Friday, February 10, 2006


Grandma X 2....and the summer of 1942, Finn's little pot belly and snazzy knit swimming suit..LOL. The grandma I am standing the nearest too, my mom's mom, and my second mother, is the Gram who came to live with us that year. It was 6 months after the death of my grandpa, and she was 59 yrs. old. I love old pictures..not just of me, or mine,but of times that were and days gone by. The other grandma is my father's mother. I only knew her on once a year visits. Does it color your life? yes.. but in many way that wasn't bad. Her house up in northern WI was mysterious to me. She didn't have electricity, so we lit the lamps at dusk. The butter and eggs and milk were "down the well", in a pail. She had an outhouse, the first I had ever seen. We went up there every summer to pick wild blueberries, and there were many adventures with the northern cousins. This Grandma, on my Smith side, was a quilter. But I didn't learn of that until many years later. I don't remember quilts at her house, but they must have been there. I had thought I was the family's fFIRST quilter, since my mom and Gram didn't even sew. But years and years after this pic was taken, and both grandmas had died, my dads sister taught me to make quilts. In the following years she shared drawn out patterns of quilts that she and Gram Smith had made. I wish there were quilts I could claim, such as Dawn coming into Aunt Mary's quilt, but there aren't...at least as far as I know. So I treasure letters from the 1980's that Aunt Lucille drew on junk mail paper and sent to me To me, these "pieces" from my scrapbag are just as important as one more scrap of that red fabric I need...*VBS*. Posted by Picasa

16 comments:

Darcie said...

What a sweet little picture of our Finn! Adorable.

And great, nostalgic stories that you've shared, Finn.

Hope your eye is healing! You are in my thoughts and prayers!

I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the sunshine through your windows the other day. Sorry to say that you may be getting a big change coming your way. The weatherman (they're not always correct though, are they?) said that our wind and show were headed into MN and WI. Makes for awesome sewing weather though!

Darcie said...

That should read: SNOW...not show!

Have a safe and warm weekend, Finn.

Laura said...

Finn - I am sooo enjoying your posts!

Hunter said...

What wonderful posts. I'm so enjoying catching up.

I sure hope your eye is feeling better. And thank you for sharing all the wonderful pictures.

Hugs.
Darilyn

Jeanne said...

These old photos and memories are wonderful! My Dad's family is from a farm up in Coleman, Wisc. I love to hear his reminiscences, too.

Bonnie K. Hunter said...

How fun to see your walks down memory lane! I love hearing all the old stories and the things that you found wonder in. Keep sharing!

Bonnie

Anonymous said...

I'm really enjoying your photos and family stories and memories, keep 'em coming :-)

Patty said...

What a cutie Finn ! I love hearing about days gone by and how fun it was to go see grandparents and how they touch our lives forever. Inspires me to try to be that kind of grandparent when the time comes.
Thanks for sharing.

Tonya Ricucci said...

Much as I love fresh blueberries, don't know about the whole no indoor plumbing and no electricity thing. Yeeesh.

Alena said...

What a sweet photo, I do enjoy following your posts, they are so nice and warming...

Katie said...

What a great blog. I'm a newbe to blogging and also very nostalgic. Sure plan to keep reading yours!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh you better believe they are special! Things like those letters just cannot be replaced. You were sporting in the swim suit girl!

Tracey said...

Oh Finn...I have loved walking back memory lane with you! I, too, love those old pictures. THey have so much charm to them. I wish my puter would get along with my scanner so I could share. Thank you!

Holly said...

Really enjoying the pictures from your past. I like your nine patches. Makes me want to start something, too!

Cathi said...

Finn- My family are Smiths from Darlington WI area...there are probably a million different Smith lines in Wisconsin, but wouldn't it be funny if we were related!

Cathi (Smith) O'Neill transplanted back to Ireland!

Genuine Lustre said...

That is a great photo.