Oldies But Goodies

This is how I spent much of my childhood; playing with the cats at the farm.  This guy's name was Felix, and he might have been one of the most tolerant, patient farm cat ever.  They rode the big wheel with me, slid down the slide, swang on the swing, I fed them bottles of milk, dressed them up in baby clothes, and even had circuses with those cats where they got thrown through the air doing flips as acrobats.  Mom and Dad drew the line only twice with my cat antics, once when I drenched them in the baby pool (trying to teach them to swim?) and once when I squirted food coloring all over the white ones.  As I look back on it now, seems very innocent and imaginative, and I never remembered being bored.  For a little girl on a remote farm, a cat is as good of a friend as they come.

This one sure is cute. =)  I'm probably 3 or 4 in this picture, and so that makes Joe 13 or 14.  I'm pretty sure this picture was taken at Famous Barr in downtown St. Louis, where they had the Famous Barr Bear village that we walked through while waiting to see Santa.

Everything Looks Better in Black and White

This is a picture of my mom in 1957, graduating from high school at Bishop DuBourg. I love this picture, it's so dated but timeless. I love how Grandma Gen is looking at my mom, so proud; her oldest child graduated. I love the way Grandpa Bill looks so debonair, and tall. And the hats, don't get me started telling you how in love I am with those hats, all three of them. November 6th, 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of my mom's passing from this life to the next. I spent it in Chicago with my daughters, my sister, and my aunt Linda, my mom's sister. Mom would have wanted us all to be together.

It's a dull pain, a pain I carry around on my shoulders. It used to be a boulder, and now it's about the size of a grapefruit. I doubt it will get any smaller.

"I miss the sound of your voice

The loudest thing in my head
And I ache to remember
All the violent, sweet,
perfect words that you said." -Matt Nathanson, Come On Get Higher

John at Cecilia's Age

I don't know exactly when this picture was taken, but he looks to be 2, maybe 3. Two of a kind, John and Cecilia.

Me at 2

August 1977

Here's me at 22 months.

Who's idea was it to do this again? It's only the 4th day and I'm already feeling burdened.

Christening

The first two pictures are Charlotte in the dress my mom made out of her wedding dress. Click here to see Cecilia in the same dress. The last picture is my niece Abbey, in the same dress in 1988. Hannah wore this dress also, and I was looking for a picture of her, but couldn't find one. I love the dress, and am sad that the lace in front is deteriorating. The lace is actually from my grandma's dress that she wore on my mom's wedding day. It is chantilly lace.

That 70's Show

Another great one from the past, this is Christy and I (and maybe Matt in the background) on a canoe on another vacation. This might have been the summer of 1978? Guess I could ask Dad. Could be the same vacation as the previous photo? Anyway, I always think (and everyone else does too) that Cecilia looks just like John, but in this picture she looks a lot like me.

Summer 1977

I was looking through some old photos today, trying to find a picture of Hannah in the Christening gown, when I came across this picture, and it warmed my heart. This is Dad and I hiking Mt. Washburn in the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming on our family vacation in 1977. I must have been around 20 months old, about the same age Cecilia is right now. Dad said I hiked about 200 yards and was done. There's two more pictures that I scanned and will share with you soon.

This picture makes my day.

She's Got A Smile That Heals Me.

On the left is Charlotte at three months and on the right is me at three months. There are a few similarities, maybe the eyebrows and the nose? Many, many people have said lately that Charlotte looks like my mom, and I have to agree. I think it's the hair, and the blue eyes, and the fair skin. Dad even said she reminds him of mom, but that she doesn't look like mom did as a baby. He said mom was bald as a baby. I have also had someone say she looks like my brother Matt, which I can see in the eyes, and cheeks, and in this picture she looks like my niece, Emily a little. Many people say she looks like Cecilia too, and I agree, but I think she is looking less like Cecilia lately and more like herself. She is a sweet, sweet baby, with better than average sleeping patterns, and an aversion to the bottle. She starts day care part time next week, maybe the week after, and although there are moments I am tired of being stuck like glue to her, I am in no way shape or form looking forward to putting her in that germ harbor.

me at 17 months

Plethora of Old Pictures

John on his first birthday
me at 1

page in the photo album

close up of me on mom and dad's bed around 1 year old

close up of me on the kitchen table

Dad holding me up in front of the farmhouse