Tag Archives: vintage

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, Sewing/Quilting Projects, The Adventure

Mondays are for (sweet) memories

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Instead of looking back into the archives for a Memories post, it only seemed fitting to look back to just this past weekend where there was a lot of walking down memory lane! There is something very special about spending time with someone who shares your growing-up memories, and this past weekend was no exception!
We started the weekend by going through lots of old family pictures
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…and giggling at the stylin’ folks we were!
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(Please note our pet squirrel, Pierre, on my oldest sister’s arm. One of those favorite family memories!)
Little girls in their PJ’s –
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And except for the degraded photo problem, this is a pretty sweet family photo – circa 1962 +/-.
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We could’ve spent hours going through them, but there were other items on the agenda!
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When we were downsizing into our RV, Joie took ownership of this folding screen that we’d had in our living room. And before we had it, it had been in my grandmother’s bedroom. We’d learned that my grandmother had done the crewel work and my grandfather had built the frame, so even though it was in pretty bad shape (though not as bad as the picture shows!) it was still precious to us. Joie was delighted when one of her granddaughters discovered this family treasure and asked if there was some way it could be redone so she could use it in her apartment. The two of them began hatching a plan, and then this weekend Joie and I took the plunge and actually cut into the almost 100 year old fabric.
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While I can’t reveal all of details of the plan (oh, that we had all those details!), I can certainly share some of the beautiful crewel work that we’re trying to preserve –

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I’d have loved to have stayed longer to help with the actual construction, but that was not to be this time. I’ll be sure to share the finished product once it’s completed and been gifted!
Of course, no sisters weekend would’ve been complete without a little bit of time with ALL the sisters, so we made sure to have a nice long video call with Elna. Besides, she was a huge help with identifying folks in all those old photos!
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It was such a lovely weekend – it brought back so many wonderful memories and we made some new ones to boot! The older we get the more we value, no – treasure, each and every moment we get to be together. And the fact we had ice cream for lunch one day didn’t hurt one little bit!

Thanks for coming along as I walked down my memory lane…..
Steph

Family and Friends, The Cabin

If it’s pretty quiet here for the next week or so…..

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It’s because it’s Girl’s Week at the Cabin.
SJE Easter 1954
There will be giggling and laughing and crying and praying. There will be cleaning and dusting and maybe even a little painting. We’ll go see our Aunt Berta, and she’ll cry and tell us how much we remind her of her sister, and we’ll cry as we hug her and tell her how much she reminds us of our mom. We’ll take naps and stay in our jammies until late in the morning when we can’t put off cleaning that refrigerator any longer. We’ll drink coffee by the fire and then watch the early morning fog rise off the pond. We’ll read a couple of books, play lots of speed scrabble, and maybe even stay up late working on a jig-saw puzzle. But through it all, we’ll be thanking God for the precious gift that is our sisterhood.
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And yes, Elna, I promise we’ll go out for ice cream every now and again!

The Adventure

Memories of a White Christmas

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Unlike my Arizona Grandparents, I saw my Vermont Grandparents much more regularly. I cannot remember a summer vacation that was not spent in Vermont. There was The Big House (located in the middle of town, it was where my grandfather had his medical practice and was the house where my dad grew up), The Little House (located outside of town, it was a small house that my grandmother bought without telling my grandfather!), and of course The Cabin. Along with our summer vacations we would also get to Vermont to celebrate Christmas. I don’t think we went every year, but I know we went often. I can remember many a Christmas that we had an early Santa arrival so all the gifts didn’t have to be lugged in the back of the station wagon up to the Little House. Here we all are (along with our cousins) on Christmas Morning 1962 –

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My sisters and I are totally engrossed with something under the tree, poor Kim is totally hidden by the tree, and Wanda and Dewey are the only cooperative subjects. 🙂
We were almost always guaranteed a white Christmas on those Vermont holidays. And although I don’t actually remember this outing, this is one of my favorite shots that came out of my grandmother’s collection of slides –
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So from here in the land of giant cacti and mesquite trees I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.
Oh, God….
help us rightly to remember
the birth of Jesus, that we may share
in the songs of the angels, the gladness
of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.
May Christmas morning make
us happy to be your children.
Robert Louis Stevenson