Looking Through the Shoeboxes

In spite of that adorable picture I posted of Jon boy in my last post, to tell you the truth, he was quite the rascal. Ask his brothers, if you don't believe me, however, they might say unkind things which really don't need to be said. Take it from me---he could be a hand full.

So much so, that to go along with that sewing room photo, I went rummaged through photos this morning looking for one that may have been taken later that same day. Sadly I could not locate it, but it depicts string, lots and lots of string, that he has roped around everything in the room with a big grin on his face. Wonder where it went?

Looking through old photos--who doesn't like doing so? I have four shoeboxes full, I suppose loosely, one for each decade of our married life? Thinking of it in another way, one for each son? I, for one love seeing our life in photographs, especially because there are only about three professional shots in the bunch--the rest are candid. Sing your life? You bet.

Let's do some looking together, shall we? Here is Bruce not long after we began going steady in 1968.

Sorry for the blurriness. He's standing alongside our family station wagon parked in our driveway. Note the VW bug in the background!! Then too, this brings back a funny memory---because our brother Pat was serving in Viet Nam, the lawn mowing was left to us girls, more specifically me. Even back then Bruce was super sweet, and being the gentleman that he was, he mowed the lawn in my stead. Except, that darn mower got away from him, and ran into the chrome rocker panel on the bottom of my Mom's car!! Anyone who knew our Dad will think of this next bit as classic Tom Price. He only slightly let Bruce off the hook, by making him buy the part (around $11 as B recalls), and not charging him for the labor! I'm still chuckling at the recollection. :)

A few years later, make that 1971, here is a shot of us when we were going to the prom. My dress, homemade. Then too, note that long before Instagram, photos were often square.

I think I may have shown a version of this before but, really, it's worth showing again to see how cute Bruce was!!

Have you ever wondered what Walt Disney World looked like under construction? Now's your chance to see Main Street when it was still dirt! Bruce's Dad was a Superintendent for American Bridge, building both the Polynesian Resort, and the Contemporary Hotel. We got a sneak peek.

Speaking of Tom Price, here's another classic--he wore those boots everywhere, except for work, including with shorts!

This was taken in 1971, after we had moved to Melbourne. The line up goes thusly---Dad, Mom, Pat, Maureen, Gail, Carol, Nancy, and Lisa. I only wish Lisa's bell bottoms weren't cut off! And, of course, that it were not so faded. I suspect my Dad set up a tripod to take this one? It was not long after this that I left home to attend x-ray school. Then, not too long after that, I was a married woman. Here's a shot of me when I was 21, but I look about 12!

Can you guess what I was doing here? Painting the bathroom of our first home!!! You're not surprised are you? B and I spent six weekends painting the outside, before moving to the interior--my house painting career began on Hargill Street.

Matt was born on Hargill Street, however, when he was one year old, we moved to California, then moved back to Florida a year later. We found a house for the three of us, however, before we could move in, I discovered I was pregnant. Fast forward about three months, and I discovered we were having twins! Bill and Dave were born on April Fools Day in 1979. Here I am on Christmas of that year, looking pretty worn out. Adding insult to injury, I see I'm sporting a cold sore!! Look at those toys on the hall floor!! Look at that carpet!!

Look at those twins!! That was some lapful, wasn't it? Here's my sister Nancy, with Matt, and the twins when they were around the same age as above.

Have you seen strollers these day? Looking like little space ships they are so complicated. There's a funny story I've told countless times regarding this stroller. B & D were rascals themselves, so much so, I ended up getting harnesses to keep them in the stroller. So, they were not only rascals, but clever as well. Or maybe not. One day I was shopping, and had my back turned for probably not very long, when I turned around to see the stroller in a tug of war, if you will. Both of the boys had climbed out while wearing their harnesses. One went one way, and vice versa. Those were the days! Furthermore, this is super weird--one day while walking the boys in the above stroller someone asked me, "aren't you glad you didn't have Siamese twins?" In today's language, cojoined twins. Anyway, how does a person respond to such a stupid question?? I will say, 35 years ago, twins were very unusual, nothing like today, so people stopped me all of the time to see them. At the time, identical twins accounted for 3 in 1,000 births. No telling what it is today.

Then along came Jonathan, four years later. On the back of this photo I wrote, Jonathan loving Matthew, 10/84.

This was in the kitchen of the same home pictured above with Nancy. You can barely see it, but this most recent time painting the kitchen cabinets was not my first. I did the ones in this kitchen using oil paint. DO NOT ask me how I pulled that off with four little children in the house because I have no idea!  Here's another shot of that ugly as sin carpet with all four of our tow heads on Matt's 8th birthday.

No comments on the couch please! I love everything about the boys in this photo, with their silken blonde hair all askew. The twins are wearing home made pjs.

And in this photo, taken for our church's directory, I'm wearing a home made blouse.

I'm pretty sure it is David on my left, although I'm never certain looking at old photos. Anyway, both the twin in the front, and Jonathan, are wearing shirts I made. There's that perm again!

I seemed to have come across a number of Jon boy photos--here he is oblivious to the weather, wearing a long sleeved shirt, shoes and socks, and a diaper.

Probably snuck out of the house before I could get his pants on! At least he's wearing a rain coat in  the one below. By now we'd moved into a four bedroom home giving this big family a little breathing room.

I'm super glad I have this photo because not only is it cute of Jon boy, but it also shows my white station wagon which in itself has quite the story. I think it was David who went with me when I was trying to sell it, meeting a potential customer in the parking lot of a Marriott on International Drive. The paint on this car peeled pretty significantly and we were later to learn that it was the subject of a recall. We did our best to make it presentable, not knowing about the recall. B. did some sanding, and then hit it with some spray paint, or so I recall. Seeing the paint job the man exclaimed to me, "Gail, it looks like someone took a Brillo pad to this thing. " I was embarrassed to say the least. Aside from that story I can't recall how we got rid of the car....

Matt and I were talking the other day about photography and the limitations that come with it. While I am super glad we have digital photography today, I am also glad it was not around when we were raising our family. No fancy photos, just everyday life, and how we lived it. There's something to be said for shoeboxes full of life. :)

Sewing, My First Love

Well, not counting Bruce....

Some of you may, or may not know, that when I was a girl my dream was to work for a newspaper. I loved writing from the time I could actually form letters, however, that was not to be. Instead of a creative career, I ended up in medicine which is so darn crazy as I am so bad at science. It is a real wonder that I ever got through all the physics, as well as other science subjects needed to get through x-ray school! But so I did, and actually ended up loving the job, mostly because I got to work with people. Not once did anyone ask me how the x-ray tube worked, so that was good. :)

In lieu of writing, which was a long shot I began sewing. It is a wonder I ever learned to sew, according to my 8th grade Home Economics teacher, who claimed I would never learn! Obviously she was wrong, and once I got the hang of it, I sewed, and sewed, and sewed.When you are from a family with five girls, and love clothes, which I most certainly did back then, you can do whatever you set your mind to! No longer do I sew every day, however, when the mood strikes, or a need exists, I am thrilled to sit at the machine!

Sunday we awoke to wet everything from overnight showers. Because the ground was so wet, we decided it would be such a hassle to set up at the market, we stayed home instead. Among other things, I cleaned up my office, including the closets, bookshelf, and the floor where all that fabric was still in a holding pattern. While doing so, I came across this photo, probably at least 25 years old, that melts my heart. Perhaps I've shown it before, but I just love it so much.

That would be me and my little Jon boy when his brothers were in school. If he isn't the cutest, I don't know who is! I, of course, am wearing an home made dress. The perm? I don't know what to say about that! The fan--no air conditioning. To my left is my serger, and to the right is my Mom's old Elna sewing machine, which I inherited, although I don't exactly remember why. Bruce and I were talking about that serger last night--he remembers buying it on layaway as it was very expensive back then, and with four children to care for, it was quite the sacrifice on his part. The name of the machine was Baby Lock, which I've found reviewed here. I spent part of most every day sitting at that sewing table, always left up in our bedroom, making everything from pillows to "knock offs." I can still remember how proud I was when I made look-alike Levi's jackets for the twins. Jams--remember them? So, having sons did not stop me from sewing!

Sadly, while finishing an applique on a quilt for Matt way back when he was at FSU, my Elna died. I was heart broken giving that machine up, particularly, the knee drive. What do I mean by that? Well, instead of the more common foot pedal, there was a 45 degree piece of metal, attached to the body of the machine that was the mechanism used to sew. Once I replaced it with my current Bernina, it took me quite the while to adjust to using my foot!

Sunday, aside from the cleaning, I began making Christmas bunting for my booth.  The last time I made bunting I struggled with how to cut out the perfect triangles; this time Bruce made me a template.

I'd purchased 1/4 yard of seven different fabrics at Hobby Lobby. Using the rotary cutter, I cut them all out, with right sides together, and began chain sewing.

Chain sewing is the most efficient way to combine fabric pieces that are all the same. What it means is that you never lift the presser foot, just continue sewing while feeding in the pieces. Once all 32 triangles were sewn on one side, I cut them all apart, then sewed in the same manner on the other side. All sewn and turned, I laid out the pattern on my ironing board. I used a chop stick to push out the points, which are not great, but will be unnoticeable to most, including me once it is hanging.

Look how clean my sewing table is!!

Believe me--it looked nothing like this when the day began! My desk, where I am sitting right now typing this post, could still use some work!

I used my summer bunting, seen laying on the ironing board, as a guide for length. Next step, sewing the triangles between the layers of double fold bias tape. I chose to use zig zag for this step. In red, of course.

So, there you have it---a Christmas decoration for my booth!

Before I start a new sewing project, those photography prints, piled on my table, need signing. But then again, Sunday is a long way away......

Mrs. Peck Goes to a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Or so it was billed. The curtain comes down would have been a more apt description, as you'll soon see for yourself.

Over the last two years or so I've been posting photos of the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts which has been under construction that long, and perhaps longer, across the street from the Orlando City Hall. Thursday morning, 10 AM was the date set for the ahem, ribbon cutting. And, so I went to not only witness that but have a tour of the building. Built with both private donations and government money, during the ceremony it was mentioned that it is one of only 37 facilities of this type in the world. What exactly they meant by that, I cannot answer.

At any rate, parking my car in a garage on Pine Street, I walked the few blocks to the site which as you can see here, is still a construction site, just without barriers!

Walking onto the lawn with white folding chairs arranged in a semi-circle, I should have done what these folks did--sit in the shade!

I was not the only one with a camera!! Big, big media presence.

I chose to stand rather than sit for better picture taking opportunities.

So, there I stood waiting for the festivities to begin. I did, not that it will surprise you or anything, start up a conversation with these two folks standing beside me.

They both work for Visit Orlando; she does global marketing and he works on bringing conventions to the area. I was very interested to learn that there are 14 such offices around the globe! 10:00 arrived and after a brief introduction, this woman sang the National Anthem. My new friends told me she was on "The Voice" as a contestant from Orlando.

Does anyone know who she is? This gentleman, Jim Pugh is the developer of the project and the seated woman is the president of the center, both of whom, apparently worked tirelessly to make this day happen.

Here's a shot of both the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, his counterpart for Orange County, Teresa Jacobs, as well as former County Mayor, Richard Crotty, and a big wig from the Tourism Bureau. He was represented because a good deal of the money came from tourism taxes.

All in all, there were 13 speakers who thanked everyone under the sun except the construction workers which really bugged me. Behind the smiles above were some former tensions. Richard Crotty, standing on the left, began this project with BD. When Teresa Jacobs took over as County Mayor she went crazy about how the public money was being spent and called for accountability. Local gossip for you!

Now you see the curtain....

and now you don't!

Darn that man in the white shirt!! If he'd wanted to stand he should have been back there with me!

You can well imagine how much I loved the bio-degradable confetti!

The cross, included on the lower left of the photo, is from the First Methodist Church who actually sold this land to the city, building a new building in place of the one that was torn down. Isn't this all just fun and informative??

There was quite the crowd who then entered the building for the self guided tour.

There were, however, loads of volunteers wearing this shirt--the front...hi there, indeed.

and the back...

Cute, right?

A local choir was singing around this spiral staircase. Lots of terrazzo used in the building--making a big design comeback, or so it seems. There were, as mentioned above a ton of the curious, just like me.

The finish on the right wall is a little unusual to me. What I first thought was a bad drywall job turned out to be a faux finish, or so I think. In another area the same treatment was used on a purple wall. There is a lot of purple in the building.

I ran into a fellow I know from the annual city calendar contest, which, in spite of having the cover photo this year, none of my entries were selected for next year. Paul Hennesey is a retired parole officer who now works as a media photographer. Here we are taking the same photo.

Here he is looking at the cool model of the center.

Eventually we made our way to the actual Walt Disney Theater--very classy.

The ceiling is super cool as well...

Making our way through the maze, we eventually came to the entrance to the actual stage.

All in all, it is very attractive indeed. There is still work to be done, including finishing the demolition on what us old timers called, the round building.

To the right of the crane is City Hall for those who don't live here. In it's place I believe I heard they will be building a hotel which seems kind of crazy to me, but what do I know. I'm not sure how we ended up in the loading dock area but I'm glad we did. Here's Mayor Jacobs heading out the back door.

I wonder if the organizers ever thought about calling it a "curtain goes up" ceremony--seems rather fitting, don't you think? The earlier posts, linked to above, provide some context. :)

It is What It is

I, for one hate that saying. Hearing it way more than I should, generally I cringe when it is uttered. With that in mind, why, pray tell did I title this post with a phrase I dislike? On occasion, it fits. In this case, I'm speaking of me!! Talking with Cheryle about art the other day, she told me the folks at the Art Institute of Chicago once told her, while she was taking a class, that some of her abstract art was what they called, "decorative." Translated this means that "the work is not saying anything." Well, la-de-da.

Their intent, no doubt, was good, but seriously, does everything considered art have to have meaning? This must be why I'm a photographer rather than a painter. As much as I hate to admit it, my work, including this blog and my photography,"is what it is." Nothing more, nothing less. If my readers, or viewers find meaning in anything I do, that is all well and good, but if they don't I'm just fine with that too.

Now that I have that off my chest, shall we move on?

Good morning!!! Here's what the sky looked like when I arose this morning.

Perhaps, we will get some much needed rain. Gone AWOL since September.

Just when you thought we were over Halloween yard pictures (!), I've got two that are crying out to be seen by more than the folks that pass by them. Can you imagine the work that went into putting this together??

I may have shown that before because it is so incredible, and keeps getting bigger every year. The one below, however, is new to me.

I suspect Charlie Brown would not approve of such a display!! Then again, who dreams this kind of stuff up?? The one below, on the other hand, is done so well, and is, come to think of it, decorative!

What a lovely display--right?

So, what I do may not have any lasting meaning, but, for sure, I'm happiest when I'm making something. Some folks like experiences, I like creating. Which is why I bought all this fabric!

I can hardly wait to make some retro clothes, especially with what she labeled, "stylized pique", referring to the one with the orange and yellow flowers.

Guess what? I got a flu shot Monday morning, the first one of my life. While it did not hurt a bit when she gave it to me, I was surprised Tuesday morning to discover my arm was super sore. Now, however, the soreness is gone, and I so hope I will not get the flu again this year. The last two years have not been kind to me on that front.

So, here's something very coincidental. Last post I linked to an article from the Orlando Sentinel regarding the closing of Jordan Marsh. (JM again!!) While straightening my desk in the midst of writing this post I found a yellowed, folded clipping from the newspaper. I figured it was one of my letters to the editor from long ago, which it is, but look what else I discovered!!!

Reading my letter again, I can hardly believe the life I lived, and I was there! I suppose the last line on my letter says it all--the more things change, the more they stay the same. Budget cuts are nothing new.

Bruce and I, once again, rode our bikes to vote on Tuesday. Along the way, many of the sidewalks were covered with acorns (!), as well as the petals from the Golden Rain Trees which have been gracing our skies of late. The blooms begin as a brilliant yellow, followed by an orangish pink, and finally a light pink when they fall. I'm a sucker for fallen blooms.

Finally, I planted some cheery flowers out front. You won't be surprised to see that some of them are orange.

Zinnias are the cutest, aren't they?

Bruce is in Boston, visiting the recently completed Earls to take photographs, as well as to meet with his boss. Just for one day and night. Saturday, he made 11 new frames which we hope will sell at the DeLand Art Festival comping up in a few short weeks. Although I applied the last several years, I was not accepted until this year--here's hoping the weather will be good. Then too, Matt and Tom are coming on the Friday before the show!! So exciting. This will be Tom's first American Thanksgiving! And my first time preparing Thanksgiving in my beautiful new kitchen which I'm loving very much. Thank you for asking.

Well, I said the zinnias would be my last photo, however, have a gander at this gorgeous, Candy Apple Red truck we saw parked the other morning.

Looks good enough to eat!!

Let the good times roll....

A Cold Snap in Early November?

Who, pray tell, around these parts can last remember the temperature dropping below 50 degrees on the first of November? Certainly not I. In spite of my cold weather predictions (see acorn drop references), I sure didn't see this coming! It was nice though--a welcome break from the relentless heat and humidity.

I bought something else at the estate sale that I did not want to show off before I knew how it would wash up; I'm happy to reveal this adorable, and well made, blouse purchased for maybe 50 cents.

I found it stuffed in a box mostly filled with fabric, and the little Spanish galleon print was more than I could resist. Or, maybe they are called Clipper ships; whatever the technical name, they are both cute and unusual, a winning combination in my book.

So, after a thorough cleaning, followed by a long spell in the gorgeous sunshine, I ironed the blouse, and while doing so, I came across two tags, one from the manufacturer, and one from the shop where it was purchased in Key West. Although I could find nothing about Hermans in Key West, I did find a little bit about the McMullen company based in Glens Falls, New York. Or so it was for about 90 years. From my research I discovered that the tags changed through the decades, and the one in this adorable blouse is from the 50's. Do I ever love a good recycling. This blouse has taken quite a journey to reside in my closet, but the quality is such you would never know it! Had the temperature been a bit higher I would have surely worn it already.

As discussed in the past, once you start looking for one thing online, it generally leads to more, and in my case, it led me to some articles about Jordan Marsh. I hope you're not tired of hearing about JM because I'm not tired of writing about it.  This amazing article, written by Jean Patteson, who by the way, wrote the lovely obituary on Bruce's mom, details what JM meant to Orlando. Young people will find it incredible that the escalators were one of the main attractions, with JM hiring--get this--Eastern Airline pilots, and stewardesses to assist people on opening day!!! Then too, I was registered for my wedding at JM, AND I always bought my white stockings there while in x-ray school--a huge expense as they were constantly running! You'd have to be of a certain age to remember when the hospital was filled with people wearing only white.  Jordan Marsh back in the day...another amazing article about the store in Miami, complete with their own swimming pool!

All this to say that the older one gets the more the past is on one's mind. Of course some people reading this blog do not live in a city that has undergone the drastic changes that Orlando has seen in my adulthood, making it hard to relate, but believe me when I tell you that is as different as night and day. Some is in a good way, some not so much. C'est la vie!

Allrighty then, putting the past aside, let's talk a minute about Halloween. Four children came to our home, two from some other neighborhood, and two boys belonging to our former longtime neighbors, Chuck and Zoila. I got the biggest laugh when Bruce, ever the optimist on Halloween, told the first two boys, "only one candy bar," thinking we might run out. I'm still chuckling about that.

In no particular order, here's a few things that have never before appeared on the pages of Camera Crazy....

Absolutely no clue what this pink bunny stands for on the shores of Lake Como. Appearing a few months ago, I finally stopped to take a photograph. Although the Cypress trees rimming the shore line, are showing some fall color, I've seen other Cypress trees with all new needles.  What to make of it, I do not know.

Cheryle and I took a nice bike ride the other morning, heading into Harbor Island, a nearby collection of fantastic homes on the shores of Lake Conway. Let's just say that she might be even bolder than I am when it comes to going on people's property! In this instance we were admiring a fantastic front yard filled with tropical plants including one of the nicest Traveler's Palms that I've ever seen.

Then again, it might be a White Bird of Paradise Palm.....anyway, stunning!

While visiting Maureen the other morning, as we stood in her driveway, she showed me the fallen Drake Elm leaves which proved to be very interesting. When was the last time you saw little leaves on both sides of a stem?

I laid them side by side to show off this cool phenomenon.

Bruce was kind enough to make little fall wreaths for our doors after his wife, full of ideas, but a poor implementer, brought home the materials.

How it looks on the blue door is subject to individual tastes.

Speaking of orange, these are super cool blooms that you see everywhere right now.

Not in my yard, but plenty of other folks have them. I do, however, have more than my fair share of squirrels.

I heard an advertisement on NPR the other day for a mini series on HBO, called "Olive Kittredge" featuring Frances McDormand as Olive. I immediately called Cheryle, insisting she should watch it because she not only has HBO, but I felt sure she would like it. Having read the book in 2009, I wrote about it in this post. "Why not come over and watch it with me?" she asked. Don't mind if I do, and I'll bring my husband along too.  It is little wonder I could remember little of the plot, only that I loved it. So, so great having a searchable blog to find out what I thought in real time.

In that same post, I wrote about hearing from a long time friend who I'd not seen in ages. She emailed me telling me her son found my blog---that would be you Karen!!! She's been a faithful reader ever since, God bless her.

Sunday was a day off for us, the market was closed for the Fall Fiesta in the Park which I'm thrilled I had no part of as Saturday the winds were 25mph, not to mention chilly, chilly, chilly. Sunday, the winds died down, however, the temperature stayed mighty chilly for a Floridian. We went to see a movie instead. More on that later.

Finally, guess what size that blouse is? Size 12!! If ever there were a case for how vanity sizing has permeated clothing, this would be it. :)