Digging through Old Pictures

I've been digging through stacks of old photos these past couple days looking for specific ones my sister needs for a project she's working on.

It took me longer than I anticipated because there are hundreds of pictures, and some I forgot I had and they brought back memories that I had to sit and think about.  Some were just good for a laugh. 

Here's a few I found of me taken 'back in the day'.  Feel free to laugh.

This is me when I was six.  We were all dressed to go to my sister's Christmas concert.  Mum had washed my hair and put millions of pin curls all over my head.    When it was combed out, you can see where Mum tried to make nice smooth curls, but it mostly just went frizzy.  My hair was pin straight back then.  On a positive note, I loved, loved, loved that dress.  It was yellow with little white flocked dots all over it and the belt was a blue velvet ribbon.   I wish Mum had kept it for me to dress my little girls in.  I would even have put pincurls in their hair and taken a picture of them too! ;)

Fast forward 13 years.  I was now a single working girl, living in an apartment with three other girls, two of whom were to become my sisters-in-law.  I had a pet budgie who I used to let out of his cage.  He would sit on my head, or shoulder, or book, or whatever I was holding.  And would you look at those glasses - I started wearing them when I was 18, just for reading, and got the most fashionable ones I could afford.  Look at those upswept points! Really cat's eye glasses.  I wouldn't be caught dead in them now.



 I was 20 or 21 in this picture.  For some reason I was determined to get, and play, a banjo.  When one of my boss' post doc students asked me if I'd type his thesis for him, I used the money he paid me to buy this lovely instrument.  I took two lessons, realized I'd have to practice a lot, and quit.  I think we eventually sold it at a garage sale.  Oh well.  It was a good photo prop.

I went home to visit Mum and Dad the summer I was 20.  Dad had bought a pool table and he and my brother would play every chance they had.  I had to try too.  I don't think I ever got a ball in the pocket (except for the white one!).  See that glass-fronted bookcase at the left of the picture - the one with my sister's high-school graduation picture on it?  That was in our home for as long as I can remember.  I occasionally had the job of dusting it, inside and out.  It is now in my home, and I love it.  Dad always had books in the bottom three shelves, while Mum kept some knick-knacks  and fancy glasses on the top shelf.  That's exactly what I've done with it in my home.  One of my daughters has already spoken for it so it'll be in the family for a long time to come.  I don't know what happened to the pool table.

Now isn't this the most glamorous shot you've ever seen!.  I was 23 and 8 months pregnant with our first son, Rob - a very exciting time in our lives.  Now, see those two owls in the lower left corner?  They were the start of my owl collection.  The big one was Hoot and the smaller one was Screech.  I was better at naming my kids than I was at naming owls.  I was so excited when I brought Hoot home when I was still living in an apartment with my roommates.  When I brought him in the door, his head banged the door frame and came off!  I managed to glue it back on and he 'lived' with me long enough to meet at least three of our children.  One of our moves did him in, and Screech soon followed.

You know what the great thing about pictures is?  It doesn't matter if you don't always look your best - they are real pieces of your life.  How much would I not remember if I didn't have photos to prompt my memories?  That's why I have so many, and why I don't mind sharing them with you, even if I look weird or wore weird clothes.  You should see some of the outfits I dressed the kids in! They looked good at the time, but oh dear! what was the fashion world thinking??

Pat