A PIANO...it's a Grand thing!

My story for the letter "P" at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday blog is all about a baby grand piano.  I'm posting this early as I will be out of town on Wed. and Thurs., and working on a computer other than my own really seems to confound me!  Can you say "technologically challenged"?

 

About a year ago, my father-in-law mentioned that he wanted my daughter, Karen, to have my mother-in-law's baby grand piano.  My mother-in-law loved this piano and played it all the time until Alzheimers invaded her mind and memory.  My daughter couldn't have the piano until she and her husband moved from their very small house into a much larger home that could accomodate the size of a baby grand piano. Karen and Joe knew that they wanted had to move because they were rapidly running out of room in the small, cramped house with two kids and all the "stuff" that goes along with a two year old and five year old! All the time they were looking for a larger home, Karen kept the piano in the back of her mind knowing that she had to have room for it. Luckily her new house has an open room (office area?) to the kitchen and family room that is perfect for the piano.



 

Karen and Joe painted the room and the piano looks great against the light walls.  Karen hasn't put anything on the walls yet because we have to have some old piano sheet music covers framed.  We found sheet music from the time my mother-in-law was single with her maiden name on the covers! She married in 1945 so the sheet music is old!

 

 

Eventually my grandchildren will take piano lessons.  Karen took lessons for several years but never really pursued the piano as a serious activity.  She would go to Northern Arizona University for summer music camp but I think that this was more of a social time than serious music theory time!  She insists that she learned a lot about the piano, but I know that she had a ball at music camp as well. 



 

I can't wait to see who gives Karen more of a headache when it comes to practicing the piano...Brandt or Lillian!  Believe me, I speak from experience!

 

 

Here are some of the sheet music covers that we are going to frame for the new "music" room.



 

 

Visit Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "P".

ENOUGH!!!

I live in Arizona and I'm definitely over the summer heat!  In an effort to hasten the cooler months and holidays, I started to decorate for Harvest/Halloween today!  Actually I started quite by accident...literally.  Last week I went out to the garage to get something out of one of the cupboards, and when I opened the door to the cupboard, two boxes of Halloween decorations fell on top of me.  My back was sore for a day or two and the black and blue bruise on my left arm is fading and turning green.  Yuck!  At any rate, I left the toppled boxes on the garage floor until today when I hauled them into the house and started to unpack the contents.

This first photo is of the hutch in my kitchen.  I found a garland in one of the boxes and decided to put it on the kitchen hutch instead of the dining room hutch where it usually goes.  When I took this picture, some Halloween decor was still in the hutch.  It is now out and ready for strategic placement.


 

 

This next photo shows some of the stuff that was in my hutch, but it is now on the kitchen island.  I'm sure the candle sticks will eventually go on the dining room table after I find my black tablecloth and spider web covering.  My husband refuses to take down additional Halloween boxes until next month so, other than a few pumpkins and stuffed black cats, this is all I have right now. 

 

 

I'm so ready for summer to be over!

"L" is for lovely Lily

This post is about my lovely granddaughter Lillian.  I'm joining Jenny Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday and we are celebrating the letter "L".

My granddaughter will be 3 in October and we are realizing just how beautiful she is.  She has a pure innocence about her that shows through her gorgeous eyes and smile.  She easily speaks her mind and views the world through eyes that know and share love and security.

               Lily's serious face reminds me of a Madame Alexander doll. 

Lily is a happy-go-lucky toddler with a ready smile and an inner confidence that never ceases to amaze us.  Sometimes she is a little too fearless for her own good, but her individuality endears us to her completely.  Sometimes she insists on having what her brother has and then a bit of rivalry begins. 

I think that the following picture says it all about Lily.

"I'm here and I'm happy".

 Lily loves to run and play.  Occasionally she runs at inappropriate times searching for toys in a store or some girly-girl stuff like hats and pink purses!   

 My daughter took this picture when they drove up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson for a bit of fun and sightseeing.  I've never been to Mt. Lemmon but I understand that there is a ski resort and a village called Summerhaven.  Mt. Lemmon is in the Catalina Mountains and is about 9,000 feet above the Tucson desert. 
Here we have Lily, showing some attitude with her grin and her hand on her hip!  My grandson, Brandt, doesn't seem to be amused by Lily's antics.

This is one of my favorite photos of my daughter, Karen, and Lily.  My son-in-law and his extended family had several photos taken on the grounds at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and this is one of the pictures captured by the photograper.

My two grandchildren are loved so very much. Lily is always showing her independence and charm, while Brandt, who rarely forgets anything, amuses us with his in-depth conversations.
Please join other participants in Alphabe-Thursday by clicking here.



More Vintage Wedding Photos

At a recent family reunion, my cousin gave me several family photo albums and I'm so thankful that she did.  I found many wedding photos of family and friends from a different generation.  I have no idea who this lady is, but she looks stunning in this photo.

Again, I wish I knew who this little girl was.  She is so cute in the fashion of the day.  I really like her knee-high stockings and head piece.

Pink and yellow Saturday

I'm joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink and Yellow Saturday, and I just happen to have a vintage photo of my mother dressed in pink carrying blue and yellow flowers!  My mother was born in 1914 so I imagine that this photo was taken in the 30's when she was a bridesmaid in a wedding.  I remember her telling me that she was a bridesmaid many, many times before she was an actual bride.

My next pink photo is of my granddaughter, Lily, when she just started to walk.  I don't know if she actually fell or was purposely bending down to look at the object near her right hand!

Lily apparently figured out the whole walking process because she is happily toddling around in her pink bow, tutu and pink shoes!

My son-in-law and 5 year old grandson play golf and I guess that Lily decided to join them one day.  Somehow I don't think that she is allowed to carry the golf ball around, but I'm sure that she made up her own rules.

I love this next photo of Lily.  After a swimming lesson, Lily went home and put on her favorite shoes...pink cowboy boots!  She LOVES these things! 

Join others for Pink Saturday by visiting Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and wish her a very Happy Birthday.

Vintage Wedding Wonders!

I recently made a trip back to Rockford, IL, to attend a family reunion, and pick up some bedroom furniture that my mother bought for her parents in the 1930's.  While I was visiting, my cousin, Linda, gave me several photo albums/scrapbooks to take home because she didn't want them.  I'm not sure that Linda really looked through all the albums before handing them to me because several of the scrapbooks contained old family photos and pictures specific to her and her parents!  At any rate, I finally started to look at the scrapbooks and I found some pretty interesting vintage wedding photos of family members or family friends.  I can identify some of the people, but not all as I wasn' even born when some of the pictures were taken!  However, the vintage wedding fashions are very interesting!  Click on photos for clarity and more bridal detail.

This first photo is of Albert and Janet Libratori who were very close friends with my aunt and uncle.

 I really don't have a clue who these people are!  Apparently someone in the family knew them as they are included in the scrapbook!

This photo is very old indeed.  The fashions are quite interesting and the bouquets are huge!

I finally recognize my great-uncle Joe and his bride, Ginny.  Joe was my grandmother's brother.

Oh brother!  Who are these people?

My Uncle Pat is the little ring-bearer in the front row.  Boy is this photo old!

Not a clue!  Some of the ladies don't look too happy in the photo.  The little girl next to the bride looks darling in her short, short dress and hat!

This bridesmaid is very pretty...too bad I can't identify her!

My mom's cousin, Madeline, is the bride.  Madeline's sister, Stella is second from the right.

My mom and dad on their wedding day in 1943.  My mom's cousin, Stella is her bridesmaid and my dad's brother, Nick, is the best man.

 Uncle Alex, my mom's brother, and his bride, my Aunt Kate.  They were married in the late 30's or very early 40's.

Uncle Pete, my mom's other brother, and his bride, my Aunt Lee.  They were married in the late 30's.

My Uncle Alex, my mom's brother, is second from the left.

I really wish that I could identify someone in this photo but I can't.

At last we have my Aunt Lad, Linda's mom, on her wedding day in the very early 50's.

It was so interesting going through the scrapbook because I marveled at the fashions of the day.  The bouquets are beautiful and bountiful unlike the bouquets of today. The scrapbook pages are very old and brittle and I now have pieces all over the floor and my scanner.  I'm glad that Linda gave me the albums/scrapbooks because I now have even more memories of my family to cherish.

R is for a variety of REDS

I really must apologize to Mrs. Matlock for being absent so long, but I just couldn't participate in Alphabe-Thursday because I ran out of alphabet ideas!  As it is, I'm recycling some photos from previous posts just so that I'm not totally kicked out of Mrs. Matlock's school program. 
This week our letter is "R" and I immediately thought of RED.  I know...very original...DUH!



Anyway my first photo is of an apron I made in 7th or 8th grade.  My mother kept it all these years and I now have it securely placed in a memory book for my grandchildren.  The word on the pocket is "MOM" in case you can't make out my cross-stitching.

I made these watermelon pieces and the ant several years ago while I was still teaching. Our school secretary invited several teachers to her house so we could paint and show off our craftiness!  The teachers called it "therapy". 

I found this apple hanging outside of my classroom door one day during parent-teacher conferences! Our secretary and some of her friends made these apples for each teacher as a gift and I have it hanging in the same room as my watermelon pieces.

These vintage Little Red Riding Hood salt and pepper shakers belonged to my mother.  I have a photo of me as a baby sitting in a high chair with these and the coordinating cookie jar atop our refrigerator.  My mother could never find the cookie jar after we moved to Phoenix in the early 60's.  I found a pristine cookie jar that matched these shakers at an estate sale but I wasn't going to pay $225 for it!

  
My mother also saved these cake toppers from when I was a teenager.  The red record player is truly a gem.

I'm not old enough to really remember Shirley Temple or any of her movies, but I really liked this doll when I saw her at a doll show in Phoenix.  She is a reproduction and is as cute as can be!

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