The author as a young girl

Well, it took me nearly 3 hours to go through one box labeled “Mementos.”  That leaves me with about another dozen to go…

One of the things I’ve been finding as I go through all of the boxes is picture after picture.  Different friends have been suggesting that I should scrapbook all the pictures, or scan then into the computer.  Neither project really enthuses me because of the scale involved.

OTH, after 3 hours of looking at things my father collected and kept, I’m ready to share some things.  Be warned, I’m posting most of this here because my mil and Boy both read here and they will appreciate some of this (but probably not the same).  For anyone else,  I recommend a quick scan through if it interests you.  (btw, I’m actually posting pictures of me…from many, many years ago.)

Before we start the pictures, I want to share the first things I saw when I opened the box.  These cups were something my father was very proud of.

They represent his two appearances on the Kup Show.  When I found them, I immediately unwrapped them and put them on display.  I don’t know what I’ll do with them, but for now, they are out.  I know nothing about the show other than what I found quickly googling it, so if anyone knows anything of interest, I’m all ears.

So, our picture album starts with pictures of me growing up

We have my birth picture (I know because it says hospital and very clearly my father wrote my birthdate of the front.  I can only guess that the little picture of my three siblings is from approximately the same time. I don’t remember this picture, so I have no idea where it was stuck away.

I’m guessing I was about a year old give or take here, which means that my brother was about 6.  I do remember this picture, probably from a photo album that I haven’t come across yet.

I don’t know if this is Kindergarten or pre-school.  I know I was in pre-school for two years because my mother was working full time teaching piano at that point and needed me out from underfoot.

This pic is from about first grade and again, I don’t remember it.

Third grade, maybe?

I’m thinking that this is about 5th grade. This picture is neat, because you can clearly see the heart I had in freckles on my left cheek (the right side of the pic). It’s long gone now, but I had it for years.

And this last “young girl” pics is from about 9th grade. I recognize that shirt I have on, because it was this big peasant blouse that I made and LOVED.

And now we move to horsing around pics.

My first horse (actually a pony) that I rode regularly was Mini Haha. This first pic is dated 1970, so we were both 7.

Where this one was probably a year or so later. She was a great pony.

But my horse that I rode for most of my teen years was Pirate Gold. He was a grade gelding, but trained in dressage and to could jump about anything. The top picture is from the State Fair 4H show, but the bottom one was from just a local show.

I also rode him western. and yes, that’s my sheltie sitting on my lap.

This is me and my two closest friends out riding.

The last horse I rode regularly was a morgan mare, Sheba. She had the hardest mouth I have ever seen on a horse and I actually had to ride her with in a full bridle to get her to even listen to a bit (though I could primarily use the snaffle once her edge was taken off.) This picture is probably taken about 1980.

Had enough yet?

How about some family shots…

This is my mother’s mother as a young girl. It’s particularly significant to me, because she gave me that rockingchair when I was 8 years old, and I still have it. (Though it has broken spindles that need fixing).

My grandmother’s husband died years before I was born, but I did grow up knowing my father’s parents. These pictures of them and my parents are from a cousin’s wedding in ’81 (I think).

These are better shots of my parents. Dad, and my mom on her morgan

And since I was just posting pictures of bookcases, I thought I’d share these of my father’s This was his den from the late 70s, but this picture of him is from the 1950s

There are more pictures in my Flickr account to see (you can click through on any of the pictures or on the sidebar) but I’ll end with a picture of me from my senior class play, Three Penny Opera Yes, that’s me sitting down playing the streetwalker.

I hope you have enjoyed my little bit of nostalgia.  To give you idea of what I’m dealing with, you haven’t seen even 1% of what I have sitting in my livingroom.