Saturday 7 November 2015

these pictures....

One of these pictures was visible on my desk on Wednesday. The other was propped behind it. In fact they are still on my ipad stand. Being forgotten really - they are destined to take to my Mother but I keep forgetting. I have copies ready to make a scrapbook layout for 'my records', but haven't yet decided how to 'dea'l with them.
L-R Sister Sally, Me, Cousin Debra,Sister Diane, Sister Stephanie, Cousin Jane
This isn't unusual for me. Pictures that I'm really attached to take me ages to commit to Layouts. It's the sentiment, I think. Give me your favourite pictures and I'll do something with them in about twenty minutes! Plans for these two are running into months now. It's not about using the originals. I have copies stored on the PC. And to be honest, even if they were the originals, I'd use them. They are in my opinion, safer in my acid free scrapbook albums than in an old photo wallet stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

same arrangement, different ages.....


So why do these pictures say so much to me? Well, they include my Sister, Diane who sadly died in 1987. We haven't many photos of us all together, and even fewer of her as a young teen as she was here - let's face it, we are all silly about having our picture taken, and Diane was no exception! And then there's the reason for the photo. We rarely visited our cousins - quite often we lived abroad or too far away. We didn't exactly have a lot in common and lived very different lives. Jane and Debra lived on a farm and had their own horses for goodness' sake! That alone was enough to set us apart, being silly, girly and teenaged did the rest. So I love these photos for what they don't show as much as what they do....our horror at the planning of the visits, the feeling that we were forced to be friends, maybe having to 'play' outside.... you know! I love them because we are all in them, and that means that Aunty Sheila must have worked quite hard to corral us onto that wall outside her lovely house. Twice! She was a picture-taker. Of course, now I understand. And lastly, I love these photos because they were sent to me by my lovely cousin Jane. Which proves that its never too late to become proper friends. Jane, Debra and I have laughed over the strangeness of our relationships as children. Now we're grown up with our own children, we feel the ties that bind and perpetuate. Isn't that grand? Can't you get a lot from a couple of pictures!

17 comments:

Sue Jones said...

I have a similar photo ( but without me in it - i was older and with the older cousins) My darling sister Steph is in it though - god I miss her. I am also one (the eldest) of four girls- we seemed to have hundreds of cousins when we were young - doesn't seem that many now - I have just got back in touch with two of them via good old face book - makes me very happy. soojay xxxx

Helen said...

Love these photos - I would have picked out your sister Stephanie as you, certainly in the first picture - you are very alike! Glad that you now enjoy your cousins' company.

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Great photos :-). I thought Stephanie was you, partly cos I can see Miss Dunnit too. Hope you had a good day.
Hugs, LLJ xxxx

Annie said...

I love old photos with all the memories that go with them Julia. I have very similar photos somewhere, wearing similar clothes and sitting in similar places :-)
hugs,
Annie x
ps you asked about the layout of our building work so hope you manage to find a minute to check out my Friday post :-)

Judys Lace Creations said...

Lovely story Julia.+Yes, time is a great leveller, and I am so glad you now have lots in common with your cousin.Sorry to read about Stephanie.

Aileen said...

Loved reading your piece. It must have been a standard photo pose many years ago cause I have ones just like this of my siblings and cousins. How we had to be friends during visits and never thought of them when apart and now years later we share more than we thought was possible. Life can have some wonderful memories.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

First, unlike Helen and LLJ, I DID think you were you before I read the caption, although I did think you and Stephanie looked very much alike. Maybe because all I've ever seen are photos of you.

Second, I like these photos because they have brought you many wonderful memories and said things only you (and possibly your sisters) could relate to.

Don't worry. One of these days you'll visit a desker, maybe two, who will plant a seed that will lead to the perfect layout you are looking for. I'm often inspired by others.

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

I was intrigued by that photo on Wednesday, Julia. Thanks for showing it close up. What a wonderful idea of your aunt's to take another one with an identical lineup years later. I can understand your reluctance of turning them into a layout - how can you possibly put all those emotions into something visual without sounding cliched or superficial? So sorry to hear about your sister. Maybe you could include all those feelings you expressed in your heartfelt blog post as hidden journalling? With the title 'The Way We Were". Sorry, I'm getting carried away. You're right it's much easier scrapping other people's photos!

voodoo vixen said...

Lovely post Julia, and I can understand the delay in making the photos reach a finished page... I haven't scrapped my wedding photos yet! I know, you would think there would be loads of them, a mini book or two devoted to the occasion but nope... like you, the pictures that mean the most are the hardest to do justice to in our eyes.... and that is the clue... it is in our eyes, because honestly, they would be far better off attached to a page with just a few words (or this typed out post as journalling) rather than not all!! :)

Lizzie J said...

What a lovely piece Julia. I can relate to not having anything in common with your cousins though in a slightly different way. Mine were a lot older than me and in fact I was closer to their children, my second cousins, as those were the ones I had to go outside with and play. And yes, over time we all lost touch. However, when my first cousins came to my mums funeral, we all decided it had been too long and we now try to meet once a year for a meal. The wonderful part of it is that each meeting is so natural, no one is uncomfortable and it's as if it's not been decades since we knew each other.
Lizzie J

Sue said...

Those photos definitely deserve to be in one of your lovely LOs. I often get my scrapbooks out and look through them. The memories are always in my brain, but the photos bring the memories to life.

Hope you have a nice day. Sue

misteejay said...

How lovely to have these photos.
Despite having quite a few cousins, there are no photos of us all. As quite a few of them are considerably older, the only photos I have of them are in my parent's wedding photos.
Toni xx

Neet said...

How I envy you with me being an only child. Maybe then it didn't worry me too much as I had my friends but now I would like to have a big or little sister to share memories with.
So sorry to hear of the loss of your sister, that must have been a hard time for you.
When the time is right you will get around to doing the layout and it will be perfect. Do it because you feel it is time to do it, not because you feel you have to. What a wonderful aunt you had who thought of doing the line up just the same later on.
Hugs, Neet xx
Btw I can tell it is you, you still have that lovely face and smile xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I just saw the comment you left on my T post. Every year I do a Veterans Day post because so many of my American readers sadly know nothing or little about the history and significance of Veterans Day. For several years, I've focused on the poppies and their significance, but this year, I brought in more of the European aspect. The one fact that I stress is it's not Veteran's or Veterans' Day, but Veterans Day. I'm sure some who post will not realize this fact. If you have time to stop by tomorrow, please do so. No need to comment, because it takes too long. BTW, it's far too long for a WOYWW post (grin).

Sarn said...

Well they a picture is worth a 1000 words (or something!). These 2 remind me of my youth . . . I looked just like you lot did!

Happy scrapbooking with them . . . eventually!

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Monica said...

I just spent 10 minutes writing and there it is gone. What did I do. I have found common ground with cousins on FB. It is a great experience. I also leave photos laying around and they do get damaged so you might do better to put them in a scrapbook where they tell a story. you might even teach a class on saving the past.
Monica

peggy aplSEEDS said...

How wonderful that you posted a close up of these pictures that were on your desk last Wednesday! Yes, they get more precious when those that are in it have already died. So sorry to hear that you lost your sister at an early age. Glad you have pictures of her. Such a lovely bunch of young girls!