (and with each other) when she died. I'm grateful to have had so much of the family here all week long.

Our plans for moving morphed into estate planning and the week was very busy. And then, crazily enough, G-Dog and Emmie decided to go ahead and keep an appointment they had made to go skydiving together on Friday afternoon. And insane as it may seem, I think it may have been a brilliant way to cap off what was an incredible week.

Here are the videos, from the ground and up in the air (sorry about the squeaky tripod in the first vid!)...

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

32 Years Ago...

A beautiful moment, all by itself. It was a great Olympic Games and an incredible season of hockey (especially if you lived in hockey country!). A miracle of a team. The memory of that final game, all these years later, still gives me chills.

But I cherish that final game even more since it ended up being one of the last really wonderful days I spent at my grandparents' house while they were both hale and hearty. Three months later, my grandmother suddenly dropped dead while out mowing her lawn. And less than a year after that, my grandfather succumbed to what I think was, more than anything else, a broken heart.

Both of them were beautiful people and might well have served as molds for the classic, indulgent, loving, yet gently steering grandparents. They spoiled their grandkids (Grandpa was always ready for a game of cribbage, Grannie for a game of scrabble, and there was, without fail, cocoa and buttered toast for breakfast). They bickered with each other (with great affection), and hosted epic family Sunday dinners. Getting to go to their house for weekend sleepovers was always an opportunity to be snatched up without hesitation. And being there to celebrate the American hockey team's victory was exhilarating.

That hockey game was a truly beautiful moment in time.

Bah.

Poor Beege (the MIL) is back in the hospital for the second time in a month. Thankfully, she's feeling better today but in the meantime, I'm falling further and further behind as a result. Sorry for the quiet. I did manage to pick up some lighting when I popped out to the store today, so as soon as I have time to cook again, I'll be doing some experiments with food porn... yippee!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful Boy

Interesting Morning...

When Emmie tried to leave her condo for work this morning, she discovered a problem with her car. She called me and I came over to join in the adventure.

I'm pretty sure this hole was not a naturally occurring event. That tire was slashed (...and I almost crashed but the Lord had mercy...). But what's done is done, and the tire (badly!) needed to be replaced anyway (you would not believe how bald it was!).

We managed to keep our good humor despite the hardships. It was, after all, a beautiful morning (which, given the storm that rolled through just a little while later, was something for which to be grateful!).

I kind of like changing a tire. It makes me feel self-reliant and resourceful. It's a skill everyone should possess. Emmie managed to survive the effort without breaking a single nail (getting the last of the grease out, otoh, might take a while).

Unfortunately, the spare tire was also flat. But never fear! I had a tire inflator that worked via the car's cigarette lighter!

Oh, but alas, that tire was still flat. I think it was an old tire, suffering, perhaps, from a bit of dry rot. It would not hold air. With two tires down, there was only one option left...

Thank goodness for AAA.

Emmie did eventually make it to work. She took my car, and I stayed home, which was not a hardship. For as long as the weather held out, I enjoyed some autumn air while raking leaves and harvesting some late-season peppers; and then once the rain rolled in, I moved inside and did some lunch hour cooking. I did, in due course, get some work done, though it did take a while for me to get to it.

Not a bad Thursday. I can't complain. I'm grateful for a flexible job, the ability to work at home, a warm southern autumn morning, and a daughter with a sense of humor.

And as long as I'm counting blessings... here comes the weekend, everyone! Whew!!!   ;)

My sister is a babe. ;)

I've got a whole big bunch of awesome vintage photos to share. There's a backlog for two reasons (beyond the fact that I did a big clump of scanning lately): first, my sister was an adorable baby; and second, my parents were really good photographers. So here's a set of photos of my big sister (plus, the last one can count as my big brother's debut).  ♥

I picked all of these because they are beautiful photos, whether or not you know the people in them. In this first one, you can barely make out my sister, standing on a path under a canopy of trees (the setting, I think, is Louisiana, though I'm not sure what was the occasion for their visit).

Even though she is not perched upon a wheelbarrow, this photo still makes me think of William Carlos Williams. I love my sister's chubby, dirty feet (and the elbow dimple!). I believe this picture and the one following were probably snapped at my grandparents' house in western Tennessee.

The lighting is beautiful here, and the little hair sprig is precious.

This was definitely set behind the home of my other grandparents, in western New York. My sister and our cousin, who was three months older, in a gorgeous wagon.

My sister and my mother are the only ones in the family with blue eyes. Here, my sister owns them.

One of the things I love about the 50s is that people still dressed up. Here's my father in a suit, even though he was just enjoying a day at Letchworth State Park.

Another shot of my sister and trees, this time at Letchworth.

Another classic from the era -- a time when you might actually see a horse in a residential area. The guy in the middle is our cousin and the horse was his. He was taking my sister and a neighbor kid for a ride.

Another horse, only this one lived in a barn behind my parent's house. I love how my sister is oblivious to the beasts behind her, and they are unconcerned with her. That snowsuit she's wearing is iconic. Every kid in my family wore it, and then it was passed along to Emmie and on to some of her cousins!

Oh, and again with the beautiful lighting. Up on tippy-toes, to pat her new little brother on the back. More to come...  ;)

Spring 1959

Here are a few more images from my most recent set.

This first one fascinates me in a number of ways. First off, it's just a really cool photo, a classic portrait of the era -- the suits, the ties, the hats, the watch, the store... they're all so hip! The setting amazes me, because the father I know not only would never shop, he also would never wait while someone else shops. I can safely wager that this is the last time he was ever at a Neiman-Marcus store! And though this photo was taken in Dallas in April, 1959 and I know there is no way my father's parents were anywhere in the vicinity (they were most certainly back up in western NY), I still think that guy over on the right could easily be my grandfather. It's spooky! (Oh, and props to my adorable sister for sleeping through the hustle and bustle of the big city!)

This next one was snapped in June, 1959, at the Newark, N.Y. Rose Festival. I was noticing how young my mother looked and then it hit me (and I did the math, just to check): at this point in time, she was almost exactly just one year older than Emmie is right now. Yikes.

Gorgeous photo of both girls. Such an intense look from my mother, but my sister seems a little wistful (something perhaps had caught her attention?).

These last two are a cheat because I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I finally opted to share them both. Great pics of the cute baby and the slick car! (And there's a cool wagon whizzing by in the background of the first.)

For the record, the car was my parents' brand new '59 Ford. I think it's in front of my grandparents' house, in either late June or very early July... (gotta love my sister's updo!)  ;-)

Early 1959

The first roll or three of film from 1959 somehow ended up with a reddish haze over it/them. All the photos have the same tint, and I've done my best to process that out of them, but some of the dominating color remains. Despite their defects, these first two photos are some of my favorites of the year, and in some ways, they are like bookends.

First is my mother, just as she was becoming a mother for the first time. I think this was on Day #2 or #3 of being a mom, still in the hospital (because it was the late 50s); she used the self-timer to take a self-portrait. Even already, she seemed so sure of herself.

... and then is my sister. The first of us five kids. And in this shot, at just 3 weeks old, she seems to mirror my mother. Both in bed, but clearly not tired, both looking directly at the camera with their blue eyes.

And finally, about 3 months after my sister's grand entrance into the world, a gorgeous shot, set at Amon Carter Field, which eventually became the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. The subjects are, from right, my mother, my sister, my mother's brother, who was in the process of being deployed to Hawaii, and their cousin and his wife. 

The cheesecake was good...

... as was the rest of the board of fare at the incredible "Fire and Cheese" fete we had here last night to celebrate Emmie's 25th birthday tomorrow. We made a whole bunch of food, had some interesting wines and beers on hand and had some wonderful people over.

The one part of the preparation I screwed up was in the shopping. I knew well in advance that we could expect a chilly evening (the high yesterday was only in the low 60s!), and that we'd probably want the option to move the party out back to enjoy a good fire after dark. But I just assumed that I could walk into a store and buy a fire pit. Two days before the party, I learned that I was foolhardy -- the only stuff the stores around here have on hand at this time of year is either incredibly cheap, or unbelievably expensive and ugly. We were about to give up on the whole idea of a backyard fire when a generous and resourceful neighbor showed up the afternoon of the party with cinderblocks and firewood, and quickly conjured up a fire pit in our back yard!

The party was perfect. The crowd was an interesting mix of generations. We ate yummy food and enjoyed lovely beverages. Emmie's friends are a delight and after some noshing inside, we moved out into the chilly, dark night and set stuff on fire (the photo was taken by one of Emmie's friends)! There was dancing and story telling and a very happy, incredible girl who has somehow managed to get her life firing on all cylinders these days: awesome friends; enjoyable and exciting job; gorgeous, well-appointed home (all to herself!); a perky new hairdo; and even a few very stylish, fresh pairs of shoes in the closet! It's a great start to her next quarter century!

Friday Food Photo

Wow. Today is one of the hugest days on the calendar. I think it may be the biggest pile-on day in the family for solar returns (it's G-Dog's birthday, along with cousins Kaitlyn and Alex), and it's also a big day for really awesome musicians -- today is the day that brought us Ani DiFranco, Julio Iglesias, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, and John Coltrane! -- not to mention some other pretty righteous people like Euripides and Augustus Caesar.

And this year, it's also the day of the autumnal equinox -- finally, the long, hot summer is being put to rest. One of things that got us through recent dog days was G-Dog's amazing homemade lemonade, seen here with some raspberry thrown in for extra yumminess!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Enjoy the cooler weather and be safe and healthy!