Throwback Thursday

I'm still working on organizing photos (and may be for a long time) and occasionally I come across something good. It's 87 degrees with 85% humidity here at 9:00 am, but finding this photo of John's grandmother from 1974 made me feel a bit more kindly towards summer.

I may need to cradle my own nice cold watermelon this afternoon!

Major(ette) TBT

It's interesting what you come across while trying to organize photos, and these are some of the most entertaining ones that I've discovered in the past several weeks.

Let's return to 1974. There is an energy crisis with odd-even gas rationing; construction begins on the Alaska pipeline, Nixon resigns, and Stephen King publishes his first novel, Carrie. There is also this:

A cheerleader and a majorette in the same family! Their parents must have been so proud to take a picture of these lovely young girls, cheering and twirling in the living room.

A year later, it gets even better. Bonny has clawed her way up through the competitive group of majorettes to become captain. It may have also been the case that nobody else wanted to do it and the title meant absolutely nothing except she had gold tassels on her boots instead of purple, but the exact circumstances have become a bit fuzzy 41 years later.

We can see the skill and precision that Bonny demanded in her corps. Many Some of them are even facing forward at the same time!

If only there were more photos of these talented young girls in action!

Throwback Thursday - Baby Sweaters

I got lots of great baby pattern suggestions last week, and while I tossed my stash looking for washable yarn and mulled over what baby knitting to cast on first, I remembered that I had actually knit several sweaters for my own sons.

This was the first one, knit more than 25 years ago.

Here are some poor photos of Ryan at six months, looking absolutely thrilled to be wearing his hand-knit sweater.

I enjoyed knitting the first sweater, so I started the next one,

complete with adorable Peter Rabbit buttons.

Then I got the brilliant idea to knit matching father and son sweaters for John and Ryan.

I don't have John's sweater or even a photo of it. He said it was too hot, scratchy, red, (insert excuse here), and donated it to Salvation Army.

Ryan went through a through a train phase when he was three, so I made him this sweater with train buttons.

He was old enough to tell me that wasn't the kind of train sweater he wanted. So I knit train sweater, take 2.

In case you're wondering why I haven't included pictures of Ryan or Justin wearing any of the sweaters except the first one, it's because those photos don't exist. I tried each of the sweaters on Ryan after they were finished, but he protested so much (think tantrum) every time I tried to actually dress him in one that I finally gave up. Justin was even unhappier with the sweaters; he would make terrible gagging sounds and tell me they were choking him (even the cardigans)!

It took three years and six sweaters, but I finally got the message that the males in my family just do not like sweaters. Hopefully the next generation won't feel tortured or choked by my hand-knits!

Throwback Thursday - Cakes, Cookies, and Pie

I've been trying to organize our digital photos, without much success, if I'm honest. I may have created a bigger mess than when I started, but during my initial cull and deletions, I was struck by one thing - the number of photos we have of cakes, cookies, and pie. These are just a few among hundreds.

I had forgotten that I would use almost any reason to bake a celebratory cake. 

 There was a requested congratulatory cherry cheese pie when Ryan got a 5

 on the AP chemistry exam. 

Who doesn't love a good plant cell cake, complete with fruit roll up cell wall

 and cookie nucleus?

 We celebrated Ryan's first birthday away at college by taking his favorite zucchini cake

 to him at Gettysburg.

I wasn't always the baker. Justin made a delicious apple tart and deer antler cookies.

Ryan made me a birthday cake, complete with chocolate syrup writing.

And the kids got clever on John's 49th birthday.

Our digital photos may still be in disarray, but in trying to organize them I'm reminded of 

how much I treasure and miss these sweet times.

It Would Be Lovely...

If summers were completely carefree and without worries, like when I was five.

I guess I could dance on the beach now if I chose, and now I don't 

have to worry about wearing that horrible bathing cap!