mosker

Observations

I took possession of the family slides last year and started the tedious process of scanning and sorting the images. After a few hours of experimenting, it seems like the best way to deal with them is to create a new catalog in Lightroom and import them a few at a time. I've created tags for each person I can identify, and then grouped images together when it's obvious they were taken at the same time and place. The only sorting I did before starting to scan was to separate the cardboard mounts from the plastic mounts--otherwise the images are all jumbled.

Obviously I don't have what could be called a representative sample, but of the 337 images I've imported so far, it's interesting how they are breaking down as to the number of images of each family member. My dad shot most of the pictures, so it's not surprising that he appears in fewer than any of the rest of us, but I appear in fewer than either my siblings or my mother. I wonder if that isn't fairly common for middle children. It'll be interesting to see how the ratios change as I process more slides. For the record, I'm not keeping score--Lightroom displays the number of images in each keyword.

And also, we had an artificial Christmas tree that was probably all the rage at the time, but in retrospect? It was...well, I'll let you see for yourself:

Happy Birthday, Ray

I thought about calling you this morning with my birthday greetings, but given the two hour time difference and your penchant for not getting up early, I thought I should delay the call and not force you to use that kind of language so early in the morning.

Happy birthday to my favorite brother!

He's ugly and I love him

We saw this at Pier 1 today and Linda insisted on buying him for me.

Of all the frogs she's every purchased for me (about a half dozen or so), this one is my favorite.

Sally

This is Sally. Sally says hi!

Mom tells me I got Sally when I was about 2 years old. We had just returned from Germany and the household goods hadn't arrived. I didn't have any toys to play with, so they bought this doll to tide me over. I named her Sally and she was my fast friend for several years, even preferring her when the other toys finally arrived. I was fascinated by the way her eyes closed when she was laid on her back and opened again when she sat upright. She's fairly primitive when compared to the walking, talking, eating dolls available today, but I still remember carrying her with me as I went about my childhood errands.

Eventually I tired of her, as children always do, and I didn't see her again until Mom shipped her to me when she cleaned out the garage and shed. I wiped off her face and purchased an off-the-shelf outfit for her (I felt guilty that she didn't have any clothes), and then she sat on a shelf in the extra bedroom because I didn't know what else to do with her.

Until I mentioned her to my friend (and beloved former mother-in-law) Linda who believes that every doll should be treasured. Linda whisked Sally away for a bit of TLC and a visit to the Doll Cradle where she received socks, shoes, slippers, underwear, and her very own Christmas stocking. Then Sally stayed at Linda's for a while and hung out with the dolls who live there year-round as Linda made two outfits for her: the nightgown and robe she's wearing now, and a dress and jumper.

There's no mistaking the care and attention Linda gave Sally as she scrubbed her face and attempted to rehabilitate the worn hair, as well as making the lovely outfits. This is never a gift I would have thought to ask for, but can't think of another more personal and generous.

Visual record

This year I offered to take possession of all the family slides and scan them. This way everyone gets to have a copy and we don't have to worry about them decaying beyond reasonable restoration. Before I get too far into the process, however, I wanted to work out a good workflow so I don't have to go back and redo too many (or any). I also have a handful of negatives that I grabbed during a visit home (yes, I had permission), so I decided to start there. The first batch has been a real battle, because each strip of negatives has been rolled up into a small cardboard tube--for over 35 years--so getting them flattened out to fit into the film holder has been the most challenging part of the job.

I haven't done any cleanup yet, but here are a couple of examples of what I've discovered so far:

Germany. Probably early to mid-sixties, but that's just a rough guess.

Germany, late sixties.

Based on the other images on this strip of film, this was shot near Cape Charles, Virginia in the mid-sixties.

darn, darn, darn

I talked to Suzanne this evening and one of the topics we discussed was an album we both remember from our childhood. One of the songs on the record was "A Named Pierre", which she recently found on YouTube. I was delighted to hear it again, but as I complained about to her: it took days for me to get the tune out of my head.

After we ended the call and I hung up, I realized that I was in trouble: Pierre was once again dancing around my head. Because if everyone else would listen to it too, at least you'll know what I'm humming.

Bill

The first neighbor I met after I bought my house was Bill. Bill lived across the street and had since the neighborhood went up. It was apparent that he was carefully watching all the comings and goings as I ripped out the carpet and moved in, so I figured my best bet was to stroll over and introduce myself. It was the right choice, and for the last four years Bill has been a wonderful neighbor. He watched my house when I wasn't home, even challenging my former father-in-law when he came by to collect the remnants of the above ground swimming pool.

Bill was also very clear about his expectations about how I should maintain my yard. He offered to lend me a mower the first week when he thought I wasn't taking care of the task soon enough, and the next spring he cut up a fallen tree branch for me so I could mow the lawn. He stressed the mowing the lawn part several times, but also insisted I learned how to use the electric hedge trimmer. He knew the history of my home and told me about the addition of the carport, the installation of the used air conditioner, and he even helped a previous homeowner install the old oven hood.

I received a call this weekend when I was in Bloomington: Bill had died. He didn't wake up on Friday morning. He'd had some health problems, of course, but he seemed to have been feeling better recently. I suppose that's all any of us can really ask for: 90 years in relatively good health, mental acuity intact, surrounded by family, and slipping away during the night.

But I'll still miss him.

Memories

My brother had one of these when he was little. I spent hours winding it for him, but I wonder if he remembers it.

Happy Birthday to my favorite brother

Here's to a wonderful birthday and a wonderful year.

What I've learned already this week

If someone gives you a recipe and says she always makes a double-batch, do not assume your mixer bowl is large enough to accommodate a double-batch.

It can be messy. Very, very, very messy.