Family pictures :: my mom

I'm still recovering from a bad cold, but feel so much better already. To the extent my fingers itch to do something creative. Not one or two things, but plenty of things. But first I need to get the other stuff done. Not feeling well made me skip chores and now I need to catch up on those, of course. The fridge needs a cleaning - I want to get rid of that nasty Camembert smell and there are some chocolate (?!) spills in it as well and plenty of expired things. I need to catch up on laundry and ironing also. And then there's the weekly returning cleaning cycle. And I don't feel like doing any of these. Instead I want to knit, to sew, to needle felt (haven't done that for the longest time), take pictures,... I want to do anything but the aforementioned chores...



However, before I dive into the work, I want to take a moment to share some very nice family pictures with you. Pictures of my mom this time. My mom as a little girl. And again this was an interesting exercise if only to see how much my youngest one, little H., looks like my mom as a kid. This of course didn't come as a complete surprise, since I look a lot like my mom - and even more so with aging - and people keep telling me little H. looks so much like me. So, there's the link. But it was striking still to see my little girl appear in those photographs (especially in the school picture): same mouth, same little nose, same jaw line, same flimsy hair, though I'm not exactly sure about the eyes.

Did you see the dresses in those pictures? Lovely, aren't they? My grandfather was a tailor - he made men suits. He had his own atelier at home, where he made suits for doctors, lawyers, or anyone who could afford a custom made suit - in those days men would typically have a suit made for the big events in their life which they would wear until it didn't fit anymore or got all worn out. He did pretty well until confection suits took over and incoming orders started to sluggish. He quit the sewing business and took another job at a factory. However, being a tailor he took pride in having his kids well-dressed. The dresses weren't made by him, my mom told me, but by his seamstress. I especially like the pleated one in the first picture, her first grade school picture (same age as little H. now, and in this one the resemblance is quite striking!).



My mom is the middle child of three, with one older brother and a younger sister. The second picture shows my mom with her sister in their courtyard. The dresses, the socks and shoes, the hair: the fifties that's for sure! The third picture is my mom at her Holy Communion. The dress here is simply amazing. And the tulle, plenty of it! She looks like a little angel in that one, though I can immediately add she wasn't (sorry mom!! - the truth needs to be said, LOL!). What I also like are the fancy hairdos in those shots, something my grandmother would take care of. She would use bows, curling tools, braids,... anything that would help to make my mom's hair look less flimsy. Too bad for my girls, but I'm really horrible at this. A pony tail or a braid is about as fancy it gets here...



So, mama, pretty girl, this post is dedicated to you ...
Wishing you a wonderful day!