Memories, Tucked Between the Pages of my Mind . . .

12/21/2020•Family, holiday, memories

Not too bad for a 60 year old slide. I’m the tall blonde. c. 1957/8

After a lengthy wait, today I received a link to the scans of 850 of my dad’s slide, which I had sent off for processing in late September. To say I am happy with the results would be a lie. Part of it is my fault. I didn’t adequately clean some of them. Who knew 60 year old lint could stick so well to the surface of a slide. And I did send some knowing that they were not great shots, but I didn’t have the desire to scan them myself and it is so hard to tell looking through a slide viewer.

But the overall result of many of the scams is not great. The focus is soft too on many of the,m the contrast is harsh, the colors shocking. Of particular note are the 50 or so slide scans that have a bright pink/magenta cast. I know they were not pink when I sent them; I looked at each slide twice to eliminate the really bad ones. If the scanning company has turned the originals a bright pink/magenta, I will be very unhappy. I know that some slides were on Ektachrome slide film. I’m wondering if that could have made the difference, depending on the color balance settings of the scanners the company used. I will have to wait and see.

But I couldn’t resist posting a few good ones that fit the holiday themes this week.

My mom on the left, my Aunt Lucy on the right. c. 1955

I converted this one to B&W to get rid of the red. . 1961

Join the following two challenges this week:

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #128 And Here Comes the Holiday Season…

A Photo A Week Challenge: Christmas

Fun

08/13/2016•Connect, Family, Laugh, Photography, Travel

If They Could See Me Now

There is no age limit to fun. Though I might not live long if my sister ever finds out I put this picture in my blog.

WPC: Fun

The Things We Leave Behind

07/19/2016•Beginning, Connect, Family, Inspire, Laugh, Roots, Travel

Moving On But Never Letting Go

Family

Sometimes in life the stars collide. Last week, all seven of my siblings and I ended up in the same place for the first time since my youngest sister’s wedding 18 years ago. And it wasn’t actually planned. We gathered to celebrate the 60th birthday of one of my sisters (upper left) at her home in Upstate New York. She knew four sisters were coming to spend five days with her—we surprised her with our sister from Alaska to make a complete set. It was the first time in 12 years the 6 girls had been together. It is not an understatement to say we were all stunned when a car pulled into the driveway on Friday and our 2 brothers arrived for the weekend. We spent our time laughing, telling stories, floating in the pool, sitting outside after dark spotting satellites streaking through the stars, playing cards, and eating great food. What made it memorable for me was that, for the most part, it was just us, just Dona and Wally’s kids. We understood the jokes, the innuendos, and the vague references to relatives and friends, to times and people we had left behind.

This reunion may not seem amazing to those who grew up and remained close to their families. But we are spread out. Our parents died in their early 60s—much too young. So there is no anchor, no home to go home to. We have left that behind. We depend on each other to maintain the connection. My two brothers live in Minnesota; my sisters live in New York (2), South Dakota, Southern California, and Alaska. I live in Virginia.

I have to give kudos to my brother-in-law from California who survived five days in a small house with six adult women. He managed to not trip over the blow-up beds scattered throughout the house and put up with our chatter, often at a loss to understand who and what we were talking about.

WP Discovery: The Things We Leave Behind