Tuesday 16 March 2010

Spring, Mother's Day And Old Photos

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Here I am again. Well, at long last there are signs of Spring. Nothing on the trees as yet but we do have some flowers.

Last Autumn we planted up an old plastic dog bed with fifty "assorted" crocus bulbs. Well, they have appeared. Mostly gold and not so much the assorted that was promised but it is lovely to see them and a sure sign that our long winter is coming to an end. They say it was our coldest one for thirty-one years and I can believe it. Temperatures night after night at minus six. Yes, nowhere near as cold as some parts of the world but very cold for this region.


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In America I know the clocks have already altered. No so for us yet. It will be nice to see the lighter evenings.

Sunday was Mother's Day and two little boys came up our front path each carrying a large bouquet so my home looks like a florist shop at the moment especially as I had a potted houseplant from Mike. Becky and Dean bought me a string of LED butterfly lights. We have put them up in the conservatory. Just plain white ones but lovely to see.

Mike has had his first appointment at the hearing department of the hospital. He definitely has pronounced loss in one ear and they have already taken an impression for a hearing aid. However, he will also be having an MIR scan to double check that there is no other reason for the problem. So in the last six months he will have had "new" eyes, new teeth and now better hearing!!!!

I think it sad that so many no longer write on Blogger. I know I have been remiss but what with the loss of my sister-in-law and my brother's health plus the fact that we have redecorated our lounge and hallway, moved a shelf to another room and had a general change around, there have been good reasons. It seems that it is mostly the Brits that are leaving.

I have also set myself a mammoth task that I started once before and then got sidetracked. I have four big plastic boxes of family photos. I have started to work my way through them saving them for posterity. Lots are just views that can be thrown away but the ones with people I am scanning, taking out blemishes and marks and saving to an external hard drive and also to disc. As far as I can, I am putting the names, dates and place on the back of each one. I remember my Mother left many old photos. We had no idea who most of the people were and there was nobody to ask and no clues so we ended up throwing them away.

We have been framing some of them are our hall is now a real picture gallery of relatives. It is certainly eye catching and anyone visiting always asks about them.

Some were just little negatives from the old Brownie type camera. For Christmas I brought Mike a contraption whereby you can print negatives off, no matter how old. So, he has been printing them, I have been enlarging them and removing any blemishes. Very time consuming but so worthwhile.

I thought I would share a couple with you today. This first one came from a tiny negative. It was taken pre-war, probably around 1937 or 1938. It shows my Nan on the left (my maternal Grandmother, my Mother and my two brothers and, believe it or not, it was taken no far from where I live now. I reckon My Mum must have knitted that pixie hat herself.

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This next one is of my Father, probably taken before he was married. Every year he did the London Stock Exchange Walking Race. He is shown here being handed refreshment by an unknown lady.


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Coming a little more up-to-date this next photo shows my Mum, Dad and Myself taken on holiday. I was seven years old and I can still remember the colours on the dress I was wearing as it was a favourite of mine.

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Next a picture of my beloved (well I could not leave him out could I?) He was in the R.A.F. at the time and this photograph was taken in July of 1956 at Cannock.

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As I started on a Spring theme, I will end on one. The final photo for now is of Becky when she was little, taken in early Spring. She was fifteen months old.



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Well, I might not have written for a while but I think I have made up for it today. I hope that life is treating you all kindly and that you are all looking forward to the warmer weather. I shall probably post more of our old photos from time to time.

Until the next time, dear friends and readers.


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22 comments:

  1. Lovely to see the spring flowers staring to come out on bloom, looking forward to seeing all the daffodils. At least with a late spring, they weren't all picked for Mother's Day! Nice to see the old photographs, wasn't I cute! what happened? LOL Love B x

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  2. Thank you for posting those photographs Jeannette I really enjoyed looking at them. Glad to hear you are all keeping well. Eileen x

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  3. The doggie bed with the little flowers popping up looks sooo cute. Nice old family photos too.

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  4. I was so glad to see an entry from you today. It's always nice to catch up on what's going on in your part of the world. I think that is a great idea you had using the dog bed for a flower planter. We've no flowers at all yet but for us it has been a better March than what we usually have. How nice to have those old pictures of your family. They do bring back the memories don't they? How ever did our children grow up so fast?

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  5. Happy Mother's Day! I'm anxious for the flowers to bloom here, ready for the warmer weather too. great photos. thanks for sharing..

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  6. It is a huge task putting the old photos on CD but as you said so worth it. My mom was terrible about dating or writing on her photos and I have no idea when most where taken or who many were. I made sure not to make that mistake when I take photos. Love you flowers, I can't wait until we get some, probably have a least a month or more though.

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  7. Sounds like you had a great Mother's Day. Love that flower bed. All the pictures that you and Mike worked on turned out great. Helen

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  8. What lovely old photos. It is great you are adding names, dates and places to your collection, it is so important for future generations to be able to enjoy them.

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  9. So good to get a nice blog from you as always. what a lovely pair of grandboys you have brnging Nana the flowers..bless them.
    It is great that you are managing to bring all these old photographs back to life...
    sping is now well on it's way here although about three weeks late things are beginning to grow again in the garden...including the weeds !!
    Much Love Sybil xx

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  10. ive just taken some pics of my crocusses.they have seeded everywhere,look lovely.i havent posted in ages.health reasons,lack of motivation,laziness,i dont know jeannette.i will soon.nice to see old photos,i am slowly scanning mine in to pc,but i had so many slides i dumped years ago.shame really.memories are fleeting.take care,love mort xx

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  11. What a lovely blog Jeannette, its sounds really cheery. It is so nice to see your old photos, they are always so interesting in my view. Your Mike was a very handsome young man in his uniform and I can clearly see Daniel in the infant Becky. :o)

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  12. Such beautiful photos, Jeannette! Glad you've posted them for us, thanks. I love old photos, especially the old b&w ones. My mum and dad have got lots and sooner or later we will have to sort them out as well. Glad that Mike is fine. He's really getting like a "bionic" man with all the "repairs"! Wish you all the best. Ciao. A.

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  13. LOVE THE PHOTOS JEANETTE!!

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  14. WONDERFUL old photographs. Treasure and preserve them. Glad you had a nice Mother's Day. Before long all the flowers will be blooming.

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  15. Happy Mother's Day to you. I especially liked your second photo. It really is in good condition, too. Take care, honey. xox

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  16. Happy Mother's Day and Happy Spring!!
    sounds like you are getting a new man out of him indoors... enjoy your photo sorting, a huge task indeed... :)

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  17. love the trip down memory lane thanks for sharing!!!
    xoxoxoxo

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  18. Thank you for sharing in your trip down memory lane, Jeannette. It's a shame that our blogging community is slowly fading, and you're quite right, it's mainly the UK bloggers that leave.

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  19. The old photos were wonderful, Jeannette. Since I am approximately in your age group, I can really relate. Your posts are always enjoyable. Linda in DC

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  20. Hello Dearest Jeannette,

    I just loved those old pictures you posted...thank-you for sharing them with us.
    I seem to be amiss in reading the journals...sometimes when I can not sleep while we are here in AZ if I am sleeping on the couch I cover the laptop with a blanket so not to disturb hubby and read..

    Blessings, hugs and love to you and Mike

    ALBERTA Lori (enjoying Arizona)

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  21. Jeannette, what a wonderful entry!! I'm glad spring is coming to your neck of the woods too, and I love those old pics -- the new one too! I have so many pictures I need to go through, scan, fix, and save. It's a project I just haven't given myself permission to start on yet.

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  22. Mike will soon be the Bionic Man with all of his new parts! I am such a fan of old photos, I love looking at them. Each time we go to a flea market I browse through boxes of old photos. I so enjoyed seeing yours. Happy Easter & Happy spring!
    The butterfly lights sound terrific, I love to see lights like that as accent lighting. Very nice.

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