photos from the past....

... one from a really long time ago. You can tell from the appearance of the black and white print: those deckle edges you would see in photo albums found in your grandmother's closet. Plus just the fact that it is b&w, which was the only option back when the picture was taken. My guess is that it was early spring, as my mom would have had more clothing on me if it was winter. I remember as a child wearing dresses all the time, regardless of season, and how cold it was with the north wind blowing on my bare legs and up my dress, while guys were wearing long pants. I suspect most of the long pants I had for 'play clothes' were hand-me-downs that my brother had out grown.

The photo was taken in my grandmother's back yard, where they lived out in the country several miles from town on a small farm. I am standing just outside fenced in area where the chickens lived, scratched around all day looking for bugs, worms, bits to eat, and at night went into a coop, where one of the hens had obviously laid an egg. Yep, that's me, appearing to be about two years old. You see those high top white leather shoes that every child wore from that era? I still have them someplace: my mother had them bronzed so they would last for all eternity.

The other photo must be from the early to mid-1990's. Hard to believe we were so fashionable as we dressed for Easter. They picked out the patterns and the cloth and their mother made the Easter dresses. I still have a box full of bits and pieces of many of those dresses and play clothes, tediously hand made from years ago, thinking that they would magically turn into quilts at some point. Maybe when we downsize to move to Florida, I will be able to part with that which has been lingering around for twenty years?

It is difficult and horrifying to recall when those dresses with the huge collars were in fashion. At some point we all had  white blouses with wide 'platter' style collars, and possibly even jumpers to match. I think they were seasonal, maybe a print that was tiny holly leaves all over. In my sporadic years of substitute teaching, I have seen some school system employees still wearing various seasonal dresses/jumpers, printed with pumpkins, candy canes, shamrocks, or Easter bunnies over T-shirts, but not the big collared blouses. Admittedly they were really cute when worn with jumpers, but hopefully they were given a decent burial.